WBB stats --ACC Pick em --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TAJ ROBERTS, JAYDA CURRY LEAD CARDS WBB IN SCORING

With two games left in the regular season, it looks like a two way battle to see who will lead this 2024-25 UofL WBB team in scoring. Freshman Taj Roberts has 13.2 points in 27 games and senior Jayda Curry has 13.0 points per game in 23 contests. Only one other Card is in double figures and that is grad student Olivia Cochran.

Roberts and Curry are also the 1-2 punch in three-pointers...45 for Roberts and 43 for Curry. Curry is the clear leader in free throws made, with 73, and also the most accurate with a sizzling 92% success rate. 

Her  high school jersey in background, we all  know 

                                         "O" is #44.

When it comes to rebounding, it's Cochran leading the way with 177 on the season, followed by Nyla Harris with 152. 

After 27 games, the Cards have scored  5450 points and their opponents have also scored 5450 points. I don't think I have ever seen a team and its various opponents tied in scoring this late in a season. 

96-57 is the largest margin of victory this year for UofL WBB (over Grambling) and the Cards biggest loss came to UConn (52-85) . 

Louisvill'se eight losses have come to: UCLA, Kentucky, Oklahoma, UConn, NC State, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and North Carolina. Seven of these schools are in the AP Top 25. 

If the ACC Tournament were starting tomorrow, Louisville would earn a #4 seed and get a double bye...they are tied at 12-4 with FSU and Duke but own wins over both. With two regular season games left (Clemson and Notre Dame), if the Cards finished 20-9...they would watch with great interest that season ending battle between FSU and Duke, which could determine if UofL gets the double bye. FSU has to also go to Notre Dame, so, it appears their battle to earn the double bye might be the toughest of all...Duke's other final games, beside FSU,  is hosting UNC, another tough task. 

It's the final season for the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, I'd surely love to be there this year, but odds are I won't get to make the trip. 

For Louisville, the key is to...at least go 1-1 to have a shot at that coveted ACC Tournament double bye....along with Notre Dame, UNC and NCST 

ACC PICK EM

We'll be running our annual ACC Tournament "Pick Em" Tournament this year.. with some major changes in the judging crew of your entries. Jared , former bracket czar, has stepped aside from the duties this year, so it'll be me and Cardinal Couple writer Case Hoskins doing the tracking and judging.

You'll need to get your entries in before the first game on March 5th.  We'll also request that all entries be posted in the comments sections of articles...we won't track any entries sent to us other ways. 

We have two great gift cards in the prize vault...one for legendary Wagner's Restaurant (near Churchill Downs) and one for Cracker Barrel. 

One entry per participant and we'll offer an entry format example (from the lovely Sonya) once the seeds are revealed. 

paulie 

A Cards WBB squad to remember -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 The 2019-20 WBB Cards were a special bunch that didn't get a chance to finish it out

Major holidays can be a fun affair at times, especailly if you get the chance to reminisce and reflect with friends you hadn't seen in awhile. I attended a gathering that I had passed on, for more than just a few 4th celebrations, this year... and was glad to see some friends I had lost touch with. 

We were "day-attenders" for this gathering, not sticking around for the backyard firework shows in someone's backyard. The smaller events hold little interest for me anymore. I guess too many Thunder Over Louisville's can do that to you. I also pointed out to my wife that the neighbors on each side of us would be blasting them away. Driving back home, though, it was kinda cool to see the sudden, bright explosions in the sky.  

But, back to the party. A friend was firing Louisville women's basketball questions at me left and right for a while...and I almost felt like it was the "old days" when Howie Lindsey and I would do a lot of that and get a lot of that on his radio show. 

One question that got me thinking was when I was asked which of the Cardinal WBB squads was my favorite. I suppose I could have gone with one of the squads that had a nice march through the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament...but I came up with a team that was so very good, got eliminated the the second round of the ACC Tournament and never got the chance to play in the "big dance"...the 2019-20 squad. 

