Louisville women's Basketball vs. UT-Martin tonight! -- Lamar and Lacrosse -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB FACES SKYHAWKS TONIGHT IN THE KFC YUM! CENTER

"Yep, JC is giving herself an upgrade...." 

Fresh off eking out a 68-64 Sunday win over a tough South Dakota State team in Brookings, S.D., the Cards return to the friendly confines of the KFC YUM! Center to take on the UT Martin Skyhawks tonight at 7 p.m. 

I wasn't able to watch the close one in South Dakota because I was at the Louisville men's game against Seton Hall down by the Ohio River. A heartbreaking loss for David Padgett's team -- all things considered, I would have rather been in South Dakota. Trying to follow updates of a close game while watching another game is frustrating. The frustratingly erratic MBB squad had a chance to win this one and kept my head pounding and heart racing. 

The consolation was I was able to maneuver down to nice end zone seats . (Thanks to the students that didn't claim their tickets -- this old lady was able to sneak into their area in the lower bowl).

Having missed both women's away games and unable to watch replays had me feeling a bit disconnected. On the plus side, Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel...who I saw Thursday night...consoled my disconnect by throwing me an "L" and declaring "Go Cards!" Luckily, Paulie and Case shared great recaps here at Cardinal Couple and kept me in the loop. 

Now at 8-0, the #4 Louisville women's basketball squad have tied their second-best start ever and have a good shot at beating the 15-0 start that they got off to in the 2006-07 season. Tom Collen was Louisville's head coach back then and got the Angel McCoughtry led squad to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

"All together now...3 is better than 2 !!" 

Jeff Walz leads Louisville WBB into the first of a four-game home-stand tonight. The Cards will play four schools from Tennessee in the next eight days (UT-Martin, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee and Tennessee State). The Cards are used to quick turnarounds this year and these games should allow Walz to go deep in the player rotation and get the bench some significant experience. 

UT-Martin (3-4) is coming off a disappointing 87-82 overtime loss at Chattanooga Saturday. The Skyhawks shot a blistering 60.4 % from the floor. Their leading scorer is sophomore guard Kendall Spray, who averages 17.1 points per game. Three other starters, Emanye Robertson, Chelsey Perry and Janekia Mason are also averaging in double digit scoring. There are three Kentuckians on the Skyhawk roster, including sophomore guard Tamiah Stanford, who played her high-school ball at nearby North Hardin H.S. in Radcliff, KY. 

The Skyhawks seem over matched tonight. They are 0-32 against ranked team in program history and that dubious streak doesn't appear to be in jeopardy tonight. They do force 21 turnovers a contest, 35th. best in DI ball, so the Cards guards will need to be mindful of the orange orb. I expect Louisville's stifling defense to force a few "bakery items" as well.

                                      >>>>>> JC PREDICTIONS <<<<<<

-- Myisha Hines-Allen will not get her 34th career double-double tonight. Not because of lack of effort but because I expect the reserves will see the majority of minutes once the Cards jump out to a significant lead. Better be a baller early, DOOO-BLAY. 

-- Jessica Laemmle and Retta Kakala will see floor time and score. 

-- Bionca Dunham will take a step forward and have a strong game. She may get the double-double honors tonight. 

-- Jazmine Jones should put on a show, both on the court and on the Cardinal sidelines. Watch for dancing feet, flailing arms and twirling towels from the flamboyant sophomore out of Tallahassee. And that's just in the pre-game warm ups...

-- Coach Walz will praise the officiating. (OK, that one was just to see if you were paying attention.) 

Make plans to come downtown tonight and be in the KFC YUM! Center before 7 p.m. It should be a fun distraction for the students facing finals week. It's also Faculty/Staff Appreciation night. Catch up with that professor who kindly gave you a "B" for the "C" work you did in Quantum Physics and get "teach" some nachos!   


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LACROSSE SIGNS 10

Recently hired UofL Lacrosse head coach Scott Teeter doesn't procrastinate. He's hit the ground running and garnered 10 commitments for the 2018 Lacrosse student-athlete roster. Teeter doing work to replenish a roster devastated by defections under the previous coaching staff. 

Welcome to the Ville Shay Clevenger, Kelly Coughlan, Courtney Deena, Madison McFadden, Kirsten Parker, Kristen Pezzullo, Mason Plymire, Paige Richbourg, Jen Scaff and hometown girl Elizabeth Janes from South Oldham high school. We now know where the team cookout will be held, right?  

Still no announcement on who Scott's staff and assistant coaches will be yet. The season begins Feb. 4th when Vermont comes to the L.L.S. 




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LAMARVELOUS

Congratulations to Lamar Jackson for getting a finalist invite to the Heisman Trophy award ceremony Saturday night in New York. The consensus seems to be that, despite Jackson putting up better numbers, Baker Mayfield...QB from Oklahoma...is the clear front-runner to win the award. 

Here's hoping the voters choose the best player despite team records. Lamar has always represented himself and Louisville with class and style and that makes him a winner in my book. We get (at least) one more chance to watch his fantastic skills when UofL plays Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Dec. 30th. in Jacksonville. Noon kickoff. 

Jackson in Jacksonville. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  


JC Sullivan