LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S ATHLETICS LAST EVENT WAS MARCH 9th.
Welcome to week six of our nation's shutdown of college athletics. A sobering thought indeed.
Ally Hall started things off for UofL in the second half with a goal just 14 seconds into play. An opening 8-2 run in that final half, scoring six straight goals and Rachel Florek held the Purple Eagles scoreless for a 20-minute stretch. Hall and Hannah Morris had thrre goals each for the Cards, who improved to 5-4 on the season.
It was a contest I missed. I was returning from the ACC WBB Tournament in Greensboro, NC that Monday. I had stayed to watch the championship game on Sunday, despite the WBB Cards getting knocked out of the Tournament in the semifinals on Saturday by FSU 62-60.
Fortunately, our Jeff McAdams was able to cover the Lacrosse match for Cardinal Couple and also hold the post game presser with head coach Scott Teeter and student-athletes Paige Richbourg and Hannah Morris. I left Greensboro midway through Monday morning and returned to the 'Ville" via I-40 and the West Virginia Turnpike to I-64. I tried to follow the Lacrosse action as best I could via my smart phone and Tweets. I remember stopping at "Tamarack" -- the cultural center on the West Virginia Turnpike for a "necessary" stop, to get some food and gasoline. It was strangely quiet that Monday.
I went through the cafeteria food line, discovering that my lunch had been prepared by culinary students and chatted a bit with the cashier. I chose meatloaf and two vegetable sides. I sat at a table in the dining room. No masks, gloves nor social distancing was being employed at that stage of the eventual shutdown. An elderly couple from Ashland, KY was seated near me and we struck up a conversation. They were returning home after visiting a daughter who lived in Raleigh, NC... who had just had a birthday. They weren't big sports fans but listened with interest as I retold the tale of the Tournament to them.
They liked my black UofL windbreaker and confessed that they had a son who was a huge UK fan. I wonder how they are today. I hope they are Covid-19 free and getting help with things. I didn't "I.D" them, but I guess they were maybe mid-70's in age and he had a persistent cough.
I looked forward to returning home and pondered, as I drove and listened to NPR on the radio and one of my favorite CD...The Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East. (Yes, I still have a CD player in my car and CD's). i wondered how the WBB Cards would do in the NCAA draw and where they would end up being seeded. I thought about how softball would do in their next series at Ulmer against Boston College and if Teeter could keep the Lacrosse Cards on their win streak against a very good Delaware squad. Those events never took place, Lax travelling to their destinations, only to discover the game had been cancelled as they prepared for it. Boston College never taking the field against Holly's squad.
Six weeks in, readers.
Our social unrest is starting to rise. Just yesterday, I saw a gathering of about 10 cars, 20+ people at my local high school football field. They had slipped in through a loose gate and were actually playing football in pads while kids and mothers were playing on an adjacent playground.My wife, Sonja, and I were working in the garden in front of the elementary school. Weeding and trimming. The softball coach from the high school had been on his riding lawn mower, cutting in and around the softball field. We know him, he drove over to us and wondered if he should call the police or the school's athletic director. A call to the athletic director resulted in him and a patrol car showing up and breaking up the gathering. I'm pretty sure other events like this are happening at other places, but, why chance it? This Covid-19 isn't playing around, y'all.
I know. It's tough. We are social beings, but, please....for my health and yours...listen to our elected officials. Stay at home, away from crowds and gatherings
EIGHT ACC PLAYERS SELECTED IN WNBA DRAFT.
All eight seemed to be "locks" for the draft, in my opinion, as I watched ACC action. I was surprised that Bea Mompremier and Kiah Gillespie were the #20 and #32 picks, I figured they would go earlier.
In the first round:
Jocelyn Willoughby (VA) #10
Jazmine Jones (LOU) #12
In the second round:
Kylee Shook (LOU) #13
Leaonna Odom (DUKE) #15
Beatrice Mompremier (MIA) #20
In the third round:
Kobi Thornton (CLEM) #27
Haley Gorecki (DUKE) #31
Kiah Gillespie (FSU) #32
That's an impressive number, no doubt...but remember the 2019 WNBA Draft? 13 players of the 36 selected were ACC student-athletes. How many can you remember, right off the top of your head? Give it a whirl and see who you can recall before you check out the list below. I came up with 10...
