LAX CARDS HEADING TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
The LaxCards are headed to Happy Valley and the Penn State campus to begin their NCAA quest. They'll face James Madison first on Friday, May 12th. in University Park...the winner to face #4 seed Penn State on Sunday.
Although the two squads have never met, Louisville head coach Kellie Young arrived at Louisville 10 years ago to take the head coaching job after being the head coach at James Madison. It would be another first if the Cards advanced...they have never played Penn State either.
Coach Young on the selection:
This selection is one of the most proud moments in my coaching career. This team and these players have worked every day to move us forward and make it clear that we are hear to stay. Now it is a new season and time to prove our footing on the national scene.
It is the fourth consecutive year the the LaxCards have made the tournament. Louisville received one of the 13 at-large bids...probably due to the win over Syracuse near the end of the season. The two schools are joined in the 26-team tournament field by four other ACC participants...Virginia, #2 seed North Carolina, Boston College and Notre Dame. We'll have more on this Friday.
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SOFTBALL SWEEPS NC STATE, GETS #2 SEED FOR ACC TOURNEY
The Cards got all they needed in the first when Morgan Meyer singled to start the game and scored on a Becker single. In the third inning, Louisville added two more runs..."Mike" Alison Szydlowski and Jordan McNary singled and came home on a Becker double.
Becker moved from DH to pitcher in the fourth when the Wolfpack loaded the bases on starter Megan Hensley with one out. The Oregonian senior proceeded to strike out the next two batters to get the Cards out of danger.
Nicole Pufahl made it 4-0 with a bomb to left center in the fourth. The Cards added three more in the sixth...Jenna Jordan's two run fence-clearer and a Pufahl single that got pinch-runner Michala Riggle to the plate. The win, coupled with a Boston College loss to Notre Dame, propelled Louisville to a second place finish in the league. They'll begin the ACC Tournament against North Carolina State on Thursday...5 p.m. first pitch scheduled at Anderson Stadium on the North Carolina campus.
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SHONI WILL SIT FOR THE 2017 WNBA SEASON
"I'm very grateful to the New York Liberty for allowing me to take this season to deal with some personal issues. I look forward to rejoining them next year."
Schimmel began her career at Atlanta and was selected for the WNBA All-Star game where she received the MVP award. A season of ups-and-downs that first year for her
The success she had in producing the occasional excellent game came less often in her second season with the Dream. Schimmel’s points, assists, and win shares per 48 minutes all dropped; she still went for 7.6 points, 2.5 boards, and 3.2 assists, earning her a second-straight All-Star Game appearance. The second nod from the fans was not enough for Atlanta, though, which traded Shoni to the Liberty for a second-round pick at the end of the season, reportedly in part because Schimmel appeared for training camp and games during the regular season out of shape.
Schimmel looked to be in fine condition this past season, but she struggled to earn minutes or produce on the court with the Liberty, coming off the bench to play in 17 games before a concussion sidelined her for the remainder of the season. She finished the season averaging 2.1 points and 0.6 assists per contest.
However it turns out for Shoni, we hope it is for the best and we see her back on the court with that flash and style we came to love.
paulie
Sorry to hear that about Shoni.
ReplyDeleteHope it's something beyond her control - something other than weight or lack of conditioning. She and Jude are/were big role models for young Native American women. I hope that can continue.
Agreed, whatever it is, I hope Shoni can shake it and get back out there. So many great college memories. How ironic that her and Angel are both taking the season off, right?
ReplyDelete-- The Real Joe Hill --
James Madison is an opponent to be feared in WLAX. They beat Virginia Tech...narrowly lost to UNC and UVA.
ReplyDeleteShoni has always done it her way. This is just more of the same and good for her. I'm doubting given her background she's too excited about playing in New York or for world class cheap shot artist Laimbeer. I've got my issues with Walz but he understood that the most important fact about Shoni was going to be her offensive creativity...not her defensive stopping power.
ReplyDeleteEveryone knew that Shoni needed to get stronger on defense but Cooper and Laimbeer should have tried harder to understand what they had when they had it and coached to what they were trying to do...just saying.
It's all Space In Time...she owned her time at UL and even if she never plays organized ball again she'll own what she did as a Card and will remain a legend.
I'm thinking that she watched Jude playing in Spain this year and did the math. She can make multiples of her W salary overseas and maybe get a chance to play with Jude again. Seems to me that's what matters to the Schimmels. Only downside for them is not playing in front of native fans. That may be the trade off. They'll have time in the future to do more for natives.
With no insights into the personal issues that have her taking a seat in the WNBA this season...the overseas speculation is one that may possibly have some realistic merit. The money is across the water. It's why more than just a few are arriving late for the WNBA season...or going back during the WNBA season...to compete for their squads abroad.
DeleteWhether there will be more on the saga of Shoni or not remains to be seen...maybe Jude's next book could be about it...the main wish here and hope is that she handles whatever personal issues that are currently going on with her right now successfully and basketball can wait when it comes to something like that.
Shoni, at one time, was all about the game. At least from and offensive and scoring perspective. Walz knew full in that she wasn't going to win the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award...or that she wouldn't be the player he'd put on the opponent's main scoring threat. He did know about her firepower when the ball was in her hands, though, and granted a waiver to the Walzian Theory that defense wins you playing time. They also had Tia Gibbs, a solid defensive stopper at guard and Jude, who was fairly good defensively.
Paulie
If Shoni and Jude get hooked up on the same club overseas look out. It will be another "event"...especially with Jude's Nike branding.
DeleteDon't want to be negative but I'm trying to get as excited about ULWBB as I was back in the day. I do think Hines-Allen, Durr, Shook, Jones could do some damage next year. They just gotta get dialed in.
Don't forget about syd the kid Z,oh AC also!
DeleteAgreed. I missed on Syd...she's got the stroke. I like AC but she has been limited offensively so if she's going to make a difference it will probably be with her being a totally dialed in point guard...al la Jude with a strong assist to turnover ratio and good free throw efficiency. That said she seems like a great kid and I'd love to see her knock it out of the park after her injury redshirt adventures.
DeleteDidn't know that Jude played in Spaim or that was an option for Shoni this srason. Sounds like a smart business decision.
ReplyDelete