Jaz’s Big Day — SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jazmine Jones Has Breakout Game

Former UofL basketball stars have been making the most of their chances to shine in the “wubble,” with the most recent example coming for Jazmine Jones yesterday evening. Earlier this week, it was Myisha Hines-Allen scoring a career high and Kylee Shook scoring her first career basket. Yesterday was Jaz’s day, as she led the team with 20 points. Unfortunately, the Liberty fell to 0-4 on the season with the loss to the Atlanta Dream, but it was always going to be tough going for them without Asia Durr (sitting out due COVID concerns), particularly if Sabrina Ionescu is out. Ionescu turned her ankle pretty badly when she stepped on a defender’s foot attempting a move while bringing the ball up court. She went down immediately and clutched at the back of her ankle, which is never a good sign. According to The Athletic, last night’s X-Rays came back negative and it is just a severe sprain.

In the absence of the high profile guard, Jaz Jones’ opportunities increased and she made the most of her 21 minutes. As mentioned previously, Jones led the team with 20 points (Willoughby finished with 14, Clarendon with 16, and Ionescu had 10 before her exit) and she added in an assist and a rebound. We’re used to seeing Jones active all over the court so to see her get so much time and only one rebound is a bit surprising, but she is also playing a different role at this level than she did at UofL. If Ionescu is going to be out for any significant amount of time, Jones may see more time in a guard spot, which will hopefully continue to build her confidence and increase her threat level on the court. 

While Jones stole the show, Kylee Shook did have a pretty good night of her own last night. Shook finished with nine points, four rebounds, and two assists in 23 minutes. The Liberty are an incredibly young team, and their youth shows at times against the other teams, but for our former Cards to make the most of their chances on the court is a wonderful sign of their potential going forward in their WNBA careers. NY gets their next shot at their first win of the season tomorrow when they take on the Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury are 1-2 on the season, with their first win coming yesterday against the Las Vegas Aces, home to another former Card in Angle McCoughtry.

Happy Birthday Dana

From former Cards to current, we’d like to wish a happy birthday to Dana Evans. The rising senior looks to be a star in her final season with UofL and will likely look to continue that stardom at the next level. For her birthday, I hope she gets the gift of a guaranteed season in some form or another for her senior year. The question of NCAA waivers is sure to come up if things don’t get under control sooner rather than later, but that would lead to questions about who would come back? Evans would be sure to graduate this year, and she has put together plenty of tape for coaches at the next level to determine her value to their organization. If the 2020-21 season were to be canceled, have we seen Dana Evans play her last game as a Cardinal?

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We’re back again this week for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. Normally, we’d be getting geared up for the fall sports season as the calendar turns to August. However, we’ll have to wait a bit longer with the announcement that ACC sports will be held off until September 11th. As such, we will continue the weekly quizzes as well as bring you all of the joy and excitement of Louisville women’s athletics. Tune in at 11AM to the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel for the live stream or any time after about 12:30 for the recorded version.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-