CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE
We report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports here. Thanks for checking us out! Click the picture of Louie to hear the latest Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast!!

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Louisville Women's Basketball -- Cards roll past UT Martin 91-56 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE



CARDS PUT 5 IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN ROMP

( JARED ANDERSON BRINGS THE WEDNESDAY COLUMN FOR US) 

Another day, another win. 


The Louisville women had no trouble dismantling UT Martin in the KFC YUM! Center last night. Five players scored in double figures for the Cards, led by Myisha Hines-Allen's (DOOO-BLAY) 16 points. The irony, though, is that she did not record a double-double with just eight rebounds. 

This game wasn't supposed to be close and the Cards assured that by storming out to a 29-9 first quarter advantage. The Skyhawks could not handle Louisville's full-court pressure early and ended up committing 22 turnovers. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz called off the press after the first quarter. More importantly, the Cards managed 35 points off turnovers. You must make your opponents pay for mistakes and Walz's team did that. 


Cheerleaders help out with a stuck ball. Or is she dunking? 
We saw 10 Cardinals get playing time -- anywhere from 16-26 minutes -- in a balanced distribution of court time. One face missing from playing time was Retta Kakala. Walz discussed in his post-game presser the she was going through a few things and that the staff was working with her on them and that we would hear more in a week or so. Post-game speculation among the media centered around a possible transfer or a red-shirt but nothing has been confirmed. 

This was a good game to allow everyone ample playing time since it was a lesser opponent and with three more games in seven days coming up at the YUM! the distribution makes sense. It is also finals week at UofL so care is being taken to not drain the roster physically and mentally. 


After the conclusion of the first quarter the Cards worked on improvement of their half-court defense. That met with mixed results -- Louisville only outscored the SkyHawks by one but reserve Jess Laemmle, our favorite Attack Yorkie, directed the offense from the point for eight of those minutes with Hines-Allen, Kylee Shook, Arica Carter and Asia Durr primarily on the court with her. Walz implemented a few halftime adjustments and they worked well -- UofL outscored UTM by eight points in the third session and six points in the fourth period. 

I was impressed with the play of Sydney Zambrotta last night. Syd came into the program known as a three-point specialist, which she has done since day one of being on campus. The sophomore from New Babylon, NY has improved her defense drastically as well as worked diligently on ball control. She dropped 13 points last night -- including a team high three-pointers -- and had two steals and no turnovers. 

Arica Carter put on a nice show for the 6279 in attendance. She added 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. A nice stat line for the redshirt-junior starting point guard. The zero turnovers are impressive for 21 minutes of court-time. 


THE JARED REPORT


Paulie , Charlie  andAl have spotted something...is it Jared
inside the scoreboard? 
J - JUMP SHOTS. Louisville shot 52.3% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc. The Cards were 40% or better each quarter. There were too many missed layups but it's hard not to be happy when you make over half your shots. A CAPITAL "J". 

A- ASSISTS. Dana Evans and Carter combined for 10 of the 21 assists last night. That is A LOT OF ASSISTS compared to UT-Martin's 10 for the night. The guards did a great job of finding the open players for some easy buckets. A CAPITAL "A"

R - REBOUNDS. UofL snagged 43 rebounds and 29 were on the defensive end. UTM finished with 34 rebounds and 19 were on the defensive side of Denny Crum Court. I like seeing the Cards 43 grabs but I don't like allowing an opponent 34 and 15 of them being offensive-generated. Better blocking-out is needed. I can only give a lower case "r" here. 


E - EFFORT. The overall team effort impressed me. With so many games in so few days plus dealing with academics it's easy to get distracted or half-hustle it against a mid-major. All 10 players that saw the court hustled and bustled their butts up and down the court (and off the court -- did you see Asia Durr hurdling over the scorer's table for a save of a loose ball?) All this with Walz changing things up with different looks and wholesale substitution patterns. The team adjusted well and I can issue A CAPITAL "E" here. 

D- DEFENSE. Holding an opponent to 56 works. Especially in a up-tempo game. Keeping them at 32.8% shooting is pretty good, too.  UTM managed just 9-14 free throw shooting as well (64.3%). Excellent pep-band prevent defense a factor there. Forcing 22 turnovers kept the bakery open until the game ended and the 35 points from them is quite impressive. THE CARDS EARNED THE CAPITAL "D" I'M AWARDING THEM. 

J-A-r-E-D.  Almost perfect. 
Next head coach of the Steelers? 

