USA U18 Women Win FIBA Championship -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

USA Defeats Canada 84-60 to Win FIBA Championship

Canada gave the United States a run for their money.  Nothing came easy like some of the earlier games.  Ultimately, the American squad, coached by Jeff Walz was victorious, 84-60.

Walz, clad in his Team USA red polo with black pants and tennis shoes, had his hands full the entire night as the Canadian defense slowed his hot offense down.  As the game progressed Walz's squad furthered their lead to pull away.

As a team the Americans shot 34-for-76 (44.74%) from the field.  At the free throw line they went 10-for-16 (62.5%), which would receive a lowercase "f" if we were to do the ever-so-popular "F-R-E-D" report.  Since we didn't do a "F-R-E-D" though...if you were to give one what would yours look like?

Foul trouble limited a few players on the US team, with three players finishing with at least three fouls.  However, four of the five starters finished with one foul.

Nalyssa Smith powered the offense with 18 points and was one of four players in double-digits. Christyn Williams scored 11.  Ashley Joens and Nazahrah Hillmon-Baker each finished with 10. Aijha Blackwell got USA off to a nice start by nailing the first two threes she took and USA's first six points.
 

Maori Davenport joined Smith and Hillmon-Baker with six rebounds.  They led the way as the US out-rebounded Canada 50-44.  The Americans hauled in 19 offensive rebounds, but second chance points was not a stat readily available in the FIBA Championships.

Walz's team spread the wealth as they dished out 22 assists, compared to Canada's 17.  Williams and Anaya Peoples each had five to their name.

Jenna Brown displayed her excellent guard work for USA in the final. Stanford is really going to love her. Olivia Nelson-Odobo drew the tough assignment of trying to stop powerful Canadian post Christina Morra and did about as good a job as anyone could against her.

Desiree Caldwell had an extremely quiet night.  She recorded one assist, one steal, and one foul in five minutes played.  Sedona Prince did not play due to the injury (a broken right leg) she suffered a few nights back. She wasn't present for the awards ceremony or final two games, back in the states undergoing successful surgery. She will have to sit out the 2018-19 season at Texas.  .

Rhyne Howard, who is headed to Kentucky for college, was named the MVP of the tournament. She was also selected for the All-Tournament team, along with Maori Davenport (USA), Christina Morra (CAN), Mayra Caicedo (COL) and Florencia Chagas (ARG).

United States moves to 6-0 all-time vs Canada.  The other wins came in July 2006, July 2008, August 2012, and twice in August 2014.  This is the first time in the last three match-ups that the US failed to break 100 points.  It's the second-lowest point total in the history of the series.

The victory gives the United States nine straight gold medals and 10 overall in the 12-time history.  The full results of each championship is posted below:

1988: United States 70 - 68 Brazil
1992: Brazil 80 - 70 United States
1996: Brazil 82 - 78 United States
2000: United States 69 - 46 Cuba
2004: United States 121 - 56 Puerto Rico
2006: United States 85 - 52 Canada
2008: United States (round robin group) Canada
2010: United States 81 - 38 Brazil
2012: United States 71 - 47 Brazil
2014: United States 104 - 74 Canada
2016: United States 109 - 62 Canada
2018: United States 84 - 60 Canada

Despite the recent match-ups between the United States and their neighbor to the north it appears
Brazil has been more of a rival over the years after shocking the US in 1992 and 1996.

A big round of applause for this USA squad. After the contest, head coach Jeff Walz spoke of the devastating loss of Prince and how the team vowed and made a pledge to win the FIBA Americas for her.

They did that and did it convincingly. The final-game 24-point margin of victory was the smallest margin that USA won by.

What Day Is It?

For you feline or Kentucky lovers it is International Cat Day.  It's also Custard Day and Zucchini
Day.  Coincidentally, it is also a day you are encouraged to sneak zucchini onto your neighbor's porch.  Whether you do it as a kind gesture or in spite of them is entirely up to you.  For us financial industry folks we can laugh at National Dollar Day because it doesn't get you far anywhere.  No, it doesn't mean we're giving away free money either.

If you want to get really adventurous today, why not leave a zucchini, with a dollar wrapped around it, on your neighbor's porch while eating custard and taking your or someone else's cat for a walk?

If you're a fan of zucchini, here's a great recipe for it:

In a small bowl, combine Parmesan, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Place zucchini onto prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan mixture. Place into oven and bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

USA U 18 women advance to FIBA Americas final -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CLOSE BEGINNING BUT STRONG FINISH FOR USA OVER COLOMBIA

Give the Colombia FIBA U 18 squad credit.

They came out fired up in their semifinal match against USA and gave the Jeff Walz coached squad a competitive game for 15 minutes. The Colombians actually led USA 26-25 with five minutes left in the second quarter. Turnovers by USA and some incredible play from Colombia's Yuliany Paz in the post and Maria Alvarez from three-point range had the Americans shaking their heads...but Walz and the players got things straightened out and a 17-0 run to end the first half got USA out of danger. 

With a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter, USA was finding out that Colombia was not going to roll over for them. Colombia capitalized well off USA mistakes and Paz was punishing USA inside. But...the depth and the talent of Walz's squad finally kicked in and they took a 42-26 halftime lead. Colombia would make one final attempt to upset the Americans...cutting the lead to 11 at 51-40 with 4:54 left in the third quarter but it was all USA after that. A 58-41 lead after three and a strong 25-6 fourth quarter advances USA to the finals tonight against Canada. 

The Canadians, also 5-0 now in FIBA Americas play, downed Chile 98-52 last night to get to the finals. All four teams (USA, Canada, Chile and Colombia) advance to the FIBA World Cup Championships. 

Jeff Walz on the contest: 

"It was a great basketball game. We knew it was going to be competitive and it was one we needed, because we needed to understand that when you have breakdowns -- physically or mentally -- good teams take advantage of that. And that's what Colombia did a fantastic job of - they really hurt us when we had breakdowns. And then we had different players step up for us and that's what's so exciting about this. Everybody is capable of playing big for us.  I thought that the group that was out there for us at the end of the first half really gave us the big boost we needed and then we were able to continue". 

That half ending group mentioned by Walz included three players that did all the scoring in the 17-0 run. Ashley Joens nailed two threes during the stretch, So did Rhyne Howard. Naz Hillmon-Baker contributed the other five points. 

Jenna Brown led USA in scoring with 17 points...which included three threes. With 14 points were Joens and Howard. USA shot 10-23 from beyond the arc (43.5%) and out-rebounded Colombia 55-29. Maori Davenport collected 11 of those grabs. Sharpshooting Colombia guard Alvarez ended up with 19 points, hitting six three-pointers, and Paz added nine points and 10 rebounds. 

USA and Canada face for the finals tonight at 9:30 and it can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTsl5yjE0Q0

These two squads faced in a scrimmage before the actual FIBA tournament got underway and USA took a 72-42 decision. It may not be as easy tonight for Walz and company. It should be a fun game to watch.

Maybe. 

Let's hope for a better viewing tonight. Last night's internet broadcast was marred with "freezes", loss of signal and inadequate audio. From what was audible, you do have to acknowledge the Spanish-speaking crew that's calling these contests for their unfiltered and exciting emotion-filled delivery and comments anytime anyone but the USA does something good. They're trying to help grow the game in the Central and South America regions and that's good for all of basketball. 

Facebook Live can be tricky....we get that. Ask our Cardinal Couple producer "Worldwide" Jeff McAdams about it. What is puzzling is that these games aren't being shown on any of the sports-themed television stations that dot other cable, dish or app-type viewing.  Isn't there a ESPN, Fox, Univision or some other channel that could provide a feed?

Maybe trick billiards, underwater boxing, scrabble tournaments, miniature golf national championships and paraplegic tennis matches are deemed more important. I get e-mails about the "nothing-to-see-here" attitude that the "sports leaders" have toward the FIBA's. I guess it all has to do with ratings. Maybe competitive lawn-mowing will include me in their amateur bracket. I'm pretty quick with "turns" and my "straight-line cut" skills rank pretty highly here in the neighborhood for accuracy and length.  

But, I digress. Go USA! Go get some tonight.  

Some very pressing questions answered in the link below by USA U 18 players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/usabasketball/status/1024309204516052994?s=19


EMINA EKIC NAMED TO ALL-ACC PRESEASON WOMENS SOCCER TEAM

Women's soccer is the first fall sporting event we'll be covering live this season and it comes up on Sunday...with a 6 p.m. "friendly" against Morehead. There is a women's sports Fall Media Day going on Thursday and we'll report coverage of that on Friday. One of the teams that will be represented at the media event is women's soccer and UofL received great news that sophomore defender Emina Ekic was named to the preseason squad...as voted on by the 14 ACC coaches. 

She also was chosen for the 2017 first team All-East Region Team at the end of last season, a team that is selected by the United States Soccer Coaches Association. 

Ekic had a very impressive freshman campaign for the Cards...who were voted to finish ninth in the preseason ACC poll. She led the 2017-18 Kickin' Cards with seven goals and was named co-Freshman of the Year in the ACC. Ekic, who attended high school locally here at Louisville Manual, had 17 starts for Louisville last season. Hopefully, she'll be at Fall Sports Media Day Thursday so we can get a few comments from her. 

Congratulations to "E squared" and Uofl women's soccer! 


paulie
xxxxx

Ups and Downs of International Competition -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ACROSS THE GLOBE UOFL WOMEN'S SPORTS


A common phrase used is "Which do you want first? The good news or the bad news?"
We gravitate toward being positive (mostly) here at Cardinal Couple...so we'll kick it off with good stuff this Monday morning. 


