WBB Opens NCAAs -- SB Opens ACC play -- LAX falls short ; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Hello again weekend!   It is good to see ya... Fish Fry Fridays are in full swing and I cant park in front of my house again LOL between Friday night football and Catholicism, it is a battle out there in Germantown, KY. 

Its also GAME DAYYYYYYY as its been two weeks since we've seen the Cards in action on the basketball court.  Time to get down to business... March Madness, yall! 

Photo: Jared Anderson

WOMENS BASKETBALL

#1 seed UofL vs #16 seed UAlbany
Friday 6 p.m. ESPN 2 

At 25-4, Louisville is a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. The Cardinals were also a #1 seed in 2018 (Final Four) and 2019 (Elite Eight). They are the only team in the country to be a #1 seed in three of the last four tournaments. UofL is 2-0 all-time against #16 seeds. UofL is 12-0 all-time in first round games under Coach Walz. The Cardinals are 12-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games at the KFC Yum! Center and 6-0 in first round games at home.

The Great Danes boast a 23-9 record, 13-5 in league play and an American East title after upsetting the #1 seed Maine. Albany had five players earn America East postseason honors.
Morgan Haney was named the America East Sixth Player of the Year.
Helene Haegerstrand and Kayla Cooper earned spots on the First and Second Team, respectively.
Lucia Decortes was named to the All-Defensive Team and Lilly Phillips earned an All-Rookie Team nod.
Haegerstrand leads the team in scoring with 12.1 PPG and has knocked down 56 3-pointers, while shooting 39% from three. Cooper is the other double-digit scorer with 11.1 points and leads the team with 7.2 RPG. The Great Danes feature the second-best scoring defense in the country, allowing 48.6 PPG. The Great Danes are 1-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with their lone victory a 61-59 win over 5-seed Florida in 2016.

Mykasa Robinson is Louisville's most experienced player in Red/Black in the post-season, her third appearance for the Cards.   HVL leads the offensive threat averaging more than 13 PPG with Emily Engstler and Kianna Smith also averaging in double digit scoring. Engstler is leading the rebounding efforts with more than 9 RPG.

Cheers to March Madness and a deep tournament run for THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS! 

SOFTBALL

UofL vs GA Tech 

Friday 6 p.m. ACCNE 

Photo: Jared Anderson

UofL is on an 8 game winning streak and currently holds a 16-8 record on the season. The Cards are 0-0 in the ACC and the last squad to face an in conference foe, every other program playing atleast 3 match ups by now. Louisville leads the series 11-3 vs Georgia Tech.

Redshirt senior RHP Taylor Roby has carried the bulk of the pitching duties and holds a 3.19 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 59.1 innings of work. She also leads the team with 26 RBIs and eight home runs.  The Cardinals are led offensively by graduate senior Carmyn Greenwood who is hitting .425 with a team-high 34 hits and 30 runs.

After starting the year 15-2, Georgia Tech holds a 16-8 record but are currently winless in the ACC 0-6, getting swept by #13 Duke and #3 FSU. Last Friday, the Yellow Jackets put up a fight in a double header with the Seminoles as they forced FSU into a 12 inning battle in game 2. Both squads scored 2 runs in the 10th but GT ultimately fell 6-2 after giving up 4 runs in the top of the 12th... But, the Jackets did get a run rule 12-3 win over #16 Georgia in Athens on Tuesday. Its their first win over their rival in 10 years, first on the road since 2007. It was also the largest margin of victory for GT over UGA in the series history as well as its first run rule victory. The Jackets were lead by a pair of juniors at the plate, Caroline Davis and Emma Kauf.



LACROSSE

Cardinals fall 16-12 at #8 Duke Thursday night and fall to 5-5 on the season and 1-4 on the road. Offensively the Cards were lead by Hannah Morris and Nicole Perroni with 3 goals each.  J Pleck had 5 saves and 13 goals allowed in more than 33:30 minutes of play.   Sara Addeche came in to relieve Pleck with  more than 11 minutes left on the clock and gave up 3 goals and had 2 saves. 

The Blue Devils got out to a 3-0 lead pretty early before the Cards responded with a goal by Caroline Blalock to make it 3-1 Duke. The Cards went back and forth with Duke as Nicole Perroni found the net before Duke went on another 3 goal scoring run. Perroni and Morris score for the Cards to close out the period and make it 7-4 Duke.   

Duke opened the second quarter with a third 3-point scoring run. Paige Richbourg scored the lone Louisville goal in the second stanza and the Cardinals trailed the Blue Devils 11-5 at the half. 

UofL held Duke scoreless in the fourth while netting three goals and doubling the Blue Devils shot attempts. Perroni notched her third goal of the game with 10 seconds left, pulling the Cardinals within four, but time ran out before Louisville could complete the comeback.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals now return home to host No. 14 Virginia on Saturday, March 26 at 12 p.m. ET at UofL Lacrosse Stadium.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -   I am out for radio with a previously scheduled appointment but I believe the rest of the gang is on schedule to recap all the things Louisville women's sports at 11 a.m.

As always 

Go Cards !

~Daryl