Holiday Break Continues -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

"Let's All Cheer for Christmas Vacation"

The National Lampoons classic is one of my favorite Christmas movies, and it earns a handful of plays at our house during the December Christmas movie rotation. With my birthday following Christmas, I've always been a firm adherent to the rule I created of "I never went to school on my birthday, I'll never work on it." It's a privilege I don't take lightly, but it certainly adds to the Christmas vacation feel that most adults without children don't necessarily get to experience. 

Louisville athletics are on a bit of an extended holiday break as well. With volleyball bowing out of the tournament a bit earlier than we hoped and football playing an earlier bowl game, Louisville basketball was set to be the only show in town. Then both teams went and had a two-week break in their schedule. Part of that is because of the rescheduling of the men's Battle of the Bluegrass game to earlier in November. If I'm honest, I still don't know how to feel about that one. It feels weird to play it so early, but at least I don't have to worry about it ruining my birthday. The women are also on a break, with both teams set to begin conference play next week. 

I hope that your holiday break has been relaxing and joyful, and I look forward to continuing to bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics in the year to come. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

VB adds Kentucky transfer -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

At about 5pm I realized what day it was haha -- so good evening and thank you for checking back in with Cardinal Couple.   

As the quietness of the holidays linger, some local volleyball news as UofL adds a UK transfer.

Louisville adds UK middle blocker, Brooke Bultema

from gocards.com

Bultema spent her first two seasons at the University of Kentucky. She will join the volleyball Cards this spring and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
This season, the Cincinnati native appeared in 57 sets, tallying 92 kills while hitting .264 with 11 digs and 55 blocks. She had 11 kills and eight blocks when she played her new teammates at UofL earlier this season. She had eight blocks versus Texas, six blocks against Nebraska and Florida and seven versus Auburn.

In 2024 as a redshirt freshman, she was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team as well as to the 2024 Bluegrass Battle All-Tournament Team. She averaged over 2.00 kills per set and led the team in blocks with 1.02 blocks per set. Her career-high 14 kills came versus Tennessee in the SEC season. She git a career-high .714 vs. Morehead State on opening weekend of the 2024 season as UK opened Historic Memorial Coliseum and logged seven blocks vs. Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament as she set a new career-high as Kentucky advanced into the Sweet 16. She tallied seven 10+ kill matches and eight matches of 8+ blocks in her first on-court season. She redshirted the season with an injury.

Bultema, who played prep ball for Ursuline Academy, was a member of the AVCA Under Armor All-American Team and was voted the GGCL Player of the Year in 2022.
Volleyball Magazine ranked her in the top-50 players in the country and during her senior season at Ursuline, she was first in blocks and kills for her conference with a high of 25 kills in a match. She had a match where she hit .666 with 23 kills and one error on 33 swings, while helping Ursuline to a No. 1 ranking in the Ohio State rankings.

As Always, 

Go Cards 

~Daryl 

MERRY CHRISTMAS -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

From all of us, to all of you...a very merry Christmas!!!

Paulie, Sonya and the Cardinal Couple Staff

CARDINAL WISH LISTS WE CAN SEE FOR XMAS-- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

TWAS the day before Christmas..

What do you think the some of the Cardinals women's athletes and coaches want for XMAS? I don't have any insights or bona fide ideas on this matter, but let's have some fun on this day before Santa comes down the chimney and we celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

WBB

 

Grace chose the Cardinals over Kentucky, Baylor, Duke, Florida, LSU, NC State and West Virginia. Yes, there is "Grace" among us...

Jeff Walz -- how about if Santa brings him two 6'7" posts for Christmas? Players who can make the three. control the boards, play defense and help bring Coach a National championship.  

Elif Istanbulloglu -- A free throw success rate of 90% the rest of her career here at Louisville (This from a guy who had a 51% success rate in his career free throw endeavors...)

Laura Ziegler -- A trip to the Final Four and National title trophy to put in her trophy case. 

Taj Roberts -- Double-doubles for the rest of the season and first team All-American honors.

Grace Mbugna -- Recognition as the "best collegiate WBB player to ever come from Kentucky" by the time she graduates 

VOLLEYBALL

Dan Meske -- A national championship next year and Coach of the Year award. 

Kalyssa Blackshear -- Most kills in Volleyball next season

Nayelis Cabello -- 1300 assists next season and All-ACC honors. 

Payton Petersen -- Over 400 kills and three more inches to make her 6'2".

Anna DeBeer -- A title for her Philippines team and an award for "the most beautiful volleyball player on a group of islands"

My buddy...Santa John

Happy Holidays to all and we wish you a very merry Christmas. 