USA 87 - EL SALVADOR 27

In the quarterfinals of the U18 FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico City, it was all USA again...with a stifling 87-27 win over El Salvador. This one was 51-19 at the half and Jeff Walz's squad decided to put on a defensive demonstration (even more than they showed in the first half) with a 36-8 shut-down of the Salvadorians in the final half. Six of the eight points came late in the fourth quarter for El Salvador...so it was quite the display of guarding prowess. Coupled with El Salvador's abysmal poor shooting skills...the USA squad advanced easily

Jeff Walz, head coach of the U 18's and head coach at Louisville commented:

 "I thought we played well. Our players really tried to do what we asked them to do as a staff. We were patient offensively and tried to run through some things and work on our execution."

A 58-27 rebounding edge for USA. Maori Davenport set a USA U 18 single game record with six blocked shots to go with her six rebounds and nine points.  UConn prospect Olivia Nelson-Odoba led the way with 14 points. Michigan standout Naz Hillmon-Baker added 13 points and also gathered seven grabs. Iowa State bound Ashley Joens contributed 12 in the win. 

USA is now 4-0 in the FIBA Americas and will play Colombia today at 7:30 EDT tonight in the semi-finals. You can watch it on Facebook Live at THIS link. Argentina and Canada are the other two semifinalist and they play (roughly) at 9:30 HERE


ENGLAND DOWNS NORTH KOREA 3-1 in U 20 WOMEN'S SOCCER WORLD CUP ACTION.

More good news! 

Mollie Rouse, who will be a sophomore on Louisville's women's soccer team this fall, has seem a lot of "U" team action for England over the past several years. That continues for her and her English squad won their first match in pool play yesterday in FIFA U 20 World Cup action over N. Korea 3-1.

Mexico and Brazil are also in the Group. Pool play is in the Brittany region of France and continues through August 24th...so it looks like Mollie will miss the start of the 2018 season again down on the Belknap campus.

A huge win for England, as North Korea was the defending title-holder.

We hope Rouse picks up a lot of valuable experience in the 'Cup and can share it with her Louisville teammates when she comes back to the states. Louisville will miss her leadership and abilities on the Lynn Stadium pitch but Rouse will be back in plenty of time for the tough ACC schedule. 

Keep kickin' Molly! 


IRISH FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN FINALS TO NETHERLANDS

Both bad and good news here in this segment. The underdog, kids from nowhere Irish Green Army marched all the way to the finals in 2018 Field Hockey World Cup action but ran into defending champion and buzz-saw in The Netherlands yesterday. Down 4-0 at the break, the Irish would have to settle for the "Silver" in a 6-0 loss. 

No shame at all, when the #16 seed makes it to the finals. As I found out a few years back, the Dutch Field Hockey exploits can be paralleled to the success of USA Basketball on the world stage. 

The good news is that Louisville's Ayeshia McFerran  was named the tournament's Best Goalkeeper. She surrendered a mere three goals in the first five matches, came out on top in two shootouts and helped lead Ireland to their highest finish ever in World Cup Field Hockey competition. 

We look forward to Ayeshia's senior season here at UofL (although the rest of the ACC and Cardinal opponents might be muttering "There's that women again"). Another Cardinal proving it on the worldwide stage. 


FOR AN EXCELLENT CAUSE

During my time as an on-air personality at WCHQ 100.9 FM, I've had the incredible and enjoyable opportunity to meet some great musicians, show hosts and people at the "Magnificent and majestic media mansion on Mellwood".  Gavin Caster is one of those. 

Last night at Stevie Ray's Blues Bar on Main Street in Louisville, a benefit was held for Gavin, who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. This Hippie Reunion, a yearly event designed to raise funds for a cause or individual is in its fourth year and proved to be a wonderful and touching night to help Gavin in his battle. 

And, he was everywhere, doing everything at Stevie Ray's last night. He helped set up the proceedings. He was greeting people at the door and he even jumped on-stage to perform a couple of songs with one of the bands...The Johnny Doughnut Experience...

The man has a set of pipes, no doubt. In addition to his powerful singing skills, Gavin also has a great show on WCHQ Monday nights. 

I had the chance to talk to Gavin for a bit last night and his spirit remains strong, his attitude incredibly positive and his sense of humor excellent. We were commenting on the many people (including him) dressed in the "Hippie garb" of late 60's and he got a big chuckle out of my comment "With all these Hippies in here, I'm keeping my eyes open for 'Narcs' and 'the man'. 

It was nice seeing this big turn-out for a guy who has done so much for the Louisville music community, WCHQ and it was neat that I ran into a few people that I hadn't seen since the 1970's. 

I'm no Jared Anderson when it comes to photography. Here's
my lame atttempt to catch Kessler's Friends on stage last night.

A coming-together, sad yet sweet...in a way, for a great man. Sonya and I made it through the first two acts....Kessler's Friends and "the doughnut guys" before bidding a fond adieu to the event. It was good to see the original Kessler's Friends lineup back on stage and sounding magnificent, despite the speaker malfunctions onstage. The band was a staple of my college years "live band" attendance routine and they even remembered me after 40 years. Co-lead singer Martha Brewer's performance of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" is still stunning as it was back in the Great Midwestern Music Hall days. I'm grateful to Kessler's for also including one of my favorite songs "Mexico" by Firefall in their set.  Hear it here: MEXICO


If you like the Beatles, Badfinger and other 60's and 70's performers, The Johnny Doughnut Experience is your band. An impressive set from the four-piece group last night. They have great three-part harmony...nailing complex Beatle songs perfectly.

A couple of other bands were still yet to perform on the main stage and on the patio as we left. I'm sure everyone enjoyed the Saints and Jimmy G and the Sidewinders. 

It was starting to get a bit crowded when we departed, an impressive turn-out for our friend Gavin. Despite yesterday's unbearable heat, things were "cool" at Stevie Ray's Sunday night. 

Fight on, Gavin. You have a lot of friends that "got your back" and are in your corner. 



paulie
xxxxx

Team USA Defeats Chile -- Irish Field Hockey Defeats India -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Team USA Destroys Chile 

The USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team won their second game in as many days following a rout of Chile, 115-39.  Team USA jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter, doubling up their opposition.

Defensively, Team USA was impressive.  They shut down Chile in the second and fourth quarters, holding their opponent to four and five points in those quarters, respectively.  Jeff Walz's defensive style of basketball showed during the game and he hasn't missed a beat, despite the off-season.

Team USA won the rebounding battle 78-27, and posted 34 second-chance points and 49 fast break points.

All 12 players on the roster saw a fair amount of playing time, ranging from 13-20 minutes.  Half of them posted double-digit points with two recording at least 10 rebounds.  Sedona Prince (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Christyn Williams (19 points, 10 rebounds) were those two players.

The starting roster of Anaya Peoples, Jenna Brown, NaLyssa Smith, Rhyne Howard, and Sedona

Prince only contributed to 28% of the scoring, 42% of the rebounds, and 40% of the fouls.  However, they did combined for half of the assists and steals in the game.  The low percentage of productivity from the starting five doesn't mean that they had a poor outing, but just shows the depth of the roster and was also affected by Coach Walz trying to give everyone playing time.

"We definitely made some strides today," said Walz. "Offensively, I thought we worked the ball around.  We did some things that we didn't do in yesterday's game, so that's encouraging.  Defensively, we started off a little slow, but then started to turn things on.  It was nice to see us able to adjust.  Overall, I, pleased."

They will face Puerto Rico tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch live at:

 www.facebook.com/USABasketball


Ireland Field Hockey Team Survives Scare Against India

The Irish Women's Field Hockey team managed to dig in deep to pull out a win against India, 1-0.  At the end of regulation the two teams were deadlocked with both teams posting on goose egg in the goals column.  The match proceeded to a shootout, where Louisville's Ayeisha McFerran had her opportunity to shine for the Ireland National Team.  They claimed the shootout, 3-1.

McFerran silenced India on three of their four shots, quite a remarkable stat in itself.  The Green Army's offense eased any pressure that may have been on her shoulders by racing out to a 2-0 lead in the penalty shots against the Indian goalkeeper..

During the second half, McFerran got to spend a majority of the time as a spectator.  Her defense was as thick as a brick wall, allowing nothing by them, and leaving the Irish goalkeeper time to pull out a lawn chair and nap in front of the net.

The Irish have secured their spot in the semifinals after going 2-1 in group play and winning their quarterfinal match.  They will face the offensive juggernaut Spain on Saturday.  The Spanish fell 6-2 to Argentina, defeated Russia 7-1, fell to Germany 3-1, slid past Belgium in a shootout 3-2, and won the rematch against the Germans 1-0.

McFerran will have her hands full against the Spanish offense, but the Irish should be able to put up big numbers on offense.

Highlights of the match at the clip below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTjA7veQBwk



Football is Back... Kind of...

For the first time in months we saw football again.  The NFL preseason kicked off with their annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, OH.  The Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens squared off and much of the city of Louisville had their tv's turned on.  All eyes were on Lamar Jackson.

The 2016 Heisman winner and 2018 first round draft pick saw his first professional action when he played the entire second half for the Ravens.  Jackson threw one touchdown pass and one interception while also showcasing his mobility, dodging defenders in the backfield and using his legs to make the most of broken plays.

Louisville football is one month minus two days away from their game against 2018 National Champion and #1 ranked Alabama.  The game, which is held in Orlando, still has plenty of tickets available.

What Day Is It?

Grab a drink after work as you head into the weekend- it's International Beer Day!  It is also National Watermelon Day, which is a good nutritious snack to stay hydrated with.  On this day in 1852 Harvard defeated Yale in their inaugural boat race.  This would later be known as the first American intercollegiate athletic event.  The Basketball Association of America and National Basketball League merged into the National Basketball Association on this day in 1949.  Santa Claus, IN, famous for the now-called Holiday World originally opened as the first themed amusement park in the world as Santa Claus land on this day in 1946.

Just on a random note to close out today with women's sports we're going to look into potential future Cards.  The Germantown Baseball/Softball Inc. is in the news for some great things.  The organization, which is located on Poplar Level Rd. next to St. Xavier High School has a 10U softball team in the semifinals of the Little League Babe Ruth Division World Series.  Best of luck to these young ladies the rest of the tournament and hopefully we'll see some of you in red and black jerseys in another eight years!

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

USA U 18 WBB romps Argentina 87-42...Ireland FH Today -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

38-15 FIRST HALF LEADS TO 45-POINT WIN FOR USA


Jeff Walz's first game as the USA U 18 WBB head coach went pretty well, considering all things, with a 87-42 romp over Argentina Wednesday night to begin Pool Play. 

"It was great to be able to get out there and compete." Walz commented after the win. "The players were excited. We were running around at times, playing hard, but not real smart at times, but the effort was great. So, if we can continue to clean some things up, offensively and defensively, and play with that kind of intensity -- good things can happen." 

Walz started Ashley Joens, Aijha Blackwell, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Christyn Williams and Nazahrah Hillmon-Baker. The (alledgedly) Argentinian play-by-play and color guys on the broadcast did an energetic broadcast and had fun with those names during the Spanish-only audio feed but the graphics insisted it was "Jones" not "Joens" for the US star most of the first half. My Spanish isn't very good anymore, so I didn't comprehend much of the commentary that was being offered...but the "talking heads" seemed quite excited and "into" the action, especially when Argentina did something well or Argentinian guard Camila Suarez did anything. 

Argentina led once, at the very start of the game, when they hit a free throw. Aijha Blackwell gave USA the lead for good when she hit a layup seconds later and USA was well in control with a 12-4 lead at the 4:47 mark of the 1st quarter. Score it 18-8 USA after one quarter. We'll get to the rest of the action after a couple of tidbits. 

A couple of things about FIBA rules are quite noticeable. First, the refs called "pushing off" on the offense very quickly -- it seemed any time a USA dribbler extended the non-dribbling arm, a whistle blew. The refs were also eager to call "steps" on the USA players. 

The design of the gym where the events are taking place must have some huge windows and face east-to west. Rays of sunshine splashed down on the court during most of the first half, illuminating players and court. This burst of sunshine probably didn't affect the players...especially the USA girls ...they went on a 17-3 run to start the second quarter and led 35-11 with 2:04 until half. They ended the first half leading 38-15. I don't think the "sun in your eyes" excuse had any credibility here...

USA shot 65% from the floor in those first 20 minutes. They held a 30-14 rebounding edge and were led by Anaya Peoples' six points. 6'7" Sedona Prince added five. The first eight USA baskets were scored by eight different players. On the other side, the free throw shooting was lame...USA going 4 for 11...and USA was 0-3 in three-pointer attempts. 

The second half started out well for the United States. A 7-0 run in the first 90 minutes made it 45-15. That grew to 56-22 when USA finally connected on the three, out of the hands of NaLyssa Smith. Blackwell followed that three with another three and after three periods, it was 61-27 USA. 

The YouTube feed froze up and eventually disappeared at the start of the fourth quarter. When it finally came back, Walz's crew held a 76-36 lead with about five minutes remaining. 87-42 was the final score. 

Blackwell and NaLyssa Smith led USA with 13 points each. All 12 on the roster played and all 12 scored. 60% from the floor from the game for the squad and 3-9 from beyond the arc.  

Coach Walz seemed pretty calm throughout the contest, substituting in "platoons" of five every four or five minutes. He did smile a couple of times on calls that seemed to be questionable...the refs were from Canada, Colombia and Mexico. A good chance to see how the combinations worked for USA. Aijha Blackwell shows promise of being a good one and I wouldn't mind seeing her land on campus with the 2019 class. The University of Texas is definitely going to like Sedona Prince this fall and by joining a front line that has Jatarie White, Charli Collier and Joiner Holmes...the Longhorns will be a force in the Big 12 for Karen Astin.  Christyn Williams "broke" a few ankles out there with her ball-movement and will be a nice addition for Geno and the Huskies. 


If I were to provide a FRED report for the game (and it looks like I will) I'd have to go: 

FREE THROWS -- Definitely no letter. 12-28 is 43%. There are 6th. grade teams out there who can do better. Say what you will about the venue, ball, lighting, etc. It's a pretty sad number.

YABBA, DABBA, U (SA!) 

REBOUNDING -- We'll award a capital "R" in this category. USA out-grabs the smaller Argentina squad 53-27. The "Prince of Sedona" led with nine. That'll happen with her height. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- I'm going to give out a small case "e" here...mainly because of the 27 turnovers. Yes, there was a lot of good hustle out there, the players are still getting to know each other and the shooting was decent but more turnovers than assists. Hmmmm...

DEFENSE -- No problem with a capital "D" for the "d". Argentina shot 22.8% for the game and was 4-22 from trifecta range. At times, it seemed the Argentinians were afraid to take inside shots...who could blame them? USA had seven blocks and 19 steals. 

FINAL FRED TOTAL:  _-R-e-D

You can watch the replay at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbFEwpUdeqc&feature=share

USA returns to play today when they'll take on Chile at 3 p.m. EDT.  Chile fell to Puerto Rico 74-69 in earlier action Wednesday. Canada had no trouble with Colombia 73-49. Mexico looked impressive against El Salvador in the nightcap 88-48. 

Today's game is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpFrTmL01J4


IRELAND, AYESHIA FACE INDIA TODAY IN QUARTERS

Louisville's Field Hockey golakeep Ayeshia McFerran leads "The Green Army" into quarter-final action today with a contest against India in London, England. The Irish defeated India 1-0 to reach the quarters a few days back, but India got to the quarters with a win in crossover play. 

The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. Louisville time. Broadcast details are sketchy...live updates will be available at sports.ndtv.com and live streaming can reportedly be seen at hotstar.com. 

I'll search for an Irish feed for this contest and post it here if I'm successful...

In yesterday's quarters, Spain advanced to the semis with a 1-0 win over Germany. It took a shootout to get Australia past Argentina (6-4 in favor of the Aussies) after a scoreless regulation-time match. 

Go Ayeshia! Go Green Army! 


paulie
xxxxx

Team USA Begins Open Play -- Fall Sports Slow Arrival -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Walz, Team USA Begins Open Play

Jeff Walz and the 2018 USA Basketball Women's National Team kick off their season tonight in Mexico City.  Team USA will square off against Argentina at 7:30 p.m. ET, and will face Chile tomorrow afternoon and Puerto Rico Friday evening.

Team USA and their three opponents make up Group A.  Group B consists of Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, and Mexico.  All eight teams will qualify for the tournament with the first round being Group A first seed vs Group B fourth seed, A2 vs B3, A3 vs B2, and A4 vs B1.  The winners will advance to the semifinals and the losers to the classification bracket.

The U18 team is 53-2 all-time.  Their two losses came in the championship games in 1992 and 1996.  The other tournaments in 1988 and 2000 and beyond all ended up in the U.S. taking the gold.  This year would mark nine-straight gold medals for Team USA.

A live feed of tonight's game is available at www.facebook.com/USABasketball

We've also heard another source to watch is youtube.com/user/FIBAWorld which may have all the Wednesday action.

Per a tweet from Walz last night, he and the other coaches will not be able to tweet out updates through their or school's accounts during the event so all updates will come from the Team USA Basketball social media accounts (@usabasketball on Twitter is your best bet).  My guess that this reasoning has something to do with 'unfair' recruiting for the schools that have coaches and players involved from the extra publicity, but I could be wrong.



Countdown to Fall Sports

We inch closer each day to the start of fall sports, which cannot come soon enough.

We are 10 days away from women's soccer facing Morehead State and 15 days away from their season opener.  Field hockey's Alumnae Game scrimmage is 17 days away with their season opener against Indiana being 23 days away.  Volleyball has their Red and Black scrimmage in 17 days and their season opener in the Cardinal Classic is 23 days away.


What Day Is It?

Besides being the first day of August, giving the cue for UofL sports to pick back up, but it is also a day for several holidays.  For you food lovers you can enjoy a homemade Raspberry creme pie.  We're past the halfway point of the season, but it is also Play Ball Day.  In recognition of Girlfriend's Day I'll have to get some flowers ordered for my Katy.  It is also Respect for Parents Day, no talking back!  Without the World Wide Web (that little "www" in front of the website name) we wouldn't have a website here, so we give thanks to that.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Meet the USA WBB U 18 team -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WALZ HAS U 18 SQUAD IN MEXICO CITY TO BEGIN PLAY WEDNESDAY

With a gold medal performance in the hip pocket of the USA U 17 squad, it's now Jeff Walz's turn to mine a little precious metal down Mexico way with the U 18 team. Hopefully, they'll get in, win and get out before the proposed border wall goes up...in any event, a very solid and talented squad of 12 goes to group play beginning Wednesday at 7:30 PM against Group A opponent Argentina. 

I'll leave any pre-game write-up possibilities and pool analysis to our esteemed Jared Anderson and his Wednesday check-in. Today, let's look at who will play. Highlighted below is the players name, class she's in, position and height. 

AIJHA BLACKWELL -- 2019 -- Guard -- 6'0" 

From the Whitefield School in Berkeley, MO, she's undecided yet on her college commitment. She averaged 24.2 ppg as a junior and was selected for the USA Today All-Missouri First team. She's ranked #22 in the 2019 ESPNW Hoop Gurlz Super 60. Has a list of 12 college finalist, including Louisville. 

JENNA BROWN -- 2018 -- Guard -- 5'10" 

Hailing from The Lovett School in Smyrna, GA, she'll be on the Stanford campus this fall. 
Jenna was named to the 2018 Naismith All-American First Team and was a 2018 McDonald's All-American. She also made the 2018 All-USA Second team. Played on the 2016 USA U 16 squad. Ranked 18th. overall on ESPNW Hoop Gurlz Super 60 for 2018. 

DESIREE CALDWELL -- 2018 -- Guard -- 5'8" 

Desiree played for Byron P. Steele II High School in Cibolo, TX. She'll take her game to USC (Southern Califonia) this fall. Part of the 2018 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State, All-Region and All-Star teams. She was ranked 19th. in the 2018 ESPNW Hoop Gurlz Super 60. Her sister Reece played for UCLA and Texas Tech. 



MAORI DAVENPORT -- 2019 -- Forward -- 6'4" 

Out of Troy, AL, was a star at Henderson H.S. and named to the USA Today All-Alabama squad. She's still uncommitted for college. Ranked 13th, in the 2019 ESPNW Hoop Gurlz Super 60. Averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds as a junior to help lead her team win the Alabama 5A State title. Louisville on her list of colleges to consider. 

NAZAHRAH HILLMON-BAKER -- 2018 -- Forward -- 6'1" 

From Cleveland, OH...she played for Gilmore Academy and will go to Michigan in the fall to play for Kim Barnes Arico. Selected for the 2018 USA Today All-Ohio First Team and named Ohio Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year for Division III. Ranked 58th. in the 2018 ESPNW Hoop Gurlz Super 60. 

RHYNE HOWARD -- 2018 -- Guard -- 6'2" 

Played for Bradley Central H.S. (Cleveland, TN) and will suit up for Matthew Mitchell and the Kentucky Wildcats this fall. She received Jordan Brand recognition, was the 3A Tennessee Player of the Year, 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Today All- Tennessee First Team selection. 32nd on the 2018 ESPNW Hoop Gurlz list.




ASHLEY JOENS -- 2018 -- Guard -- 5'11" 

She's keeping it in-state by going to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa after playing for Iowa City H.S. in (you guessed it) Iowa City, IA. Gathered the 2018 Miss Iowa Player of the Year Award and the Gatorade State Player of the Year. Ashley checks in at 26th. on the 2018 ESPN Hoop Gurlz list. Spelling of last name is correct but often referred to as Jones. 

OLIVIA NELSON-ODOBA -- 2018 -- Post -- 6'5" 

Excelled at Winder-Barrow H.S. in Winder, GA. Packing her bags for Geno and UConn this fall. Part of the 2018 USA Today and Naismith All-American Second Teams. Selected for the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic teams. Georgia Player of the Year. 
Ranked #5 on the 2018 ESPN Hoop Gurlz Super 60. 

ANAYA PEOPLES -- 2019 -- Guard -- 5'10" 

The lone ACC prospect on the squad, Anaya played for Schlarman H.S. in Danville, IL. She's verbally committed to Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame for the 2019-20 season. As a junior, she received the 2018 USA Today Player of the Year award and was on the First Team. Her 16.9 poiants per game helped her high school team win the Illinois 1A title. 

SEDONA PRINCE -- 2018 -- Post -- 6'7" 

The tallest player on the roster, she played at Liberty Hill H.S. in Liberty Hill, TX. She'll stay in the Lone Star state and perform for Texas in the Big 12. Honors include the 2018 Naismith All-American Second team, 2018 Jordan Brand Class and McDonald's squads. Played on the 2016 USA U 17 World Cup Squad and 2015 USA U 16 team. #3 Hoop Gurlz.


NALYSSA SMITH -- 2018 -- Forward -- 6'3" 

Heading to Kim Mulkey's Baylor Bears in the fall, Nalyssa play her high school bass at East Central in Converse, TX.  Picked for the McDonald All-American and Jordan Brand Classic squads. A USA Today First Team Selection. Second Team Naismith All-American. ESPN Hoop Gurlz has her as the #13 overall player. 

CHRISTYN WILLIAMS -- 2018 -- Guard -- 5'11" 

Out of Little Rock, AR. where she played for Central Arkansas Christian H .S...Christyn heads to Storrs, CT for a Connecticut Huskies jersey this fall.  A three-time Gatorade Player of the Year recipient in Arkansas. Was on the 2017 FIBA 3x3 squad that won the gold medal. ESPN Hoop Gurlz has her at #1 in the 2018 rankings. 




As you can tell, tons of talent for Walz and the assistant coaches to use. The games will be available for watching on YouTube.com/user/FIBAWorld. 

In a friendly scrimmage Monday night in Mexico City, USA defeated Canada 72-42. Walz played all 12 on the roster and Rhyne Howard led the scoring with 14 points.

Walz's comments: 

"I thought it was great - some encouraging things happened. It was nice to get a chance to compete against another team. I thought we did some really good things and we got better in areas -- but, we still have some growth to do. We got a chance to run some things and a chance, depending on how they guarded us, to see how our kids would read what the next pass should be. We'll be able to take this one and grow from it. It gave us some confidence." 

