Louisville WBB beats BC 89-70; other news from the program -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Welcome to the weekend, readers.  Two FRED reports for me in a row!  I feel lucky! 

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

"Here we go with more schedule changes" 

As we look forward to the downslope of the month of January, when basketball really starts to heat up, a second major program has decided to pull the plug on it's season... fellow ACC domino, Virginia, announced they would be cancelling the remainder of their season joining Duke as the only ACC teams to do so.  Yes, UVA and Duke were both the bottom two teams in the conference standings when they called it quits but the Cavaliers (0-5, 0-2 ACC) also hadn't played since Dec 13 and cited "health and safety concerns":

"In addition to having six games postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, injuries had also depleted the team's roster, hampering the program's ability to practice and play."

One less sport for this guy to have to worry
about showing up for in Charlottesville

Nine ACC WBB programs have paused or been effected by the pandemic so far this season.  As for the Cards, we know very well how badly this team desires to play and show why they're the #2 team in the country. 

"Oh, look! The Eagles DID show up!" 

The Louisville women played their sixth matchup since returning from their own December pause, welcoming now -- officially -- (since UVA dropped out) the ACCs last place in the standings Boston College Eagles to the Yum! Center Thursday night.  Here's how it went... 

Louisville (11-0, 4-0) vs Boston College (5-6, 1-6)

UofL got the win 89-70

In the first quarter the Cards came out firing, 10-18 from the floor, 5-9 from 3 point range (both good for 55.6%) and managed 26 total points in the quarter. 

Elizabeth Balogun and Kianna Smith had four of the six threes.  In the second quarter Louisville's offense slowed down immensely, managing just 16 points but the defense held up in its absence allowing BC only 12 points for the quarter.  The Cards would take a 42-28 lead into the half. Olivia Cochran had 9 points in 10 min of play at the break.

 

The third quarter was a different story as BC managed a 28-26 advantage over UofL.  So, the offense had returned but the defense took a nap.  A lot of that could be chalked up to the exit of Hailey Van Lith for about six minutes of play as she dislocated a finger on the right hand after committing a turnover and a foul just a few minutes into the quarter.  But most importantly, she did return and the pain did not seem to do much to affect her game last night. She finished with 13 points (5-9, 2-3 from 3pt) 5 rebounds and 4 assists. She's left-handed, so the dislocation didn't affect her shot too much, and, one can almost hear Jeff Walz saying, in his somewhat sarcastic, teasing manner: 

"You've got two hands, right? Get back out there." 

Hailey may have the injured finger but
it's obvious she can still fly through the air

The training staff had a busy evening unfortunately as we would see an ankle sprain to Kianna Smith a couple minutes into the fourth quarter.

Coach Walz says he hopes the two can nurse these injuries and return to the floor quickly by Sunday.  Kianna finished the game vs BC with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Dana Evans (with a new set of lashes) finished with 24 points going 9-16, 3-5 from beyond.  She had 12 points in the third quarter, getting seven points and a steal in about a minute span at one point. 

Coach Walz said in the post game press conference that despite scoring 89 points, he thinks it was an off night offensively which just goes to show just how talented he thinks this team is.  

THE FRED REPORT

Cards dancin' like Fred Astaire 
to 11-0. ACC beware! 

F- Free throws The Cards finished 11-13 (84.6%) from the charity stripe. Olivia had 6-8 of them for UofL. BC had only 8-10 on the night. I'd say that's a solid showing at the line while also not fouling the opponent and giving them the opportunity. CAPITAL F

R - Rebounds At the half, UofL was outrebounded 18-17, Coach Walz said the team's 'gotta get better keeping guards off the glass'. The team finished with the 32-31 nod, Olivia and Liz Dixon finishing with 7 each. I'll assign a lowercase " r"

E - Effort/Execution The team matched the Eagles with 13 turnovers in the game. If we must have them, we would like to see that number get down to single digits. UofL also allowed BC's guard Cameron Swartz to tie for the lead in total points (17) and lead the team in rebounds with nine. This performance warrants a lowercase "e"

D- Defense In the first half the Cards held BC to 35% shooting from the field, 36% beyond the arc but allowed 52% from the field in the second half and again just 36% from three point range. It was that third quarter that the Cards gave up 28 to the Eagles that had us all scratching our heads a little bit... another lowercase letter"d" is the verdict.


Final Fred Report: F-r-e-d


(THANKS TO JARED ANDERSON FOR THE GAME PHOTOS. HE REALLY GETS SOME GREAT SHOTS, DOESN'T HE?)





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MORE CARDINAL WOMENS ATHLETIC NEWS


The sporting world gave Jared enough to write about yesterday so we wanted to make sure to report some other news out of the Cardinal programs a couple days ago... some good and some sad.


SOFTBALL

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville athletic department is mourning the loss of former softball standout Melissa Jacobo who passed away on January 11, 2021.

"I am deeply saddened by the news of Melissa Jacobo's passing," said UofL head softball coach Holly Aprile. "While I did not coach her, I do know that she was an integral part of our program's history and helped lay the foundation for what we are today. She will always be part of the Cardinal Softball family and we send our deepest condolences to her family and friends."

Jacobo, who played for the Cardinals from 2000 through 2002, was a member of the program's inaugural team. The Whittier, California native made an immediate impact as Louisville's starting third baseman. In the first game of her collegiate career, Jacobo recorded UofL's first double and is still among the single-season leaders with 20 doubles in the 2001 campaign.

In 2002, Jacobo connected on Louisville's first grand slam in a 12-3 win against Drake. She consistently stood among the team's leaders in batting average, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage and walks throughout her career as she helped lead the Cardinals to 103 wins in the first three years of the program. In all, she started 170 games and posted a career batting average of .339 with 42 doubles, 14 home runs and 99 RBIs.

"When we were preparing for a team take the field for the first time in school history, we knew that we needed student-athletes who could help us to be immediately competitive and Melissa fit that bill perfectly," said former UofL softball head coach Sandy Pearsall who coached Jacobo during her collegiate career. "Her play at third base was always solid and she was one of the most consistent and powerful hitters that I have seen. She loved the game of softball and she loved Louisville. Beyond that, Melissa was a genuinely good and caring person with a big heart and a big smile. She will truly be missed by many."

Jacobo became the first Louisville player to earn National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region first team honors in 2001. Additionally, she was a two-time All-Conference USA first-team selection, earning all-tournament honors in 2001 and was twice named the C-USA Hitter of the Week.


VOLLEYBALL





Louisville native Merideth Jewell has been promoted on the University of Louisville volleyball staff to volunteer coach.

"We are excited to promote our graduate manager Meredith Jewell," said Dani Busboom Kelly, UofL head coach. "She has done an outstanding job as a graduate manager and we are all looking forward to her being in a coaching role with fewer limitations. I truly believe she is one of the best up and coming coaches in the country and I can't wait to hear her voice and watch her interactions with our team in practice and matches."

Jewell has been acting as the graduate manager, handling the film duties for the Cardinals.

She played high school volleyball at Mercy and was named the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and earned Miss Kentucky Volleyball honors after winning 2014 Kentucky state championship and a 2014 club national championship.

After graduation, Jewell began her collegiate career at Morehead State where she was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, and All-OVC honors, while ranking No. 17 in the nation in totally attacks. As a sophomore, she was First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference and ranked No. 41 in the nation in kills and No. 12 in total attacks.

After transferring to Kentucky, as a junior, she appeared in 27 matches as the Wildcats made the postseason, where she played in every NCAA match and earned All-SEC Academic honors. As a senior, she made three starts and was a part of Kentucky's undefeated run through the SEC regular season slate. She was named All-SEC Academic that year as well.

She graduated from UK in May of 2019 with a degree in Integrated Strategic Communication with a minor in Coaching. She earned a master's degree from the University of Louisville, graduating in 2020 with a masters in sports administration.


COMING UP





The Cards highly anticipated matchup with NC State for the top spot of the ACC has has been put on hold and Florida State will return from its pause to replace it at the Yum! Center on Sunday afternoon. Barring no drastic news between now and then, it'll be the first game back for the 'Noles.


Catch us on the podcast tomorrow morning to talk about it all, Cardnation.


-Daryl