From All of Us to All of You...

paulie

Women's Soccer Adds Three -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Signs Three Transfers 

This news is a little late coming, but with a breather from ongoing sports activity, it's a good time to catch up on some happenings with other sports. Louisville women's soccer has announced the addition of three transfers over the last couple of weeks, adding to the 2026 team that will look to build on a 2025 campaign that saw Louisville go undefeated at home and return to the ACC and NCAA tournaments for the first time in a long time. 

Norah Roush

The first announcement was for Norah Roush. Roush is a defender from Dublin, Ohio who comes to Louisville after spending two seasons at Ohio, preceded by two seasons at Miami. She started 37/39 games as a Redhawk and garnered MAC honors in both seasons. She stayed within the conference by transferring to Ohio and started all 20 games for the Bobcats in 2024. She was the first Ohio player to earn the MAC Defensive Player of the Year award. In 2025, Roush's season was cut short by injury, as she played in only two games. 

Roush will be a welcome addition to a back line that loses a significant amount of experience. 

Abigail (Abby) Cox

Abby Cox was the second announcement, and the second to be comign to her third school. Cox played one season at Rutgers after beginning her career at TCU. As a freshman, Cox played in all 16 games in a season that saw TCU advance to the Big 12 Championship. After transferring to Rutgers, the midfielder/forward nabbed eight starts and saw action in 16 games. She played 644 minutes, had nine shots (four on target) and tallied one assist. 

Cox, who is originally from North Plains, Oregon, will hope to join a midfield that will have some holes at the starting and depth positions next season. 

Liz Eddy

In a bit of a twist of fate, Louisville seems to have executed a delayed trade with SMU. After former Cardinal Callie McKinney left Bellarmine to coach the Mustangs, Louisville has picked up a transfer from the Dallas-based ACC foe. Coincidentally, Liz Eddy is originally from McKinney, Texas. 

Eddy is a rising junior forward who has played in 34 games with the Mustangs. She started 14 as a freshman and 16 last season. Eddy likely drew the eye of Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes when she played all 90 minutes against the Cards in October. As a sophomore, Eddy has three shots per game, tenth in the ACC. Leading the team in shots and shots on goal, Eddy finished with three goals and two assists. As a freshman, she scored four goals and had five assists. 

Louisville will look forward to experienced production at the front next year. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

images from @louisvillewsoc on Instagram

It's Christmas week -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning all, 

Its a quiet week on campus for UofL athletics.  I plan on unplugging for a few days to charge up for the holidays.   

I hope the student athletes are doing the same and enjoying some time off the courts/fields.   

Some sporting news, 

Texas A&M, who put the Cards out of the NCAA Volleyball tournament a few weekends back just won their programs' first national title when they swept both Pitt and UK in the Final Four.  They also put out the overall #1 seed, undefeated and title favorite, Nebraska in a 5 set thriller.    Congrats to the Aggies... what a run.   And it also hit me, kinda weird how the Cards went to the title and lost in 2024 and the Cats did the same the following season.    

As Always, 
Go Cards 
~Daryl 

WBB Finally Shakes Pesky Tennessee 89-65-- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 BALANCED SCORING IN WIN OVER VOLS IN CHAMPIONS CLASSIC

Louisville WBB put six players in double figures and went on a 26-13 fourth quarter run to defeat Tennessee in Brooklyn Saturday afternoon. 

A first half where the Cards build a 41-36 lead after being tied at 17 at the end of the first quarter.  

Halfway through the third quarter, though...the outcome was still in doubt, as UofL was battling to build a substantial lead, but Tennessee had other plans.  The contest was tied at 48 halfway through the third quarter...after a Mia Pauldo jumper for UT...and then, suddenly, the Cards "got it" and took control of the game. . . 

Finally, ithe Cards took control of the game...going on a 13-4 run to end the third quarter and hold a 63-52 lead after 30 minutes. Key in that stretch was two straight layups by Skylar Jones off UT turnovers...and then four other Cards getting baskets or free throws. It was a classic UofL "shut 'em down on defense and out-run them to the basket on offense" style of ball that the Cards have benefitted from for years...and the Brooklyn crowd loved every minute of it. 

The Cards ended the contest on a 36-8 run to completely erase any Vols hopes of coming back again. The fact that the Vols couldn't buy a three either benefitted the Cards. UT was 6 for 25 from beyond the arc. 

The fourth quarter was all Cards. They took the final stanza 26-13 and UT was a demoralized, beaten and dejected squad by the time Taj Roberts made a layup with 1:35 left in the game to put the score at 89-61

As mentioned, scorng was well-distributed ...with Taj Roberts getting 18 points, Imari Berry 15, Reyna Scott 12, Mac Randolph 11, Skylar Jones 10, Laura Ziegler 10.Elif  Istanbulluoglu had nine and Anaya Hardy had the first two baskets of the game...but didnt score after that. 

MY NEW FAVORITE BURGER JOINT IS TODAY'S "FRED"

THE FRED REPORT

F -- Free throws -- The Cards went 8-13 from the charity strips...for 61.5% . "The Elf" needs to get in a little extra work making the freeones...going 3-5 . NO LETTER. 

R -- Rebounding --  59-37 in favor of UofL. 14 for elif Istanbulluoglu and 13 grabs for guard Imani Berry. CAPITAL "R"

E -- Effort/Execution --  20 turnovers is a palm-to-the-forehead stat...but the Cards did shoot a sizzling 49.3& from the floor. A good effort from the bench once again, with 37 points. 20 assists on 37 made baskets stands out, too....but I'll just award a lower case "e" 

D -- Defense -- UofL held UT to 34.2 % from the floor and had 12 steals They also allowed just seven second chance points. With the "run away" win, I'll say the defense sttod up  when needed and I'll give them a CAPITAL "D"

FINAL FRED REPORT:    _-R-e-D

The Cards next outing will be on New Years Day, when they host SMU. 

paulie

Cards Set for Battle Against Tennessee -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB in Women's Champions Classic Today

Louisville women's basketball will face Tennessee in a day full of quality women's basketball in Brooklyn. The Cards will take on the Volunteers as part of the Women's Champions Classic at the Barclays Center. It's a battle between a pair of closely matched teams, with Louisville coming in ranked 16/17 and Tennessee slotting in one spot behind the Cards in both polls. Louisville and Tennessee will get underway at 11am, with Iowa vs UConn to follow. Both games will air on FOX. 

Tennessee is 7-2 so far this season, with one of their two losses coming on the road and the other in their only neutral site game this season. In fairness to the Vols, both of their losses are more or less road games, as the "neutral" loss came against NC State in Greensboro. That matchup, which came in the opener, was a tight one with an 80-77 final score. The Vols scored 77 in their other loss as well, but that one was a little more lopsided as the home team UCLA scored 99. UT's only other game against a power conference opponent came on December 3rd, when the Vols beat Stanford 65-62 in Palo Alto. Tennessee is well rested, as they've played just one other game since then, a home romp against Winthrop on December 14th. 

Tennessee is led by forward Janiah Barker. Barker scores 16.2 points per game, followed closely by 15.4 from guard Talaysia Cooper. Barker and Cooper are also two of three Volunteers averaging at least six rebounds per game, as they snag 6.1 and 6.7, respectively. The two are joined by forward Zee Spearman, who leads the team with 7 rebounds per game. 

Janiah Barker

Tennessee is a team that likes to shoot the three, as they have taken 306 so far this season. Fortunately for Louisville, Tennessee is a team that only kind of likes to make the three. They shoot just 29.7% from distance, which isn't great, but a volume shooting team making that many can still pose a threat. That could be even more of an issue if they get hot, like EKU did the other night, and stay hot, like EKU did not do the other night. 

It's still early in the season, but Louisville could desperately use a statement nonconference win. Losses to UConn, UK, and South Carolina don't hurt you that much, but you still need something to help you when it comes time for the committee to make their decisions. A win today would boost Louisville's standing overall in the national conversation as well as help their confidence in showing that they can match up outside the ACC and win important games. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cardinal Couple coverage update -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Hello, 

Glad you're hear to check in.   

Right now, we're taking steps to get re-credentialed with the University that is oh so dear to our hearts.   <3

We hope to be back on the sidelines soon to bring you the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics.  

L's Up

- Card Couple team

WBB Beats EKU 76-51 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Roberts Leads Four Cards in Double Figures

Louisville women's basketball looked headed for a major letdown game after their big win against UNC on Sunday when the Colonels of EKU took a 19-14 lead through one quarter. The halftime score still didn't look super favorable for the Cards (30-27), but flipping a five-point deficit to a three-point lead means you had a pretty strong second quarter. The final score indicates the continued domination that took place after the rocky first quarter. Louisville won the third 24-10 and the fourth 22-14 to ultimately cruise to a 24-point victory. 

Louisville got out to a slow start, shooting just 6-16 from the floor in the first quarter. They were 1-6 from beyond the arc, though that area never really improved last night. Worst of all, Louisville didn't do much with their trips to the free throw line, going just 1-4 from the stripe in the first quarter. It's a bit difficult to say what exactly went wrong for Louisville in the first, other than they just weren't effective. Five turnovers (out of 16 total) in that first quarter weren't helpful, but they weren't overly crushing either. Regardless, the Cards turned it around after that. 

