DESPITE DURR'S 31...CARDS FOLD AGAINST NOTRE DAME.
Durr and Moore combine for 49 in loss to #7 Notre Dame
Asia Durr turned in her second highest scoring performance of the season with 31 points..on 10 of 18 shooting. Mariya Moore, who was on the floor for 39 minutes along with Durr, was the Cards other double-figure performer with 18 points.
The Cards started this one pretty decently...holding a 10-6 lead with 5:38 left in the first...after Durr hit a jumper for her third basket of the game. Louisville would hold the lead until Kathryn Westbeld sank two straight jumpers from the home team to give them a 15-12 lead. By then, Jackson was on the bench with back spasms and Hines-Allen tried a minute of hobbling up and down the court before she was returned to her court-side seat. The Cards would never lead again. Notre Dame held a 19-14 advantage...going on a 10-2 run to finish the first ten minutes.
Durr tried to shoot the Cards back into contention with three third quarter threes and 13 points...she and Moore combined for 18 of the Cards 21 points in the quarter...but Louisville was only able to scratch the surface of the Irish lead and the Cards trailed 67-49 after three.
Disappointing to see the Irish gather their 10th straight win over the Cards. Louisville actually held a 38-35 scoring advantage in the second half...but the damage had been done early and UofL could not come back from it.
HOW DID FRED DO?
Free Throws -- The Cards had nine chances and made 12 of them for 75%. Durr was 8 for 10 from the charity stripe and Ciera Johnson 1-2. If it's over 70%, we award the capital "F". Rebounding -- The Cards lost the battle of the boards 35-33. A little more success from Johnson could have helped here...in 26 minutes, the Cardinal post only had two. A deficit usually mean no letter-awarded and that will hold true here.
Effort/Execution -- The Cards played pretty good and hustling basketball for about 28 minutes. It was the collapse to end the first and in the second where it looked like Louisville couldn't accomplish much of anything and Notre Dame could do not wrong. 45.5% shooting isn't bad...but 16 turnovers a bit too high. We'll award a small case "e"...mainly to the heroic efforts from Durr and Moore trying to save this game largely by themselves.
Defense -- Allowing 85 points on 50% shooting, forcing only three turnovers and getting only two steals are not impressive stats. Notre Dame seemed to be able to knock down the mid-range jumper whenever they felt like it. We can't award a letter for that effort.
FINAL FRED COUNT: F-_-e-_
WHAT WE LIKED
Fighting back. It would have been easy for the Cards to just go through the motions when they were down 18 points going into the final period...but they showed a little pride and desire and got close a couple of times in making the contest a single digit affair.
WHAT NEEDS WORK
The "C" word. Consistency. We hate beating a dead horse here...but the second quarter effort was hard to watch. Will this squad ever be able to put together 40 minutes of solid basketball?
Diminished assets. Playing Notre Dame in South Bend is a daunting task in itself. Without two starters, it becomes a horror story. We hope that B.J.'s back gets better and Myisha's knee improves. Quickly.
Who wants that role? Certainly...there were chances for Cardinal reserves to step up last night. Besides Ciera Johnson and a bit of Taylor Johnson...no one was able to lay claim to those roles. Jeff Walz wants eight players that are willing to put in the effort and work on a nightly basis. By our count, as of last night...he's still four short currently.
SO...
Getting beat on the road in ACC play by the #7 team in the nation is certainly no disgrace. It's just the manner in which it happened. Notre Dame certainly laid claim to being a Final Four contender last night. Five players in double figures mirrors what we said in Monday's article...that they can come as you in many directions.We hope the loss serves as a "wake-up call" to the Cards by showing them what is needed to be a national title contender. Yes, not having two starters definitely hindered the Cards chances. But...there is too much potential talent on this team for that to be a serious setback.
It comes down to this...who wants to be that step-up performer in the final five games, ACC Tournament and NCAA play?
THEY SAID IT
POST GAME MUFFET MCGRAW
paulie
xxxxx
It looked like we only had two players last night Asia and Mariya! I was in disbelief last night, to see two girls well over 6'2 Shook and Johnson and really did nothing much is unbelievable to me. And then when I saw Courtnee have an open shot under the basket and then dish it back outside. I was like the basket is the OTHER way! Honestly it was painful to watch! You bet they need Myisha and BJ to get better soon. And the girls on the bench look lost when put in the game. Wake up ladies there are 40 minutes to the game not 20!
ReplyDeletePlease remember that Kylee and Ciera are only freshman.
DeleteCortnee was more aggressive on the offense in last Night.I don't mind if cortnee missed jump shot.
It keeps that defense honest and she grabs rebounds.
Taylor has to continue to shoot the ball to gain confidence in her shot.
I don't think many of us thought we were going to take down ND based on how our club has played this year but I pretty much agree with Denise.
DeleteThe body language was negative overall. I got the impression that the kids didn't believe they a chance to beat the Irish without Hines-Allen in the lineup. While that might be objectively true it was also an opportunity for a bunch of kids to get a chance to play and step up to it. As Paulie noted only Moore and Durr showed up. How do we play an entire game and only force three turnovers and get two steals? We looked like we didn't belong on the same court with ND.
Sometimes in sports and in life opportunities come up when you least expect them and if you're smart you're ready when you get a chance. It's as disappointing an effort as I can remember.
As we all know knee problems in WBB are common and frequently serious. The timing of MHA's knee issues is unfortunate with the tourney coming up in a matter of weeks. We've got a bunch of kids that need to deal with that fact and get themselves ready for the tourney expecting to play real minutes.
My take on the game is,to beat Notre Dame you need four players scoring.It would have been a tall tasks to beat them with Maryria, Myisha & Asia playing well.
ReplyDeleteBe patient cards fans !!!The card will have more fire power next year.
DeleteArica and Dana @ the one.
Ciera & shook @ the five.
Who's Dana?
DeleteDana Evans is next years point guard,A High school McDonald's All American.
DeleteLouisville really missed BJ last night. It allowed Young to go off, who is normally much of a scorer for them. Also Hines-Allen. I'm not comfortable with the lack of information on her, though. What is Louisville trying to hide from the fan base?
ReplyDeleteThe next five should be a 5 game win streak which would send the Cards into the ACC Tournament at 25-6 and 12-4. Hopefully that gets them a #3 or #4 seed.
They have to find someone to step up when players are down though. Your walk on is getting eight minutes at point guard. They don't enter Zambrotta when they desperately need threes?
I'm no coach. Just a fan. Louisville was expected to lose this one, I get that. I just hoped for more out of the bench. I hope someone steps up and earns that playing time and then delivers when they get it. GO CARDS.
-- The Real Joe Hill --
Question: Sam Fuehring she plays hard but is her skill set progressing?
ReplyDeleteOne would have figured she would have seen a bunch of the minutes at the "4" with Myisha out. Maybe she had a bad couple days of practice.
DeletePaulie
It was an disappointing loss to Notre Dame but I suspected as much after BJ sat down and Myisha couldn't go. I keep hearing about 'they're only freshman' . My thoughts are that after 26 games, those freshmen are sophomores now and need to start making an impact. Ciera, Kylee and Jazmine are crucial if this team is going to make a run. Who knows where Sydney and Bionca fit into this mix? Jessica the little walk-on who really didn't look that bad running the offense last night except for the one turnover where Ogumbowale just basically took it away from her.
DeleteI can see them winning the final five but if Hines-Allen and Jackson are unable to go, it's time the freshmen start playing like sophomores.
Walz says he is looking for wight players to buy in. If they're healthy, it's Hines-Allen, BJ, Mariya, Cortnee, Asia, Kylee, Ciera and Jazmine. In my opinion. After that, you have to hope you can get something out of Sam and/or Taylor.
I am not giving up on this team one bit. I hope they don't give up on themselves. Someone besides Asia, Mariya and Cortnee have to give consistancy. The Deb Factor
Your 100% right! And let's remember Myisha and Mariya were also freshman and STEPPED UP! So as you said no excuses! All McDonald players right? 5 star players right? ACT LIKE IT!
DeleteMyisha & Maryia are baller, all mcdonald's are not equal. Big post players take time to develop.
DeleteForward & guards develop faster.
Painful night of basketball. Two TV's, two disappointing games. Both teams missing starters, but, imo, not a good excuse. Next player up. Been practicing all year. Ladies especially disappointing, Notre Dame made our defense look non existent. Gut check time for both squads. Can't worry about who is NOT available, worry about who is ready to step in.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that!
ReplyDeleteThe cards right in the middle of the pack in the ACC play @ 7-4
ReplyDeleteThe Virginia Tech game it's going to be a dog fight there.
Paulie... you lose MHA (your most consistent player, a double-double machine who is the only reliable go-to in the paint) and BJ (a fearless defender and excellent distributor who I think is the heart and soul of this team) and it's not a serious setback?
ReplyDeleteI'll agree that there is potential on the bench, but to replace two of your four best players on the road against a team like ND.......few teams are going to survive that.
Would they have beaten ND with five healthy starters? Maybe not, but the point spread was 8 1/2 and if I were a betting man (actually I am, but I limit my wagers to the ponies) I would have taken the points.
Oh, it is a serious setback...no doubt. Word is that MHA had a good practice Tuesday, though and will most likely be in Blacksburg and available for action against VT.
DeleteAnd, let's be honest. Did many of you think (besides the ever-optimistic Paulie) the Cards would go to South Bend and get a win? They could have brought back Shoni, Angel and A-Tay and still would have had a hard time against the Irish Monday night.
Paulie
Notre Dame isn't that great this year...they've lost to NCST and Tennessee. We should have taken NCST without MHA and Tennessee has lost eight games this year and just lost to Georgia who is in the bottom third of the SEC.
DeleteThe Irish are hardly a juggernaut until the team playing them makes them look like one.
Seeds don't matter, Syracuse was a 10th seed last year and made to the title game. Remember this team haven't peek yet.lots of basketball left.
ReplyDelete