CARDS WBB TIED FOR TOP IN THE ACC -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 8-0 IN ACC LEADS THE CONFERENCE

Second best, Wes..sorry.

We are almost halfway through the conference slate in the 2025-26 ACC WBB season and the Cards WBB squad sits at the top of the 18 team slate. 

The Cards are tied with Duke in conference wins. The Duke squad is 13-6 overall and the Cards are 18-3 overall. Those two will meet on Feb 5th. in Louisville. 

Louisville is eighth in the AP Poll for all the DI WBB squads and their three losses have come to teams ranked higher than them in the rankings...UK, UConn and South Carolina was impressive in the fct that the cards trailed by 13 points before coming back to get the overtime win by eight...

 UNC assistant coach Ashley Williams saw the loss this way: 

"We knew the key to this game would be rebounding, boxing out and getting defensive boards and finishing possessions. Unfortunately they had some key offensive rebounds that they were able to capitalized on...Louisville sent all five players to the boards at times...they started out being aggressive with the ball screen defense. They were trapping, putting two on the ball at times and then in the second half they switched things up and really threw us out of our rhythm." 

The Cards got a career game out of Imari Berry to secure the win and it's a great example of how you never really know which Cards player is going to step up and lead them to a victory. That is probably the thing that opponents have to worry about the most when they face Louisville, just who is going to explode and take over a game?  I'm not sure if the cards can even predict that successfully. The are a very tough team o to figure out if you have to design a defense for stopping them. 

How does the rest of the ACC shape up? 

Behind Louisville and Duke...NC State, Syracuse and Virginia have two in-conference losses. Then comes Stanford, North Carolina Virginia Tech, Clemson and Notre Dame have three conference defeats. Miami and Georgia Tech have four  ACC losses. California has five losses. Wake Forest. SMU, PItt and Florida State have half a dozen defeats and Boston College is winless in eight conference games. 

The Cards have ten ACC games left before the ACC Tournament. Next up? Boston College comes to town on Jan 25th. 

paulie

 

Berry Named ACC POTW -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Imari Berry's Big Day Draws Accolade

Louisville women's basketball had a huge win on Sunday, as Daryl wrote up in her column yesterday, and the big road week for the Cards saw them regain some national attention. Louisville had a pair of tough road tests last week against Notre Dame and NC State and came away with wins in two of the toughest places to play in the conference. Those victories moved Louisville to 5-0 on the road this season and pushed them to 8-0 in conference play. Louisville stands tied atop the league with just one other undefeated team: Duke. The Cards and Blue Devils will face off just once this season, with Kara Lawson's squad coming to the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday, February 5th. The game is already announced as an ESPN matchup. 

Louisville's victories did more than keep them atop the ACC; they propelled the Cards squarely back into the top-ten in the country and resurfaced Louisville amongst teams to watch as the season rolls on. The Cards moved up to 8th in both the NET rankings and the Associated Press poll, and will likely see themselves on the rise when the USA Today Coaches Poll is released today. The Cards are the highest rated three-loss team, sitting three spots ahead of Kentucky, who stand at 11th in the NET and AP polls. 

Along with the team recognition, a Louisville player found herself in the spotlight as well, with Imari Berry being named the ACC WBB Player of the Week. Berry had a huge game on Sunday, pouring in a career-high 33 points and adding 12 assists for the second double-double in her career. Berry's game on Sunday included back-breaking shot after back-breaking shot as the Wolfpack tried to distance themselves, and she made two free throws to send the game to overtime. Berry also added three steals and a pair of assists. 

graphic via gocards.com

Berry was critical in a game that saw Taj Roberts struggle from the floor and be limited to just four points. Roberts was coming off of a big game of her own against Notre Dame, in which she scored 19 points on 4-5 shooting from three and went 5-5 from the line in 36 minutes, so it would be understandable if her legs weren't quite there on the back-end of two huge away games. Berry, to her credit, was good for the Cards in South Bend as well, scoring seven points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Berry has shown that she can shoot the lights out in limited quantities in the past. Sunday's game was the first time where she went completely unconscious and took the game over. If she and Roberts can come together for big games at the same time against some of Louisville's key opponents down the stretch, the ceiling for this team gets a lot higher. 

After the tough road trip, Louisville gets a minor reprieve with a mid-week ACC bye. They'll have Thursday off before hosting Boston College on Sunday, January 25th. Louisville will need to get every bit of rest they can this week, as they have a tough stretch before their next midweek bye. After BC, Louisville will go on the road for the West Coast swing against Stanford and Cal before returning home for that game against Duke. Then they'll make a weekend trip to Syracuse before coming back home to face Wake Forest and Florida State. That's a lot of air miles and a lot of difficult matchups. Going 7-0 in this stretch would be a dream. Getting out of it with one or two losses would be commendable. We'll see what the Cards can do as the season heats up. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards complete comeback on the Wolfpack in OT -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Good morning and happy Martin Luther King Jr Day.  

