Louisville women's basketball -- Cards shut down BC 68-43...Softball and Lacrosse get wins...MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB HOLDS BC TO 27% SHOOTING IN WIN

The adage is...offense fills seats and defense wins games came to pass yesterday in the KFC YUM! Center in the Louisville vs. Boston College women's college basketball game. The Cards held Boston College to 28.1% from the floor and 9306 filled the seats to watch the Cards shoot 46.3% and get an overall strong offensive performance from multiple players in the 25-point win. 

Louisville (22-6, 9-4) shut down the Eagles early and went on a 14-2 first quarter run that spanned the first nine minutes. Emphasizing the inside game, Kylee Shook, Myisha Hines-Allen, Cortnee Walton and Taylor Johnson all scored for the Cards and the first ten minutes ended with Louisville leading 14-4. UofL held Boston College (9-17, 2-11) to 2 for 16 shooting (12.5%) and was doing it with two regular starters...the usual beginning guard contingent...watching from the bench. 

Briahanna Jackson was sidelined with continuing back spasms and Asia Durr sat out the contest...serving a one game, unspecified violation of team violation of rules suspension. Mariya Moore sat out the second half with sore feet. 

The Cards continued the stifling defense in the second quarter and Louisville received significant sparks from Sam Fuehring and Jazmine Jones to push the advantage to 35-16 at the half. The Eagles were still on ice...with a 7-29 shooting (24.1%) mark and Louisville had forced nine B.C. turnovers. The Cards were controlling the boards 27-12 and had scored 12 points off turnovers...plus eight points on second chance baskets. 

Nine Cardinals had played at least six minutes....Hines-Allen leading the scoring with eight points and nine rebounds. Jones and Shook had six each and the UofL defense had held B.C.'s leading scorer Kelly Hughes to just three shots and zero points. The 16 Eagles points tied for the third-fewest points in a half by a Louisville opponent this season. 

Shook started the third quarter on a tear for the Cards...scoring eight of Louisville's first nine points...and after her second three of the period made it 44-18 Louisville...B.C. coach Erik Johnson called a timeout to refocus his squad. The Cards went back to the inside attack after that and took a 50-27 edge into the final period. 

Walz emptied the bench for the majority of the fourth and Brianna "Jonesy" Jones, Jessica Laemmle, Syd Zambrotta and Bionca Dunham all scored...Dunham getting the final six Cardinal points...Walton was the only starter who scored in the final ten...early in the quarter...and Louisville breezed home to the 68-43 triumph. 

A lot of things to comment about in this one. B.C. made only two threes...one by Hughes...who ended with just three points. All the Cards who played scored. That is the first time this season that has happened. 33 bench points. 34 points in the paint. A 50-25 rebounding edge. Yes, the Eagles are at the bottom of the conference standings...so, maybe a big win was expected here...but the fashion in which the Cards did it and the stellar defense were pleasant surprises. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Louisville gardening expert...the late
Fred Wiche. 

Free Throws -- 16-20...which is a solid 80%. Seven Cards attempted them. Sam "leaning to the left" Fuehring hit all four of hers and three other Cards are perfect from the line also in multiple attempts. Here's your capital "F".  

Rebounding -- The Cards ruled the boards with a 50-25 rebounding advantage. Hines-Allen with 13 and Ciera Johnson grabbed eight in 17 minutes of action. All 12 Cardinals had at least one except Fuehring and Laemmle recorded a career high with three. We proudly award a capital "R" here. 

Effort/Execution -- The Cards got good minutes out of all who took the court. 34-22 points in the paint edge, 15-4 on second chance points, 46.3% shooting and 21 points off of 14 turnovers. No extended offensive woes. A capital "E" is up.

Defense -- One of the best efforts of the season. Forcing 14 turnovers with their starting guards sitting. Allowing less than 30% shooting. Six steals and 2 for 17 three-point shooting for the Eagles. 43 points. We'll complete the capital sweep with a capital "D". 

FINAL FRED COUNT:  F-R-E-D


THINGS WE LIKED

Inside Dominance -- Excellent efforts Sunday from Hines-Allen (who claims she's a guard now) Fuehring, Shook, Ciera, Bionca and Cortnee. No drop-off... no matter what combination was prowling the paint. 

Freshman fantastic --  The six freshmen combined for 39 points and 24 rebounds. They logged 92 of the 200 minutes available on the court. Walz put the challenge out for someone to step up and claim playing time and all six entered the race and made a statement. 

Overcoming Adversity -- With two starters out and Moore playing just 14 minutes...plus Hines-Allen coming back from a leg injury...one had to wonder how well the team would hold up. Just fine, thank you. All good here.  


THINGS TO WORK ON

-- Getting people back. The Cards have a week until their next game. That should allow Mariya's feet to rest, Briahanna's back to receive some relief and Asia to return. The ones who played Sunday did a fine job...no doubt about it...but most Cardinal fans would feel less stressed if these three are ready to go for UNC on Sunday. 

-- Turnovers. 19 for Louisville. Yes, with a depleted lineup and 12 people playing...but still a number we think is too high. Only seven from the six freshman. This number was not really a big factor in Sunday's game but against a Wake Forest or Virginia? The Walz Bakery was flourishing Sunday and we'd like to see it closed on Thursdays and weekends. 


SO...

"Mayor" Jer was in attendance and brought snacks! 

A fun romp in front of an appreciative crowd Sunday. Watching Kylee Shook's shooting, Jazmine Jones' athleticism, Bionca Dunham's tenacity and Myisha Hines-Allen's adaptability and dominance from where-ever Walz decides to play her was a good afternoon's entertainment. 

Disturbing..a bit...about the ailments with Moore and BJ. Disappointment over Asia sidelining herself. These are three players the Cards must have at full sail when tournament time surfaces....in our opinion. 

Against Boston College, who is not a great team, Walz probably could have gotten a win with Dunham, Zambrotta, Laemmle, "Jonesy" and Louie the Cardinal Bird. That's not a slap at the players...it's just a commentary on Boston College. They may be the last "weak sister" the Cards face the rest of the regular season. 


THEY SAID IT

MYISHA AND KYLEE DISCUSS THE WIN

( Myisha mis-interprets my question at the 4:40 mark...unless they've changed the ACC Tournament format.) 

JEFF WALZ POST GAME


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LACROSSE DOWNS ROBERT MORRIS 9-4

The Lou LAX squad got hat tricks from Meghan Siverson, Hannah Koloski and Heidi Smith and a strong Cardinal defensive effort kept visiting Robert Morris stymied in the 9-4 win Sunday at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

Hear Kellie Young's comments HERE

Unfortunately, we did not have a CARDINAL COUPLE contingent at the contest due to WBB and monitoring Softball coverage. We continue to be in a bit of a quandary why games and events sometimes run into overlapping playing times. A noon start would have made both games "do-able" for the fans (and us) and the LaxCards do have four noon starts on the schedule...so it isn't like they'd be going into un-chartered water. 

Nevertheless, after a quick turnaround that had them at Marquette Friday, Louisville jumped out to a 4-1 halftime lead on a windy day the the "Ellis" (LLS) by scoring the final three goals of the half.  The Cards also won the final half 5-4 to go to 3-0 on the season. Louisville held a 31-17 shot advantage. 

The Cards resume to action Saturday in Denver against the Pioneers.


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SOFTBALL FINISHES SPORTCO WITH A WIN

The University of Louisville Softball squad started the three-day Sportco Softball Classic with a bang...scoring 30 runs the first day. They ended their stay in Vegas with a 1-0 win over Indiana State. 

Maryssa Becker tossed the two-hit shutout for the Cards (4-1) and Nicole Pufahl provided the offense with a two-out second inning triple that scored Megan Hensley. Five games in three days...a busy and somewhat tiring start to the season. Still, Louisville showed they don't need an offensive barrage to win contests...but can provide fireworks at the plate. 

The hit-and-pitch Cards return to action Friday against Purdue in the ACC/BIG 10 challenge at UNC's diamond in Chapel Hill, NC. 


paulie
xxxxx