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!!

Sunday, December 10, 2017

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

14 comments:

  1. Total ownage.
    Love that 26 assists out of 27 made baskets. That's unreal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice Piece. Not much to say about the game. Hopefully we're getting an opportunity to get better. Shook seems like she has an eight foot wingspan. It's a beautiful thing. She just has to get her feet moving quicker and she'll be there. This club seems ready to do work. We'll see in Lexington for sure.

    Full credit to Jeff for predicting the kitten volleyballers would make the elite eight. Show he's paying attention. Looking forward to his prediction for ULWBB next season.

    Big UofL story on ESPN this morning...everyone should take it in. Not being a local I'm not qualified to comment on the details but I must say that the more quotes I read from Jurich the more I like him. Everyone likes the sausage...few like the sausage making.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry...His prediction on ULWVB next season...my fingers always go to basketball...but volleyball is gaining.

      Delete
    2. I am a big Kylee Shook fan (and Sam Fuehring, if you couldn't tell), and see a lot of upside for both of them.

      And thanks for reminding me of my UK vball prediction. I had forgotten about it. I kinda wonder how gassed the UK Wide-netters were, they had lots of 5 set matches in their run. Nebraska is a fine team (and truth be told, probably should've had the 4 seed that UK had). I'm a little ho-hum on the final four...would be nice to see some new blood in there...more than just Florida, anyway.

      Delete
  3. A nice write-up today from Worldwide! Shook is going to be really something special here by the time she graduates. UK Volleyball is "keeping on". Despite the in-state rivalry, I DO hope they do well.

    Paulie

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  4. Worldwide, didn't the FRED standard for free throws used to be 70%? I know this team is good at them but 18-25 effort deserves better than lower case, respectfully saying. The team average is almost 77%.

    All in all, as expected, a nice romp against a banged-up mid major. Here's the deal, from what I researched on missing guards Kyla Allison (8.5 ppg) and Abby Sissom (9.8 ppg). This is the third game in a row that they haven't been able to play and MTSU held their own in losses to Ga. Tech and Ole Miss without them. Even adding in their ppg's still give UofL a 38 point win, so I don't put too much into their absence last night. And Louro and Collier are good guards.

    Nice win Cards. Paulie are you and Sonya (or even Worldwide Jeff) wearing ugly sweaters? I'll wear one down here on the beach.

    -- The Real Joe Hill --

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am going to let Jared represent The Cardinal Couple contingent in the Ugly Sweater division. I will wear a holiday-type sweater, but it is one I've had for years and like to drag back out occasionally. Sonya won't be in attendance and wears sensible sweaters as a rule. As for Jeff? I honestly never know what to expect out of him. We'll know at game time, I suppose. We hope to get plenty of pictures to share out of Mr Jared and he has the Wednesday write-up as well.

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. I'm not sure how Paulie grades free throws, but I do "f" for 70-75%, and only give the "F" for 75%+

      Delete
    3. I can assure all that Jeff, aka Worldwide, will not be wearing a sweater, ugly or otherwise. And, sightings of him wearing a coat are rare.

      Delete
  5. Go cards,good win this teams bench is deep.
    The Cards will be unstoppable once kylee,Arica & Jazmine shots become more consistent.
    MLW

    ReplyDelete
  6. When I created the FRED report a couple of years ago, Coach Walz was using the standard of 70%. That's what I've gone with over the years. I will say that this year's bunch of Cardinal charity stripe recipients are the best I've seen in a long time. So, we have "wiggle room" on "FRED".

    I would have assigned the capital "F" but...wasn't my turn at the plate in the CARDINAL COUPLE batting order.

    Paulie

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's a good picture of the six above Worldwide but that team is going to need some depth if they were to play the current bunch of Cards. You better add Sara Hammond and Becky Burke, who were listed as scheduled to appear but probably had coaching responsibilities. Or, Shoni and Jude.

    Nick O

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  8. The cards move up to number 3 in polls.
    MLW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After that Texas loss last night, I think so. We'll see later today.

      Delete

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