Surprisingly, Louisville actually shot worse from the field overall in the second quarter, going 6-18 from the floor (0-4 from three), but they were 4-6 from the line to help buoy the offense. They also turned around their defensive effort, which was helped out tremendously by EKU going cold from three-point land. After shooting 4-7 from distance in the first as part of a 7-14 overall effort, the Colonels were just 3-14 from the floor in the second quarter and missed all six of their three-point attempts. EKU went 50% from the floor and 57.1% from three in the first quarter and they would go on to finish 35.1% from the floor and 26.1% from three. Both of those numbers were helped out by an improved fourth quarter during garbage time. 

As I mentioned, Louisville never quite got things going from beyond the arc. The Cards finished just 3-22 from distance, a dreadful 13.6%. They eventually realized that they could have great success inside, though, and they finished 40.3% from the floor overall, shooting 28-55 from two and scoring 44 points in the paint. Part of that came from a strong effort on the boards, as Louisville scored 18 second chance points. They managed 23 points off of turnovers, but only two of those came on fast breaks. 

Taj Roberts led all scorers with 12 points, and she was one of four Cardinals to finish with double-digit points. Laura Ziegler had 11 while Skylar Jones and Yevheniia Putra both scored 10. Elif Istanbulluoglu was also effective, as she tallied nine points to go along with seven rebounds. There were two larger stories on the night, though. 

One of those was Grace Mbugua getting her first game action of the season. While Mbugua struggled a bit offensively (she was just 1-9 from the floor and had two turnovers), it's easy to see that she could be a major force for this team in the future. Mbugua led the game with ten rebounds, and she also added two blocks and a steal. The college game speed will come to her, hopefully sooner rather than later. 

The other big story was Imari Berry, who stuffed the stat sheet. Berry would have loved to have seen a couple of more shots fall (she was just 2-8) so that she could have joined the club of double-digit scorers, but she was involved everywhere else. With the shot not falling, she did a good job distributing, finishing with seven assists (of Louisville's 18 total). She also grabbed eight rebounds and was a menace defensively with a block and four steals. She had just one foul and one turnover. Add in that she was the only player to maximize her points at the free throw line (albeit on just one trip), and it's more than ok that she scored only six points. 

Louisville's recovery after a hot first quarter by a visiting opponent was good to see. The Cards clamped down on the shooting and played well defensively overall. They also kept their heads down and corrected on offense, not resorting to jacking up threes when they weren't falling. After the 1-6 first quarter, Louisville took a total of just eight three point attempts in the second and third before the bench tried to get things going again from outside in the fourth. There is plenty to follow-up on in the film room, but the Cards can't be too disappointed in a 24-point win, even if they didn't cover the spread. 

The FRED Report

Ballplayer extraordinaire...Fred McGriff

F - Free Throws: This one was ugly. 11-19 from the stripe and Imari Berry was the only player to make all (two) of her attempts. 57.9% is worth no letter.

R - Rebounding: Louisville would be expected to win this battle pretty handily, and they did so. The Cards finished with 60 total rebounds and a +28 margin on the glass. They limited EKU to just four offensive rebounds, though those did turn into six second chance points. Louisville's 24 offensive rebounds nearly matched EKU's defensive total. Capital 'R'.

E - Effort/Execution: The Cards had 16 turnovers, which is an average of four per quarter, but they limited that number to just 11 after a rough first quarter. Taj Roberts and Reyna Scott combined for ten of those 16 turnovers, which isn't great, but only five of the turnovers were EKU steals. The Cards, as I mentioned, turned things around on offense and went >50% from the floor from two-point land. A stronger start in the first would have been nice, but they didn't get rattled and got it sorted out for a big win in the end. I'll give a lowercase 'e'. 

D - Defense: Again, this was a tale of the first quarter vs the rest of the game. Louisville forced EKU into 21 turnovers and they had ten steals and five blocks. Once EKU cooled off, they ended up shooting just 330.2% from the floor in the final three quarters and 12.5% from beyond the arc. The Cards sent them to the line for just nine shots. It's tempting to dock them for that first quarter, but sometimes underdogs just come into a game loose and find their range. Louisville weathered that storm and played much better after the first ten minutes. Capital 'D'.

That's a final tally of _-R-e-D, which is fitting for the season as we approach the holiday. This isn't the first clunker at the free throw line for the Cards, so I suspect Coach Walz will have them taking a few more shots at the end of practices. 

Louisville has a short turnaround before they face a good Tennessee team Saturday morning. The Cards will hit the road to New York to take on the Volunteers in the Women's Champions Classic in the Barclays Center for their final game of 2025. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

ACC VOLLEYBALL AND WBB STANDINGS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Let's take a look at where the Louisville Cardinals women's basketball and volleyball teams are in the standings. It's a case of the end of a season in one aspect and the beginning of a conference schedule in the other aspect. 

