Monday, December 5, 2016

Louisville women's basketball defeats Kentucky 69-67 in overtime -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


MYSHIA HINES-ALLEN WITH 26 IN CARDS WIN


This one was a nail-biter, thriller, one to make you mutter and one where you threw your hands up high in the air in joyous celebration at the end (if you are a Cardinal fan) Sunday afternoon at the KFC YUM! Center. Or wiped your brow and said a small prayer. The Battle of the Bluegrass was, indeed a battle. A battle that Louisville walked away from a winner

Louisville came back from a four-point deficit with 3:56 left in regulation to force over-time and never trailed in the extra session to get the win over the Cats 69-67. 

Not that the overtime didn't have its moments of doubt and uncertainty. Up by four with nine seconds left after Jazmine Jones went 1 for 2 from the foul line...the Cats raced down court and Maci Morris drained a three to make it 68-67 with five seconds left. UK fouled Briahanna Jackson on the following inbounds play...she missed the first but made the second and UK was unable to score...giving Louisville the final margin of victory. 

If you are a college basketball fan, this one was a great one to watch. The Cards got an early boosts from Myisha Hines-Allen to start the contest. In fact, it was Myisha 6 - UK 0 with 7:44 left in the first period. The Cards kept the margin and a Kylie Shook three...followed by a Jackson steal and layup gave the Cards a 18-9 edge with 1:47 left in the opening quarter. UK's Taylor Murray...who finished with 21 points sank a jumper to set the score at 18-11 after the first ten minutes. 

Louisville began the second frame with a Jazmine Jones jumper but fell prey to a Cats 13-4 run over a five-minute stretch that tied the game at 24-24 after a Makayla Epps layup.  Asia Durr would push the Cards back to a 29-24 edge with her first three of the half at the 2:27 mark and the Cards would take a 30-26 lead into the halftime locker room. 

Hines-Allen led Louisville in scoring with eight, despite sitting 12 of the 20 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. Jazmine Jones sparked the Cards off the bench with six points. Louisville was shooting 41.9% from the floor...but a less-than-admirable 3-12 from three-point land (25%). 

The second half started out in favor of Big Blue...an Epps three and Murray layup on a fast break gave them a 31-30 lead just 150 seconds into action. Louisville responded well, though...an 8-2 run keyed by three Hines-Allen baskets inside put UofL back ahead 38-33 with a little over three minutes left in the third. Kentucky kept gnawing away at the margin the remainder of the period and a Murray free throw set the end of period score at 44-43 Louisville. 

The Cards were able to keep a slim advantage until an Epps three-point play the old way with 4:17 left gave the visitors a 54-50 edge. Tied at 54 with 51 seconds left in regulation, two Morris free throws gave the Cats the lead. Hines-Allen tied it on a layup 18 seconds later and a quarter that had four ties and two lead changes ended with the prospect of five minutes of bonus ball ahead. 56-56 and the almost 13,000 fans in the seats...both red and blue...were whipped into a cheering frenzy. 

The overtime began quite well for the Cards. A Durr three, Hines-Allen jumper Durr free throw and another Hines-Allen bucket comprised a 8-3 Louisville run over the first three minutes. UK battled back but could never regain the advantage....the Cards getting their first win over the Wildcats since December 5th, 2010. 

Any landing you walk away from is a good one. It's a "W" in the win column against a very talented Kentucky squad that is doing amazing things with a depleted roster (the Cats played four players over 42 minutes) and a zone defense scheme that Matthew Mitchell probably wouldn't prefer to play but was very effective at times. 

Besides Hines-Allen's 26, only Asia Durr got to double figures with 15. Mariya Moore knotted eight, Jazmine Jones seven, Briahanna Jackson five and Kylee Shook and Cortnee Walton four each. The Johnson's (Taylor and Ciera) played but did not score. Jessica Laemmle, Brianna Jones, Bionca Dunham and Sydney Zambrotta dressed but did not see action and Sam Fuehring was absent (coaches decision). 


HOW DID FRED DO? 


Pop and country star from the 1970's Freddy Fender
Free Throws -- Louisville went 9 for 20 from the charity stripe. 45%. The "one for twos" at the end of the game were stressful but Coach Walz did point out to me (and the radio audience) that 1 + 1 = 2. Despite this revolutionary new Walzian theorem...we cannot award a letter here. 

Rebounding -- The Cards came away with a 49-40 edge on the boards. Walton and (what?) Briahanna with 10 each. Positioning and hustle are everything. We gladly offer up the capitol "R" in this category.  

Effort/Execution --  A much better effort for the Cards tonight, especially to end the game. There exists a heart in this squad and it beat strongly Sunday afternoon. Eighteen points off 19 turnovers and Hines-Allen coming out like the ACC player of the year. Briahanna Jackson making death-defying and clutch plays, dives and five steals. Jazmine Jones and Kylie Shook providing excellent minutes off the bench. We'll put a capital "E" in the books for this category.