There were several players I just loved to death (and still do) on that team. Despite the graduation of Asia Durr...it was a big roster, with 13 players, and fan favorites such as Jaz Jones, Dana Evans, Kianna Smith, Kylee Shook, Liz Dixon, Norika Konno, Jess Laemmle and Kasa Robinson were on the squad. The team also had Lindsey Duvall and Seygan Robins...two big favorites of mine who eventually transferred out. Elizabeth Balogun was a part of that squad also and so was Molly Lockhart, both who eventually transferred as well. Filling out the roster was the fabulous Bionca Dunham and Yacine Diop was the "super sub" off the bench 

What a squad. They went 8-0 to start the season, won the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands and didn't take a loss until they went to Ohio State. Dana Evans had 18 point in the Cards losing effort and Jaz Jones disappeared with just two points in 20 minutes before fouling out. The Cards didn't lose again until they stumbled when hosting Fla. State in early February.

The win at UK was pretty special. 67-66 with Shook making our last two baskets. Then, we had to hold our breath while Rhyne Howard launched a three-pointer that could have won it for the Cats. Howard had 28 points on the night but didn't get that final three to fall and we escaped the rivalry game with a win, after being down by double digits in the third quarter. 

That was also the year they scrimmaged against the USA Women's National Team. Sue Bird, Angel, Sylvia Fowles, A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum...the list went on and on. And, few remember this...but the Cards led at the end of the first quarter in this one.  Yes, USA eventually put it on the Cards and won by 43...but the Cards stood toe to toe with them for the first half.  

Syracuse was another who put an "L" on UofL... in the game after the Florida State loss. Something many didn't recall was that Emily Engstler was on that 'Cuse squad and Morgan Jones was on that FSU team. Louisville did regroup and win their final six of the season, though,  and went into the ACC Tournament. That Saturday loss, to FSU (again!) in the tournament semifinals was disappointing. 

The whole next day, I heard a lot about this virus that was starting to spread across the US. I watched NC State take the title with a decided lack of interest and listened the news on my car radio all the way back to Louisville that afternoon/night. Something called coronavirus was being touted as nothing to mess around with.

At least FSU got beat, but a few days later...we got the news that the NCAA Tournament might be played without fans. The next day, it was cancelled completely. South Carolina, Oregon, Baylor, Maryland and UConn had powerhouse squads...but the Cards had shown we could win against the top five with the win over Oregon and I felt they could hold their own against any of the other top five. 

I've always felt UofL could have easily scored a #2 seed in one of the regional sites and gone a long way in the NCAA Tournament that year. They had depth in the paint, a talented crew of guards and strength at forward. Sadly, we never got to see just how far they could have gone...but, if pressed, I'd have to say that the 2019-20 squad was (and is) my favorite of all time. 

It was hard to pick them over the 2012-13 squad. You had Sara, Cortnee, the Schimmels, Shawnta, Shelby and Sherrone. They were magical in their own right, also...getting to the NCAA Championship game to face UConn  Stefanie Dolson and Breanna Stewart proved to be too much to handle, though. 

Feel free to let us know in the comments section if you agree on the 2019-20 squad as your favorite or have another Cards WBB squad that is your favorite. 

paulie

Softball vs WKU -- Lax to Host ACC First Round this Weekend -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A Happy Wednesday to you! Today is National Garlic Day, and your taxes are now officially a day late...in case you just woke up. 

With the Louisville Bats picking their season back up and Daryl doing some big wig duties over there, we see a little musical chairs with the posts this week...I'm batting today instead of Paulie, Daryl is the Thursday designated writer and Paulie will handle Friday duties. 

All I want to know is what's the girl's name on first base. Who? Yes. 

 

Softball Travels to Western Kentucky

Continuing their late-season non-conference slate, Louisville softball travels to Bowling Green for a midweek game against Western Kentucky. The game is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and is expected to be aired through Facebook live, provided by WKU Athletics.

Louisville improved to 28-14 on the year following a double header sweep over Oakland on Sunday. The Cards totaled eight home runs (Taylor Roby 3, Hannah File 3, Korbe Otis 2) including a combined .500 batting average in the second game.

This is the final non-conference game of the season for Louisville, who has series remaining against Virginia, Boston College, and Florida State.

Western Kentucky is 23-17 on the season. The Hilltoppers are fresh off a series loss to MTSU. WKU has lost five of their last seven games.