The University of Louisville recognizes the federal holiday in observance of the late Dr King. 

WBB

Louisville 88 - NC State 80 

The Cards are toppling the big dawgs in a pretty convincing fashion with Louisville on an 11 game win streak and have now evened the series with the Wolfpack 9 each.

The two previous conference road wins vs rivals are big ones and now Louisville gets a 7 day break before welcoming Boston College to the Yum Center next weekend. 

Imari Berry had a career day with 33 points and 12 rebounds (her career rebounds is 13 vs Tennessee a few weeks ago).  

NC State dominated the first quarter before the Louisville defense put a stop to the bleeding.  Louisville gave up 23 points to NC State in the quarter before pulling it within 5 at the halftime break.  Zamareya Jones for NC State had 11 points in the opening frame while Louisville could only put 14 on the board.   

Wolfpack extended their lead again by as many as 13 in the 3rd quarter but not to be discouraged, Berry closed out the quarter scoring 8 points in the final minute to make it a 3 point game heading into the final frame of regulation. 

Cardinals forced OT when Imari Berry scored the final 5 points in regulation, a three pointer out of a timeout with 41 seconds and then swishing her 2 free throw attempts with 10 seconds left.  

Mackenley Randolph scored 5 for the Cards in the extra 5 minutes to secure the 88-80 win.

UP NEXT

Louisville vs Boston College 

Sunday 1/25/26 

2p.m. ACCNX

Louisville and Duke are the lone undefeated teams in the ACC with the next group 2 games back.  


FRED REPORT

Frederick Douglass 

FREE THROWS -- Louisville  13-17 at the line (76.5%) none bigger than the 2 made by Imari Berry in the final 10 seconds of regulation.  NC State went 18-24 from the charity stripe.  CAPITAL F 

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals outrebounded the Wolfpack 44-35 lead by who else?  Imari Berry pulled down 12, 6 offensively and defensively each.  CAPITAL R

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- UofL was 0-7 from three point land in the first half and only hit 4-10 in the second half but none bigger than Berry's 3 pointer out of the Cards timeout with 41 seconds left. Berry's career efforts secured this one. Elif, Laura and Taj combined for only 13 points.   CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- The Cards defense let NC St shoot 48% in the game, 53.8% in the first quarter where they let the Wolfpack get quite the leg up.  The Cards then went on and won 3.5 quarters offensively.  UofL scored 24 points off turnovers and had 10 steals.  no letter



FINAL FRED TALLY: F_R_E_

Imari Berry and Jeff Walz Postgame

As Always, 

Go Cards 

~Daryl 

WBB in Raleigh to face NC State -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCST LEADS SERIES 9-8

They're one of those ACC teams that Louisville has struggled with in the ACC. And, going to Raleigh and playing in front of what's sure to be a sellout pro-Wolfpack crowd isn't exactly a game where Coach Walz can unload the bench for the fourth quarter. 

NC State, coached by the ubiquitous Wes Moore, isn't quite the squad they were last year...but at 13-5 and second in the ACC standings...they are still a force to be reckoned with...and Wolfpack fans take a special delight in giving the Cards and Jeff Walz a welcome that is not warm and cheerful. 

Classless, mean, overly intense and abusive is the opinion of a few of the other ACC coaches and players when it comes to the NCST fan base. They, of course ,see themselves differently...as being loyal and passionate. 

A former UofL WBB player, who asked to remain anonymous, describes playing in the James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum as "worse than the biggest rivalry you had in high school. They'd probably boo Santa Claus because he wears a red suit..." 

Reynolds can hold up to 5.500 for women's basketball and has attracted a little over 5.000 for home games this season. Packed on top of the court, the crowd can be very intimidating to visiting teams. 

Of course, it's well known that my favorite mascot in the ACC WBB is Ms. Wuf...Below is a photo of the two of us, shortly before Mr. Wuf barged in and demanded to be in a picture. Yeah, things could get a little crazy in Greensboro 

So...who are the Wolfpack leaders? They currently have four student-athletes in double figures...junior Khamil Pierre leads the way with 15.8 a game.  

Khamil gives 'Pack fans a thrill...

The Pack have won four out of their last five...inexplicably losing to Clemson.

Last year, the Cards played NCST twice and won both...65-54 in November in Louisville and 70-68, in overtime, in the ACC Tournament.

 This one is a ESPN2 game and...of course, the network will trot out former NCST guard Deb Antonelli to do color analysis. It's a 1 p.m. tip.  Let's hope she doesn't go into a two-hour praise-fest of Wes and the Pack. 

