Cards WBB upsets #13 Georgia Tech 69-60 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRESHMEN LEAD WAY IN LOUISVILLE WIN

Louisville womens' basketball got a combined 29 points from freshmen Tajianna Roberts (16) and Ja'Leah Williams (13) and held off a late Georgia Tech charge to pick up  the nine point win in front of 8917 fans on a chilly Sunday in Louisville at the KFC YUM! Center.

UofL started slowly in the contest, giving up the first five points in the game, but closed the first quarter strong, on a 9-0 run over the final 3:26 to graB a five-point advantage at 18-13 after Williams had six of the Cards final eight points in the quarter. 

The Cards pushed the margin to 10 at 25-15 three and a half minutes into the second quarter on a Merissah Russell layup and closed the half on a 9-1 run over the final 4:27 to go in the locker room at halftime ahead 37-23. It was a 19-10 second quarter for Louisville and they shot 7-10 from the floor (70%) for the quarter and were at 60% (15-25) from the floor for the half while holding GT to just 40% (10-25) in the first 20 minutes.

 Louisville...with the 37-22 lead in a bit of a surprise to many. 

Walz played just eight players in the first half, Williams playing all twenty minutes and she led all scorers with nine points The Cards were dominating in points off turnovers (22-9), points in the paint (22-10) and in rebounds (16-13). It was a fairly clean half for the Cards in the foul department too, committing just four in the first half. 

The third quarter proved to be the scoring quarter for both squads...Georgia Tech going for 26 points while the Cards mustered 22 points. Those 48 points were just nine short of what was scored in the entire first half. The Yellow Jackets had chipped away at the Cards advantage to trail 59-49. Kara Dunn had come alive for the visitors, with a 14 point quarter on 6-6 shooting and the Cards looked to be in for a battle in the final ten minutes. 

Give Louisville credit for not letting the lead slip below eight in the first seven and a half minutes of period four. The Cards were able to shut down Dunn  in a low scoring quarter, (11-10 Georgia Tech)  and the Cards were making the most of the shot clock when they had possession of the ball. With 1:29 to play, Tech converted on 1-2 free throws to get the closest they had been at 65-60, but would fail to score the rest of the way.  Williams nailed a jumper for the Cards with 59 seconds to play, and a Harris layup off a steal made it 69-60 with 27 seconds to go. GT would miss a three, in the final shot of the game, and Louisville had picked up their fifth conference win in a thriller. 

Fred Durst is today's Fred. No limp biscutz on this Cardianls squad sunday

THE FRED REPORT

Free Throws -- The Cards were 8-12 from the charity stripe...Jayda Curry going 3-3. That's 66.7% and not quite at our letter-mandate of 70% so...NO LETTER

Rebounds -- Louisville won the battle of the boards 31-24 and guard Ja'Leah Williams led the way with seven. Four were on the offensive boards. That's good for a CAPITAL "R".

Effort/Execution - The Cards led in points off turnovers, points in the paint, shooting percentage and second chance points. They took the fight to the visitors all game long and didn't wilt when the pressure was applied in the final minutes, It's worth a CAPITAL "E". 

Defense-  Holding Tech to 60 was quite the accomplishment and Louisville tied Tech with steals (7) and forced GT into 16 turnovers. 50% shooting for Ga. Tech was a bit head-scratching, but when you shoot 53%, it's another 'win". Defense was huge in producing this win and I'll award a CAPITAL "D". 

FINAL FRED TALLY:   _-R-E-D

So, we saw a Louisville squad that has played increasingly better in the last month and a half get a tier one win over a foe that started the season 15-0. Williams and Roberts continue to do great things as freshmen for Louisville...and they'll see any more tough tests as this season progresses...but, this win should do wonders for the team's morale and spirits. six wins in a row now, and this heat check continues Thursday when Syracuse comes to town. 

GUESS WHO CAME BACK FOR  VISIT? KASA ROBINSON!!

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

POST GAME ROBERTS AND HARRIS

POST GAME WALZ

paulie

Louisville Defeats Morehead State — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

COCHRAN GROUNDS EAGLES WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLE

(OK, WHO LET PAULIE ON THE COURT ??)

Hey, folks! Jared reporting here from the KFC Yum! Center on a Wednesday night in the break between Louisville women’s basketball and Louisville men’s basketball. Paulie wasn’t able to make it to the game so I was pulling double duty with writing and photo taking… plus trying to do my best Paulie impression in postgame.

The Cards improved their record to 10-1 with a 74-48 blowout win over Morehead State. Olivia Cochran posted a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double and Nyla Harris scored 16 points.

While the final buzzer showed a 26-point win, things were close in the first quarter. Louisville started 0-5 from the floor and the Eagles held a four-point lead shortly before the first media timeout. UofL would end up with a 16-14 edge in the opening quarter before using a 15-0 run in the second quarter to blow open the game. Missed three-pointers and missed layups were the major culprit for the early game woes.

Louisville would go into the half up 41-22, but should have been up by 30 if it weren’t for the struggles down low. The Eagles battled again in the third quarter and Louisville was only able to extend their lead by two more by the time “Joker and the Thief” played through the KFC Yum! Center.

Defense for both teams took over in the final quarter, with Louisville holding a 15-10 scoring advantage. Jeff Walz pulled off the press in the final few minutes. Hennie van Schaik went down in the fourth quarter, but Walz mentioned that he believes she just rolled an ankle.

Three-point shooting was abysmal- the Cards shot 3-13 (23.1%), but they dominated the points in the paint 46-16, much thanks to Cochran and Harris. A few fast break layups and an offensive rebound layup off a missed free throw contributed to that number too.

F-R-E-D Report

(we bring back Fred Sanford for today's "Fred"...that's as fine as chilled wine, Cards!) 

Free throws- Louisville shot 15-18 (83.3%) and followed up a missed free throw with a made layup. Great numbers there. Capital F.

Rebounding- The Cards had better success against Kentucky in the rebounding battle but still held the 47-39 edge against the Eagles. Hannah Hicks recorded 11 boards for Morehead State. Winning the rebounding battle was enough for a lowercase “r”.

Effort/Efficiency- Get past the first quarter and the effort increased drastically. The Cards looked sluggish early in the game, perhaps still hungover from their rivalry win over the weekend. Louisville had trouble beyond the arc and had trouble right under the basket. Everywhere else on the court looked great. I don’t think there’s enough reason for a capital letter but the Cards won big in the end so a lowercase “e” works for me.

Defense- If I could split this between the odd numbered quarters and even numbered quarters then we’d see both a no letter and capital letter, respectively. Allowing 14 points in the first quarter and 16 points in the third quarter against Morehead State isn’t pretty. The Cards limited the Eagle’s perimeter shooting and tried to minimize second chance points on the defensive end. A lowercase “d” is awarded here.

FINAL FRED TALLY: 

F-r-e-d. Plenty of room for improvement but a win is a win.

Louisville wraps up their home stand 3-0 and will gear up for a trip to UConn on Saturday.

(EXCLUSIVE PHOTO OF THE ADMINISTRATOR THAT THOUGHT 4 P.M. WEEKDAY GAMES ARE A GOOD IDEA...SO WAS PIZZA ON  STICK, RIGHT?) 

Jared’s Note: 4:00 weekday games don’t draw fans. I was fortunate to leave work early but most of the Cardinal Couple Crew and much of the fan base was still at work or school when tip-off happened. The posted attendance was 7,066 but it looked to barely break 5,000. Next time, put the men’s game early since they barely have fans at games (for good reason) and the women’s team could’ve had a larger crowd with the 8:00pm slot.

Daryl will give you your regular Friday post tomorrow so make sure to tune in!

THEY SAID IT: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLbQzsljX3c   Olivia and Kiki post game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izNaMlnxfNE   Jeff Walz post game

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Host Boston College Tonight — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cards Host Boston College Tonight

As PauliE said yesterday, the ‘Second Season’ for Louisville Women’s Basketball begins tonight. Back from the holiday break, Louisville opens ACC play against Boston College inside the KFC Yum! Center at 7:00 p.m., ET. The game will be shown on ACC Network Extra (online) or you can tune into 790-WKRD AM radio to hear Nick Curran and AJ call the game.

#3 Louisville boasts a 10-1 record on the year highlighted by three wins against ranked opponents including rival Kentucky. The Cards went undefeated against in-state opponents in Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Bellarmine. Who owns the state, again?

Boston College is 8-3 on the year. The Eagles opened conference play against North Carolina recently, and fell to the Tar Heels 76-73. When it comes to offensive efficiency, the Eagles are one of the best in the country. They average 75.6 points per game and their 48.7% shooting is best in the ACC and ranks third in the country. The one weakness on offense for BC is their turnovers- 19.3 per game.

On the defensive end, Boston College is giving up an average of 64.1 points per game while forcing 19.2 turnovers per game, 9.6 of those being blocks. The Eagles are also a good blocking team at 4.3 blocks per game.

Their roster lists eight players between 6’0 and 6’3. The other six are no shorter than 5’7. Taylor Soule and Cameron Swartz have been the heart-and-soul(e) of this team. The duo averages a combined 29 points per game. Both standing at 5’11, they’re versatile enough to run with the guards but also have the size to be a presence in the post. Seven different Eagles average between 3.3-5.1 rebounds per game, led by freshman Maria Gakdeng.