Katie Gardner has spent over half the time in the circle for WKU, facing 584 of their 1025 opponents' at bats. The senior is 11-11 with a 3.66 ERA. Gardner has struck out 146 batters.

(Paulie and Sonja have visited the WKU campus more than any other UofL opponent's lair...except Kentucky. And, Sonja attended there back in college. She knows Big Red personally, we've heard) 

WKU hits .294 as a team. Faith Hegh is one of five players hitting above .300 with a .397 average. Hegh leads the team with 40 hits. Taylor Sanders is top on the team with 39 RBIs and nine home runs.

Louisville owns the all-time series 19-3.

Lacrosse to Host ACC Opening Round This Weekend

For the first time in school history, Louisville lacrosse will host an ACC Tournament game. The 8-seeded Cards will welcome 9-seed Duke on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The Cards are a #8 seed in the tournament, Duke a #9 seed. 

Most recently, Louisville had a come-from-behind win against the Blue Devils on Senior Day for their second ACC win of the season.

The Cards still have a trip to Notre Dame on Thursday night to close out the regular season.

Both Thursday's and Sunday's games are expected to be aired on ACCNX.

WBB Transfer Portal

It was announced that Hailey Van Lith is currently on a visit to reigning national champion LSU. While there is no confirmation on where the former Louisville guard plans to use her final two years of eligibility, LSU does check off several boxes including a national championship contender and a good location for NIL options.

This could be interesting...to see how HVL and Angel Reese co-exist on the same team. Did the NCAA WBB rules committee decide teams can have two balls on the court now?  Add Ms. Mulkey to the mess and you've got the potential for a classic Three Stooges remake.

(Yes, there is tangible proof right here in the photo that Paulie is taller than both Hailey and her Dad)

Yes, Van Lith upset a lot of Louisville fans when she announced her plans to transfer following the NCAA Tournament. We've discussed how the NIL and transfer portal have changed the basketball culture. We wish HVL the best wherever she ends up at. 

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Recapping the ACC Tournament -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It's certainly nice to be back in Louisville after a long weekend in Greensboro. I hit the road with a Louisville women's basketball superfan 7:50 a.m. on Thursday and we got back at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. The drive is much easier when you have someone to keep you company and awake.

The last minute decision for me to go began forming Sunday night after Louisville lost on Senior Day, but was guaranteed the 4-seed and the double bye. I approached the idea to Paul that evening (who was not going this year) and told him I would sleep on it and by Monday morning we had the ball rolling. Both Louisville and the ACC were happy to provide a credential for me and work had no problem letting me off for a couple days.

My only other time going to the ACC Tournament was the first year Louisville was in it and I was with the pep band at the time. The Cards fell to Florida State in the semifinal that year.

We arrived in Greensboro about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, which was enough time to get in a short nap. We went over to a UofL Alumni party in the downtown area where I had the pleasure of meeting some donors as well as getting a chance to socialize with some of the administration and coaches.

I left the party early enough to catch the final game of the Thursday night session- Boston College vs Miami. It was a good opportunity to test out the lighting and camera settings inside the arena. Believe it or not, the lighting is actually better inside the Greensboro Coliseum following their upgrades made in the last year. Miami came out on top in that game.

Friday morning was an early one as the Cards had an 11:00 a.m. tip-off and the team sendoff party at the hotel was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Finally, time for the real reason I traveled to Greensboro- to photograph Louisville women's basketball. The Cards came to play and had a dominating first quarter before cruising to a 26-point win. I stuck around to photograph the second game, where we saw NC State top Syracuse, before going back to the hotel for a quick nap. I made it back to the arena for the final two games of the night, a Duke victory over North Carolina in a tight one and then a Virginia Tech blowout over Miami.

Saturday wasn't quite as early with a noon tip and a 10:00 a.m. team sendoff. Still plenty of time to grab some media food before the game, of course. The Cards squared off against 1-seed Notre Dame. This one started off in Louisville's favor and they ran with it. Louisville came away with their second straight 26-point win of the tournament and got their revenge against the Irish. The most surprising part of it was that Muffet McGraw had something nice to say about the Cards on tv. I stuck around and photographed Virginia Tech take down Duke in the other semifinal before grabbing Cookout on the way back to the hotel.