And let's hope the Cards can hold up under the second most hostile fan base they face in a season...

paulie

New Star Shines for UofL Track and Field -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ashley Callahan Breaks Pole Vault Record

Louisville track and field has had quite a bit of success over the last decade or so, especially in the realm of field events. Even more specifically, the Cards have excelled at jumps of many kinds, adding that to their list of specialties alongside throws. Louisville has three indoor national championships, all in weight throw, with the most recent coming in 2021. Their success in jumps has come primarily outdoors, with the Cards having a stellar season in 2022. That year saw three individual ACC champions in Synclair Savage (long jump), Emily Scott (high jump), and Gabriela Leon (pole vault). Leon would go on to win Louisville's first NCAA individual outdoor championship that season. 

Despite her championship, Gabriela Leon's didn't hold the most recent indoor pole vault record, as Natalie Lark broken the school record last February. Lark's record stood for just 11 months. Yesterday, at the Bellarmine Open hosted in the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, Ashley Callahan set a new school record of 4.48m (14'-8.25"). The senior transfer from San Diego State broke Lark's record by just one-quarter of an inch, but I would expect her to continue to push that barrier as the season goes on. 

photo by Mallory Peak via gocards.com

Callahan was one of five winners for the Cards yesterday in the one day event. On the women's side, she was joined by Demaria King, who set a personal best in the weight throw. The men also won the pole vault and weight throw, with KJ Byrd and Matt Giuliano. Josiah Horton set a personal best, as well, on his way to victory in the 800m.

Louisville track and field will be back in action next weekend, splitting the team between athletes staying home for the Bellarmine Invitational in the same building and going to Indianapolis for the Crossroads of America Invitational. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case 

Cards win the battle with the Irish 79-66 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning readers,  I'm ready for the temperatures to start warming back up.  The Cards are heating up on the hardwood.

Louisville is on a 10 game win streak with a big road win against the rival #22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish last night, lets get into a recap.  

WBB

Louisville moves to 17-3, 7-0 in the ACC.

Reyna Scott came off the bench for a career high 20 points against the Irish when she went 9-13 from the field with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists to boot.  Tajianna Roberts also poured it on with 19 of her own when she saw 4 of 5 of her three point attempts go through the hoop. 

Hannah Hidalgo had herself a night when she scored 24 points and 8 assists but HH and Notre Dame's short bench would not be enough to topple the Cards on this night.  After the first quarter, the Cardinals took command of the lead and never relinquished it.  The Irish would run out of gas in the 4th quarter as UofL would hold ND to just 23% shooting and 10 total points. Roberts and Scott combined for 14 in the quarter.  

UP NEXT 

Louisville at NC STATE 

Sunday 1pm 

FRED REPORT

Fred Chopin

FREE THROWS -- Louisville was 12-16 at the line good for 75%. Compared to ND's 7-10 which were only attempted by Hidalgo, it was a solid night for the Cards. CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals outrebounded ND 38-36 but considering the Irish only had 6 players available and Scott mentioned in the post game interview that it was an emphasis for the team this week, I'd say there's much to be improved in this category. lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Once UofL secured the lead, they did not let it go. There was no doubt in this one and the Cards got a much needed offensive effort and output from Roberts and Scott in hostile territory. CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- The Cards held Hidalgo to 1-4 from three point range. She was held to just 2 points in the first and 4th quarter each. CAPITAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY: F_r_E_D





As Always
Go Cards

~Daryl

WBB Cards VISIT NOTRE DAME -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 irish 2-2 in last four ACC games

When it comes to evaluating 2025-26 Norte Dame WBB, one not need look much further than Hannah Hildago. The junior out of New Jersey is averaging 25.1 p.p.g. in sixteen games for the Irish and grabs 6 rebounds a night...not bad for a 5'6" guard. She is one of three Irish in double figures.

It's a Notre Dame team that has done fairly well until recently. Non conference losses came to Michigan and Ole Miss...those two are currently #8 (Michigan) and #16 (Ole Miss) in the nation. The A.P. brings Notre Dame in at #23 in the nation...and the Irish are a sparkling 10-0 at home this season. 

Cassandre Prosper is another high scoring guard for Niele Ivey's squad. Prosper averages 17.1 a game in sixteen starts. 

The Irish's two conference losses came on the road..at Georgia Tech,(90-95 in overtime)  to begin 2026 and to Duke on Jan 4th (68-82 ). 

The Irish were counting pretty heavily on freshman forward Leaah Macy to be a solid contributor this season, but a knee injury has ruled her out for this year. 

Jeff Walz on Notre Dame

It's a 6 p.m .tip in Purcell Pavilion and will be shown on ACCN.

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In memorandum, our good friend and Cardinal great Al Parrish passed away last night. 

paulie

WBB Moves Up to #10 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS WBB ON A NINE GAME WIN STREAK

The "Elf"...Elif Istanbulloglu

Here's a little quiz for you to start out your "hump day" Cardinal Couple reading...who was the last WBB squad to defeat the Louisville WBB squad? 