In Volleyball, Louisville ended 16-4 in conference (26-7 overall) and tied with Miami for fourth place. 

ACC VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS

PITT                        18-2        30-4

STANFORD            18-2        29-5

SMU                        17-3        27-6

MIAMI                     16-4        27-6

LOUISVILLE           16-4        26-7

UNC                        14-6        22-9

GEORGIA TECH    11-9        16-14

FLORIDA STATE    10-10     16-13

WAKE FOREST      9-11       15-16

NOTRE DAME        9-11       12-16

NC STATE               8-12       15-1

CLEMSON               6-14       18-14

VIRGINIA                6-14        18-14

CALIFORNIA          6-14        9-21

BOSTON COL.       5-15       16-16

SYRACUSE            5-15       13-17

VIRGINIA TECH     4-16        12-19

DUKE                     2-19        5-26

The VolleyCards were knocked out of the NCAA Championships by Texas A&M. Dan Meske has a strong squad returning for next season though...and we fully expect to see then contending for the ACc title and to go far in the NCAA Tournament.

ACC WBB

It is early in conference play, with only two of the ACC squads having played two games, but the Cards have two wins in two ACC wins and sit atop the conference.

LOUISVILLE            2-0       10-3

SYRACUSE            1-0        9-1

WAKE FOREST      1-0       10-2

STANFORD            1-0        9-2

NOTRE DAME        1-0        9-2

VIRGINIA                1-0        9-3

NC STATE               1-0        7-4

DUKE                      1-0        4-6

CLEMSON              1-1        7-4

UNC                        0-1        9-3

VIRGINIA TECH      0-1        9-3

CALIFORNIA           0-1        8-4

MIAMI                     0-1         6-4

PITTSBURGH        0-1         6-6

SMU                       0-1        5-6

FLORIDA STATE    0-1        4-6

GEORGIA TECH    0-1        4-8 

BOSTON COL.       0-1        4-9

It is going to be interesting to see how this mix of new players and returning veterans do in the always tough ACC WBB realm. So far, so good. Full speed ahead!
(Bear with the formatting today --working on it)

***********************************************************************************************************

You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script.  --Oprah 

PAULIE                                                                                                        

LAURA ZIEGLER named ACC WBB Co-Player of the Week -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ZIEGLER'S CONTRIBUTIONS IN WINS OVER BALL STATE AND UNC LEAD TO HONOR

We're down to three, folks

There really is no doubt about the impact Laura Ziegler haas had on the 2025-26 Louisvile women's basketball squad. And, the ACC is paying attentiona also.

Ziegler was named ACC WBB co-Player of the week, along with forward Courty Ogden of Stanford.. In the Louisville wins over over Ball State and UNC she averaged 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds. 

She is the first Cardinals to win the award this season. Hannah Hildago, of Notre dame has been named the receiptiant three times this season. .  

Ziegler has been a mainstay and guiding force on Louisville WBB's front line this season. She can also step behind the arc and ring up three-pointers for Jeff Walz's squad. 

In the Cards overtime 76-66 win over UNC in chapel Hill, Ziegler,Elif  Istanbulluoglu and Taj Roberts all saw over 40 minutes of court time and Louisville dominated the overtime session in a fun game to watch on TV.

The Cards are one of three ACC schools in the NCAA WBB top 25 rankings. Louisville is #16, UNC #18 and Notre dame #20. 

The Cards WBB squad returns to action Weds. Dec 17th against Eastern Kentucky University, 

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We will miss him, but Jared Anderson has left Cardinal Couple as a writer and photographer. I do not know the exact details why, but...I can logically assume that there was an option presented to him to stay with us and lose his UofL media on-site credentials or to dis-associate himself from us and still be able to shoot photos for the other sites he represents. This was not a decision he or us had much say in.

paulie

 

Cardinals best the #12 TarHeels in OT -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS WBB DEFEAT UNC AT CHAPEL HILL IN OT

Hello all and thanks for coming back to check in on the joy and excitement on UofL women's sports.  

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend for our outlet this weekend and I hope it gets resolved soon.  I do know how much time and effort the creators and contributors have put in over the many many years of it's existence and it would be a shame to lose it all.  

For now, some decisions have been made to make the Cardinal Couple's access quite limited so we will do the best we can to continue to keep up with the positives.  

Since our photographer shoots for multiple sites, he has had to disassociate himself from our site at this time unfortunately.  We still don't know if we can use his prior works...

The positives for me are that the University is officially on Winter break!!

Looking forward to creating some holiday memories.   Let's cover the Cards' action from Sunday. 

WBB

Louisville 76 vs North Carolina 66

The Cardinals needed extra time to pull off a quality victory on the road in the ACC to make the Cardinals 10-3, 2-0 in the conference.  