Sunday morning was time to pack up the car. I had to get to the arena earlier than normal for a mandatory photographers meeting for anyone photographing the championship. I still had plenty of time to get down to the court to see the teams warming up. While I got bumped to the second row of photographers in the first half thanks to a bunch of local media showing up and getting priority, I did manage to snag a front row spot in the second half. Unfortunately, even though the Cards battled back, they fell a tad short at the end.

Following the conclusion of the game, I rushed back to pack my equipment and to get to my car before everyone began exiting the arena. From there, it was a long drive home that saw me getting home right at 10:30 p.m

.

Talk about an adventurous and busy weekend. I put plenty of miles on my car while photographing eight different games in the ACC Tournament. I would like to thank all of my fellow members here at Cardinal Couple for letting me go down and represent them at the ACC Tournament. Thank you to UofL and the ACC for the photo credential. And of course, thank you to all of those who read and interact with us on here for letting me share my photos and my experiences down there.

We still have the NCAA Tournament to go, so plenty of basketball left. We also still have our spring sports going on. I will spending plenty of time at Ulmer Stadium and the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium over the next few weeks.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards WBB dismantles Notre Dame -- Softball Falls to Arkansas -- ACC Bracket

 CARDS WBB ROMP NOTRE DAME 86-64

Louisville women's basketball jumped out to a 31-3 first quarter lead (and, no Micale Cunningham was NOT on the court) and had Notre Dame totally dismantled by halftime 54-15 in Purcell Pavilion Sunday afternoon. 

The Cards were hot and Notre Dame was not in the first twenty. Forget the fact that Notre Dame won the second half 49-32. The Irish were never a challenge to the Cards, missing 15 of the first 16 shots and falling behind 18-1 in the first quarter. Louisville hit their first seven threes en route to handing Notre Dame their first home loss of the season.

Hailey Van Lith and Kianna Smith had 20 points each for the Cards and were joined in double figures by Emily Engstler (17 points) and Chelsie Hall (13 points) 

The Cards shot 80% in that sizzling first quarter and 58.5% for the game.

Notre Dame couldn't stop the Cards in a zone, went to man-to-man and fared no better and faced a 71-34 deficit at the end of the third quarter. 

Olivia Miles led the Irish with 13 points. She also got a bit chippy with 2:49 left in the first half and shoved Kasa Robinson after a layup that made it 48-10 Cards. After an official review, four players were assessed intentional fouls -- Miles, Robinson, Hailey Van Lith and Dara Mabrey. It may have been the stupidest move of the season for Miles -- woofing when down by 38.  

Norika Konno returned to the court for the Cards in this one and played eight minutes, hitting her only shot, getting a foul and committing two turnovers. 

" We could play them 50 times and I wouldn't expect a first quarter to be 31-3. It was one of those days for them, but, defensively -- I felt we caused a lot of it." -- Jeff Walz. 

For sure, Cards fans won't forget this beatdown of masive proportions for quite awhile.

THE FRED REPORT

We bring in Freddy Kruger for the
"Nightmare in Purcell" for Notre Dame. 

FREE THROWS:  The Cards went to the line four times and hit two of them.  Seriously.  (Notre Dame had 24 attempts). Any time Eric Brewton calls a UofL WBB game, the opponent never fouls. 50% won't get a letter, but, the disparity is glaring.... the striped crew called five fouls on Verhulst in just 11 minutes. Almost laughable. 

REBOUNDS:  The Cards dominated the boards 40-22. Engstler led the way with 10 for UofL. 30 defensive and 10 offensive grabs. No problem with a CAPITAL "R" here. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION:  That first 20 minutes may have been the best I have seen a Cards team  play against a top 25 team in the Walz era.  19 assists on 38 made baskets and just 14 turnovers. The Cards were unstoppable in the first three quarters. Crisp passing and excellent execution in the half court. A definite CAPITAL "E" here. 

DEFENSE:  A complete shutdown of anything Notre Dame wanted to do in the first half. The Cards had six steals and, if the fourth quarter was a bit sloppy for UofL, when you're up 42 in a game, your concentration tends to maybe waiver a bit, focusing on the ineptitude of your foe.  I'll go lower case "d" here -- for three outstanding quarters defensively and one that wasn't so defensive. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  -_R-E-d

Two massive beat-downs of the Irish this year, and no one else I'd rather see the Cards administer them to. Dana Evans was on hand to watch the romp. it didn't change where the Cards would be seeded in the ACC Tournament (at #2) and Notre Dame still goes in as a #3 seed. The Cards play Friday at 6 p.m.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ahlana Smith, who was not at the game. A death in her family and she was with them. 

paulie

SOTBALL FALLS 8-5 TO ARKANSAS

In the restructured Wooo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Louisville played Arkansas Sunday and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, 

It didn't last, though, and the Pigs came back with two runs in the fifth inning and four in the sixth for the win. 

All five Louisville runs came on three home runs -- Smith,.Otis and Miller going fence. Taylor Roby went four innings in the circle for UofL. The loss went to Gabby Holloway.. 

The two squads are scheduled to play two games Monday. Maybe...with the rest of the teams originally slated to play in the classic back home already, it seems like a plan.

ACC TOURNAMENT

 

 It's finalized and set. Louisville plays Friday at 6 p.m. 

In opening Wednesday action:

Game One -- Syracuse and Clemson                                                                                          Game Two -- Duke and Pitt                                                                                                          Game Three  -- Wake Forest and Virginia

I got my bracket copy HERE but there are plenty places to download it. Just do a Google search . (Make sure you have the 2022 ACC one, I nearly posted the 2020 !)  

Good luck to all in the Cardinal Couple Pick Em Challenge !!  Rules on "The right side of the site"  Entries are open, may the best one win ! Jared's e-mail is:  eupherjared@gmail.com  and Paulie's is: cardinalcouple@twc.com  Or ,you can leave your picks in any comments section up to Wednesday noon. (Don't forget the total score...) 

Sonja's Picks: 

Syracuse, Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Miami, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, NC State, Louisville, Louisville  Points: 141

paulie

! 

. 

   

ACC WBB STANDINGS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS, WOLFPACK IN DRIVER'S SEAT FOR TOP 2 SEEDS

Louisville women's basketball and North Carolina State remain the top two teams in the ACC as we roll through February and conference play. 

NCST             14-1

Louisville         13-1

Virginia Tech    11-3

Georgia Tech   10-4

Notre Dame     10-4

North Carolina   9-5

Boston College  7-7 

Miami                 7-7

FSU                   7-7 

Duke                  6-8

Syracuse           4-10

Wake Forest      3-11

Clemson            3-12

Pitt                     2-12

Virginia              0-14

In the battle for the top four seeds and playing on Friday 3.4/22, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and North Carolina are the current schools battling to join Louisville and NCST as top seeds..

The bigger battle would be who are the bottom six teams that would play on Wednesday,, opening day competition, Right now, it looks like Duke would face Virginia, Syracuse would get Pitt and Wake Forest gets Clemson. If Duke gets hot, though, and either Boston College, Miami or FSU hit the skids -- we could see a re-arrangement of Wednesday action.

Let's keep in mind that the schools play 18 conference games each, so some shuffling and position changing is possible with most teams still having three or four conference games to play.

WHO'S HOT

Louisville has won their last eight games, best streak in the ACC right now, but still has Virginia Tech, at Notre Dame, at UNC and Pittsburgh remaining. Can they keep the streak going? NCST and Virginia Tech have four game winning streaks going. 

WHO'S NOT

Virginia is the obvious "not hot" team -- they're 0 for conference -- other than them, Pitt is on a four game losing streak and Duke has lost two straight. 

GAMES OF NOTE

Louisville hosting Va. Tech Sunday is a #2 vs #3 matchup and should be a fun one. Also on Sunday, NCST hs to travel to Virginia Tech, a top three ACC battle. Tomorrow Notre Dame faces Georgia Tech. They're currently both 10-4 in conference and battling to get a top four seed in Greensboro.  

MY  WAY TOO EARLY FINAL ACC STANDINGS

Who turned the moron loose on the laptop?  Going boldly forth, with a fifth and using my sixth sense -- let's predict the final ACC standings. If nothing else, it could provide some good laughs and material to bust me on when they become a reality. 

NCST             17-1

Louisville        17-1

Georgia Tech  14-4

Virginia Tech   13-5

Notre Dame    12-6

North Carolina 11-7. 

Miami               11-7

Boston College  9-9

Fla State            9-9

Duke                  7-11

Syracuse           4-14

Clemson            4-14

Wake Forest      3-15

Pitt                     3-15

Virginia               0-18

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

paulie

              . 

A grimace in Greensboro for WBB -- FIeld Hockey, Softball and Volleyball results -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCST 58 - LOUISVILLE 56

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad saw an early fourth quarter eight-point lead over NC State disappear and fell 58-56 to the WolfPack yesterday in the finals of the ACC women's basketball tournament yesterday in Greensboro Coliseum. 

Transfer guard Raina Perez hit a jumper with 2.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Raleigh, NC squad the final, two-point lead that held -- as the Cards missed on two attempts to tie or win the contest after Perez's shot. 

Louisville held a eight-point lead with 8:58 left in the final quarter after a Dana Evans three, but NC State methodically climbed back into the contest and regained the lead at 55-54 after two Elissa Cunane free throws with 2:23 left in the final quarter. The Cards went back up with 1:59 to play 56-55 after a Evans jumper, NC State tied it at 56-56 after one Cunane free throw with 47 seconds remaining, but Perez's jumper gave the Pack their second straight ACC Tournament title   

A tough loss, no doubt for Jeff Walz's squad, but Walz went for the win on the final play of the game, after an attempted lob to Hailey Van Lith on the right side of the court failed and went out of bounds. Kianna Smith's inbounds pass to Evans resulted in a three-point attempt that grazed the front of the rim but would not go in.

Evans led the Cards in scoring with 15 points, another slow start for Dana, but her 13 second half points (nine in the fourth quarter) kept the Cards in the fray and had them leading --  as the final ten minutes wore down.  Cunane took over for Wes Moore's squad late and she was named MVP of the tournament. 

The NCAA Tournament still looms large for Louisville (although just where the NCAA Bracket folks will seed the Cards is anyone's guess) and the Cards need to develop a short memory, focus on the task ahead and take care of business in the Lone Star State, beginning March 21st. 

For the Cards, Kianna Smith carried the load before Evans hot-hand took over, Kianna had 13 points for Louisville. Olivia Cochran added eight points and eight rebounds for UofL, who goes into the Big Dance with a 23-3 mark. 

THE FRED REPORT

(Yeah, we weren't too pleased with the final score either, Fred Thompson.)

FREE THROWS -- Once again, we saw a scarcity of Cardinals getting to the stripe. The officiating crew of Joe Vaszily, Eric Brewton and Dee Kanter called 22 fouls in the contest, 15 on Louisville. Formulate your own thoughts on that discrepancy. The Cards got four free throw attempts and dank two of them. Only  three Cards went to the line in 40 minutes. NC State, on the other hand went 10-12 from the charity stripe. We cannot award a letter here for the 50% mark by Louisville but have to raise an eyebrow on Cunane for NC State getting eight attempts. 

REBOUNDS  -- The Cards did close the gap from the first time these two met back on Feb 1st and lost the boards battle by just four. Besides Cochran's eight, Hailey Van Lith nabbed seven and that ridiculous "team" entry had six grabs -- all on the defensive end for Louisville. I cannot award a letter when you lose the rebounding battle, despite the improvement from the previous meeting.

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville shot 42.4% from the floor (25-59) and had seven assists on those baskets. A sub-par 4-16 (25%) from three-point range didn't help the Cards chances, but the Cards did fight their way back into this one from a seven-point deficit with 6:44 left in the third quarter to that eght-point lead in the fourth, so the effort and execution was certainly there for awhile. and, Louisville won the points-off-turnovers battle 16-7.  I'll go smallcase "e" for this category --no win means no capital letter. 

DEFENSE -- You really can't come down too harshly on the Cards "d" yesterday. They held NCST to 58 point, 43.1% shooting, forced 13 turnovers and had five  steals. The 18-13 NC State edge in the fourth quarter was fueled by NC States 5=6 from the foul line, the Cards were not awarded a free throw in the final 10 minutes. Dixon and Cochran picked up four fouls each in their efforts to contain Cunane and Ramani Parker had two fouls in 10 minutes. I'll go smallcase "d" here because of the Wolfpack point total and fact they had just one double-digit scorer. 

FINAL FRED REPORT:  _-_-e-d  

So, not the best result in Greensboro yesterday, but what's the use in dwelling on it. To use the overworked phrase: "it is what it is".

You move on.

It could have been a joyous celebration, if Perez's final shot bounced off the rim and/or Dana's three attempt went in. You congratulate NC State,  learn from the defeat and now turn the focus in planning for The Dance. 

FIELD HOCKEY BLANKS BALL STATE

It was a bird battle in Indiana yesterday and the #7 Louisville Field Hockey Cardinals soared over the Ball State Cardinals 5-0 yesterday

"Meche" (Mercedes Pastor) recorded the first "hat trick" of her long and illustrious time as a student-athlete with Louisville Field Hockey in the Cards 5-0 win at Ball State Sunday.  With the win, Louisville goes to 9-3 in the split season. 

A defensive struggle early, Louisville taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room in Muncie at the half. Pastor was involved in that lone score, her shot on goal bounced off the keeper and Aimee Plumb was there to collect it and fire it onto the back of the net. 

The Cards pushed the lead to 2-0 when Pastor connected in the third quarter on a shot from the right side of the circle into the bottom left corner of the goal. It was Pastor again (twice) in the final quarter, getting goals off penalty corners. Katie Schneider completed the Cards scoring with four minutes left in the contest. 

The Cards defense allowed just five Ball State shots in the match. Goalie Sam Minrath recorded the shutout and had three saves. Louisville took 18 shots, 13 on goal and Pastor had 12 of those attempts and nine of the ones on goal. 

Louisville gets their spring home opener Saturday when Virginia visits. 

VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS WAKE FOREST SUNDAY

On Senior Day in the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on the Louisville campus, the VolleyCards swept the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 25-19, 25-18, 25-18.

Sophomore Aiko Jones had 15 kills for the Cards and two block, as Louisville sweeps the weekend matches over the Winston-Salem visitors. 

Louisville hit .337 for the match and 48 kills to WFU's 29. The Cards also got strong play from seniors Piper Roe and Alexis Hamilton, Roe had five kills and six blocks and Hamilton produced 13 digs. Also stepping up big for the Cards was Anna Stevenson, with 10 kills and three service aces. 

The Cards are now 7-2 on the split season and travel to Clemson next, where they'll face the Tigers on Friday and then take on Duke on Saturday in Clemson's arena -- part of the pod format being used this season.

SOFTBALL SHUT OUT BY MIAMI (OH) 4-0 

It wasn't a Sunday to remember for Louisville softball, the Cards managed just four hits against Miami (OH) in the final day of the Cardinal Classic. The Cards ran into a strong performance by RedHawks senior pitcher Courtney Vierstra, who fanned 12 Cardinal batters in her fourth win of the season.

Miami used a three-run homer in the first inning from Adriana Barlow's bat to register all the runs they'd need in this game.  

The Cards had chances. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Carmyn Greenwood smacked her second double of the affair and advanced to third on Taylor Roby's single...but both were left stranded. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cards filled the bases when Greenwood, Jennifer Leonhardt and Jordan Wolfe all reached safely but Celene Funke was caught looking at a called third strike to end the game and Cardinal late rally. 

Bellarmine comes to Ulmer for a Tuesday night contest next for Louisville 

CARDINAL COUPLE ACC TOURNAMENT PICK 'EM CONTEST

David Watson won the Cardinal Couple ACC Tournament Pick 'Em contest, by successfully choosing NC State in his bracket to defeat the Cards. 

It's the second straight year for a win for "Dave-O" in the contest. Cardinal Couple columnist Jeff McAdams finished second, choosing the Cards in the final game. Both contestant went 10-2 over the five-day event, Watson getting the win by turning in his entry earlier than McAdams. Only three of the 22 contestants had NC State as their winner. 

