CARDINAL COUPLE

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Thursday, December 21, 2017

Louisville women's basketball -- Without Durr, Carter...Cards get by Air Force -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE



HINES ALLEN 16 POINTS, SHOOK 13 REBOUNDS PACE CARDS


The University of Louisville women's basketball team is off for the Holidays now and maybe that's a good thing. A 62-50 win over Air Force Academy was less than convincing Wednesday afternoon in Colorado Springs. 

Without Asia Durr (back spasms) and Arica Carter (foot injury) Louisville put just eight active players on the court to tangle with the win-less Falcons. A starting lineup for the Cards that surprisingly didn't include home-town sophomore Kylee Shook. Walz sent out Sydney Zambrotta, Dana Evans, Myisha Hines-Allen, Jazmine Jones and Sam Fuehring to face the Falcons but substituted liberally throughout the game...and everyone saw at least 14 minutes. Syd totaled 34 in a game that saw some pluses but some glaring negatives. 

Air Force accomplish what Kentucky was unable to do in the Cards last game. Take a lead on the Cards.  After "DOOO-BLAY" (Hines-Allen)  scored the first four points of the game, the home-standers came back and led Louisville 5-4 a couple of minutes into the action. The Cards did respond with a 14-0 run that....nearly...finished the first half before AFA's Kaelin Immal sank a buzzer-beating three to set the tally at 18-8 after 10 minutes. 

This wasn't pretty basketball in many aspects for the 14-0 Cards. Zero three pointers converted (out of eight attempts) Yes UofL was without the two players that made nine out of the ten against Kentucky, but Zambrotta going 0-5 is either a tribute to the pressuring AFA defense or just a rough night behind the stripe for "Z". 

You decide. Most of her looks were fairly open. 

The Cards were able to go on a 12-4 run in the second session to lead 30-12 with four minutes until half, but...just when you thought the Cards might be ready to go on one of their patented runs...the Falcons retaliated with a quarter-closing 8-4 run. 34-20 at the half. 

Air Force played like a team with nothing to lose and everything to gain, and, basically that was the scenario and how it played out. At 0-10, they didn't come in thinking they  were going to dominate the #3 team in the country...but wanted to make a good showing.

They did that. 

They weren't particularly efficient on offense...shooting 29.3% for the game...but kept hanging around the 12-14 point range and forced (or watched) Louisville commit a season-high 22 turnovers. 

No sir, not pretty at all. Evidence of how important Durr and Carter are to this squad. 


All you really need to know about the final twenty minutes is that Air Force won the session 30-28. They beat the Cards 14-9 in the 4th quarter, Louisville aiding that by making just one of their final nine shot attempts. 

But, a win is a win and the women produced theirs slightly more convincingly then the men did Wednesday night. 

I did listen to Coach Walz on the post-game show. Suffice to say, he wasn't particularly thrilled with the Cards effort in Colorado. He left the players with a few things to think about over the next seven days before they reconvene in Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. 

THE FRED REPORT


Fred McMurray of My Three Sons. The Cards
could have used a couple of them Wednesday. 
F- Free throws. Nothing to complain about here. 22-25 is 88% is way above the standard of 70% my guidelines are here. CAPITAL "F". 

R- Rebounding. Led by Kylee's 13, the Cards did manage a 45-31 advantage over the smaller Falcons. Myisha grabbed eight. We'll award a CAPITAL "R" here also.

E- Effort/Execution. With a season-high in turnovers and allowing 12 steals, this was not UofL's finest hour. In fact, it well have been the Cards poorest performance of the year. Whether it's against a conference contender or also-ran, you have to bring your best each night. Louisville did far from that. No letter here. Maybe they were tired.

D - Defense. Holding a foe to less than 30% shooting and just 50 points is not a bad night, especially with two of your top three players watching from the bench. Still, swatches of inconsistency and letting Immel and Bennett go for almost 30...I have to limit this category to a small-case "d". 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-R-_-d



SO...



Maybe some of the players were mentally at the airport or on the way home. Maybe UofL underestimated a team that had nothing to lose and played pretty decent defense. Maybe the altitude of over 7,000 feet had something to do with it. Maybe a lot more than we realize. 14-0 looks good, though, even if it was a lack-luster, less-than-average effort that got UofL there. 

Whatever the circumstances, fates and situations were that led to the events of the afternoon, hopefully a lesson was learned. There may be situations later in the year where foul trouble or other issues have 2-3 starting Cards riding the pine. Louisville won't be playing a win-less opponent in these and we hope that the experiences of the trip to the Rockies gave Louisville a reminder that nothing is given and nothing is guaranteed. 

Let's also not forget that the Cards were coming off an emotion-filled win at their in-state rivals place and that can be draining. The "highs" experienced in that huge win weren't going to be emulated against a 0-10 foe that is possibly the fourth worst team in DI basketball, according to the RPI's. The Cards showed up, did enough to win and were never seriously challenged for 35 minutes.

Can they afford to do that the rest of the way? Of course not, that spells "L" in the win/loss column. But, they won. Walz is going to have to display discontentment. That's all part of coaching. 

Everyone throws in a clunker now and then. The Cards delivered theirs with the accuracy of a Brandon McKay fastball. Get it out of your system and move on. Credit your opponent for a hard-fought battle, tear off the rear view mirror and keep driving toward the goal. The Final Four.

Kylee Shook returns home and shows her posse she can still rebound. Myisha does what she does, dominate and leads her teammates to victory. Other than that, it might be a road trip to forget and a game film not worth watching. The lowest scoring effort of the season for Louisville. Better have some Pepto-Bismol in the viewing room if they decide to re-live the 40 minutes of less-than-satisfying video. 

14-0.

paulie
xxxxx




32 comments:

  1. Nice they could get back to Colorado for Kylie. In the time I've been following ULWBB I don't remember them ever going "0 fer" on threes. I guess if it had to happen it's good it did against AFA.

    Hopefully this rest for AC & Asia will pay big dividends as conference play begins and the season wears on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. After careful assessment on what I watched yesterday (and thanks to Vivian for turning us on to Hoopfeed!) I can't be too negative about this win. I got the chance to watch it fairly uninterrupted with my brother-in-law while the wives went out and pillaged and plundered the malls, looking for pre-Christmas bargains. I guess they did well. they came home with a lot of bags. Ol' Dave-O is wearing a nice red sweater this morning as a result, too.

    Imagine the old Bulls without Jordan and Pippen. UConn without Samuelson and Nurse. The 2004 Cards men's team without Fancisco Garcia and Taquan Dean (who has changed his name to Taqwa Piera -- interesting --) or the Pittsburgh Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown.

    That's what Louisville dealt with yesterday. They still found a way to win by double digits on the road.

    There's a golf term I use when a hit one badly that ends up in the water on so far out of bounds that it's in another county. It's called "a FIDO ball". FIDO stands for "Forget It, drive on".

    That's what the Cards need to do with this one. Drive on. Continue the pursuit of excellence.

    It's early. I need more coffee. A charitable pancake breakfast looms on the horizon for ol' Dave O this morning. There better be saausage or bacon available too.

    Dave O
    David Watson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excuse the typos. I'm not really in love with this Dell laptop my brother-in-law has. I miss my Lenovo.

      Dave O
      David Watson

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    2. Nice recap, Paulie. That was a pitiful exhibition. Walz was quite critical in post-game comments. He should have been. I'm glad it wasn't pay-per-view. I would have asked for a refund.

      Curtis "Throw the ball to our players, OK?" Franklin

      Delete
    3. The Bird Lady12/21/2017 1:00 PM

      Love your writing Dave.

      Delete
    4. David was one of our original writers and we always love it when he checks in. He's even funnier and more interesting in person.

      (This Is Sonya)

      Delete
  3. Ok. Let's take a step back from the ledge, readers. The Cards were without their starting point guard and leading scorer. Walz's regular nine-player rotation was one short. Jess Laemmle will never be confused for Maya Moore. There had to be fatigue at the altitude. AFA was way hyped for this opportunity and they never quit. I hope their coach can use this to get their season turned around. Air Force was allowing only 56 points a game. There are other things as well but Louisville overcame the shortages and left a winner.

    Have you ever tried running for a long period of time at a high altitude? Years back, I would jog parts of the Appalachian Trail and that's about 2000 feet less in altitude. It affects your body, mind and performance.

    Louisville is still undefeated. Relish that Cardinal fans.

    The Deb Factor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't hear anyone on the ledge. Hitting zero threes for an entire game and turning the ball over 22 times is ridiculous, even for a high school team against any team with no wins.

      With two starters out there was a great opportunity for others to shine and they didn't. That is all.

      Delete
  4. I hope THAT Louisville team shows up when we play you on Feb. 7th in the KFC YUM! Center.

    All kidding aside, UofL wasn't the only top five team to struggle last night. Notre Dame got all they wanted from Marquette in South Bend, going to overtime before finally winning.

    You're still undefeated Cardinal fans. Altitudes and elevation can do strange things to people if they're not used to them. I used to hike quite frequently, too. Going up the mountains were always the toughest. I finally got to the point where I passed on doing it.

    Good luck and keep on winning, Cards! I love your write-ups, Paulie.

    Your friend,
    #1 Clemson Fan
    Arthur
    Greer, SC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the words, Arthur. We used to make a yearly trek to the top of Mt. LeConte in the Smokies and spend the night there. That was a pretty good climb. We did it once in six inches of snow at the top on a trail we didn't realize that the National Park Service had closed earlier in the day.

      Yeah, we had to stop and catch our breath a lot doing that and going back downhill was always much, much easier and quicker.

      Finally gave it up because of the knees. We had some fun, though...starling a mama bear and cubs one year and sharing a cabin with two female "porn stars" another.

      We were invited to "participate" but opted to go up to the main lodge for a few hours instead. It's where we were introduced to the fascinating word game "Balderdash". They were asleep (thankfully) when we returned to the cabin.

      Never saw them or the bears again on subsequent trips. Still enjoy Balderdash.

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. Love the game Balderdash also but I have to call "balderdash" on the height/altitude/elevation theory. These are highly trained college athletes, not occasional hikers. They received breaks and time on the bench. This was just a poor effort.

      I love the Mt. LeConte story though, Paulie. I wish I'd gone with you. Probably wouldn't have played Balderdash (wink, wink).

      Blue Lou

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  5. I'm not real keen to comment on this one...it's no indication that the season is in shambles, but it surely wasn't fun to watch. So. Many. Unforced errors.

    BTW, x = 2

    ReplyDelete
  6. Is the answer (7) to the math problem Paulie? Do I win anything for that? Go CARDS!

    Nick O.

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    Replies
    1. Worldwide says x=2. I trust him. He's a math guy. 7 looked good to me. Not a math guy...

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. Nope, that's what I get for trying to math before I've finished my coffee. Nick is right. x=7.

      #SwitchedMySigns

      Delete
    3. ...and at the end first half, it's Nick 1 - Worldwide 0. Stick around, fans, for the conclusion of this one. It could go down (2) to wire... (Snark, snark)

      Paulie

      Delete
    4. 1) Seven aquared is 49.
      2) Five times seven is 35.
      3) 49-35 = 14
      4) 14-14 = 0

      The officials have returned from the monitor and made the correct decision.

      Walz just threw a clipboard, Anne Kordes style, Ruins his theorem that two is better than seven.

      Paulie

      Delete
    5. Justified. Give me a reward!

      Nick O.

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    6. Because I got extremely frustrated by the fact that I've forgotten how to factor quadratic equations, and because there was a discrepancy, I looked up a video and solved the equation myself.

      x=7 OR x=(-2)

      7^2 - 5(7) - 14 = 0
      (-2)^2 - 5(-2) -14 = 0

      Without further parameters, you cannot define x. Nick was half right, and Jeff was closish.

      Nobody gets any points, even me, because I had to look up a video to remember how to factor quadratic equations.

      Delete
    7. Ah right, quadratic equation -> parabola, means potentially two crossings of the x axis at 0, so two potential solutions.

      Those neurons are getting warmed up, now.

      In penance for getting it wrong, I offer a URL to a Matt Parker video demonstrating that there is only one true parabola.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoh4TmPzu1w

      Delete
    8. The Bird Lady12/21/2017 4:42 PM

      I scored an A in my Algebra II class a few semesters ago and I refused to even think about this problem. If I never see another quadratic equation in my life it will be too soon. ��

      Delete
    9. I have sent these comment to Asia Taylor to give us a definitive ruling on and she promises to get back with us end the Australian season is over. She is the patron saint of Cardinal Couple after all and she is the source from where all good things flow...

      Paulie

      Delete
  7. The Guv's little puddy tats host Cal today at noon on the SEC Network, in case anyone is interested in seeing if UK can lose four straight. Got my popcorn ready.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Better grab a spiked egg nog instead. UK will probably crush Cal. It's 9 a.m. west coast time and the Bears are still hiberating, me thinks. It's the lifestyle, you know.

      Paulie

      Delete
  8. We discovered HoopFeed last year and love it! I thought you knew about it, Paulie. My bad for not telling you.

    Three things on the game and then I'm going to lunch. Some say I've been out-to-lunch for a long time now.

    First, seven assists on 20 made baskets isn't as bad as it first may appear. a LOT of individual effort from the UofL offense, which I'm not sure either pleased or disappointed Coach.

    Second, altitude DOES make a difference whether you are an athlete or not. We all have lungs and hemoglobin. I lived in Gatlinburg. We did hikes on The Trail. They're much different than strolling the beaches down here.

    3) It was, without a doubt, Louisville's WORST performance of the season and if anyone thinks any differently, take off your red-colored glasses, clean them and take a look at reality without them.

    The Grinch sez: Stink,stank,stunk. That should have been today's headline, Paulie.

    Stay warm and GO CARDS!

    -- The Real Joe Hill --

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  9. The Bird Lady12/21/2017 12:58 PM

    The coaches will break this game down and use it to help players work on their skills, but I will just leave it in the rearview mirror.

    Balderdash is the bomb.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good Lord ppl obviously they had a bad outing they are human beings not machines. They got the win ugly or not learn from it and move on! Haven't we all had a crappy day as adults? They will take a break and come back better then ever! Happy holidays folks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Bird Lady12/21/2017 4:37 PM

      Exactly! That's why I said I will leave it in the rearview. A clunker. It happens. No need to worry that it is a trend

      Delete
    2. This game could easily been a blow out for the cards. The cards three point shots didn't fall yesterday afternoon.
      Also Air Force came to play the #3 Ranked team in the Country. Go Cards! good grind it out game.
      MLW

      Delete
  11. UNDER THE MICRO SCOPE
    Wow! Sam Fuehring is really playing @ a high level.
    Grabbing rebounds, scoring, playing good defense , passing & blocking shots. Go sammi Jean go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sam's been on my radar since day 1 at UofL for her...no scratch that, since before day 1 when I saw her play in the McD All American game. I'm just glad to see her developing and growing into her potential.

      Delete
  12. The Bird Lady12/21/2017 6:17 PM

    Sam has upped her game. Hard work and tough mental attitude. Fearless!

    ReplyDelete

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