Louisville women's basketball Gets to Come Home... Wednesday Cardinal Couple

Happy Wednesday! It’s the first Wednesday of the New Year and it’s another great year to be a Louisville Cardinal!

Congratulations to the men’s basketball team on their blowout victory over Pittsburgh last night.

Women's Basketball

Nite-nite

Now it’s the women’s turn to come back home to the KFC Yum! Center for ACC play.  The home schedule for the next week is not easy.

To start off with I’d like to congratulate Asia Durr on being named ACC Player of the Week.  She averaged 27.5 in the two road wins at Georgia Tech and NC State.  NIGHT-NIGHT is actually performing better on the road in hostile environments than she is at home.  Not only is Asia one of the top in the conference this season but she is also one of the best in the country.  This future WNBA star should see plenty more awards rack up this season. She knows one speed, just like Ricky Bobby. Fast. 

#17 Duke visits town on Thursday night as the Cards start off their home portion of ACC play after a pair of tight conference road games.  The Blue Devils have had an offense that performs well having only scored below 60 three times this season- all losses.

Louisville’s defense, which struggled against Georgia Tech, could have its hands full with Lexie
Brown.  The redshirt senior has stats that can compare to those of Asia Durr.  Duke’s Brown is averaging over 20 points per game and shoots lights out from the free throw line.  Leaonna Odom is a force to be reckoned with down low.  Only a sophomore, Odom leads the team in rebounding with 105 and blocks with 24.

Sunday afternoon will see a strong Virginia Tech team visiting town.  The Hokies are in the shadows of the rankings and could very well find themselves there soon enough.  Virginia Tech has not lost on the road and their only game against a ranked opponent was a pretty ugly loss.

Big game. Expect Mayor-for-Life Jer to be there
with the lovely Madeline.

Similar to Duke, Virginia Tech has an explosive offense that can give the Cards a run for their money.  The defense of the Hokies has had its ups and downs.  They’ve been known to shut some teams down, but at other times their opponents have had offenses tear them apart.

Both games should be tough match-ups for the Cards.  As Jeff Walz has stated numerous times “We take things one game at a time.”  A great mind like Walz’s knows the challenges of having a great team and knowing every opponent you face wanting to be THAT team to give you your first loss.  He’ll keep the players from looking ahead to the Notre Dame game until these next couple are over.  As fans we should do the same.

Field Hockey

For the first time in a while we’ve heard from field hockey.  Things have been quiet since the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.  Freshman Megan Schneider brings us good news.  The midfielder from California was named to the USA Field Hockey U-19 team.  This will mark the second straight year Schneider has received this honor.

Schneider played midfield and backfield in all 21 games this past season for Louisville.  She’s no stranger to the national spotlight and this opportunity should help her compete with the best around the world to improve and prepare to play a more crucial role next season.

Megan will be one of the strengths that head coach Justine Sowry will build the 2018 squad on. Along with returning leading scorer Minnie Mink and all-World goalie Ayeshia McFerran, the Srtick Girls should be swinging away come fall.

Jared Anderson