A) Kentucky  B) South Carolina C) North Carolina  D) East Carolina                                                                                                                              

If you had "B" South Carolina, give yourself a pat on the back and claim a seat next to the stats crew on the KFC YUM! Center (but be prepared to be run off by security). 

Taj Roberts

Related to the ongoing success of the Walzian Cards, Louisville has inched up another spot in the "polls" and can now be called a top ten squad. If you like the AP polls... they have UofL WBB at #9.  With a dozen ACC tilts remaining...the Cards are atop the ACC standings ...being one of two teams with a perfect 6-0 ACC record...Duke being the other. 

The AP top ten (as of 1/12/26) are 1) UConn 2) South Carolina 3) UCLA 4)Texas  5) Vanderbilt 6) LSU 7) Kentucky 8) Michigan 9) Louisville and 10) TCU. The Cards don't have any of the other top ten left on their schedule...but their next two games...at Notre Dame on Thursday and at NC State on Sunday could be tough contest. Someone at the AP needs a spelling lesson, though...I am unfamiliar with "Rode" Island...

NC State and Virginia are right behind the Cards in conference with 5-1 marks. Notre Dame just recently fell out of the top 25. 

Mackenly Randolph

The Cards are getting it done with a variety of players  stepping up when called upon and also playing lockdown defense. No one has posted more than 70 points on Louisville since South Carolina back on Dec 4th.,,,and the only other plus 70 efforts against the Cards were from the three teams that own victories over them. #1 UConn, #2 South Carolina and #7 Kentucky.

Seven Cards see 18 minutes of more per contest and Tajianna Roberts leads the way with 28.2 a game.

paulie 

                                                                                                                    

                 

Softball Looms -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Freshmen Honored in Preseason

Believe it or not, we are less than a month away from the start of softball season. The weather may have played tricks on us last week, but as is typical, Louisville will start on the road for the first three weeks of the season before opening the home slate on February 24th. Coach Holly Aprile is starting her 8th season at the helm of the Louisville Cardinals, and she'll look to have this team back on track after a slight dip followed their 2023 NCAA tournament appearance. Louisville followed up the 2023 season by missing the ACC tournament in 2024 and went one-and-done last season. The Cards showed promise at times in each season, so we'll look for improvement this year. 

Part of that improvement could come from a couple of the newcomers on this year's squad. Softball America certainly thinks it's a possibility, anyway. Two freshmen, Jayden Gohs and Addyson (Addy) O'Dell, have been added to the SA Freshman Watch List. 

Jayden Gohs (l) and Addy O'Dell (r)
image courtesy of gocards.com

Jayden Gohs is a right handed pitcher, who will try to step into the third spot in the rotation that Louisville has been looking for over the last couple of years. She'll be in the pitchers room alongside senior Alyssa Zabala and junior Brooke Gray, along with junior Madi Reeves and sophomores Anna Wise and Ryann Sanders. Gohs will also work to fill a position left open by Taylor Roby, as she was one of the top two-way players in the country. Her junior season saw her throw 339 strikeouts with a .454 ERA while she hit .528 at the plate and knocked in 66 RBIs and 18 home runs. The freshman from Goodrich, Michigan was a two-time all-state selection and an NFCA High School All-American. 

Addy O'Dell is on the roster as an INF/C so we will see how Aprile chooses to deploy her. O'Dell hails from Newton, Illinois, where she was a three-time all-state selection. O'Dell has elite speed, which is probably why Aprile elected to pursue her, as she'll look to keep Louisville as one of the top base-stealing teams in the country. As a freshman, O'Dell stole 37 bases. She followed it up in her sophomore year by setting a school record 39 steals. That record came while not being thrown out a single time. O'Dell, who has been recognized by Extra Innings as one of the Top 50 Softball players since playing the 12U league, showed her chops as an all-around athlete by also lettering in basketball and being a three-time state qualifier in track and field. 

When Louisville announced a freshman signing class of just two last year, Holly Aprile called the class "small but mighty." Both players in that class being named by Softball America to the Freshman Watch List backs up that claim. 

Louisville opens the season on February 6th at the Felsburg Invitation hosted by Florida International University in Miami. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

The Cards fly by the Panthers 86-46 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Good morning and welcome to a new work week.  (groan)

Louisville WBB avoids the trap game to win 86-46 vs the Pitt Panthers for their 6th win in the ACC.   Its their best conference start since the 2020-21 season.   Dana Evans was on that roster.  

Louisville came storming out to a 25-6 in first quarter lead when they went 10-25 from the field.   Anaya Hardy had 7 points in 7 minutes 4 rebounds in that time, finishing the game with 16 points on 7-9 shooting and 9 rebounds to boot.  

The Cards did, however, go 1-9 from 3 point land in that frame.   The shots were not falling for Taj Roberts yesterday afternoon, as she finished 1-10, 1-6 from three point land.   Pitt had 11 turnovers in the 1 quarter which helped eased some of the woes from outside.  

FRED REPORT

Freddie Prinze Jr.

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 7-11 at the line which is good for 63.6% in the game. Thile the Cards didn't have too many chances at the charity stripe, Imari Berry made both of her attempts. no letter

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals GROSSLY outrebounded the Panthers 60-28.  Grace Mbugua had 10 with Hardy pulling down 9, 6 of them offensively to give the Cards 12 second chance points.  CAPITAL R

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- With Elif out,  UofL had to fill in a major void on the effort and energy category.   11 Cardinals played more than 11 minutes on the floor.  A great tune up for the squad heading into rivalry week.  CAPITAL E 

DEFENSE -- The Cards held the Panthers to just 2 buckets in the first quarter and forced 11 turnovers.  Frustrations mounting, Pitt committed 5 of its 9 total fouls in the first quarter.   The first quarter alone warrants a CAPITAL D letter allowing Louisville complete control in the match. 



FINAL FRED TALLY:    _R_E_D

Coach Walz Post game Presser - Pittsburgh

As Always,
Go Cards! 
~Daryl 

WBB faces Pitt today -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 PANTHERS COME TO LOUISVIILE 8-9, 1-3 IN ACC

The Cards will look to extend their win streak to nine straight games when they host Pitt at 2 p.m. today. The contest will be shown on the CW if you can't attend. That's channel 7 on my Insight TV package, I guess that can vary...depending on how you watch your "idiot box"

Pitt comes to Louisville after slipping by Boston College 64-61 last Sunday in Boston. The Panthers used a strong 23-8 fourth quarter to erase a 53-41 deficit after three quarters. 

Hagans

The Pitt squad got 24 points out of Theresa Hagans, a freshman guard out of Utica, NY. and 15 points from Lauren Rust..(no, not the Louisville associate AD/Compliance and Sports Administraton lady) The Pittsburgh Rust is a sophomore forward out of Victoria B.C. 

Lauren Rust, Pittsburgh version

Notable Panther losses have come to Mississippi St. 79-44 and Clemson 73-41.

So, these Panthers don't seem to have much claw and should be an opponent that will hopefully give coach Walz a chance to go deep into the bench and develop the talent there. 

Lauren Rust -- Louisville version

We'll recap it Monday. We are still blacklisted from UofL Press Row for women's sports at UofL. but...we still report on the games, though, because you...the readers...ask us to.    

We are Cardinal Couple. I just want to get my reporters back on Media row for coverage of games...my health , sadly, probably prevents me from ever going again. 

paulie

Former WSOC Star Headed to LA -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Karsyn Cherry Signs with Angel City FC

The NWSL eliminated its traditional draft process as part of its most recent collective bargaining agreement, making the 2025 collegiate soccer season the second to not end with players hoping to hear their names called to play at the next level. Instead, players are free to sign anywhere that they have an opportunity to play, whether that is in the US or beyond. Louisville graduated a number of seniors with a lot of experience, so we'll be keeping an eye out for more announcements, but their multi-year captain was the first to find a spot in the NWSL.

Karsyn Cherry was among three rookies signed by Angel City FC, the NWSL team that calls Los Angeles home. Coincidentally, all three signees came from the ACC, as Cherry joins FSU midfielder Taylor Suarez and Duke midfielder Carina Legeyre. Cherry signed a three-year contract with the team, which she says she is "excited and grateful to be able to play for". Cherry heads to LA after an incredible career at Louisville, which included 5,610 minutes played over 69 career games with 68 starts. Cherry scored in her first career start as a freshman in 2022, which marked the first of her 12 career goals with the Cards. 

Cherry (r) with fellow SR defender Lizzie Sexton

Cherry was part of a 2025 defense that helped Louisville go undefeated at home and posted 12 clean sheets. She scored three goals as a senior, down on her previous two seasons, but still good for seventh on the team. One of those goals was a game winner, and she added four assists for good measure. Behind Erynn Floyd, Louisville is likely to miss Karsyn Cherry more than any other player on the field next season, so it's great to see her getting an opportunity to show her skills at the next level. 

Coincidentally, Cherry isn't the only player who spent last year in Louisville to be headed to LA. Ary Borges left Racing Louisville as a free agent at the end of the season and was announced as a signee by ACFC earlier this week as well. Angel City finished the 2025 season standings in 11th, out of 14 teams. They posted a -10 goal difference on a 7-13-6 record, and they were nine points out of a playoff position. What I'm getting at is that they definitely have room to improve, and there may be an opportunity for new players like Cherry to make an early impact. 

We're wishing a huge congratulations to Karsyn and hoping for success in her next chapter. As I said at the top, Louisville had a lot of key contributors graduate, so we'll keep you posted on any other advancements. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB handles the Hurricanes 77-68 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Hello readers and hello weekend.   

