Louisville Women's basketball...Cards hop over Jackrabbits 83-30 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

JAZMINE JONES GETS CAREER HIGH 15 IN WIN OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 83-30.

This was no tortoise vs. hare race in the KFC YUM! Center Wednesday night when Louisville women's basketball faced the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. Maybe more like a souped up 1971 Dodge Challenger screaming past a 1972 Ford Pinto. Louisville used a very fast start off the blocks and a 21-5 second quarter to effectively put away the visitors and sped to a 53-point win in front of 7408 fans. 

Jazmine Jones had a career-high 15 points for the Cards...12 of them in the first half...as the freshman from Tallahassee, FL. went 6-8 from the floor in 14 minutes of play. It was pretty much share the wealth when it came to playing time...all 14 that could go for UofL did...and all seeing at least five minutes (Dunham) but no more than 25 (Durr)

Beside Jones, Sydney Zambrotta...or "Z" as Sean Moth fondly refers to her...scored 10 for Louisville...going 2 for 4 from trifecta land and Myisha Hines-Allen...or MHA as we like to call her finished with 10 as well. 12 Cards scored and Louisville shot a wicked 50.7% from the floor (35-69).

It was strictly no contest for the majority of this one and Louisville's finest defensive effort of the season helped bring that about. They forced 30 turnovers and held S.D.S.U. to 19.6% shooting. In all fairness, the Jackrabbits leading scorer Macy Miller did sit this one out with knee trouble, and without her the visitors went 2-22 from the three point line and gave up 15 steals.

The Cards wasted no time in starting the party...ripping out to a 11-0 lead in the first 4:39 of the game. Four different Cards scored in the speedy start.  A bit of a lull ensued...the Jackrabbits responding with a 7-0 run..but two J.J. jumpers stretched the Cardinal lead to 15-9 and Ciera Johnson's two free throws sealed a 17-9 first ten minutes for the home squad. 


J.J. continued the fireworks in the second stanza...scoring eight points in a 10-5 Ville run that set the board at 31-14 with 3:31 left until halftime. The Cards proceeded to score the final eight points of the half and a set play for Kylee Shook resulted in a long three with five seconds remaining until intermission . 

It was 38-14 after twenty and it really didn't seem that close. 

A Durr three started the third frame festivities and Louisville got a 30-point edge on another Shook three to make it 48-18 with 6:20 to play. The Cards would push that to 61-25 by the time the third period ended. 


Walz began to distribute the playing time to those who haven't received a lot of it in the fourth session and Sam Fuehring and Sydney Zambrotta stayed on the floor the entire period. Fuehring tallied four points and grabbed two boards in her time...it was Zambrotta's 10 that led Louisville's reserves to a 22-5 edge in the fourth and the final margin of 83-50. The Cards win! The Cards win! 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Free Throws --  The Cards got good performances from C.J. (4 for 4) and J.J. (3 for 4) and ended up sinking eight of their 12 attempts. This equals 66.7 % and although it is short of the mandated 70% we like to see...and since the starters only attempted three in the game...we'll offer a lower case "f" here. It is the gift-giving season, you know. 

Rebounding --  Louisville got another outstanding performance from Walton with nine but no other Card had more than five. That's understandable...given the playing time for the players...they did out-rebound the "wrasically wrabbits" by one so the lower case "r" seems appropriate here.

Effort/Execution -- Everyone that played seemed to be working their tails off and shooting over 50%, claiming a 42-14 edge in the paint and scoring 38 points off the 30 turnovers was a sign the cards were clicking. We'll go out on a Christmas branch here and assign a capital "E" for this category. Deck the halls! 

Defense -- The Cards best defensive effort of the year. No hesitation in rolling out a capital "D" for this item. 

FINAL FRED COUNT:  f-r-E-D 



WHAT WE LIKED

-- We got a basketball Jones, we got a basketball Jones...and we like it! You can see the confidence and knowledge growing each time Jazmine Jones takes the court and it's a very fun thing to watch. She's been first off the bench for the Cards the last several games and the spark that she provides and excitement she creates in the seats is...well...very electric. You might say...she's "all that Jazz." That wide smile tells us she loves the game and puts in the work to excel at it. The smiles her teammates get when they watch her or talk about her is an indication that we're not the only ones enjoying this J.J.'s version of "Good times!" 


