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Monday, December 22, 2014

Hammond, Dyer spark WBB win over Cal -- Monday Cardinal Couple



CARDS SURVIVE SCARE -- DEFEAT CALIFORNIA 70-57



The attendees at the Sunday afternoon Louisville vs. California women's basketball game threw stuffed bears on the court at halftime to support a Christmas toy drive. They probably should have left a couple of the larger ones on the court to help guard Sara Hammond and Shawnta' Dyer in the final twenty minutes. 

The inside duo had 18 of the Cards 28 second half points to lead Louisville to a 70-57 win over UC in front of 8339 in the Haas Pavillion. The win did not come that easy, however...

Cal went on a 8-0 run early in the second half to draw within two at 46-44 after a Mercedes Jefflo three with 14:49 remaining that had the attendees in a frenzy. From that point, though...Louisville responded with a 24-13 run to get their eleventh win of the season.


The game got off to an exciting start...Jude Schimmel knocking down back-to-back threes to give Louisville an early 6-0 lead. After a Mariya Moore trifecta, it was 9-2 Cards and Louisville was showing no ill effects from the sub-par performance three days earlier in Phoenix. 


Shawnta' Dyer connected from inside to make it 18-8 UofL with 11:44 remaining and the Cards took their biggest first half lead a minute later after Schimmel's third three of the half at 21-10.

Moore popped in her second three to make it 28-20 Cards at the nine minute mark and Hammond got into the act with a three to set the score at 35-28 with three minutes left in first half action. The Bears would trim that lead to five with 56 seconds when Gabby Green connected from the deep...but a Megan Deines three (Louisville's seventh of the half) with eight seconds on the clock set the halftime score at 42-34.

The Cards had forced Cal into eight turnovers in the first eight minutes but Reshawnda Gray (11 pts) and Brittany Boyd (seven points) were keeping the Bears within striking range. 

Two Hammond scores in the first 150 seconds of the second half gave Louisville a 46-36 advantage...but Cal narrowed that to two. Louisville got two key free throws from Bria Smith and a jumper from Denies to forge back out to a 54-47 edge with 12:30 to play.

A Moore layup made it 58-49 Louisville with less than ten minutes remaining and the Cards still had a nine point lead after a Smith jumper five minutes later. Hammond scored her eighteenth point of the game to set the Cards up with a 68-56 cushion with a little more than two minutes to play and Louisville held on for the 70-57 triumph. 

The Cards shot 48% in the second half while limiting Call to 21% shooting. The Louisville defensive intensity limited Boyd to just four second half points and six for Gray.


Hammond led all scorers with 18 points and had nine rebounds. Dyer finished with 12 and was the Cards enforcer in the paint in the second half. Schimmel added two second half free throws to her three first half threes to total 11 points. She also had nine rebounds and seven assists. Moore was the Cards fourth double figure producer with 10 points. 

Smith contributed eight points, Denies strong off the bench with seven and Hines-Allen totaled four. Cortnee Walton and Arica Carter saw minutes for the Cards but did not score. 

Gray led the Bears with 17. Boyd was the only other double figure producer with 11.


An encouraging win for Louisville as they take off for the winter break. Cal put together a nice, early second half assault that got them back in the game. Louisville did not fold and crumble, though...and the Cards speed and quickness eventually wore the Bears down as the half progressed. 

Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb was prepared to try and
stop Louisville inside. Instead, it was seven first half threes that gave Louisville the early lead and the duo of Hammond and Dyer late that bested Gottlieb's game plan.

On an afternoon where two freshmen Cards returned to their home state...it was senior leadership that guided Louisville to their second win against a top 25 opponent this season. 

paulie

16 comments:

  1. Jude continues to impress. 5'6" and nine rebounds? Go lil' sis!

    Curtis Franklin

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    1. All heart! :)

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    2. What's the word? Timná? I hope I didn't screw that up too badly, if so, hopefully some of our friendly Native readers can correct me.

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  2. Hopefully this will quiet the naysayers about Jude and how we will struggle to compete in the ACC for a while. Talk about a team win last night! Everyone stepped up! Coming into the season, I thought this would be a rebuilding year but I could easily see a 2 or 3 seed come March. It will all come down to how we perform in conference, though. I loved how the girls didn't crack when Cal pulled within two, I thought it was UK all over again but the leadership and chemistry seems to have improved..

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  3. What a great win! We finally got the Senior leadership we've been looking for and put all of the pieces together. Hammond played like the Wade Trophy candidate she is, Jude was a single rebound and a few missed layups away from a triple double, Dyer had her best game as a Card and was a monster finishing and defending at the rim. A shout out also to Megan Dienes for her contributions at key points in the game.

    Can't say enough about Jude's game. By far her best performance as a Card. She played 36 minutes and delivered exactly the way you hope your senior floor leader will. In my opinion more important than her great stat line is that it had the feel that she took control of the game and the team. She seemed much more vocal on the floor (as did Hammond) and the team needed it. The only mystery to me is how the shortest baller on the court pulls down nine rebounds. Reminds me of the rebound she pulled down that started the Shoni / Griner shot back in the day.

    The only way the game could have been better would have been if we hadn't had to listen to the pro-Cal commentators on the PAC12 Network broadcast.

    The best possible way to go into the Christmas break. Let's hope Santa brings the team more performances like this and a continually improving free throw percentage.

    Good Stuff! Merry Christmas Everyone!

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  4. Good Piece by Michelle Smith @ ESPN

    http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12064655/jeff-walz-louisville-cardinals-ease-radar

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  5. Jude has followed up what I think is the worst game she has played in her four years here (UK) with two of the best. Glad to see it - we need her "A" game if we hope to beat good teams. Also glad to see us regroup in the second half when Cal made their run. Moore and Hines-Allen are both super talented, but this team will go as far as the seniors can take them.

    And how about the 3-point shooting. Something else that was lacking early season.

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  6. I was at the game and WOW! It was intense the whole way. The crowd was pretty good and really into it. A knowledgable Cal fan next to me said it was there largest of the year by far. Even more than the guys draw. A few good mini sections of red in the stands too.
    Jude was amazing in all facets. Not only shooting but early second half breaking the press with her dribbling was huge and after she did that a few times Cal finally backed out of it which was a huge relief. Sara was terrific too. What a team effort.
    Megan had some clutch baskets and nice assists ( her defense is so passive)
    We blocked a ton of shots - Bria Sara Shawnta.
    Just a ton of fun too watch. Going to see Stanford play today at UC Davis.



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  7. Mariya leads the team in minutes, points, assists, and offensive rebounds. What's cool is you wouldn't really know it because all the parts are interchangeable. The Cal coach made a great point about how good our role players are.

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    1. Yep. Our freshmen have been nothing short of amazing and they're only going to get better from here on out. Last year we had only lost one game (to UK) going into the Christmas break. This year we've only lost one game (to UK) going into the Christmas break. Given the changes from last year that works for me. Says something about Walz's recruiting, scheduling & coaching.

      The confidence and aggressiveness that Mariya and Myisha have put out there from Day One have been great. By the end of the year Arica and Ariana will get the minutes they need to be able to contribute too. Next year Syd will be here along with our number one recruiting class. Kinda makes me think...

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY

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  8. Looks like the players' airing of their grievances in the locker room after the GCU game was beneficial. Plus, it coincides with the start of Festivus! Hopefully, the feats of strength will follow the rest of the season.

    Paulie

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    1. That would of been fun to be a fly on the wall for that

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  9. Paulie - I just noticed that the Cards have a US Flag on the front left hand side of their uniforms above the ACC logo. Is that conference wide or is it something unique to U of L?

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  10. I watched the replay of the game on TV and noticed how Jude would box out It was so funny seeing her box out Grey #21. She got the job done!

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