Defense -- Stopping Epps is no easy thing to do. Murray and Morris are bona fide DI stars. The Cards made the stops when they needed to, though and created 19 turnovers and held UK under seventy. A small case "d" seems only fair here.

Final Fred total:  -_R-E-d


WHAT WE LIKED: 


-- Beating the Rival. Always good to knock off a top 20 team. Even better when it's UK. The fans have been clamoring for it, the players wanted it and it happened. After the two-game loss streak, this win was desperately needed and earned. 

-- Myisha Hines-ALL OVER!. The talented junior stood up when she was most needed and delivered the goods. 18 points in the final 25 minutes and showed grit, determination and the refuse-to-lose mentality. No one was more happier about this win than her. When I asked her post-game how it felt to beat UK, she responded with "Oh, Buddy ! That's all I got to say...Oh, Buddy!"

-- Non-collapsible. The Cards did not fold or collapse in crunch time. UK did everything they could to win this contest and held what looked to be a tough lead to overcome late. Louisville did. 

-- Walz. He could have shied away from the constant comments about his post-game remarks after Maryland. He did not. He met them straight forward, reinforced his beliefs in them again and expounded upon them. That's a sign of character...and he backed it up with a win and acknowledgement that he was proud of his players' effort. 


THINGS TO WORK ON

-- Free Throws -- We hate to harp on it...but 45% from the foul line isn't going to get you to a National championship. Mariya Moore was the best at 5-8...but that isn't even 70%. Gotta hit the ones you aren't guarded on. 

-- Inside excellence -- Way too many shots in the paint missed. Layups, putbacks. There is a box behind the basket and if a player uses it, good things usually follow. Yes, UK was ferocious on interior defense...but wide open layups have to go in. 


SO...


This contest was like a prize fight between two top flight light-heavyweight contenders. Each participant slugging in out. No one getting knocked out but each on the ropes several times. Each team with brilliant moments and each with a few that were...well, awful. 

In the end, the Cards get the decision. An earned decision. Earned by the 'refuse to lose' mind-set of Hines-Allen, B.J., Cortnee and their teammates. It was just a "W" in the books...but it may have been an opening bell for the Cards that showed them they can beat the best and take the blows. 

From the swagger and strut of Epps to the floor slides and dives of Jackson...this one had a Final Four atmosphere and feel. Louisville was the last one standing and just enough better to matter on Sunday.  

POST-GAME

Myisha Hines-Allen and Briahanna Jackson took to the podium first. Here's the link: MYISHA HINES-ALLEN and BRIAHANNA JACKSON post UK

Jeff Walz ascended to the platform next and was entertained by a duck and taught Paulie a new theorem. Link: JEFF WALZ POST-GAME KENTUCKY

Matthew Mitchell, Makaya Epps and Taylor Murray following to discuss the game 
LINK: MATTHEW MITCHELL discusses loss to Louisville


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GOING BOWLING!!!

Congrats to Louisville Football...selected for the Citrus Bowl. The Cards will play LSU at 11 a.m. on Dec. 31st in Orlando at Camping World Stadium. We're glad the Cards are headed to warm weather for this one.

We'll have more on this as the event draws near. 



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BROHM TO PURDUE

One of the best quarterbacks to take snaps at UofL and NFL star Jeff Brohm has left WKU for Purdue. A six million deal, from what we're hearing. A nice upgrade.

Brohm will face a task in getting Purdue back to football relevance. Brohm will face it head on and bring an exciting style of quarterback featured attack offense to the Boilermakers. 

You'll also be getting a Brohm family, West Lafayetters...that prides itself in community and campus involvement. Don't be surprised if you see the Brohm's at women's basketball, community service projects...or dining at the restaurant you like. 

Purdue just may have done something right for the first time in a long time when it comes to pigskin play.  To paraphrase the old UofL chant....


GO!  BROHM! LEAD! PURDUE!  


paulie
xxxxx




18 comments:

  1. Told you Taylor Murray and Maci Morris were good Hoopgurlz #55 and #58 when our B. Jones was HG #40 same class. Give Kentucky credit. They lose half their team and have two post/forwards and still take us to OT on our home court. My interest in the Cards is waning so I will be giving up my posting to real Cards fans. Good luck Cards!

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    1. No doubt that Murray and Morris came in and gave it their all. Also Akhator, who battled hard but was limited by fouls.

      Wade, your comments here are welcome anytime and we look forward to them. This comments section is for all...real Cards fans or not.

      Paulie

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    2. Hey Wade - I agree with Paulie...keep the comments coming. There's no doubt that the West Coast, particularly PAC 12 WBB is back on track and nationally competitive so it's easy to understand why you're more focused out there now. Will be interesting to see how Cal does in league play.

