Team USA Defeats Chile -- Irish Field Hockey Defeats India -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Team USA Destroys Chile 

The USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team won their second game in as many days following a rout of Chile, 115-39.  Team USA jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter, doubling up their opposition.

Defensively, Team USA was impressive.  They shut down Chile in the second and fourth quarters, holding their opponent to four and five points in those quarters, respectively.  Jeff Walz's defensive style of basketball showed during the game and he hasn't missed a beat, despite the off-season.

Team USA won the rebounding battle 78-27, and posted 34 second-chance points and 49 fast break points.

All 12 players on the roster saw a fair amount of playing time, ranging from 13-20 minutes.  Half of them posted double-digit points with two recording at least 10 rebounds.  Sedona Prince (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Christyn Williams (19 points, 10 rebounds) were those two players.

The starting roster of Anaya Peoples, Jenna Brown, NaLyssa Smith, Rhyne Howard, and Sedona

Prince only contributed to 28% of the scoring, 42% of the rebounds, and 40% of the fouls.  However, they did combined for half of the assists and steals in the game.  The low percentage of productivity from the starting five doesn't mean that they had a poor outing, but just shows the depth of the roster and was also affected by Coach Walz trying to give everyone playing time.

"We definitely made some strides today," said Walz. "Offensively, I thought we worked the ball around.  We did some things that we didn't do in yesterday's game, so that's encouraging.  Defensively, we started off a little slow, but then started to turn things on.  It was nice to see us able to adjust.  Overall, I, pleased."

They will face Puerto Rico tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch live at:

 www.facebook.com/USABasketball


Ireland Field Hockey Team Survives Scare Against India

The Irish Women's Field Hockey team managed to dig in deep to pull out a win against India, 1-0.  At the end of regulation the two teams were deadlocked with both teams posting on goose egg in the goals column.  The match proceeded to a shootout, where Louisville's Ayeisha McFerran had her opportunity to shine for the Ireland National Team.  They claimed the shootout, 3-1.

McFerran silenced India on three of their four shots, quite a remarkable stat in itself.  The Green Army's offense eased any pressure that may have been on her shoulders by racing out to a 2-0 lead in the penalty shots against the Indian goalkeeper..

During the second half, McFerran got to spend a majority of the time as a spectator.  Her defense was as thick as a brick wall, allowing nothing by them, and leaving the Irish goalkeeper time to pull out a lawn chair and nap in front of the net.

The Irish have secured their spot in the semifinals after going 2-1 in group play and winning their quarterfinal match.  They will face the offensive juggernaut Spain on Saturday.  The Spanish fell 6-2 to Argentina, defeated Russia 7-1, fell to Germany 3-1, slid past Belgium in a shootout 3-2, and won the rematch against the Germans 1-0.

McFerran will have her hands full against the Spanish offense, but the Irish should be able to put up big numbers on offense.

Highlights of the match at the clip below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTjA7veQBwk



Football is Back... Kind of...

For the first time in months we saw football again.  The NFL preseason kicked off with their annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, OH.  The Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens squared off and much of the city of Louisville had their tv's turned on.  All eyes were on Lamar Jackson.

The 2016 Heisman winner and 2018 first round draft pick saw his first professional action when he played the entire second half for the Ravens.  Jackson threw one touchdown pass and one interception while also showcasing his mobility, dodging defenders in the backfield and using his legs to make the most of broken plays.

Louisville football is one month minus two days away from their game against 2018 National Champion and #1 ranked Alabama.  The game, which is held in Orlando, still has plenty of tickets available.

What Day Is It?

Grab a drink after work as you head into the weekend- it's International Beer Day!  It is also National Watermelon Day, which is a good nutritious snack to stay hydrated with.  On this day in 1852 Harvard defeated Yale in their inaugural boat race.  This would later be known as the first American intercollegiate athletic event.  The Basketball Association of America and National Basketball League merged into the National Basketball Association on this day in 1949.  Santa Claus, IN, famous for the now-called Holiday World originally opened as the first themed amusement park in the world as Santa Claus land on this day in 1946.

Just on a random note to close out today with women's sports we're going to look into potential future Cards.  The Germantown Baseball/Softball Inc. is in the news for some great things.  The organization, which is located on Poplar Level Rd. next to St. Xavier High School has a 10U softball team in the semifinals of the Little League Babe Ruth Division World Series.  Best of luck to these young ladies the rest of the tournament and hopefully we'll see some of you in red and black jerseys in another eight years!

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -