SMU next stop on Cards road trip. -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS VISIT MUSTANGS IN DALLAS. 

Don't let the SMU 2-7 conference record fool you, SMU women's basketball won't be a one- sided romp for Louisville on Thursday. 

True, the Mustangs have been beat up and bullied by Duke, FSU, NC State and Notre Dame this season..,but they are coming off a close loss at Miami and are 10-11 on the season and 7-4 at home in Moody Coliseum...an arena that eerily looks like Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. 

"See that big city? It's Dallas. our team will play softball there someday"

We all remember what happened to Louisville in Lexington. 

SMU is the squad playing without any pressure. They know they are a longshot to make the NCAA Tournament, but a win against Louisville would go a long way with the selection committee if they were on the bubble. 

And they do have some weapons...

Nya will blow right by ya, if you don't guard her

Nya Robertson joined the Mustangs this season after two years at George Washington,  where she led them in scoring. She now leads the Mustangs in scoring with 19.0 ppg.

Chante Embry is a 6'1" forward who averages 11 points a game and scored 22 against FSU. 

The duo could make things difficult for the Cards. Head coach Toyell Wilson is an experienced coach that is 45-44 at SMU and led the Mustangs through the tough conference battles in the ACC and, as an assistant at Michigan...had success  Remember Naz Hillmon? She was a Wilson disciple and seems to be doing quite well with the Atlanta Dream. 

And, a good guard and forward combo almost wreaked havoc on UofL when they went to Charlottesville and ACC opponents are lined up to defeat a name school like Louisville and get national attention and a great boost to their resume. These Cards may not be Tier One this year yet, but they are a team that is coming together more each time they hit the floor. 

The Cards are nearing a three game stretch that looks pretty scary. Notre Dame, Cal and Stanford...all in the KFC YUM! Center. but, ask Jeff Walz, and he'll tell you he doesn't look past the next game on the schedule...and that's a wise thing to do with the youth on the Cards roster. 

Can Cards corral the Mustangs? 

One game at a time. One win at a time. It's corral the mustangs first, then meet the Irish. And, nine games remain on the regular schedule before the ACC WBB Tournament. Hard to believe, right? Frentic Feburary awaits..are Louisville ready to ride the lightning...or dissolve into a fading front?

Jared will break the Mustangs down in more detail tomorrow. 

paulie

  

And they do have some weapon

Cards Hang On At Virginia 68-65 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS WBB BENDS BUT DOESN'T BREAK AGAINST HOOS

It was a fourth quarter that Cards fans would just soon as forget, but UofL went to Charlottesville Sunday afternoon and left with a three-point win. 

Louisville led the Cavaliers 62-45 after 30 minutes of play and were getting great production from Jayda Curry (with five threes), Nyla Harris and had a massive rebounding edge, but then UVA got a rally going that saw them outscore UofL 20-6 in the final quarter and draw within three at 68-65 with 3:30 to play. 

The Cards took control early in the game, and jumped out to a nine-point lead.  But, at the end.., the scoring ended. For both teams. Louisville missed seven shots in those final three minutes and UVA was equally as woeful and missed a three attempt at the buzzer, to preserve the win for UofL..

.A "W" for the Cards that was their eight in the last nine games and improved their overall record to 14-6 and conference record to 7-2. 

In the beginning, a 13-4 UofL lead with 3:35 gone in the first quarter. Louisville led 25-10 with 39 seconds left in the quarter after two Curry free throws. They took a 25-12 lead to the end of the quarter. 

UVA was not giving up the battle, though and cut the Cards advantage to 29-23 with 6:43 until  halftime. It stopped there, though, as Louisville countered with 13-4 run to go up 42-27 with 1:01 until half after a Taj Roberts layup. The squads went to the halftime locker rooms with the Cards comfortably ahead 44-29. 

Both squads were pretty evenly match in the third quarter, UofL winning the 10 minutes 18-16 and getting six straight points from Nyla Harris to go up 60-45.  A layup at the buzzer from Curry was whistled "good" and UofL led 62-45. 

Then, the fourth. The Cards did not score in the first three minutes and saw the lead shrink to 64-55 with 6:25 to play. Two UVA free throws cut it even further making the score 66-63 with 4:21 left in the contest. The Cards final two points came from Ja'Leah Williams free throws with 3:27 to go...and UVA would just score once from then on. 

Road wins are worth their weight in goal in the ACC and the Cards did enough to win the road contest today, although they didn't finish particularly well... they missed nine of their final ten shots. Jeff Walz had plenty of material today to lament about his squad's penchant for allowing the "dribble drive".

Curry had a Louisville career high with her 19 points. Louisville shot a dismal 38.6% from the floor but still left John Paul Jones Arena with a win

(Fred Gwynne aka Herman Munster fits the scary Cards finish today. It was a "W", though)

THE FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 8-10 from the line, a marked improvement for the Cards that surpasses our 70% mandate and earns them a capital "F". 

REBOUNDS -- 43-31 in favor of the Cards...Cochran had 11 and Roberts nine. A double-double for "O" today and we see a capital "R". 

EFFORT /EXECUTION -- The 38.6% shooting isn't particularly pretty, and the six fourth quarter points were flat ugly, but the Cards looked pretty sharp before that and 15 turnovers is down from previous games..so we'll award a lower case "e" here. 

DEFENSE -- Louisville had nine steals, but allowed 52 of the Virginia points in the paint and 50.9% shooting for UVA. Still, despite the fade at the end, they held UVA to under 70 points and the defense allowed less points than the Cavaliers did. It's a win, let's go lower case "d" 

FINAL FRED TOTAL:  F-R-e-d

Louisville goes to SMU next for a Thursday 1/30/25 contest in Dallas.

POST GAME JEFF WALZ 1/26/25

paulie

Rally falls short as Cards WBB falls at Virginia Tech 70-65 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS FALL SHORT DESPITE 4TH QUARTER RALLY

Louisville women's basketball staged a furious fourth quarter rally and almost pulled off the win in Blacksburg Sunday afternoon against Virginia Tech but fell short in a 70-65 loss. 

For three quarters, Louisville was the gang that couldn't shoot straight, trailing 58-45 and allowing VT 24 third quarter points. It certainly looked like the Cards had left their game back in the KFC YUM! Center after 30 minutes, but the Cards found a rally in them and roared back in the final period to get within one at 63-62 with 1:48 to play after an Olivia Cochran put-back.

Virginia Tech did what they had to do, though, sinking eight free throws the rest of the way on nine attempts to keep the Cards at bay and get the win on Liz Kitley Day. The Cards won the fourth quarter convincingly 20-12, but it was not enough to give them the road win. 

Cochran led the Cards with14 points, one of three in double figures for UofL...with Jayda Curry adding 13 points before fouling out and Ja'Leah Williams having a strong fourth quarter and ending with 12 points. 

You can maybe point at Louisville's futile three point shooting as a reason for the loss, the Cards going a woeful 2 for18 from beyond the arc, while the Hokies went 6-16 from three-point range.  

Louisville was whistled for 25 fouls, while the Hokies were just assessed 15, maybe another factor in the contest. 18-25 from the line for the home squad, Louisville going 11-17. 

A contest where Louisville never had a lead, a rarity for the Cards. And, Virginia Tech did not make a basket in the final 4:20...so the chances were there for the Cards, but they couldn't quite pull it off. 

Fred Bird is the St. Louis Cardinals mascot. 

THE FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS --  The Cards went 64.7% from the charity stripe, we demand a 70% or better for a letter, so no letter here. Roberts and Russell were a combined 4-8, 

REBOUNDS -- 39-25 advantage for the Cards in the battle of the boards...Cochran with eight and Harris with seven to lead the way for Louisville. CAPITAL "R"

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The Cards did win the turnover battle, committing 13 to Tech's 14, and had four steals to VT's three, and ruled in points in the paint 44-26, but 65 points is a bit underwhelming. And, Louisville lost...we cannot award a letter here. The effort was not enough to get the win. No letter

DEFENSE -- Allowing the Hokies 53.5% shooting for the game hindered UofL's effort, and a 20-13 bench scoring edge for VT was beneficial, especially the effort from freshman Kayl Peterson with 12 points as a reserve. No win, no letter for the defense. 

FINAL FRED TALLY: _-R-_-_

The Cards get a week off before their next outing, a trip to Virginia awaits the Cards Sunday. 

POST GAME JEFF WALZ

paulie

 

WBB ACC Schedule released -- HC Jeff Walz Press Conference -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Hello readers and happy hump day!!  It's Daryl.  Hope you've got your pink on!! 

I'll be out at the next festival this weekend so we switched up the coverage and luckily for me another great day to cover some Women's basketball landed in my lap!   Coach Walz and the team started practice... so the 2024-2025 season is officially underway.  

Walz met with the media Tuesday afternoon and spent almost an hour discussing the upcoming season, player profiles and potential, opponents, the coaching staff, the WNBA, the transfer portal and the freshman class, social media and polarizing politics along with life lessons in general for his team as the head coach of a successful D1 women's basketball squad.

Listen here -- Head Coach Jeff Walz preseason Press conference 9/24/24

The program also announced the ACC schedule Tuesday afternoon featuring some new faces from the pacific coast (in the Atlantic Coast Conference........ i will probably groan about this for a while) The Cardinals will play their two California opponents at home this season.

The Cardinals will be in the national spotlight for a majority of their conference schedule as 14 of their 18 league games will be featured on national television. Including their non-conference schedule, the Cardinals will have at least one game on ABC, FOX, ESPN and ESPN2 this upcoming season.

UofL will open conference play with NC State in mid-December in the annual Jimmy V Classic and naturally will play Notre Dame twice this season, the only opponent the Cards will face twice in the regular season.  

What matchups are you most looking forward to and what player do you think will have the biggest impact on this year's squad?  

 

Paulie will post the schedule over on the right hand side on the site in a day or so.

Cardinal Couple is looking forward to another year of coverage of women's basketball! 

As Always, 
Go Cards! 
~Daryl 

ACC Bracketology -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Ranked 24th Post-ACC Play

With most of the power conference tournaments complete (the Big 12 Championship is tonight), the field is starting to take shape for the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament. Josh Heird is among those who will set the seeding and they get a free pass on the number one overall seed. South Carolina survived upset bids in the SEC Tournament to remain undefeated and received every number 1 vote in the AP poll. They're at the top of the field in the NET rankings as well. Second in the AP is Iowa, who won the B1G Tournament and sits at 29-4. It would be fairly surprising to see them not end up with a one seed, but they are only 5th in the NET. 

We're here to talk about the ACC's teams, though. Notre Dame took the automatic qualifier at stake in Sunday's game and they moved up from 14th to 9th as a result of their efforts in the tournament. The NET rates them a bit higher, as they didn't change from 7th in that ranking system. ESPN's latest bracketology gives the Irish a three-seed, but I don't see it. Ohio State is ranked lower in the NET, is only two spots higher in the AP poll, and didn't win their conference title. 

Speaking of teams a bit out of place... USC is ranked third in the AP, but is just 10th in the NET. The Trojans won the last WBB Pac-12 Tournament, so they'll be expecting a 1-seed. That could potentially put two Pac-12 teams on the top line, as Stanford is unlikely to get bumped. The conference champs would certainly feel snubbed, but a one-seed would be two spots higher than their NET ranking suggests, so we'll see. For what it's worth, bracketology gives them the honor.

Back to the ACC. Bracketology says the ACC will once again lead the league in bids, putting nine in the field. What's more, Miami is listed as a "Last Four Byes" team, so all nine teams are projected to make the tournament outright. Miami is 50th in the NET rankings, so it would be heartbreaking on their end if they were ultimately left out. That said, 22 automatic qualifiers will be ranked lower than 50th in the NET. If Princeton is upset in the Ivy League Championship, that could put a 23rd team above Miami (and Princeton at 33 might still get in). On the bubble, Miami can't afford a stolen bid, so I'd say they're Tigers fans this week. A 10-seed is probably about right for the Canes, who will likely be on pins and needles throughout the show. 

Given those high numbers on automatic qualifiers, I'd say that Virginia and Georgia Tech need not hold their breaths. The Hokies are 61st in the NET and the Yellow Jackets are 69th. If you finish only a shade above .500, you aren't likely to sniff the tournament anyway, so I'd say they know they aren't getting in. Who knows, though, maybe we'll be shocked. 

Now that we know the first and last teams in for the ACC, who is left? If I gave you three guesses to get the last seven schools, I feel pretty confident you could get it. If you guessed "the other seven top-9 seeds in the ACC Tourney," come on down and collect your prize. Behind Notre Dame, the ACC sees NC State (13), Virginia Tech (19), Duke (20), Louisville (23), UNC (37), Syracuse (43), and FSU (44). Ironically, Syracuse and FSU swapped spots in the NET Rankings despite the Noles winning the head-to-head on Friday. I guess going on to lose by 26 the next day kind of hurt. The NET and the AP are not very well aligned when it comes to the ACC, as the voters have NCST (11), VT (13), Syracuse (22), Louisville (24), FSU (RV-34), Duke (RV-35), and UNC not receiving votes. Miami is also not receiving votes, but Miami is 13 spots behind UNC in the NET, so that's not terribly shocking. 

So what does that mean for seeding? We've already mentioned the headache that the committee will have with some top-line teams looking a bit like fool's gold, but what does that mean for the lower-ranked teams? Let's assume Princeton gets in. That means the bottom 22 teams in the field are going to be those automatic qualifiers rated below 50 in the NET. That leaves 46 slots for the rest of the field. Already, quick math tells us that Miami is squarely on the bubble. It also means, according to the NET, Syracuse and FSU aren't super safe. (Have no fear, Orange fans, a ranked team is not getting left out of the tournament.)

Bracketology agrees that, roughly speaking, an at-large bid into this year's tournament will get you an 11- or 12-seed at worst. Like I said, Miami pulled a 10. The ESPN honks are high on the ACC, though, rating higher than the NET (which is unsurprising in the case of a team like Syracuse). Virginia Tech and Notre Dame will both be irritated to see a "3" next to NC State's name. ND will shout that they should have a higher seed line (and they probably should), and Virginia tech won't like being behind (as they're projected to have a 4). Syracuse picks up a 5-seed before Louisville and Duke both sit on the 6-line. 

Yeah... a six-seed is not what we've become accustomed to here in the River City, but Louisville won't be playing in the Yum! Center this year, which will be the second year in a row. They're projected to hit the road and head to Corvallis to take on Oregon State. If that comes to pass, the Beavers will be looking for payback after the 17-point drubbing the Cards handed out in the 2019 tournament. The teams have played three times, all since 2012, and that 61-44 victory is actually the smallest margin for the Cards. Louisville won the first matchup by an eerily similar 61-43 mark and took the game in between by a whopping 33 points (76-43). Oregon State would likely be looking to score more than 50 points at home. 

So Louisville and Duke as six-seeds aren't too surprising. The Blue Devils would have a shout at a five-seed, but Syracuse's premium bumped them down a line. UNC is a bit of a head-scratcher. Bracketology has the Tar Heels with a seven-seed. I'm not really sure where that math is coming from. The Heels haven't exactly passed the eye test at times this season, and the NET and AP would both see them fairly well below that mark. They're ahead of where the AQs would be boosting their seeding, so a 9- or 10-seed would seem more likely, but I guess we'll find out next week. Last, but not least, is FSU. The Noles are one of the teams aided by the lower ranked automatic qualifiers, and Bracketology puts them as an 8-seed. They will potentially draw Iowa in Iowa City. Good luck with all that. 

Based on the way the field is laid out now (I'd be a little surprised if it actually shook out this way), no ACC teams could play before the Sweet 16. Those honors would come as the result of moderate upsets for Louisville and UNC or a moderate upset for Duke and a major one for Miami. There are three teams in two quadrants, two in a third, and NC State gets to be alone in their quadrant. We'll see about that.

We're just a week (and a day) away from the First Four getting underway, and we'll know who plays in those games after the Selection Show on St. Patrick's Day. The women's Selection Sunday show will air at 8PM on ESPN. We'll have more on the Pick 'Em Challenge in the coming days, but starting planning those upsets now!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

SB wins 2-1 -- WBB wins 69-67 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

(weekend happy dance) 

We are officially in the final stretch towards March Madness now that were on the other side of Valentines and the NFL season.  

I was feeling like crap all week, slightly feverish and allergies so if I sound a little groggy throughout the recaps, my apologies ahead of time!!

But luckily for me we have two Cardinal wins to cover this morning so lets get into it.. 

Softball

Photo: Jared Anderson

The Diamond Cards are rolling into the 2024 season as they headed south for the Joan Joyce Classic in Florida and were able to get another W to move to 7-0 on the season after defeating host team, FAU 2-1 on Thursday evening.  

The Cardinals scored 2 runs off of 6 hits.

Gabby Holloway got the start and the win in the circle pitching for 5 innings giving up only 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 2 and walking 2.  

Senior outfielder Vanessa Miller lead at the plate for UofL going 2-3 with 2 RBIs and a stolen base.  

Next up for the Cards, they will face Seton Hall at 11:30am today  before squaring off with FAU again at 4:30pm.  

This marks Seton Hall's opening weekend. The Pirates are coming off of 42-18 campaign and won the BIG EAST regular season title in 2023.

Seton Hall was picked to finish third in Big East by the coaches.  The Pirates return 18 players return from season's team including the conference Pitcher of the Year, Kelsey Carr.   Angie Churchill enters her third season at the helm.




WBB

Photos: Jared Anderson

The Cardinals had another one go down to the wire on the road this week, this time, it went Louisville's way.   Ironically, the Eagles intentionally fouled Louisville 5 times in the last 30 some odd seconds to end the game with time expiring but the Cards didn't shoot a single free throw.   BC had fouls to give, you see. Mayb the refs go the word on the 'be very, very careful on sny "interntional" decisons'...maybe...

After trailing for the majority of the game the Cards were finally able to break through late in the third quarter before managing to stay on top till time expired.  

Cards WIN  69-67

End of 1Q    17-8 BC
FG %
4-12 33.3% Cards
6-14 42.9%  BC
Reb.  9-7 BC
3-pt %
0-1 0% Cards
0-0 0%  BC

Louisville didnt score until 3 minutes into the game when they were trailing 7-2.   The Cards committed 3 turnovers before they scored a bucket.  Rickards went 3-3  and noone hit a three pointer in the quarter... ew. Moving on.. 

End of 2Q  24-15 Cards

FG %
7-13 53.8% Cards
6-16 37.5%  BC
Reb.  10-6  Cards
3-pt %
1-1 100% Cards
1-2 50%  BC

Olivia Cochran get her first FG of the evening at 1:30 left in the half.. Kiki Jefferson hits the layup to end the half and make it a brand new game.  Louisville never lead in the first half.   Nina Rickards had 12 points on 5-6 shooting. 

HALF   32 all 

End of 3Q   20-19  BC

FG %
6-16 37.5% Cards
7-14 50%  BC
Reb.  14-7 Cards 
3-pt %
0-2 0% Cards
1-5 50% BC

Sidberry picks up her 4th foul with about 6:15 on the clock and the Cards head to the free throw line for a chance to take the lead for the first time in the game but are unable to covert both and tie the game up at 39 all.  New ballgame again.  Cards forced BC to take a 3, missing it and chance to take a lead but they turn it over again for the 18th time on the evening.... BC defense stripped the ball out of Nyla Harris's hands and off her knee when Merissah Russell attempted the dish underneath.   It was that kind of night..   Cards take their first lead 2:40 left in the third quarter when Olivia Cochran hit her 2 FTs.  

End of 4Q  18-15 Cards

FG %
9-16 56.3% Cards
7-15 46.7%  BC
Reb.  8-5 Cards 
3-pt %
0-2 0% Cards
0-2 0%  BC

Cards get scoring going and takes lead 53-52 with about 8:40 on the clock left in the game. 

 UofL starts the quarter 5-5 while BC goes on their own run scoring 3 baskets in a row.  

Cards commit their 22nd turnover of the game with about 4 min left in the game.  Kiki Jefferson hits the bucket in transition to make it 65-60 Cards  with about 3:30 to go.  BC goes 1-2 at the FT line and Walz called a timeout with under 3 min left when Cards struggle to find any offense.   Cards get nothing out of it as they airball a 3 point attempt. BC gets final posseesion but cannot tiie it or take lead, thanks to "O" defense in BC paint. 

UP NEXT

# 18 Louisville vs  #12 Virginia Tech 

Sunday at 2PM

ESPN 

FRED REPORT

King Fred the Muppet

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 16-21 at the Free Throw line which is good for 76%.   There were a few opportunities where the Cards couldve taken the lead at the FT line and werent able to.  Olivia Cochran went 5-6 on an otherwise quiet offensive night for the senior.   Ill give it a lower case f

(EDITOR NOTE...I WILL OVERRULE THIS TO A CAPITAL "F". OUR STANDARD IS...OVER 70%, YOU GET THE "CAPITAL".  

REBOUNDING --  The Cardinals dominated the boards 39-27.  UofL pulled down 13 offensive rebounds which they were able to get 14 second chance points.  Olivia Cochran again lead her team in this category pulling down 9 rebounds.  CAPITAL R

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  The Cards shot 46% from the field hitting just one 3-pointer on the evening.  The turnovers could've killed Louisville in this matchup and their top tier position in the conference.  UofL had 24 turnovers in the game, the most this season since they had 22 against Miami on NYE.  The Cards came up big in the 4th quarter when it really mattered.  lower case e

DEFENSE --  After the Eagles came out on fire and got a big lead on the Cards, Louisville was able to turn up the defense and get some stops to tie it up at half and make it a brand new game.   BC's Dontavia Waggoner lead the charge for the Eagles going 8-18 with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.  lower case d 

FINAL FRED TALLY: F_R_e_d

Let's get a big win this weekend at the Yum Center, Cards.  I have also been checking out the Softball schedule looking forward to some big conference matchups down at Ulmer Stadium when the home schedule opens.  

As Always,

Go Cards

~Daryl 

CARDS fall to Wake Forest 68-57 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good Friday morning yall - I hope you have a warm weekend ahead! 

Seems weird to say there's only 8 games left in the regular season for the WBB Cards, 4 of them at home.  They will return to the Yum! Center on Sunday 2/5 vs North Carolina.  I encourage you to make it downtown for a game if you can!  Bring some friends/family out for some great time spent and hopefully a Cardinal victory! 

WBB

Photo: Jared Anderson

The Cards went on the road looking to get back in the win column but it wasn't "in the cards" for Louisville.  After winning the first half and looking like a team on a mission, the team fell apart in the second half, losing by 20 in 20 minutes.  Morgan Jones fouled out and was the leading scorer for Louisville with 15 points on 5-7 shooting.  Mykasa Robinson was also a leader for UofL going 3-4 for 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.  Louisville lost the third quarter 26-11 to the Deacons.  With the loss, the Cardinals move to 15-8 on the season and 6-4 in the ACC.  

Recap

End of 1Q  18-14 Cards  

FG %
6-11 54.5% Cards
5-9 55.6%   WF
Reb. 6-4 WF
3-pt %
1-2 50% Cards
3-5 60% WF

Morgan Jones, Hailey Van Lith, Olivia Cochran, Chrislyn Carr and Liz Dixon started the game but a minute into the contest Dixon turned the ball over and was subbed out for Josie Williams.  Williams made an immediate impact, scoring the Cards first points of the game and securing a defensive rebound in less than a minute on the floor.  WF committed 7 turnovers in the first 6 minutes in which the Cards converted for 11 points, 8 of them in the paint giving the Cards a 14-8 lead.  Jones lead the scoring for the Cards with 9 points 16-8 on 3-4 shooting and 3-4 at the FT line in the quarter.  The Deacons went on 5-0 run to make it 16-13 with a couple free throws from both squads to close out the first quarter. 

                                                                          

End of 2Q  16-11 Cards

FG %
8-12 66.7% Cards
3-10 30%  WF
Reb.  7-5 Cards
3-pt %
0-1 0%  Cards
1-4 25%  WF

Louisville came out to score the first 6 points in the quarter to give the Cards a 24-14 lead over the Demon Deacons.  There were about 2 minutes between 2 HVL buckets while the defense held WF scoreless for the first almost 4 minutes.  Mykasa Robinson forced a steal with 5 min left and got the  assist to Jones to make it 26-16 Cards.   The WF offense struggled with leading scorer, Jewel Spear with only 5 points on 2-7 shooting with 3:30 left in the half but then a little 6-0 Spear spurt made it 28-23 before the Cards went on their own 6-0 run to push back and give UofL the 34-23 lead.  Jones fouled Spear on a 3 point attempt to close the quarter where she made 2 of 3.  

HALF  34-25

 

End of 3Q  26-11 WF

FG %
5-10 50%   Cards
8-13 61.5%  WF
Reb.  6-3 WF
3-pt %
0-2 0% Cards
5-6 83.3% WF

Dixon returned to the floor to start the second half after finishing with no points and 2 turnovers in 5 minutes in the first half.  She had 4 points and a rebound in the opening 3 minutes.  The Cards committed 5 turnovers in consecutive possessions over a five minute period and while the Deacs went on an 18-0 run including a 4 point play by Spear.   Spear and Williams scored the last 24 points for WF to give the Demon Deacons a 41-40 lead.  A layup by Olivia broke the scoring drought for UofL to cut the WF lead 46-43, she went to the to complete the 3 point play. Spear was 3-3 from both the field and the free throw line.  WF shot 83% from three point land in the quarter. 

End of 4Q  17-12 WF

FG %
5-12 41.7% Cards
4-11 36.4%  WF
Reb.  7 all
3-pt %
0-3 0% Cards
0-3 0%   WF

 Louisville continued to struggle to take care of the ball into the final quarter, committing two turnovers to open the first couple minutes and WF grew the lead to 55-47 lead over Louisville.  Cochran and HVL scored the next 6 points in the game to make it 55-53 WF and 4:30 minutes left in the game. Cochran also recorded a block and a steal in that run but a failed defensive set by the Cards allowed WF to get open underneath the basket to score.  With the score 59-57 WF, a made up walk on Cochran with 1:30 left in the game and phantom foul on Jones at the end of a shot clock for Spear allowed the momentum to go the Deacons way entirely as they secured a 61-57 lead.   WF closed the game on a 9-0 run at the free throw line. 

FINAL 68-57 Wake Forest over Louisville 

UP NEXT

Louisville vs Syracuse

Sunday 1/29   12 p.m. 

ACCN or 93.9 The Ville 

FRED REPORT

(Most Cardinals Fans had to feel like Fred Thompson after the 18-0 WAKE run.)

FREE THROWS --  Louisville went 8-10 at the line where Morgan Jones lead the team going 5-7 from the charity stripe.  Cochran was the only other Card who went to the line and was a perfect 3-3. They were 80% but they did not get there far enough compared to Wake Forest's 19-24... Capital F  

REBOUNDING -- UofL was outrebounded 24-21 where WF Demeara Hinds lead all rebounders with 9.  Olivia lead for the Cards with 6.  Louisville only secured 3 offensive rebounds and had only 4 second chance points.  lower case r 

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  After coming off one of the worst quarters in program history, the Cardinals showed some similar signs of struggle in the final moments of the game.  UofL turned the ball over on 5 consecutive possessions.   HVL and Carr struggled to score combining for 13 points on 6-18 shooting, Carr scoreless in the second half.   As a team, the Cards committed 20 turnovers, 12 in the second half.  lower case e 

DEFENSE --  The wheels totally fell off the defensive bus for Louisville after a strong first half.  The Cards gave up 43 points in the second half to the Demon Deacons where Spear lead with 21, 11 coming at the free throw line.   Both teams had 6 steals in the game.  no letter 

FINAL FRED TALLY: F-r-e- _

POST GAME WALZ:

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

As always 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

 

WBB Cards Clobber Clemson 75-50 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DANA EVANS GOES FOR 27 IN 25-POINT WIN

A fast start last night in Clemson, SC propelled the Louisville women's basketball team to an early lead and Louisville never looked back in the ACC win against the Tigers. Dana Evans led all scorers with 27 points, Elizabeth "E" Balogun totaled 15 in the first 20 minutes and the Cards (13-1, 2-0) romped their way to a 75-50 triumph. 

Early on, it was Balogun 7 - Clemson 2 as the Chattanooga sophomore led a 10-0 Cardinal that put UofL up 12-2 after an Evans three made it 12-2 with 5:17 remaining in the first quarter. It was open season on hunting and bagging threes in the first ten minutes, Louisville sank five of them, and had no trouble in establishing a 25-12 run in the first session. 


The Cards came out hot in the second quarter as well, stretching a 32-16 lead to 44-22 after four straight threes in a two-minute sequence from Balogun and Evans. After buckets by Evans, E and Jazmine Jones, the Cards held their largest lead of the first half at 50-22 with 38 seconds remaining. It was a half to remember, the Cards made 10 threes, Balogun and Evans were responsible for 39 of Louisville's 50 first half points and UofL was shooting 56% (29-52) from the floor and 50% (10-20) from three-point range. Louisville won the second quarter 25-10.


I'll get into this a little later on in today's column, but I'll say it was the Cards finest effort for one half this season. 

It was a large defensive effort for Walz's squad in the first twenty minutes. They held the Tigers to 24% shooting, just one three-pointer and held Clemson scoreless the final 3:43 of the half. 50-22 at the break and the Tigers walked back to the locker room stunned, searching for answers and hardly looked like the team that had defeated Notre Dame by 16 a few nights ago in South Bend.  

The pace slowed a bit in the final two quarters. Although Louisville won the third 15-10 to take a 65-32 lead, Clemson was fighting for pride and starting to make a few stops and plays. Yacine Diop, Norika Konno, Elizabeth Dixon and Kasa Robinson eventually entered the action and the first three mentioned in the sub sequence scored the final six points of the third to extend the lead to 33 at the end of the quarter. Clemson's Kendall Spray, the ACC Player of the Week last week, had just one made three in the game. 


Walz did a lot of experimentation with player combinations in the fourth period. 