On a side note, Coach Walz was pleased with the free-throw shooting once again. 80% will effect such a response. Durr was a perfect 4-4. Walz did joke that they spend more time practicing free ones since they don't practice dunking. On the four misses from the charity stripe, there were no "3 is better than 2" conversions. Walz didn't mention that. He's also a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan and boasted he was texting people near midnight Monday with the words "Who dey?" after the Steelers came back to beat the Bengals. 

Whatever, coach. 

Vanderbilt visits next. Their 3-5 record doesn't do a historically good program justice. The Commodores have has opportunities in every game to win but have fallen short in a few. Fill those seats for a potential dogfight Thursday night.

POST GAME AUDIO: WALZ

POST GAME AUDIO: JAZZ and ARICA discuss the win


VOLLEYBALL


Dani Busboom Kelly was named AVCA East Region Coach of the Year yesterday. In her first year as the Wide Net Girls skipper, she led the Cards to an ACC title and a undefeated home record against ACC opponents. 

Melanie McHenry and Wilma Rivera were named to the AVCA All-East Region First Team. Both players were consistent all year and provided great leadership. More good news. They're back for 2018. 

Molly Sauer, Tess Clark, Maggie DeJong and Jasmine Bennett gathered second-team honors. The dynamic duo of Tess and Maggie are graduating but Jasmine and Molly return.


FIELD HOCKEY

Despite their season being over for a few weeks, the Stick Girls garnered some attention this week. Senior Nicole Woods and junior Ayeshia McFerran were selected to the First Team All-American squad and junior Taylor Stone was selected for third team honors. What? No Minnie Mink awards? 

The three additions push Louisville's All-American totals since 2001 to a whopping 18. Coach Sowry has to be pleased with that. Maybe Minnie and Katie Walsh join the club next season. 

JARED'S CORNER


If you're in town and looking to get into the holiday spirit I will be performing with a couple local musical groups during their Christmas concerts. It's a little different than the fantastic music WCHQ plays on a regular basis, but it is live and local. 

Tuba Christmas will be held on the main stage at Fourth Street Live on Saturday, Dec. 16th at 1 p.m. The Louisville Winds will perform at Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church on Sunday Dec. 17th at 3 p.m. Both concerts are free and a wonderful opportunity to come see the man with the music degree do something besides changing $20's into $5's and $10's. 

As always, keep cheering on the Cards. They ARE off probation from accreditation now so good news is continuing to come in on the Belknap Campus. 

(Photos today from Jared Anderson, Julie Sullivan and Frank the Wonder Mule) 

Go Cards! 
Jared Anderson  

24 comments:

  1. The Bird Lady12/06/2017 9:29 AM

    Great write up Jared! Felt like I was right there ... Oh wait ��

    Vandy will give us a good opportunity to test the half court offense on a tough opponenet. With rivalry game just over a week away we need to be sharp. Finish those finals ladies because you have a big test on the 17th. I'll be there helping negate a hostile environment

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree. Great write-up! Paulie, you got people that bring it every day! Watched on the ACC Network last night and did I see Deb Antonelli there and why wasn't she broadcasting? Is she going to pull a Beth Burns and join the staff as an executive administrative associate or something?

    -- The Real Joe Hill --

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I am please with our writer lineup. And, yes, that was Deb. She was in town a day early to catch some WBB before she calls the UofL men's basketball game tonight.

      I got to chat with her in the Media Room. Once again, she declined my marriage proposal. Seems she's already married, but so am I so...

      She's a big fan of this UofL WBB squad. Despite being a NC Wolfpack alum, she displays good sense about good basketball. And, she could probably get me "in" with Ms. Wuf.

      No plans I know of, Joe, for her to pack up and move to Da Ville and join Walz's staff. She's good with her sports broadcasting career and enjoyed the media buffet. Best in the nation.

      Paulie

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    2. A good but not eyeball popping effort last night from what I saw. Louisville took care of business, won as expected and Walz played a bunch of players. I still believe that they haven't reached their full potential.

      As an aside, I heard Paulie with the Sports Shorts segment on WCHQ 100.9 this morning. Best two minute reap out there on radio, Paulie. Keep them coming! I'm becoming a fan of this station. Had troble receiving it in New Albany at first but once I downloaded the app, it's smooth sailing. The Morning Guys Bryce and Kevin seriously aren't right. Funny as all hell. Best morning show on radio.

      I had fun at the game last night. It might have been because I got in to the Bourbon Bar illegally and watched a lot of it in there. It set me back a few bucks but I really enjoyed it. I saw you sitting there with Hizzoner the Mayor For Life Jer but why did he leave so early?