Laura Ziegler scored 13 in the first quarter to finish with 17 point and 8 rebounds.   Imari Berry came up clutch down the stretch and finished with 13 of her own with 7 rebounds and 5-6 at the free throw line.  Elif Istanbulluoglu had a season high 16 points and committed no turnovers. 

UNC lead for only 1:23 but it was at the final ticking moments that Louisville forced the foul to put Berry at the free throw line where she went 1-2 to force overtime.   

I will admit, I sighed in defeat when the Cards were down by 1 with under a minute left to play.. I was angry that they could let one like this slip from right under them... and then they didn't!  So I've got to give the Cardinals their flowers because WOW! What an effort to pull it out in Chapel Hill.  Louisville went 10-0 against UNC in overtime to finally secure a quality win this season.  

After the South Carolina game, I had been saying about the team so far this season a couple things... 

    1. I really like this team and I think they could actually go deep this year.  

    2.  It stood out to me that in the Cards only losses so far this season that they were against ranked opponents and that the difference in points defeated by had been getting smaller so I was optimistic.  

And now UofL finally got over that hump to secure a ranked win, in the conference and on the road at that!  Sure, it took and extra period to make it happen but the fact that the Cards were able to force the OT and then UNC goes scoreless in that timeframe is a huge resume booster for Louisville.  

The FRED Report

Fred McMurray

F - Free Throws:   Louisville went 14-17 at the line good for 82.4%.   Berry's only miss in the match came in those final seconds when the Cards' could've secured the victory in regulation.  I digress, the Cards secured just one needed to go to extra period and make a statement like a scoreless period from the opponent.  Capital F


R - Rebounds:  44-39 Cards edge the Tarheels.  They were outrebounded 9-4 in the first quarter so to come out on the positive of the category is ideal.  Capital R


E - Effort/Execution:  The 3 point threat cooled off in the second half for UofL when they shot just 18% going 2-11 from 3 point range.   Zeigler went 3-3 in the first quarter and it was kind of an off night for Taj Roberts from beyond the arc where she went 2-8.  The fact that this squad forced the overtime period and held its opponent scoreless is a sizable accomplishment.  CAPITAL E


D - Defense:   The Cardinals let UNC go 60% from the field and 75% from 3 point land when they outscored them 15-10 in the 4Q which is why the overtime period was needed.   The Cards still needed 4 complete periods to pull off a victory and are lucky the 5th period didnt doom the golden opportunity.   Capital D

That gives Louisville a final tally of F-R-E-D

UP NEXT

Louisville vs EKU 

Wednesday 12/17

6PM

This is a great opportunity for some tune up at home before the Cardinals head to NYC for a marquee matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers. 

We are hoping for some good news this week on the coverage front.  

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

WBB to Face UNC -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

So, things have gotten a bit odd. As Paulie wrote yesterday and elaborated in the comments, Cardinal Couple has been suspended from media access by the University. This is the result of a misunderstanding, and Paul is trying to work with UofL on getting the issue resolved. For now, we'll continue writing and covering the teams as we normally would, but without some of the privileges that we had before. To protect Jared's photography access with other organizations, this also means that we'll be without Jared as a writer, and we won't use his photos for the time being. 

We'll do our best to keep bringing you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics until we're told otherwise. 

Cards Battle Heels in Chapel Hill

Some of that excitement is set to get underway today. Louisville is facing another top-25 matchup late this afternoon (or early this evening, whatever your flavor), when they take on the Tarheels of North Carolina at 4PM. Today's game will be in Chapel Hill, where #12/11 UNC is currently undefeated. Somehow, despite having played 11 games this season, UNC is just 4-0 at home. They've played four home games, two away games, and five games in neutral sites. 

The Tarheels are 9-2 overall this year, and today's game will be their first ACC matchup of the season. UNC opened the year with a 91-82 loss to South Carolina in an exhibition game in Atlanta. They beat NC Central and Elon handedly to open their true calendar before going to Las Vegas for the WBCA Challenge and losing 78-60 to UCLA. UNC won six straight after that, including three wins in their Thanksgiving tournament in Cancun, but all six were over relatively mediocre opponents. Kansas State was the only power conference team in the bunch, and the other wins came over Fairfield, NC A&T, UNCG, South Dakota State, and Columbia.

photo by Taris Smith | UofL

After that streak, UNC hit the road and opened December with an incredibly tough matchup against Texas in Austin. They came away from that battle with the #2 Longhorns saddled with a 15-point loss. A get-right game against Boston University followed on Sunday, and they won by 42. All of that is to say, who knows how good UNC truly is? They have played two ranked teams (three if you count SCar), and they have lost all three pretty solidly. That said, all of them came away from home and all three teams were in the top five. 