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2019 WNBA DRAFT
| Round | Pick | Name | Team | School | Position |
| 1 | 1 | Jackie Young | Las Vegas Aces | Notre Dame | Guard |
| 1 | 2 | Asia Durr | New York Liberty | Louisville | Guard |
| 1 | 5 | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | Notre Dame | Guard |
| 1 | 10 | Kiara Leslie | Washington Mystics | NC State | Guard |
| 1 | 11 | Brianna Turner | Atlanta Dream | Notre Dame | Center |
| 2 | 16 | Jessica Shepard | Minnesota Lynx | Notre Dame | Forward |
| 2 | 19 | Marina Mabrey | Los Angeles Sparks | Notre Dame | Guard |
| 3 | 25 | Paris Kea | Indiana Fever | North Carolina | Guard |
| 3 | 27 | María Conde | Chicago Sky | Florida State | Forward |
| 3 | 31 | Ángela Salvadores | Los Angeles Sparks | Duke | Guard |
| 3 | 32 | Arica Carter | Phoenix Mercury | Louisville | Guard |
| 3 | 33 | Regan Magarity | Connecticut Sun | Virginia Tech | Forward |
| 3 | 34 | Sam Fuehring | Washington Mystics | Louisville | Forward |
Have a marvelous Monday and remember we're all in this and we're all in this together.
paulie
xxxxx
I did not do as good as you, Paulie, on the 2019 Draft, I could only remember the five Notre Dame players and the three Cards.
ReplyDeleteI've stopped at Tamarack in the past. I've eaten in that dining room.
Thanks for sharing the memories of better times. I've seen gatherings in our store parking lot. I didn't say anything. I think that, if people are stupid enough to do such nonsense, than they are solely responsible for what happens to them and that they should be denied any treatment if they get sick.
I worry every day that I go to work, even with my mask, gloves and sanitizing efforts. Be smart people.
Stay safe.
Curtis "Six feet and cover the face" Franklin
It is weird to think that softball would be preparing for NC State later this week and lacrosse would be preparing for their ACC Tournament.
ReplyDeleteThanks for good stories today, Paulie. I, too have driven on the WVU Parkway. I've been to Tamarack.
Currently, I am symptom-free in my quarantine. I have been binge-watching The Walking Dead and doing pushing ups, plus surfing the Internet. I nap a lot. Delores is a trooper, on the first floor. We had taco Sunday last night.
I pray for this to end. I'm not overly religious, but, I say a prayer nightly for my neighbor in Intensive care right now. I've also discovered I hate the mattress in my second floor bedroom and would like to apologize to all who have had to endure it over visits to us over the last couple of years. It'll be priority #1 when I come out of quarantine. To replace it.
I look forward to guests again. I look out of my second floor windows and watch a silent world. It's scary but it's a needed thing. I'll tell you this. It happened to me, it can happen to you. Be safe, Cardinal Couple readers. You just never know. Even a casual conversation can turn into quarantine and fear.
The Real Joe Hill
Hello Friends
ReplyDeleteArthur here!
I was quite pleased to see Jaz and Kylee go so early in the draft. I was also tickled to see Clemson star Kobi Thornton get drafted too. I think Yacine Diop should have been picked up by someone also. I do think she's a lock for success in Europe.
I know of a lot of gatherings out in rural South Carolina. Especially with the young ones. My wife Bea and I are social distancing and she goes out once a week to shop during senior hours. She wears a mask and gloves and sanitizer plus soap and water when she gets home.
I wish all of you safety and good health. I will pray for your friend Joe Hill and I will pray for you too Joe.
I got nine of the 2019 ACC WNBA picks. The three UofL women, the five Notre Dame women and Kiara Leslie, whose game I loved to pieces!
Your friend
#1 Clemson Fan
Arthur
Greer, SC
Good to see Kobi Thornton get drafted but she had a huge drop off as a Sr. She missed Danielle Edwards, Simone Westbrook and especially Aliyah Collier who finished second to Dana Evans for the 6th player of the year award.
DeleteBest thing about Clemson this year was that two man trap they ran in the front court. They executed that better than any team with the exception of Arizona
Leaonna Odom is an enigma. So talented and yet invisible. She had a nice game against BC in the tourney but my gosh, where was she for so long? She was a star as a soph in the NCAA tourney. Doubt she makes a roster and its a shame because she is definitely good enough.
Delete7 of 13. Couldn't come up with all the ND girls.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what anyone says. Jeff Walz is one of the best 25 coaches in the nation and the best coach on UofL's campus.
Nick O
I thought the ACC had more parity which made the conference much more interesting but the ACC was much weaker this year. If BC who I really like could go 11-7 this conference stinks. BC earned the ACC tourney wins but the regular season ACC record was partly due to the mediocrity within the conference. Miami stunk, ND stunk, NC stunk. I love the tenacity of Pitt but they stunk. Clemson stunk. Syracuse was a disaster.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice Mompremiere is awful. That's why even with her height and acclaim she lasted past the mid 2nd round.
ReplyDelete