Louisville Women's Basketball -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE -- Raiding Defense

MTSU Raiders Vanquished

The women's basketball squad continued it's dominance over teams from the state of Tennessee with a 80-26...you can't sugar-coat this...absolute beat-down of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.  This is a school record for UofL for least points scored by an opponent in a game.

When no one player gets more than 25 minutes, you expect scoring by committee, and that's exactly what we got.  Asia Durr lead with 19 pts, with Bionca Dunham picked up 14.  Dana Evans and and Jazz Jones also reached double-digits with 11 and 10 respectively.  Sam Fuehring had another nice game with 8, Arica Carter got 6, MHA had a bit of an off night with only 5, and Kylee Shook contributed 4.  Shook did have some fun on the defensive end of the court, getting more blocked shots, with 6, than she did points...there's a reason she holds the state of Colorado high school blocks record.

What may be the stat of the night, however, is 26 assists on 27 made shots.

It was Alumnae Night last night. How many do you recognize? 

There's really not too much to analyze on this one.  MTSU came into the KFC Yum! Center, and ran into a buzz saw.  They were clearly an overmatched team,   They struggled to accomplish even the basics in the face of a withering defensive presence.  The frustration showed a bit, too.  I find no joy in watching a team struggle like this against a better opponent, and look for joy in other aspects of the evening.  A win is a win, and it's good to get it in the win column, but I, for one, certainly won't be dwelling on this, or even basking in the glow of a battle won.  I will wish the Blue Raiders the best, applaud them for their win over Vandy, and turn my attention ahead to Tennessee State Tuesday night.  There was joy downtown last night, but it was found in welcoming back a wonderful group of alumnae and honoring what came before...it was found in the entertaining antics of the Pep Band...and it was found for me, personally, in an abnormally large number of personal acquaintances that I got to visit with at the game last night.  (On a side note, it seems the Softball coaching staff is raring to go for this season...play starts in February...and are excited at the schedule they've put together and a deeper pitching staff than we've seen in recent seasons)

We'll see what TSU brings to the table, but I fear the most joy will be found, again, in the Pep Band, and in the annual debate over who has the ugliest Christmas sweater.  Assistant Coach Sam Purcell always sets the bar high and we've heard that he's been searching for the prime specimen for this outing.

Walz did mention it the post-game presser that Purcell would not be involved in any way in Walz's Tuesday night outfit. And our photog and CC writer Jared Anderson has to choose from three different Ugly sweaters. Decisons and choices.

Fred Checks In

How did Fred do?

Fred Savage. "The Wonder Years"

Free Throws - at 18 for 25, that gives us a 72% at the charity stripe.  While that will get you a letter,  a lower-case "f" is what's awarded here. I use 75% for the capital, so...

Rebounding - It's always easier to get defensive rebounds than it is offensive, so a lower opponent shooting percentage usually results in more rebounding because it will inflate the defensive rebounding numbers.  MTSU shot field goals at only a 20.5% clip with UofL hitting 56.3%, so this should be a significant advantage for the Cards, and yet MTSU out rebounded the Cards slightly, 29-28.  We can award no letter, here.

Energy/Execution/Effort - Hard to question this one too much.  Despite maintaining a significant lead from very early in the game, the Cards continued to play hard and didn't let down.  "E" is the result.

Defense - Absolutely withering defense caused a large amount of frustration on the part of MTSU.  Even if the lowered shoulder bull-rush charge into Sam Fuehring didn't draw a charging foul, (it did draw Asia Durr quickly jumping in front of Fuehring, who looked like she was about ready to throw down).    No doubt of a "D", here, holding the opponent to 26 for the game, and single-digit scoring in each quarter.  I'm gonna add an underline to it for a little extra emphasis, so let's make it "D".  Any better and we may have to start playing with font sizes.

f- -E-D is the overall result.

The women are back in action Tuesday night against the aforementioned Tennessee State Tigers to complete the homestand versus all comers from Tennessee.

POST GAME ASIA DURR AND DANA EVANS

WALZ POST-GAME MTSU COMMENTS

RadioHeads

A quick check, and yes, the recording of yesterday's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour broadcast is up and available on the Soundcloud.  If you missed it, you can hear the audio at

 https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20171209.

I'd take these six , play the current squad and expect a
close game. The original "Attack Yorkie", C.B.  Megan,
Cortnee, Keisha  and Taylor Johnson.

Three of us knuckleheads were in the studio, Paul, Case, and I; and we were honored to have Jack Grossman from WIUX Sports, the sports home of Indiana University.  We previewed the IU vs UofL Men's game, and talked a bit about IU Soccer's bid for the College Cup which they are playing for today at 1pm.  They play Stanford for the championship in what I expect will be a rather chilly Philadelphia.  Jack is a Louisvillian, graduating from Manual High School, and really did Paulie a solid at the UofL vs IU Women's game in Bloomington last weekend.

Good fun was had, and Jack fit in with the lighthearted banter of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour, despite definitely not being a knucklehead.  Of course, we also talked about the UofL women's games and the season so far.  A good time was had by all.

We'll be back in the studio next week. That should be sufficient warning to all in the Crescent Hill/Frankfort Ave area.   

--

JMcA