Louisville will certainly have their hands full. The Cards haven't had a marquee win just yet this season, either, and today's game will mean a lot for both teams in terms of their tournament resume and their conference standing. UNC is beating teams by a whopping 23 points per game. They score 79.6 and hold opponents to 56.9. Remember, though, that their games have come against some lesser competition. Louisville's games haven't all been against world beaters, either, though, so it is what it is. 

The Cards will need to watch out for Indya Nivar on the offensive and defensive ends. Nivar leads the team in points, scoring 12.6 per game, and she is tied for second in rebounds with 5.7. Nivar also has nine blocks on the season and a whopping 43 steals. Next highest on the team is 14. She shoots 50% from the floor this year and is making 31% of her threes. One spot to potentially slow Nivar down is to send her to the free throw line. The senior transfer guard from Stanford is making just 58.1% of her attempts from there. 

photo from opendorse.com

On the inside, Louisville's bigs will need to contend with Ciera Toomey. Toomey leads the team with 16 blocks and pulls down 7 rebounds per game. She's also scoring 11.2 points per game, hitting 62.5% of her field goal attempts and 73.9 of her shots from the free throw line. Louisville fans will be familiar with another of North Carolina's players in the paint, as Nyla Harris still suits up in the baby blue. Harris is scoring 9.9 points per game this season and is tied with Nivar in rebounding average. Harris has struggled with foul trouble a bit, as she is averaging just 17.7 minutes per game, but she is a spark when on the floor. 

Both teams are looking for their first win over a ranked opponent this season, and Louisville is looking to stay at the top of the standings in the young ACC calendar. A win would put Louisville at 2-0, with both games having come on the road. That would be quite an enviable position, especially having beaten a tough Clemson team already. We'll see it all unfold later today as the game gets underway at 4PM. It will be the highlight game in the slot, as the ACC carries it on the true ACC Network.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

CARDINAL COUPLE HAS BEEN HACKED -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

X ACCOUNT FOR CARDINAL COUPLE HACKED...UOFL SUSPENDS OUR ON SITE COVERAGE. 

We have been informed by UofL that they have seen comments that were inappropriate and unacceptable on Dec 4th on myr X account and the director of media relations there has pulled our credentials.

We were hacked. There is no way in the world we would ever do such a thing. 

We will get to the bottom of this and eliminate the hacks. It'll be up to UofL whether they let us cover again. As far as me, I no longer attend events live due to kidney issues, but I hate that they have suspended Daryl, Case and Jared

It wasn't us. 

paulie 

VolleyCARDS vs Texas A&M preview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

On the TWELFTH day of December , my true love gave to me?! Another blanket of snow covering the city of Louisville this morning.  And honestly, I do enjoy it.. it's pretty to look at but not fun to be out in.  Surprisingly, UofL did not cancel operations this time.... GRRRR.  

Like I commented after last week's storm that happened the night before finals, this time it came the day of winter commencement.  Congratulations to the Class of 2025!!

Also on today's slate is a big Sweet 16 matchup for the Volleyball squad with the #3 seed Texas A&M Aggies.  This one will be held in the overall #1 seed region of Lincoln Nebraska. 

About the Aggies

A&M is 25-4 on the season.  Their last loss came in the SEC tournament to the #3 Texas Longhorns who had been lingering around the top 3 all season.    The Aggies did beat the #2 Longhorns back on Halloween at home when they got up 2-0 and ultimately won in 5 sets. They beat Campbell and TCU to advance to face the Cardinals in the Sweet 16.   Two of their losses came back to back at TCU and against SMU at the beginning of September.  

Prior to their loss in the SEC tournament, the Aggies had not dropped a set since 11/2.  

Louisville is 2-5 against the Aggies all time however the Cardinals captured the most recent matchup taking a five-set victory on their home court in 2019. Texas A&M holds the advantage in four of the seven team statical categories leading in kills per set, assists per set, hitting percentage and aces per set, while the Cardinals hold the advantage in opponent hitting percentage, blocks per set and digs per set.

Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 19 matches and sits 23 kills away from No. 3 on Texas A&M's career kill list.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last three games and is 11 blocks away from ranking third on the programs all-time block list.

This one will be on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

Around the NCAA

UK beat Cal Poly to match up with Creighton who beat Arizona State, on Saturday 12/13

Pittsburgh beat Minnesota in 3 sets to face Purdue who beat SMU 3-1. 

As Always, 
Go Cards
~Daryl 

WBB Wins 93-62 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ball State No Match in Battle of Cardinals

Louisville women's basketball is running out of games in 2025. After last night, they have just three remaining before they turn the calendar over, and the non-conference schedule is winding down as well. The Cards took on Ball State last night, and they'll hit the road to face North Carolina this weekend. After that, there is one more home game against EKU and a neutral site matchup against Tennessee before the Cards move into the proper conference schedule. Facing a somewhat more difficult opponent last night than they have seen in some of their home games of late (excluding South Carolina), Louisville handed Ball State their third loss of the year with a strong 31-point victory. 