-- Finishing strong. A dominant final half (45-16) and final quarter (22-5) is what we like to watch and the Cards shot 77% in the last ten. Granted, it was a well-defeated South Dakota squad by then and we don't see Walz ending close games with Syd, Jessica, Bionca, Sam and Brianna on the court...but to see a lead continue to grow at the end and not shrink or disappear creates a happy ending for all (except the visiting team). Outscoring WKU 24-9 to end that game was impressive but this one tonight was a 40 minute culmination which is better...in my humble opinion.  

-- Defense, defense! It was tenacious, ever-present and the Jackrabbits may still be wondering just what hit them. I call it the best defensive performance of the year. If you can come up with a better one, I'm willing to listen. 


THINGS TO WORK ON

-- Celebration levels. I hope the squad can fully appreciate and enjoy just what they accomplished Wednesday night. It was a true marvel to behold and there's no harm in doing a little woofing about winning one bigger, much bigger then most thought they might. 

-- The weather. Man, it's cold in Louisville, KY! Where did those 80 degree days go? 16 degrees with the wind chill and 1 above by early morning. Eeewwwww! 


SO...

An excellent way to end a very tough five game stretch. It was the kind of blow-out Louisville needed after close games against Maryland, Kentucky and WKU. I hope it is an accurate look and view on how the Cards will continue to play defense and team basketball. It would be a wonderful thing to witness if this effort continued against Charleston, Evansville and at Vanderbilt.  

9-2 is about where I thought the Cards might be at this stage of the season and wouldn't it be great to have Syracuse come in here and have to face a 12-2 Cardinal squad? 

Louisville is showing that they have an even ten or so that can start or come in and positively affect the action. That's important to have when you go into conference play and beyond. If they can stay at that level of accomplished student-athletes, they'll be a tough "out" for anyone. 


LOOK WHO'S TALKING

Your post game interviews... 

CORTNEE WALTON AND JAZMINE JONES

JEFF WALZ



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HERE WE GO AGAIN...

Wake Forest guy had a big mouth, has to share secrets and Louisville Football gets all the pounding and rage tossed at them. Nobody cares about Wake Forest football, granted, but this is not the felony...it is receiving stolen property...which is bad enough. 

The right thing would have been to disclose the leak. It was not until after the school released the leak and it was not handled properly on Louisville's part. 

We reach a pinnacle with the Lamar Jackson success story and then get pulled back down off the mountain by this? 

Sad. Ugly. Disgusting. C'mon, man. Especially now that main-stream media has jumped on this like a bulldog with a new ham-bone. 

Joe Walsh -- Here We Go


paulie
xxxxx

Monday Cardinal Couple -- USA wins gold in FIBA U 18 104-74 over Canada

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Wilson's 25, Moore's seven assists lead USA to win

Five games in five days is a lot to ask of any athlete. For
the FIBA Americas USA squad, it looked like they could have gone another five straight and barely broke a sweat. 

Led by A'ja Wilson's 25 points and 11 rebounds...plus a outstanding performance by Louisville's Mariya Moore...USA jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back.

Mariya Moore (Salesian H.S./Richmond, Calif.) dished out seven assists, and Wilson with 11 attempted free throws tied the USA U18 single-game record – a mark that was set by Turner on Aug. 8 and also matched by Shepard on Aug. 9. 

“This game was special because it was the gold medal game,” Wilson said. “We took care of business and executed everything. Great things started to happen, and things fell into place. It was a great game."

In a rematch against the Canadians, the USA squad jumped out to a 26-12 first quarter lead and extended that to a 50-32 halftime advantage. The Americans kept it rolling after the break and held a 79-47 point differential after three...winning by over a Canadian squad they had defeated by 31 two nights earlier. 