Campus is alive again.  Its been quite the week trying to get back into some sort of groove.  But I've definitely enjoyed being back on campus with a diverse population.

Basketball remains the topic of the week with Walz' squad heading south to the Sunshine state so lets recap the matchup. 

WBB

Louisville 77- Miami 68

WBB handed Miami its second loss at home in a row when they dominated the second half 44-33, specifically the third quarter outscoring Miami 27-12.  Despite the Canes going on a 7-0 run in the final 2 minutes of regulation.   

This one tipped off at 3PM and student athletes should be back in the classrooms tomorrow.  They'll be walking around campus with smiles on their faces after securing another ACC road victory to remain atop the conference standings.

Elif Istanbulluoglu scored 23 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and had 5 assists while Imari Berry went 4-6 from 3 point land for 16 points, 14 of them coming in the second half and 3 of them in the 4th quarter. 

Louisville went 11-19 in the third quarter after losing the lead in the final 5 seconds of the first half.  As a team, they had 22 assists on 30 made baskets. Ziegler led the rebounding efforts for the Cards with 9 as UofL was outrebounded 40-35.

UP NEXT 

Louisville vs Pittsburgh 

Sunday 1/11 2pm 

Available on the CW (sigh) 

FRED REPORT

Fred Durst

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 9-12 at the line which is good for 75%.  Skylar Jones was a perfect 3-3.  Solid day at the charity stripe.  CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals were outrebounded 40-35 to the Canes.  Anaya Hardy played only 7 minutes grabbing 3 rebounds in that time.  After starting, she did not appear in the second half and only had 1 foul on her.   no letter 

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  UofL was secure with the victory when Miami could only get it as close as an 8 point margin with just under 7 minutes left in the game.   The Cardinals are looking like the team to beat in the ACC and its a blessing to see.  I am constantly impressed with Coach Walz ability to pull a team together. Im not saying they'll go undefeated in the ACC but I do think they can beat anyone on any given night. They are finding ways to win.  CAPITAL E

DEFENSE --  The Cards defense allowed the Hurricanes to shoot 41% from the field but also had 3 blocks and 6 steals.   Berry had two of them.  lower case d



FINAL FRED TALLY:   F_  _E_d

Check out these sweet new uniforms the Cards get to rock in an upcoming game (or two i hope).  These are the 'Spida' edition Louisville jerseys that were designed by the former Cardinal great, Donovan Mitchell.  I think these are soOoOOO aesthetically pleasing!  The athletics font with the 'Spida' webb is *chefs kiss*

(pics from UofL Facebook)

Top of the ACC News

The battle for first place 

Duke (10-6) wins over Cal 78-74 scoring 24-10 in the 4th quarter.  

UVA (13-3) escapes a Georgia Tech comeback 61-59.

NC State falls to Clemson 75-65 for the upset to put the pack one game back. 

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

CARDS WBB RANKED 10th OR 11th or 12TH...depending on the poll. -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE WBB TOP RANKED ACC SQUAD

So...the Louisville WBB squad (14-3) goes into their Jan 8th game at Miami either 10th, 11th r  12th...depending on the poll. The AP has the Cards at #10, the USA Coaches poll puts UofL at #11th. and the NCAA Net Rankins say "around" #12.

The Cards have started out 2026 with two wins...85-60 over Virginia Tech and a 91-58 romp over SMU. Let's look at five Cards who have been integral to UofL 2026 success. 

-In the two games of 2026: 

LAURA ZIEGLER: 26 pts. 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal.

IMARI BERRY: 24 Pts. 12 rebounds,  6 assists, 1 steal

TAJIANNA ROBERTS: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals

ELIF ISTANBULLUOGLU: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals

MACKENLY RANDOLPH: 18 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals,

The Cards sits atop the ACC with a 4-0 record in conference, along with three other teams...Virginia, NC State and Duke. 

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In other news, Cardinal Couple has not received an word yet on whether they can cover games live from Media Row yet.  Paulie did receive an e-mail, from a coach from another school who preferred to remain anonymous:

"Anytime you want to cover the WBB at --------, from our media section...just let me know."

We have petitioned four people associated with UofL women's sports to get my writers and photographer back in there under the Cardinal Couple name. None of the four have responded yet. A check up with my cardiologist yesterday indicated that he doesn't recommend me going without 02 support. My pulmonologist basically said the same thing last week. Upcoming for me, a trip to Cleveland Ciinic Feb 12th to see what they can do for those two things and my kidneys. 

I appreciate the support you readers have given me. I ask you not to be critical, abusive or defamatory with the decision maker that has me on this "black list". As Martin Luther King said: 

"With patient and firm determination until every valley of despair is exalted to new peaks of hope. , until every mountain of pride and irrationality is made low by the levelling process of  humility and compassion, until  the rough places of injustice are transformed into a smooth plane of equality of opportunity and until the crooked places of prejudicial treatment are transformed by the straightening process of bright-eyed wisdom" 

paulie

CARDS WBB STATS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WBB STATS AFTER 17 GAMES

Figured it might be time to take a look at a few UofL WBB stats...as the Cards are now atop of the ACC standings ...let's see what helped get them there.

First off...14-3 is impressive. The only losses...to UConn, UK and South Carolina...came to teams that are #1 (UConn), ,  #3 (South Carolina)  and #6 (UK) in the nation Those three teams have only two losses in their 47 games...so no major upsets ,or  unexpected losses there.  Of course, it's always disappointing to lose to your in-state rival....but .the Cards are outscoring their opponents 83.1 to 58.0 this season. 

 The Cards have only hit the 100 pt. mark once (against Bellarmine), 90's points five times, in the 80's four times, 70's four times ,and 60's three times

Overall the points scored is solidly in favor of the Cards...1412 to 992. 

On an individual basis, the Cards three leading scorers are Tajianna Roberts (13.2), Laura Ziegler (11.7) and  Imani Berry (10.1). Leading three-point shooters are Roberts (32), Ziegler (27) and Berry (21). Skylar Jones has 33 free throws made, Ziegler 32 and Berry 30. 

In minutes played...Roberts has 482, Ziegler 460 and Elif Istnbulluoglu 413.

Roberts. Ziegler, Istanbulluoglu and Mac Randolph have started in all 17 games.

Home states or countries?  There are three players from Kentucky on the roster, two from California and one each from New York, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Illinois....for the US contingent. Other countries are one each from Turkey, Ukraine, Australia ,and Denmark. .

By class... There are three seniors, two juniors, six sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two freshmen

(Photos from UofL and Jared Anderson) pulled rom internet...

 paulie

Cards Back in Top 10 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville WBB on the Rise

After head coach Jeff Walz's 499th and 500th wins over the past week, Louisville has seen themselves move back into the top ten of the AP poll. The Cards moved up from 13th to 10th, taking advantage of their opportunities as other teams fell. LSU lost a pair of games to drop from 5th to 12th, and Iowa State and TCU each lost one game to drop them behind the Cards. Louisville is the highest ranked three-loss team in the poll, with Baylor (13-3) checking in at 16th after their win over then-#10 ISU. 

The USA Today Coaches Poll releases on Tuesdays, so we'll see how many spots the Cards gain there, but the NET ranking shows that the games played matter as much as the results. Louisville remains 12th in the NET, as home games against middling opponents added a Q2 and Q3 win each. Those don't get you a ton of credit, but they're better than losses, to be sure. LSU, after two Q1 losses, remains fifth in the NET. 

Louisville's four ACC wins keep them at the top of the pile in the league, but they still haven't distanced themselves in this early season. Virginia, NC State, and Duke also sit at 4-0. All three of those teams have won six straight games, one behind Louisville's current streak of seven. Notre Dame dropped back-to-back ACC games with an overtime loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta and an 82-68 loss in Durham. The Irish have given up more than 60 points just five times and have lost four of those games (won 78-65 at James Madison). They've also failed to score 70 just four times and lost three of them (won 61-59 against USC). 

Louisville will put their rankings to the test in the coming weeks, starting with a road trip to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes. Miami is 10-5 this season and 2-2 in the ACC. They find themselves ranked 45th in the NET, which isn't much to write home about, but four of their losses came in their four Q1 opportunities. They'll be looking to snag a big win when the Cards come to town on Thursday. After that, Louisville returns home for a classic trap game against Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 8-9 (1-3) this season and they are ranked 243rd in the NET. The following game week is huge for the Cards as they travel to Notre Dame and NC State on the 15th and 18th, making it a prime opportunity for Louisville to lose a bit of focus after their road game against Miami. 

Just like I said last week, there is a ton of basketball left to play. Teams left and right are showing how easy it is to slip up or underestimate an opponent. Louisville has had a few games this season where they have "gotten away with it," and we'll hope that the signs of consistency we've seen more recently are here to stay. This year's team has shown they can match up well with really good opponents, so we'll see what the rest of the season brings. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB pours it on VA Tech 85-60 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Good Monday morning readers, 

I am trying to remain positive as the Sunday scaries set in and I report back to work.  Attempting to get my last bits of zen in before the crazy creeps back in.   Wish me all the luck.  

And good luck to students as they begin the spring semester! 

Basketball is the thing that gets us through the dreadful winter months and the Cardinals were in action at the Yum! Center Sunday evening for an ACC battle with the Virginia Tech Hokies.    Cardinal Couple was not on the sidelines for this one.   

WBB

Louisville 85  -  Virginia Tech 60 

Louisville WBB moves to 14-3 on the season and is currently on a 7 game win streak.  

Laura Ziegler had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and Imari Berry had 13, 2 and 2 of her own on a night the Cardinals shot 58% from three point land.   The two went 100% in the first quarter with 9 of the teams 19 from beyond the arc.   On top of that, the UofL defense held the Hokies scoreless (0-16) from outside in the game.  

The Cards established ultimate control on VATech in the second quarter when they went 25-15.  UofL went on a 7-1 run in the final minute of the half.  It was 44-27 at the halftime break in UofL's favor.  

To open the third quarter,  Louisville's defense held the Hokies scoreless for more than 3 minutes when they had a block and 2 steals.  

UP NEXT 

Louisville at Miami

Thursday Jan 8th

at 3PM (for some reason)

The FRED Report

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 6-7 at the line.  On a night they scored 85 total points, only 6 were at the line and went 85.7% when they got there.  It was a solid night on this front.  CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- UofL pulled down 41 rebounds for a seven-grab advantage.  Ziegler and Anaya Hardy had 9 and 8 respectively. Of the starters, Elif Istanbulluoglu had the least amount of rebounds with 3.  She's averaging 5.2 per game.   I would like to see this trend upward over the next few weeks. CAPITAl R 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The Cards gave it all from start to finish making them undefeated in 2026. The depth of this squad is becoming apparent.  Grace Mbugua got 5 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes of play in the 4th quarter.  CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- UofL held the Hokies scoreless from 3 point land.  VaTech's leading scorer, Carys Baker who averages 13.7 ppg had 16 but the bigger story is that the following leaders, Carleigh Wenzel (13.0) and Mel Daley (11.6) combined for only 9 points total in the game.  Wenzel was 1-10 from the field.   CAPITAL D




FINAL FRED TALLY: F-R-E-D

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces on campus!   I know the Cardinal birds here on campus are super stoked for the lunch lady (me) to get back to work.  

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Cards WBB hosts Va. Tech -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 #13 CARDS FACE HOKIES ON ACC NEWWORK

13-3 (3-0) Louisville women's basketball puts their unbeaten conference record on the line when a dangerous Va. Tech team comes to town for a 4 p.m. match up in the KFC YUM! Center and on the ACC Network. 

Louisville has completed a six pack (of wins) recently and faces an opponent that that never really been an easy pushover for the Red and Black. The overall series between these two is 24-21 in favor of the Cards...not many Cards fans will ever forget the powerhouse Liz Kitley. 

Kitley is no longer playing for the Hokies (thank goodness...) but is back on campus as an "Assistant to the head coach for External Operations" Yeah, sounds like one of those made up title to me as well...ok...kinda like a Director of Media Relations. I mean, seriously, I never knew the "media" ever needed any "direction" ..but I guess VT head coach Megan Duffy likes the company and Va. Tech has managed to survive the loss of Kenny Brooks to that school in Fayette County that wears blue and white. If Kitley comes to the game, she'll be easy to spot, of course...extremely beautiful and 6'5" 

Kitley got her degree in 2003 in human Nutrition, Food and Exercise. I wonder  what those finals were like....Eating the right foods while running?  

But let's get on to learning about the 2025-26 squad from Blacksburg. They re 11-4 coming into the Louisville game, unranked in the national polls and have wins over Towson, Gardiner-Webb, Loyola Marymount, Coastal Carolina, Abbott and Costello (just kidding on that one!!), Niagara, Florida, Presbyterian. Oregon St.  ETSU, FSU, and Radford  Losses have come to James Madison, BYU, Duke and ...most recently...Miami on New Years Day. 

Carys Baker

VT has three players in double figure scoring for the season....Carys Baker (13.7), Carleigh Wenzel (13.0) and Mel Daley (11.6)

It's National Spaghetti Day here in the states...so make sure and pay due diligence by carbing up.  I like mine with those tiny meatballs, garlic bread and maybe a small side salad with ranch dressing. I gotta watch my phosphorus and potassium levels...so light on the red sauce, please...for me. My old buddy Sonny Lentini was "a red sauce" man, his dad was a "white sauce" man...and his daughters are still...beautiful. Enough on that, Paulie. I still miss Lentini's food. 

We'll recap this ball game tomorrow...it is too crazy to "want a bowl" at 8:45 a.m.? 

We go into double figures...ten days..of the prejudicial banning of Cardinal Couple representatives from covering UofL sports from media seats. Maybe we'll hear something once classes start again. one thing is for sure, they can't censor our website. In better days, Sonya and I covered all the home games, attended both visiting and home coaches post-game pressers and had a photographer. Do you want Jared Anderson photos back on this site?  Let UofL know. Maybe let Amy Calabrese know...she is the deputy athletic director/senior women's administrator.

She might even be able to get you a free trip down Jeff's Walz's slide. 

paulie