Boston College looks way different than the 7-12 team from last season and more like the 20-12 team from the previous year. The Eagles are hoping to have their second winning season in the last decade.

ACC play is no walk in the park. Not every team Louisville faces will be at the level of NC State, but a good portion of the conference has the potential to win on any given night. Boston College is one of those teams that can shock you if they get hot.

As we get into the second half of the season the rotation could drop to 7-8 players consistently, but to try and wear down opposing teams, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Jeff Walz has 10 different players see action. To try to limit the strong shooting, this game has the potential to see a lot of full court press for both teams.

Paulie will be on the court with live tweets and asking Walz about his favorite Christmas present. Being back in town, I plan to be at the game tonight with my camera. 

(TODAY'S PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS B.C. GAMES, TAKEN BY JARED) 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball News — Almost Back to Basketball — TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball News

Louisville Volleyball’s Tori Dilfer has been named a Honda Sports Award Finalist. She is one of four finalists for volleyball. The Honda Sports Award is given to one female athlete for each women’s sport.

Dilfer was named the first ever ACVA First Team All-American for Louisville Volleyball (Anna Stevenson was also named a First Team All-American this season). She was also named ACC Setter of the Year and East Region Player of the Year. Dilfer was an integral part of the first ever #1 ranking for the Cards, an ACC Championship, and Louisville’s first ever Final Four appearance.

It’s a common saying “You live and die by your setter”, similar to what you see with a quarterback in football or point guard in basketball. .

It wasn’t too difficult for Dilfer to have a successful final year due to the loads of talent she was surrounded by. With fellow All-Americans Anna Stevenson (first team) and Anna DeBeer (third team). Claire Chaussee, Akko Jones, Amaya Tillman, and Elena Scott were all named to the All-ACC Second Team- the other three were named All-ACC First Team- so at any given time during the season, Louisville had enough award winners on the court to fill an entire 'starting seven’.

Speaking of Anna Stevenson, the middle blocker had some great news announced yesterday. Stevenson’s volleyball career will continue as she has signed a professional contract with the Turkish club Aydin Buyuksehir Belediyespor. My iPad doesn’t allow certain characters and said accents on those letters so what you’re reading is the American English keyboard spelling.

Stevenson will be eligible to compete in the second half of the current Turkish Women’s Volleyball League season. The team has already announced on their Instagram page @aydinbuyuksehirbelediyespor the news and how excited they are to have her on the team.

We have seen over the last few seasons just how excellent Stevie’s volleyball skills are and it comes as no surprise she will now being professional volleyball.

For those who don’t follow professional volleyball, it is quite an honor and a high recognition to a player’s skill set to be able to play overseas. Tess Clark and Erin Fairs are other former Cards currently playing overseas. There isn’t much opportunity to play volleyball professionally in the United States at this time, but hopefully as the sport continues to grow we will see a stronger presence here.

Almost Back to Basketball

The Christmas/Holiday break is almost over. For the Louisville Band, Cheerleaders, and Ladybirds, they all boarded a plane to Texas yesterday for the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Surprisingly, Louisville Football is favored to win this one.

But back on campus, Louisville Women’s Basketball has reported back to campus for workouts and practices. The Cards open ACC play on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., against Boston College at the KFC Yum! Center.

For Louisville, a 10-1 record is a good start, especially after a disappointing season opener to Arizona. Since then, Louisville has taken down ranked opponents Michigan, Kentucky, and UConn. Paul gave you a good rundown (someone tell Jim Halpert what a rundown is) of ACC Women’s Basketball yesterday and just how good or not-so-good some of those teams have been doing.

The Cards have some stiff competition this year. Besides NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Norte Dame, and Wake Forest have all had hot starts. Similar to ACC Volleyball, ACC Women’s Basketball appears to have a strong number of teams this year. Boston College comes in at 8-3 and has Taylor Soule back, who is averaging almost 17 points a contest.

We’ll preview the UofL vs BC game more thoroughly later this week. Paulie and I both plan to be in attendance for that one as I should be back in town late tomorrow night.

Thankfully, Katy’s family and I have limited our contact with the outside world minus a couple things here and there. Sadly, my family back home has not been as fortunate as many of them have come in contact with my cousin’s partner, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Christmas Day (days after I had already left Louisville). So Katy and I will avoid them for a while when we get back in town, but thankfully everyone has been symptom-free or had symptoms similar to that of a minor cold.

As the holiday season wraps up we encourage everyone to monitor potential symptoms as the CDC has stated they expect a big increase in positive cases over the next couple of weeks. Masks and vaccines can save lives, folks.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared