FRIDAYS WITH DARYL
Firstly, as we wrap up 2021, I want to say thank you to the readers. I do appreciate your comments and viewership throughout the year and sports seasons. Without you all, why are we even typing? So thanks to you all for making Cardinal Couple what it is. Its a pleasure to bring a closer look into the squads we love so much with you!
Secondly, I want to wish you a Happy New Year! It's the last day of the year and I am looking forward to new goals and new memories to be made in 2022, hopefully plenty of fond Cardinal memories are in the future.
Photo: Jared Anderson
Five Cardinals scored in double figures as UofL secures it's first conference win and moves to 11-1 on the season. Emily Engstler had an efficient night and lead all scorers with 14 points on 5-7 shooting, going 3-5 at the free throw line, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals in 17 minutes on the floor. Hailey Van Lith logged the most minutes and went 5-10, 2-3 from 3 point land for 12 points and 3 rebounds.
FG %
3-15 20% Cards
4-9 36.4% BC
Reb. 10-7 BC
3-pt %
0-4 0% Cards
0-3 0% BC
Niether squad was able to land a three pointer in the first quarter which made for a very dry offensive battle to open the game. The Cards' starters struggled to get their feet under them while BC Taylor Soule went 3-4 and had 7 of the Eagles' 11 total points. BC also had 8 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play but the Cards only had 5 points off of them. Coach Walz said he did not think the Cards had any rust after the holiday break because they had a great shoot around earlier in the day.
End of 2Q 23-13 Cards
FG %
10-16 62.5% Cards
4-11 36.4% BC
Reb. 10-6 Cards
3-pt %
3-6 50% Cards
0-3 0% BC
Louisville bigs (Olivia Cochran and Emily Engstler) went 6-6 from the field to pull the Cards to a sturdy lead over the Eagles as the team shot 63% from the field in the quarter. The defense held BC to 0-6 from three point land which was the difference maker in the first half.
HALF 35-24
End of 3Q 24-13 Cards
FG %
8-16 50% Cards
5-12 41.7% BC
Reb. 13-7 Cards
3-pt %
1-1 100% Cards
1-2 50% BC
End of 4Q 20-12 Cards
FG %
9-17 52.9% Cards
4-16 25% BC
Reb. 10 All
3-pt %
1-4 25% Cards
1-7 14.3% BC
Starters were pulled and the bench really got to see some quality playing time. Payton Verhulst tied a career-high 12 points while Liz Dixon and Olivia Cochran had chipped in 10 of their own. 
FRED REPORT
FREE THROWS -- The Cards managed 14-21 at the charity stripe. Olivia Cochran made all 4 of her shots at the line. 21 total attempts as a team is alot more than they've attempted in recent weeks so we will give them credit for getting to the line more but making just 66.7% of them does not meet our required 70% minimum so Ill give it a lower case f
REBOUNDING -- UofL outrebounded BC 40-33 but the game's leading rebounder was BC 6-3 Freshman center, Maria Gakdeng with 9 boards. The teams tied in second chance points with 12 a piece. lower case r
EFFORT/EXECUTION -- As a team, the Cards shot 47% and 33% from three point land. They connected for 17 assists on 30 shot attempts.. With Engstler leading the squad with 4 of them and HVL, Kianna Smith and Chelsie Hall combining for only 3, I would like to see the distribution numbers a little higher for this team that allegedly does not have just one star player to rely on. Capital E
DEFENSE - The Cards held BC to a season low 49 points. As one of the team's leading scorers, Taylor Soule managed to keep BC in the game in the first quarter but was locked down after that short lived burst. After going 3-4 to open the game, she went 1-3 from the field for the rest of the game. Louisville forced BC into 21 turnovers where they matched BC in second chance points at 12. Capital D
FINAL FRED TALLY: f_r_E_D
Good win over by more than I expected. Verhulst showed a lot. Soule didn't impress me at all after the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteI doubt we get the #1 though after that South Carolina loss but we are a solid #2.
Nick O
Great game all around.
ReplyDeleteSlow start that steadily increased no matter WHO was on the floor.
Verhulst is gonna be another force to reckon with, her minutes will increase, foul trouble is her biggest problem now.
Konno impresses every time she gets minutes.
And while it's nice we are NOW a program that CAN rise to the top of the rankings, no one will hold on to it this season.
Talking South Carolina.
Said the other day conference season is a different beast.
Walz loves Konno's defense as well. He was talking about her seeing the need for a switch on the court and by the time she can think of the word in English....it isn't usually needed anymore.
ReplyDeletepaulie