Clemson took advantage of the situation and went on a 8-0 lead midway through the final quarter to cut the Cardinal advantage to 24 at 66-42 with 6:11 to play. Walz re-inserted three starters to stem the tide and, aided by Norika Konno's five- fourth quarter points, Louisville sailed to a 75-50 win, despite getting out-scored 18-10 in the fourth and scoring just one point in the first five minutes of final quarter action.

An incredible night for the Gary, IN junior. Dana going 10-20 from the floor, seven of the makes being threes and also adding three rebounds and four assists. Balogun was just as incredible, going 6-10 from the floor in only 20 minutes of action.


THE FRED REPORT

Fred "Mr Rogers" would have probably
sung "It's a Beautiful Night in the Tiger Den"
after last night's UofL performance

FREE THROWS -- If there was a lack of something in last night's contest, it was called fouls. Only 27 in the contest and just 10 by Clemson. The Cards went seven for nine (77.8%) from the line, Dana never went to the line and four players took two each. Free throws definitely weren't a factor last night. We'll award a CAPITAL "F" for the Cards effort, albeit a brief one, from the charity stripe. 

REBOUNDS -- Surprising at first glance, Louisville lost the boards battle 47-40 to the Tigers. Upon further review, there were several sequences in the game where Clemson took four or so shots before connecting, so that "puffed" the stats. And, UofL did win the defensive boards battle 26-25. Kylee had 10 grabs, eight on the defensive end and Liz was responsible for five in just 16 minutes. I can't award a letter here, but unique circumstances and the Cards first half shooting excellence skew this stat. 

EFFICIENCY/EXECUTION -- Louisville passed the ball well, found the open player and ran the offense well for most of the contest. Yacine led the "bakery" stat with four turnovers, but, all in all, the Cards fared well in getting done what had to be done. 23 points off turnovers and the Cards ran the transition game quite well. Here's your CAPITAL "E". 

DEFENSE -- A wonderful performance in the first three quarters, no doubt. 20 turnovers for the Tigers and Louisville blocked seven shots, led by "E"'s five. 18-62 shooting for Clemson and just three fast break points. Maybe the most remarkable stat was the 1-8 three-point shooting Clemson managed. 50 points for the Tigers....and just 32 after three quarters. The defense (doesn't) rest, your honor, and we have come to a decision. A CAPITAL "D" for the shut down effort by UofL when the Tigers had the ball. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-_-E-D


SO...

Debate it if you will, but I'll call that first half the finest one Louisville has produced all season.

The Cards looked like a team that could go very, very far in the NCAA Tournament for 20 minutes last night.

Maybe. I'm a little disappointed that the "killer" instinct seemed to wane in the final twenty (Clemson won the second half 28-25), but...let's face it, this one was over early and (in my opinion) the sparse crowd of 1196 didn't have much at all to rally around most of the night. In deference, they're Football crazy these days down there, with National Championship dreams permeating the city and campus and, rightfully so. 

A chance to get a little extended playing time for the Cardinal reserves and that's always good, especially when it is an ACC opponent. Those opportunities may not present themselves much in the future. Coach Walz expressed pleasure in his post-game remarks about the win.

Has the jello finally jelled? 

The Tiger (maybe) mirroring the look in Clemson fans eyes
and on their faces after last night's game. 

Last night, the jello was served -- or, more like forced down the throat -- to a Clemson squad coming off a huge win on the road. 

The Cards saw the 5-9 version of Clemson, not the road-warriors who gave Notre Dame their first home loss in ACC history.

 No matter, they kept shoveling the gelatin down the Tigers pie-hole and it was refreshing to see. 

Let's hope second helpings are plentiful out of the Cardinal refrigerator as the Cards continue to explore the menu in the ACC establishment. 

Duke comes up next for the Cards, a visit to the KFC YUM Center on Sunday 2 p.m. Coach Walz wants 12-13,000 in attendance for this one. You got it in you, Cardinal fans? 


JUST IN

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour will live on. 

Although it won't be on the radio, Jeff McAdams has set up a podcast format for us that will debut Saturday, 1 p.m. on You Tube. 

We kept the name, in tribute to the years of our broadcasting efforts, despite there being an absence of a radio station you can turn on to listen to us. My guys tell me podcasting is the wave of the future. I hope you follow us over to the venue change. 

Please join us at:  youtube.com/watch?v=x5ZYz6Z7140  for our first broadcast. Case Hoskins will go into more detail about our transformation and continuance in his Saturday column. It should be informative and interesting !! 


paulie
xxxxx