Louisville wasted no time in this one, jumping out to a 21-12 lead after the first quarter. The Cards shot just 35% from the field in the first and made just 1-7 three-pointers, but six free throws helped them extend that lead over Ball State. The two teams played fairly close early on, with Ball State having multiple chances to take the lead, but after a pair of free throws moved Louisville from a 6-5 lead to an 8-5 lead, Ball State would not meaningfully reduce the deficit for the remainder of the game. The Cards ended the quarter on an extended 15-7 run and that was pretty much that. 

Louisville shot much better in the second quarter, making 5-8 threes and shooting 60% (12-20) from the floor overall. As a result, they won the quarter 29-13, extending the large lead by even more at the half and setting themselves up to cruise through the second half. The Cards had a chance to break 100 in this game, but the shooting cooled off slightly in the third quarter and some missed free throws in the fourth kept them from running it up. 

All in all, UofL shot 48.5% in the second half and went 36.4% from three. That was a slightly better in overall field goal percentage than the whole game (47.9%) but slightly worse from three (38.5%). Louisville scored a whopping 42 points in the paint, had 17 second chance points, and picked up 50 of their 93 from the bench. Louisville mostly cruised in the second half, winning the half by just six. But when that ultimately contributes to a 31-point victory and you were at the end of your bench for most of the fourth, it's not all bad. The Cards scored at least 20 points in every quarter. 

The Cards were led by a big night from Skylar Jones, who finished with 20 points in 18 minutes and also contributed seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Her seven rebounds were second to Anaya Hardy's ten, as Hardy picked up yet another double-double by scoring 12 points. Mackenly Randolph also had 12, and Laura Ziegler had a big night, taking advantage at the free throw line especially, to score 15 points. Ziegler was 6-6 from the stripe. It was a quiet night for two players we don't usually say that about, as Taj Roberts scored just four, and Elif Istanbulluoglu had no points on 0-3 shooting in 20 minutes. Incredibly, it was Elif who kept it from being another night in which everyone who played scored. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Imari Berry and Peyton Bradley, who both had some of their best games of the year, scoring ten and eight points respectively. Berry also had a rebound, two steals, and three assists, while Bradley added two assists. Overall, the Cards assisted on 14 of 35 made baskets, which isn't great, but they also had 15 turnovers, so the offense could have used some cleaning up. Louisville also didn't force a ton of turnovers, as Ball State also finished with 15, but the visiting Cardinals couldn't find the bottom of the net. Ball State went just 35.6% from the field and 21.1% from three point land. Add in a sub-70% night from the free throw line and it was just an unfortunate night all around. Ball State went 0-9 from beyond the arc in the first half. 

The FRED Report

F - Free Throws: Louisville was kind of back and forth at the free throw line last night. They went 6-6 in the first and 6-7 in the third, but they took no free throws in the second and went 1-4 in the fourth. They finished 13-17 (76.5%), which is good for a lowercase 'f' 

R - Rebounds: The Cards had 45 total rebounds and scored 17 second chance points. That is pretty good, but they only won the rebounding battle (and points in the paint battle) by nine. I initially felt like Louisville should have a bigger advantage here, but they had 25% more rebounds than their opponent, so that seems worthy of a capital 'R'. 

E - Effort/Execution: The Cards played well throughout and didn't lose focus near the end, but they should have been a bit cleaner. Louisville sent Ball State to the line 23 times, and they committed 15 turnovers, giving up 17 points off those turnovers. I'm going to award a lowercase 'e' because the shooting night is too hard to ignore, despite the turnovers. 

D - Defense: Louisville forced only the same amount of turnovers as they committed, but they converted that into more points (22) and they picked up 10 steals. They also kept Ball State from getting clean looks and saddled them with the terrible shooting. I'm going capital 'D'. 

That gives Louisville a final tally of f-R-e-D, which will probably get it done most nights. There will be games in which the offense isn't working quite as well as it did last night, so more turnovers forced and fewer turnovers committed would be nice, but we'll take what we can get. 

Louisville is next in action on Sunday against UNC. The Tarheels are enjoying another strong start to the season as they are 9-2. Their losses are to #3 UCLA in Las Vegas and #2 Texas in Austin. That said, they've played basically no one else, and their best win is an eight-point win over Kansas State in Cancun on Black Friday. The Heels beat Boston University 82-40 on Sunday and have a full week off before facing the Cards. We'll see what Coach Jeff Walz can do to motivate his team in a big road test early in the conference slate. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case