For the five-game tournament, the USA outscored its opponents by a convincing 44.8 points per game margin, and four U.S. players averaged double-digit scoring, including a USA U18 Women’s competition record 19.0 points per game from Wilson, who also set a USA competition record for field goal percentage with 76.5 percent (39-51 FGs). Collier averaged 14.0 ppg., Turner averaged 13.6 ppg. and Shepard scored 12.6 pp


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Ever wonder what overseas ball is like for ex-USA college stars and WNBA players? Check out the link from one of UConn's "three scribes" for GEno...the always, ever pleasant John Altavilla: 

http://touch.courant.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-81043964/
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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Words WIth Walz

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- The Cardinal Couple Jeff Walz 6/26/14 interview

- Angel to be featured


We had the chance to get to the Louisville campus Thursday morning and get some in-depth and great comments from University of Louisville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz. 

We'll play the entire 9 minute + interview on our Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR @ Crescent Hill Radio. The show starts at 11 a.m. EDT.

Some teasers and tidbits from our chat...


- Think UofL is done with Geno and UConn? Possibly not. Won't happen this season...but is there something brewing in the works?

Hear Coach's exclusive news on our broadcast!  

- The non-conference schedule for 2014-15 should be out soon...Walz has one spot left be to fill. ACC dates and times won't be out until September.

- What does Jeff really think about Mariya Moore? And the girls he'll be coaching in Colorado Springs?

- Sara Hammond's success in the 3x3 Championship Drive was a result of her dedication and determination...plus one other very important factor. Hear Coach describe it...

- We ask Coach... who will fill the shoes of Asia, Tia, Shoni and Nita? His response?

- Where will Coach Walz be in 72 hours?

Be sure to catch the 6/28/14 broadcast of CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR for these answers and much more.

Archived broadcasts are also available by clicking the link at the top of the article or over in our Right Side of the Site section.

Crescent Hill Radio ( www.crescenthillradio.com ) is the home for our weekly show. Join Worldwide Jeff McAdams and me as we discuss UofL women's sports on a weekly basis. We'll also feature a great recent interview with Lynx forward Asia Taylor on the broadcast.

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...and when you smile for the camera...(sorry, old Steely Dan song reference there)...Louisville's Angel McCoughtry will be under the bright lights in early July:

Twenty-two athletes will be featured in the ESPN The Magazine Body Issue, which will hit newsstands on July 11.

The keystone to the issue is the "Bodies We Want" section, where athletes will be featured in tasteful nude poses.

Swimmer Michael Phelps, tennis star Venus Williams, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka will be included in the issue.

Others to appear are: Bernard Hopkins (boxing), Jimmy Spithill (sailing), Tomas Berdych (tennis), Nigel Sylvester (BMX), Omar Gonzalez (soccer), Travis and Lyn-z Pastrana (action sports/X-games), Jamie Anderson (snowboarding), Amy Purdy (Para-Olympics), Danyelle Wolf (boxing), Aja Evans (bobsled), Hillary Knight (hockey), Megan Rapinoe (USA soccer), Angel McCoughtry (WNBA), Coco Ho (surfing) and Ginger Huber (cliff diving).

paulie

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Where we are

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- 1700 posts and still here


I recently noticed that Cardinal Couple passed the 1700 mark in posts. I had to reflect a while on that...and think a bit about what Cardinal Couple is today and what it was when we first started...back in early January of 2010.

Sonja and I had an idea that we would start a website about UofL women's sports. We would cover events on a daily basis...add commentary, analysis and human-interest articles on the women student athletes at UofL.

We received encouragement from some very important people to do so. Julie Hermann, Tom Jurich, several UofL women's head coaches, Kenny Klien, Charlie Springer (who we'd previously been writing for over at):

 www.uoflcardgame.com

Charile has been my guru on journalist philosophy. He is a trusted and wise counsel. I consider him a friend.

And... Howie Lindsey...who has been an incredible proponent and positive backer of what we do. Love ya, big guy...

The early days of getting established were a lot of work but great fun. David Watson would write several article a month for us. We eventually added a few columnists, they stayed for varying periods of time and we went about securing things like media passes, interviews with coaches, a radio show and t-shirts.

We dropped advertising and made the site reader and listener-sponsored. We're still non-profit, barely hanging in there financially and still have T-Shirts available. We still accept donations and Pay-Pal funding. When the finances get tight...we ask for contributions. My own personal costs are irrelevant. I'm still living in a house and not under the 2nd Street Bridge.

I thank God for my horse-racing handicapping skills that have pretty much supplemented the costs associated with the site and show. I ask for future successes.

Over the years, Sonja has moved to an administrative role and no longer writes but is immensely helpful in helping me form ideas for articles and provides invaluable insight on games, teams and coaches. She determined that constructing articles wasn't her thing but providing insight and handling other aspects of the site was. She's be-friended some very talented UofL women's student-athletes and provides a very clear and rational observation of events and performances.

What Mama wants, Mama gets. Makes life a whole lot easier. I am a very lucky guy...

We've had some changes in our columnists...but each and every one of the former contributors know they are welcome back at any time. Things happen. They contact us on issues they are concerned and proud of. We appreciate that.

As Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd said many years ago:

"It ain't for everybody...being in the spotlight. Only you can decide if it's right for you. Ain't nuthin' in the world wrong with a person who'd rather observe than participate. They're the ones that keep you pumped and comin' back...because they are the ones who keep you driving...makin' you want to try to please and satisfy them. They are the gas that keeps the engine runnin' "

Through it all, we've tried to present Cardinal women's athletics from a fan's perspective. Jeff and I are huge fans of UofL women's sports. David Watson still chips in now and then...the tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic and humorous "Mr Watson"...Gary sends us great commentary and reports on women's basketball and our former writers still read, e-mail ideas to us and comment. Jenny ( who has been a very popular columnist here) has indicated that she'll consider a return when her life slows down a bit.

We understand. No promises, no demands. She's family.

When Jeff (Worldwide) first came on board...I knew we had something special. He continues to provide it each week and is one of the most insightful and unique people I've had the pleasure to know. His intelligence level and way of breaking things down is amazing. He's also popular and connected with UofL folks. He's got great parents. We're pretty sure he wasn't an original Brady Bunch sibling. We accept what he wants to give and we're happy as hell to receive it. No demands. Just tons of gratitude. He dishes it out and can take it. He tells it like it is. I dig that.

We have so many fantastic readers and commentors in our comments section and via e-mail. You have no idea how much I appreciate you and your words.

Things change. I went back to work full time. We've seen three conference changes. We've seen new coaches, a multitude of excellent athletes and unparalleled success for many of the women's teams at UofL.

It will continue. We will continue. We'll still agonize over losses, celebrate victories and discuss them here.

We have radio now. We enjoy it. We are assured of eventually progressing from an internet and low wattage AM station to an FM choice in Louisville. The beauty of it is that we can be heard anywhere on the globe. Listener choice. We work with a wonderful, witty and delightful station owner who provides an unmatched format and personally engineers each and every show we do...adding her own welcome and appreciated additions to our broadcasts.

Crescent Hill Radio is family. We're proud to be relatives.

The main thing...the key is this:

It wouldn't be possible, it wouldn't have grown to an amazing daily readership across the globe without you...the reader, the listener.

We can only humbly thank you and pledge to try and provide you with interesting reading and listening material. We welcome your comments, observations, ideas and support.

Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts.

And thanks for putting up with an old man's recollections, reflections and observations. Here's to the next 1700 posts.

Stay tuned...

GO CARDS!

paulie

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Catching Up on...

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Catching up on....Myisha Hines-Allen

- To dine or not to dine?

Myisha Hines-Allen is one of the five players that Jeff Walz has inked for the 2014 class of Louisville WBB. She's currently ranked #34 in the nation by ESPNW and has the highest ranking of the quintuplets headed to the 'Ville.

Rankings on the other four:

#36  Sydney Brackemyer  6'0"  wing   Clinton Massie HS  (OH)
#43  Mariya Moore           6'0"   wing     Salesian HS  (CA)
#78  Arica Carter             5'8"   guard  Long Beach Poly (CA) 
#99  Arianna Freeman      5'11" wing   Paul VI HS  (VA)


So what has "MHA" been up to her senior year? Great things, it appears. Her Montclair team gained a tough win against Lodi Christian a couple of nights ago and MHA tallied 18 points in the 51-44 victory.