Confidence. Something that should surely build as the USA U 18's work their way through Pool play and onto, hopefully, another gold for USA Basketball. 





paulie
xxxxx

World Cup Field Hockey: Irish fall 1-0 to Eng. -- USA ties India -- USA U squads WBB -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ENGLISH MANAGE LATE GOAL TO DEFEAT IRELAND 1-0

With Ayeshisa McFerran in goal and a depleted Louisville scoring attack a possibility for 2018 Louisville Field Hockey, we had joked on the Saturday morning CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR broadcast that Louisville Field Hockey might be winning a lot of 1-0 contests this season. In Women's World Cup action, we got a 1-0 final in the final game of pool play, but it was the English with the "1" and McFerran's Ireland squad posting the "0" Sunday afternoon in the finals of Pool B play. 

A penalty corner with about seven minutes remaining gave England the lone score of the contest. The goal wasn't really McFerran's fault either...the "score" shot deflected off of a Irish defender's leg, which altered the path of the ball and the orb skipped past the out-stretched Louisville and Irish goalkeeper to find net. Sad to say, but that's how the ball bounces. (Groan). 

McFerran's heroics in goal kept the Irish in it for 53 of the 60 minutes. The English controlled the attack throughout the contest and had several shots on goal that McFerran was able to prevent from becoming scores. The Irish offense was not faring well against #2 England defense...they had no shots on goal in the first half on Sunday. 

Despite the close loss, Ireland still wins their Group play and had already advanced to the quarterfinals. The Green Army enters crossover play, waiting to see who their next opponent will be, pending the winner of the India vs. Italy match. McFerran's team will play again on Thursday.  The English needed at least a draw to make crossover play but vaulted to second place in the pool with their first win in the 2018 World Cup. 

No disgrace in keeping the second-best team in the world scoreless for over 80% of the match and falling 1-0. Ireland finishes Group B Pool play with a 2-1 record with 6 points, England second with 5 points, India and USA with 2, but the tie-breaker (goal differential) belongs to India. 


USA TIES INDIA 1-1...FINISHES LAST IN POOL PLAY

For the other Louisville Field Hockey player (Nicole Woods) participating in the Field Hockey World Cup, the results weren't so good. A tie Sunday against India lands them last in the Group B Pool and effectively ends their World Cup run. Only the top three teams advance out of the pools. 

USA needed a win to assure a shot at the crossover round...to face Italy...but couldn't not win a match in the three-game Pool play, getting just a two ties and a loss. 

I was unable to view the USA vs. India match, and the stat sheets for these games aren't made public, so I don't know how much time Woods saw on the turf. 

Still, it's a great honor to be selected for the team for the recently graduated Woods, a native of Beverly, MA. 

For Ayeshia, a chance to keep that Cardinal (and Green Army) spirit alive. Ireland has already gained a berth as one of the eight teams to play for the World Cup title. Here's hoping they can continue the success. 


USA U 17 WBB TEAM WINS GOLD

Going into the semifinals of the FIBA U 17 World Cup Girls Basketball game, the USA squad had a simple motto to follow. "Defense wins Championships". In Minsk, Belarus...the USA squad lived up to the motto by eliminating Hungary 84-39. The win advanced USA to the gold medal round against France and they once again lived up to the phrase by pounding the French squad 92-40 to capture the gold. 

Outscoring their opponent 46-12 in the second half and limiting them to 24.6% shooting for the entire game, USA easily captured their fourth goal in the event. 7-0 in this year's competition and a sparkling 36-1 since the event began in 2010. The USA squad entered the this year's quarterfinals and emerged with a 66-31 drubbing of Spain to advance. USA allowed 110 points in three basketball games. It equates to basically giving up nine points a quarter. 

Jordan Horston was named the tournament MVP and Aliyah Boston led USA 's five double-digit scorers in the final with 16 points (in a mere 17 minutes) 

Horston, a part of the stellar 2019 class is uncommitted for a college choice yet. A slew of schools are hot on her trail and UNC, Ohio State and UCLA have already received visits from the 6'1" point guard. She's also planning trips to Louisville, Duke and South Carolina. 

Boston, a 6'4" post from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and also a part of that 2019 class, is also uncommitted and has Louisville's interest as well. She's another top 10 prospect like Horston and the #1 ranked post in the class. She's a bit of a youngster (only 15 years old) but Boston is used to playing against older competitors. Her older sister Alexis has served as a motivation for her to grow into the game.

Alexis spent the 2017-18 campaign playing for Owens Community College (Perrysburg, OH) as a freshman.  

Now, it's Jeff Walz and the U18's shot at a gold. They're already in Mexico City and will begin play August 1st. when they take on Argentina in Pool play this Thursday at 7:30 EST.

Today, we've discussed a lot of pools. Hey, it may be time to go swimming! 


paulie
xxxxx