Full order of finish: 

10-2:  David Watson, Jeff McAdams

9-3:  LouavulFan 35, KStarksr, Case, Jared

8-4:  Arthur, Vivian, Daryl, Clemson Cuz

7-5:  Nick O, Paulie, Blue Lou, Kenny S, Phil, Doug A., Sonya

6-6:  Ramblin Eric

5-7:  Curtis, Joe Hill, Nole Knowledge

4-8: Cardinal Couple Chimps

Knowing Watson, I expect he'll pop in here sometime today with a celebratory remark or two. He wins the $25 gift card to Cracker Barrel and we're going to recommend he give it to one of his three kids. A concession speech from "Worldwide" probably won't occur -- he rarely comments on articles. 

A huge "thank you!" to all who participated (it was our largest ACC Pick' Em ever -- entry wise -- with 22 participants)  in the history of the contest, and we'll probably offer a NCAA WBB Pick 'Em as well, if our Bracket Czar Jared is willing to compile the entries and results. We'll keep you updated on that. 

have a menaingful Monday! 

 

paulie

WBB Awards -- T&F News -- ACC Pick Em -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Women's Basketball Awards

Dana Evans continues to rake in awards. Her most recent is being named the Kay Yow Scholar Athlete of the Year.

The award is in memory of Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow, who led NC State to four ACC Tournament championships as well as directing the 1988 USA Olympic Team to a gold medal. It honors an ACC player each year. Evans is the second Cardinal to earn the award, behind Asia Durr, who won the award in 2018.

Evans is also one of five Cards named to the ACC All-Academic Team. The senior will graduate this spring with a degree in Sport Administration. She is joined on the list by Kianna Smith (Marketing), Hailey Van Lith (Business), Elizabeth Dixon (Management), and Mykasa Robinson (Exercise Science).

Dana speaks of the award and other aspects of UofL WBB basketbll in the link below, from her media teleconference yesterday:

 DANA EVANS TELECONFERENCE 3/3/21

UofL and NC State led the ACC with five student-athletes on the list. The 13 ACC schools that played through the end of the season had at least one student-athlete make the list.

Continuing on with the awards, Coach Walz was named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year. He is one of 10 finalists and one of two ACC coaches on the list (Wes Moore, NC State).

Track and Field Prepares for NCAA Indoor Championships

Four Cardinals (three women) have qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The events will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., March 11-13.

Makenli Forrest is no stranger to the Indoor Championships as she makes her fourth appearance. She will be competing in the weight throw, where she finished runner-up in 2019.

Halee Hudson will also be competing in the weight throw. She has finished top three on three different occasions this year. Her best finish ranks 16th nationally.

Aliyah Welter will be competing in the pole vault. She tied a school record with a 4.32m mark and placed second in the ACC Indoor Championships.

Cardinal Couple's ACC Pick Em

We had 22 entries for this year's Cardinal Couple ACC Pick Em. Let's do a quick breakdown.

-- 15 brackets picked Louisville to win the tournament. Three brackets picked NC State. There were two picks for Georgia Tech and one each for Clemson and Florida State.

-- A UofL vs NC State championship game was most popular with 12 brackets have the top two seeded teams squaring off on Sunday.

-- No team was a unanimous pick for any game in the tournament.

-- After yesterday's first round contest, where 13-seed Boston College topped 12-Pitt 67-56,  we still have 15 remaining perfect brackets. So roughly 1/3 of all entries had Pitt getting the win. Boston College got a career high 33 points from guard Cameron Swartz in the win. 

Today will get more complex with four games happening. The first tips off at noon.

In second round action: 

8-seed North Carolina and 9-seed Wake Forest will start the day off.

 6-seed Syracuse and 13-seed Boston College will follow immediately after.

There will be a brief break before 7-seed Virginia Tech and 10-seed Miami square off. 

Then, 6-seed Notre Dame and 11-seed Clemson will close out the night.

Since Daryl has tomorrow's article I will give her an update to share with us. I will then give another update during our normal Cardinal Couple Podcast on Saturday morning before photographing softball at noon.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared