COCHRAN GROUNDS EAGLES WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLE
 |
| (OK, WHO LET PAULIE ON THE COURT ??) |
Hey, folks! Jared reporting here from the KFC Yum! Center on a Wednesday night in the break between Louisville women’s basketball and Louisville men’s basketball. Paulie wasn’t able to make it to the game so I was pulling double duty with writing and photo taking… plus trying to do my best Paulie impression in postgame.
The Cards improved their record to 10-1 with a 74-48 blowout win over Morehead State. Olivia Cochran posted a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double and Nyla Harris scored 16 points.
While the final buzzer showed a 26-point win, things were close in the first quarter. Louisville started 0-5 from the floor and the Eagles held a four-point lead shortly before the first media timeout. UofL would end up with a 16-14 edge in the opening quarter before using a 15-0 run in the second quarter to blow open the game. Missed three-pointers and missed layups were the major culprit for the early game woes.
Louisville would go into the half up 41-22, but should have been up by 30 if it weren’t for the struggles down low. The Eagles battled again in the third quarter and Louisville was only able to extend their lead by two more by the time “Joker and the Thief” played through the KFC Yum! Center.
Defense for both teams took over in the final quarter, with Louisville holding a 15-10 scoring advantage. Jeff Walz pulled off the press in the final few minutes. Hennie van Schaik went down in the fourth quarter, but Walz mentioned that he believes she just rolled an ankle.
Three-point shooting was abysmal- the Cards shot 3-13 (23.1%), but they dominated the points in the paint 46-16, much thanks to Cochran and Harris. A few fast break layups and an offensive rebound layup off a missed free throw contributed to that number too.
F-R-E-D Report
 |
| (we bring back Fred Sanford for today's "Fred"...that's as fine as chilled wine, Cards!) |
Free throws- Louisville shot 15-18 (83.3%) and followed up a missed free throw with a made layup. Great numbers there. Capital F.
Rebounding- The Cards had better success against Kentucky in the rebounding battle but still held the 47-39 edge against the Eagles. Hannah Hicks recorded 11 boards for Morehead State. Winning the rebounding battle was enough for a lowercase “r”.
Effort/Efficiency- Get past the first quarter and the effort increased drastically. The Cards looked sluggish early in the game, perhaps still hungover from their rivalry win over the weekend. Louisville had trouble beyond the arc and had trouble right under the basket. Everywhere else on the court looked great. I don’t think there’s enough reason for a capital letter but the Cards won big in the end so a lowercase “e” works for me.
Defense- If I could split this between the odd numbered quarters and even numbered quarters then we’d see both a no letter and capital letter, respectively. Allowing 14 points in the first quarter and 16 points in the third quarter against Morehead State isn’t pretty. The Cards limited the Eagle’s perimeter shooting and tried to minimize second chance points on the defensive end. A lowercase “d” is awarded here.
FINAL FRED TALLY:
F-r-e-d. Plenty of room for improvement but a win is a win.
Louisville wraps up their home stand 3-0 and will gear up for a trip to UConn on Saturday.
 |
| (EXCLUSIVE PHOTO OF THE ADMINISTRATOR THAT THOUGHT 4 P.M. WEEKDAY GAMES ARE A GOOD IDEA...SO WAS PIZZA ON STICK, RIGHT?) |
Jared’s Note: 4:00 weekday games don’t draw fans. I was fortunate to leave work early but most of the Cardinal Couple Crew and much of the fan base was still at work or school when tip-off happened. The posted attendance was 7,066 but it looked to barely break 5,000. Next time, put the men’s game early since they barely have fans at games (for good reason) and the women’s team could’ve had a larger crowd with the 8:00pm slot.
Daryl will give you your regular Friday post tomorrow so make sure to tune in!
THEY SAID IT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLbQzsljX3c Olivia and Kiki post game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izNaMlnxfNE Jeff Walz post game
Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared
Ditto "Jared's note" and a question to the powers that be as to when they are going to quit disrespecting the women's game and the athletes but making their game a "warm up."
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon Cards Nation
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals got off to a slow start but the defense is really getting better the offense I think is definitely there.
I noticed Alexia Mobley is making the best of her minutes being disruptive grabbing rebounds getting occasional layups her play is improving.
Go Cards.