      Curtis "Three Z !!!" Franklin

      Delete
  3. Nice piece. Pleasantly surprised with AC so far this year...if she can just hit a Tre once in a while to keep other clubs honest she'll be where she needs to be. Impressed with Laemmle too. She works it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Im so proud of AC ,she's playing good basketball on both ends of the court.
    PS my home town girl Bionca is killing the boards but needs a 15 foot jump shot!
    MLW

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  5. The Cards have impressed so far. ACC will prove to be a bit rougher stretch but one step at a time, right?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Who the heck is Frank the Wonder Mule, Paulie? Another staff animal?

    Keep kicking out the great reads, you fine writers!

    Dave-O
    David Watson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Timmy the Intern brought Frank home one day in exchange for a broken banana daiquiri machine he found deep in the dark recesses of Cardinal Couple Worldwide Enterprises. Frank keeps the yard trimmed, chases pesky squirrels away from the bird feeder and has developed a fondness for taking snapshots with his over-sized Samsung smartphone. He also likes gin and the Bee Gees.

      Paulie

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    2. We're still trying to figure out how to get Frank the Wonder Mule and Touchdown Squirrel to play nice together.

      Delete
    3. We did offer Frank to a local TV sports department. He was returned after one day...seems he likes the chew on cables.

      Paule

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  7. Too bad MHA didn't get her double double! But only 20 min. Of playing time so not too bad. This is like her second or third game that no doubt she could have had dbl dbl but she was taken out of the game but had like 8 rebounds each time. She could have easily had two or three more under her belt! She has been outstanding so far this year! ACC player of the year? A complete player!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed, Myisha has all the tools she can take over a game.
      MLW

      Delete
  8. Question
    What going on with Loretta Kakala she did'nt play last nite.
    MLW

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Bird Lady12/06/2017 7:47 PM

    Coach said in presser that she and coaches are working out some issues ... Not a discipline issue ... And they would have more to say in a few days.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi,

    You did a very good job containing us last night and it was pretty obvious that we were not much competition for the Cards. Best of luck the rest of the way. I'll be following the site and rooting for your Cardinals the rest of the year, along with my SkyHawks. Congratulations on a nice win.

    Darrell
    Martin, Tn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck in the OVC, Darrell. You have talent on that team. I love Spray, Perry and Waldrop's games. Taylor looks like she could be a big asset also.

      Paulie

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    2. Taylor and Spray can bury the three but our major weakness is height and rebounding. Any chance Shook wants to transfer? J/K. I like her game.

      Darrell
      Martin, TN

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  11. i got to ask what is it with coach walz and running off bigs seriously first it was degreat then johnson and now maybe retta if he loses this one and no girl over 6 foot 2 will ever look at uofl again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uh, anonymous...last I check we had Shook, Dunham, Fuehring and Hines-Allen on the roster. They're kinda tall. You count Jazz's "poof" hairstyle and she's about 6'4".

      Nothing definite on Retta yet and in DeGrate and Johnson's case, it was homesickness not a coach running them off.

      Don't jump to conclusions. THe only player I ever Walz running off was me when I was trying threes and they wanted to start practice.

      Paulie

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  12. Jared, great post as always. One thing I would ask. Please substitute "Wide Net Cards" for "wide net girls" and "Stick Girls" should be Stick Cards. Although there may be a player or two under 18, I think most of them are not and therefore are women, not girls. Changing language changes attitudes and culture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In all fairness and disclosure, it was I who inserted Wide Net Girls and Stick Girls into Jared's article while I was proof-reading and spell-checking.

      I will certainly take your suggestion under advisement and make the neccessary changes in future articles. The players often refer to themselves as girls in conversations...but you are right in assuming that most are over 18.

      I will send Frank the Wonder Mule and Timmy to campus to see if we have bruised any feelings and also to distribute Cardinal Couple business cards. As soon as they return from Panera with the Cardinal Couple Corporate debit card.

      Paulie

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  13. Vivian - Really? Maybe I lost something in the translation...I thought CC was here to support UL women's sports...not to change attitudes and culture. Did I miss the memo?

    That said I'm thinking if you want to build a web site and organization to change attitudes and culture in some way you are totally free to do so. Absent that it seems to me that Paulie and crew have done nothing other than unselfishly promote women's sports for oh, I don't know...the last decade or so. So what exactly is your problem?

    Short of a cogent response I suggest you find another forum to fight for social justice. CC is and has always been about women' sports. Save your gender politics for someone that's buying your program.

    Seriously,
    Burn

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  14. We did find out last night that Loretta Kakala will red-shirt this season. Probably a good idea as she works to get in college shape.

    Paulie

    ReplyDelete

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