The points came in bunches...with eight in the first quarter and ten in the deciding fourth quarter when Montclair pulled away. Here's what her high school coach Bianca Brown said about MHA's effort.

" Myisha is a huge closer for us. In the first half it was like she was hesitant. She wasn't keeping her eyes open the whole time and missed some layups. In the second half she hit some jump shots, which was key for us to get our momentum going."

Myisha's take on the game mirrored Coach's comments:

" I think I played a little more aggressive in the fourth quarter. That...and the refs started calling more fouls. I think that was a part of it, and as a team we all got more aggressive." 

Her stat line for the contest:

18 points, 4 steals, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 8 made free throws. That last stat should give Cards WBB fans reason to celebrate. Coach Walz likes players who sink the free ones.

Montclair is 9-2 on the season and MHA's numbers are impressive. She's scored 239 points in those 12 games...an average of almost 20 points per contest. She's also grabbed 111 rebounds...putting her at a little over 9 per outing. She's also dished out 78 assists...which nears 7 per game.

Coach Brown is also proud of Mysiha and her teammates defensive efforts this season...another aspect that fits with Coach Walz's preference for "all around' players.

Hines-Allen looks like she could be a good one for the Cards. With Gibbs, Slaughter, Shoni and Taylor leaving after this season...good shooters and rebounders will be welcome. MHA appears to have both qualities.


(We'll have updates on the other four Cards recruits as the season progresses.)

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To Dine or not to Dine...that is the question. It is banquet time for several UofL women's sports programs over the next couple of weekends. First up, the Softball banquet...Jan 25th., at the Brown and Williamson Club in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. This one has the earmarks of being a good one. Monica Abbott is the guest speaker...an incredible pitcher during her time at Tennessee.

We won't be able to go, however...due to a prior committment. And, that's a shame. We had a wonderful time at the 2012 & 2013 affairs. This is a good one to hit, Cardinal fans. You'll also see other UofL women's sports stars attending. Several women's basketball stars will mostly likely be in attendance. They have a great silent auction section set up. After the past two years of hotel banquet room venues, the Softball team is having the event in a UofL owned facility.

The following Saturday night...both Volleyball and Lacrosse have banquets...at the same time...in the same venue (PJCS)...but in different areas. Volleyball will be in the Brown and Williamson Club. Lacrosse will be in the PNC Plaza. Therein lies the decision...which way do we go?

CARDINAL COUPLE is a non-profit entity. The monies we receive from donors get funded directly back into our coverage of women's sports at UofL. Last year cost me roughly $500 in out-of-pocket expenses. Nothing that a good day at the race track wouldn't cover...I consider it an investment in a hobby I enjoy. In past years, Volleyball has "comp-ed" us a couple of tickets in return for doing pre and post columns about the event.

That doesn't seem to be the case this time around. Inquiries about coverage yielded a return e-mail with a registration form. At $40 a ticket. For us to do the coverage, promotional articles and review here at the site...are we wrong in expecting a couple of seats "on the house"? Other sports willingly do the exchange with us. Although we haven't asked, we guess Lacrosse might have us as their guests as well.

Mis-communication betwen us and the Volleyball program? Maybe...but the e-mail sent by us was pretty specific. We got a form-letter reply.

So maybe it's time to do the Lacrosse affair this year. Would they want the coverage in exchange for a couple of seats? We'll see.

It's no secret that our columnist Jeff McAdams is our lead on Volleyball coverage here at CARDINAL COUPLE. He is the man for the job. Travels to away games and has close contacts with several of the movers and shakers in the program. It's a sport he loves to watch and he serves the team well. The rest of us here also report on Volleyball when it's our turn to write and report.

$80 bucks. It's (4) ink printer cartridges. It's (3) months of studio engineer fees for our weekly radio. It's (2) tanks of gas to get me on campus for coach interviews. It's mostly out-of-pocket, too...since our donations have dried up since before Christmas.

We realize that the banquet events for all (3) sports are fund-raising activities. And, we're not looking for handouts and free meals. It's just business.

Decisions, decisions.
 
-paulie

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