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  2. What a incredible and lucky win for Louisville. They had a rough night from three-points range, free throws absolutely stunk and they couldn't stop Epps at all but the Cards got the win.
    I don't like how Walz downplays this series, though. Mitchell realizes the importance of it. Myisha knows what it means. This may be just a another win to some but for a lot of us it means quite a bit more.
    Good win for Louisville and hopefully a start to many more greater things this year. I am still hoarse. The Deb Factor.

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  3. "Oh, buddy! That's all I got to say is oh, buddy!" Thanks, Myisha! It's what Cardinal fans needed to hear.

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  4. Great takes, Paul. I slid over to ACCNetwork when I saw on Twitter that the game was going to overtime. It was certainly an eventful overtime. I noticed that there weren't nearly as many people there as I expected, nor was there as much blue in the stands. I had to give the guy with the UK suit and cowboy hat credit. I'd take it in red.

    Interesting to note, Louisville will be playing at 11AM in Orlando on New Year's Eve, Kentucky will kickoff in Jacksonville at 11AM on the same day (Taxslayer Bowl), and the men's basketball team will tip off at 12:30 in Indy against Indiana. Busy day for the area. I hope Florida is ready for both of those fanbases at once.

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  5. How about Briahanna Jackson....10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and no turnovers. And as for "FRED" --- while overall team defense was good but not great, gotta give BJ a "D"+ for her work on Epps. Epps made her first four shots with Moore guarding her, then was 4-15 with BJ checking her.

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    1. Incredible effort by B.J. and that was one tired little girl after that. She's very humble. Does what the team needs. They need defense, B.J. brings defense. Those eight assists were huge. She's a senior that "gets it" from having been there, done that, learning and listening.

      Paulie

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  6. Yes, Case. It was a battle. Excellent basketball no matter if you were a fan of either program or just a basketball fan in general. The attendance at 12245 has been higher in previous games against UK...I expected around 14000 or so. It was a lively crowd, though.

    Cats and Cards fans sharing I-65 at the same time in numbers? Expect run-offs, rest stop battles and failure to use turn-signals. Georgia has no idea what is in store for them., much less Florida..LOL

    Paulie

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  7. Paulie, what's the scoop on Fuehring? I know you know...What a great win! Buddy...ohhh.buddy!!!

    Blue Lou

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    1. I gotta take the Sgt. Schultz approach here and tell you "I no nothing, Col. Hogan!" It was a coaches decision. I heard she was in the arena, in the seats watching and then left. Quite honestly, I've been in full research mode on the newest Walzian theorem ( 1 now and 1 later = 2). I will say that I trust in coach and whatever he decides is best for the team. If I hear anything, we'll certainly share.

      Paulie

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    2. You know something, Paulie. Give it up.

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    3. Honestly! I don't! I do know that if you put Epps and BJ on the same team...you'd have Final Four quality guards and two tough lil' ladies. Morris, while good, just doesn't impress me all that much when compared to the hype surrounding her when she came in. She plays "matador" defense.

      Paulie

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  8. That was a fantastic game to watch! Somehow, a bag of potato chips ended up all over my couch and carpet in the "Dave Cave" -- a place where I watch my sporting events. My youngest daughter refused to watch UofL free throws -- claiming her witnessing them somehow altered the trajectory. 15 hours away from the scene.

    Briahanna Jackson for Energy Czar.

    In a contest that was Elite Eight quality if not better, a UK team rebuilt on the fly over the summer showed that if you have 2 or 3 great players, you can do about anything. They almost got their sixth in a row, but, as I type this and see my UofL flag flapping ever so gently beneath my American flag -- I am content, happy and proud of "Yeah, Buddy!' Hines-Allen, my Florida gals Jackson and Jones and the "not in our house or our city" skin-of-the-teeth win that Walz's Warriors produced. Weep no more, Cardinal ladies!

    MrWatsonIPresume
    David Watson

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  9. The shots are falling for BJ early on here in the season, but she's a gamer. She's gonna defend, rebound, mix it up. Watching her on Epps in the second half was a delight, especially since Epps is a gamer too. The ball is her hands more and she's more offensively talented than BJ, but they have that same spirit. Close game against a team that's obviously not a full strength, but it's a rivalry game, and you should expect nothing less.

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  10. Just a shoutout to Chance Dugan and her Bellarmine WBB squad. They are 8-0 and have only had one home game.

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    1. Absolutely! What a great person she is and has been a favorite of mine since she got her. Maybe even before that...she was at FAU before BU and my niece used to go watch FAU WBB and was a big fan of hers.

      BU is lucky to have her and she's a winner. Sacred Heart girl, too...so you gotta love that.

      Paulie

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