WBB corrals Broncos 98-82 -- Volleyball sweeps Canes -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIRST QUARTER SURGE LEADS LOUISVILLE TO FIFTH WIN

"Hey, guys...I found a baby"  (CAPTION THIS PIC) 

Louisville women's basketball looked like a top ten team last night for the first ten minutes in a 16-point win over visiting Boise St. in the KFC YUM! Center Sunday afternoon. In the final 30 minutes, they struggled with BSU in a highly competitive contest against a squad that just would not go away. Narrowly missing 100 points is a testament to the fact Louisville can score. Allowing 82 points and allowing the Broncos 61.4% shooting alludes to the Jeff Walz axoim "If you're going to make a mistake, make a new one." Yesterday, it was defensive continuity that was lacki 

Maybe it was the legion of 8331 red clad fans in the Downtown arena. It could of have been the brilliant red-light themed pre-game aura surrounding Denny Crum Court during the Louisville introductions. Whatever it was, the blue-clad visitors from Idaho came out a step slow to start this contest and the Cards capitalized. 

Jazmine Jones, Kylee Shook and Bionca Dunham were "plugged in" early and UofL grabbed an early 8-5 lead in the first 2 1/2 minutes. It was part of a 12-0 run for Walz's squad that led to an 18-5 advantage with 4:20 left in the opening session. The Cardinal starters Jones, Dunham, Evans, Shook and Balogun were on a roll. Walz inserted Elizabeth Dixon and Norika Konno into the contest and the party continued. A 13-6 run ended the first period, Shook and Evans had seven points each, UofL was shooting 75% from the floor and the scoreboard read 31-14. This football-like score had the fans rollicking.  

The start of the second quarter featured a bit more parity between the squads. Evans drilled a three to keep the advantage at 18, at 40-22, but the Broncos had shaken off the early jitters, were getting guards Riley Lupfer and Jayde Cunningham involved and playing UofL pretty evenly. Walz worked Yacine Diop and Kasa Robinson into the contest and the buckets continued to pile up for both squads.

58-34 at the half, thanks to a Evans layup at the horn . Louisville was still shooting at a 71.4% clip (25-35) and was dominating in paint points 36-16. 

Three Cardinals (Shook, Evans and Jones) had already reached double figures in scoring and Evans had distributed six assists in the 20 minutes. 

I'd like to tell you that the onslaught continued in the final 20 minutes. I'd be lying if I did, though.

Boise (3-3) won the second half 48-40

Louisville maintained the 16-20 point cushion they had built up in the first half but the Broncos were looking pretty good against their ACC opponent, hitting shots and going to the boards with authority. UofL did put together a late third quarter 12-2 run to hold their largest advantage of the night at 81-56, Dixon accounting for eight of the points. 

The Cards shooting fell off in the final quarter to 33%. Walz added Lindsey Duvall to the 10-player rotation and she responded well with five points but Boise was still plugging away. Their 11-17 fourth quarter shooting (64.7% )and inside banger Rachel Bowers one-women war against the Cards front line with 14 points brought the Broncos back to within 16 with a 13-4 fourth quarter run in the first four minutes. Suddenly it was 88-71 and the blue squad had "uncle mo" going for them. 

The Bronco players were loose and joking with referee Mark Hardcastle. Seeing a dangerous trend developing, Jeff Walz decided to make a wholesale substitution move and re-inserted Jones, Balogun, Evans and Dunham for Dixon, Duvall, Robinson and Diop. 
It's Walz's job to win games and the move was made instead of letting the current players on the court get a chance to weather the storm.

"Hey, where's the baby I found ?" 

BSU would get within 15 a minute later and actually win the fourth 24-17 but the Cards stemmed the tide and the Broncs were contained the rest of the way, only outscoring the Cards 11-8 in the final five minutes.  A 16-point Louisville win 98-82.

It wasn't a blowout, the Cards did get tested and found something new to work on -- defense -- and also proven, yet again, that they do have three reliable scorers in Jaz, Dana and Kylee... plus waiting-in-the-wings "Liz", who seems to have embraced the "first off the bench" role. "B" is steady, does the job and is productive.  "E" will explode again very soon, as the season rolls on -- learning a new system takes awhile. 


FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS -- The Cards almost reached our standard of 70% with a 16-23 effort from the charity stripe. Jaz shook off her early woes and sank her final six charity attempts. Konno and Dixon came off the bench for a combined 6-8 from the line. We'll offer a lower case "f" here, only six of the 11 Cardinal players attempted "free ones". 

Fred the Bear for today's "Fred" The Cards gather
another pelt Sunday. 

REBOUNDING -- Louisville won the boards battle 34-25. It was rebound by committee, Jones leading  the way with six. The front line trio of Shook, Dixon and Dunham was limited to 13. BSU had no one with more than three, the elusive "team" rebounding stat led the way for them with four. Balogun, Konno and Jaz combined for 15. We'll award the Captial "R" here, primarily for the 18-9 first half effort. 

EXECUTION/EFFICIENCY --  If the contest had ended after the first quarter, no problem with a capital "E" here. And, Louisville did commit only 10 turnovers and won the points-off-turnovers 25-10. But, when you play a un-ranked team basically even for 30 minutes and your bench produces just 27 of your 98 points, it's only worth a small case "e" to me. The "jelling" continues on, as Walz told us it still would be after the Cards first game. 

DEFENSE. Yes, Louisville forced 20 turnovers. Eight in the first quarter. But, BYU blistered the nets for over 60% shooting. Either that's incredibly lucky or you're having trouble guard shooters and preventing assists. BSU guard Jayde Christopher racked up 14 assists against the porous UofL guarding attempts. They almost matched Louisville with points-in-the- paint 52-48. Two of their front-liners went 15-20 against the Cards. No letter here. 

FINAL FRED TALLY f-R-e-_


THEY SAID IT

Gordy Presnell started out the post-game chats. A good guy. Albeit a brief encounter with the Louisville media, he spoke glowingly about his team and credited Louisville as well. 

BSU's GORDY PRESNELL PRESSER (AUDIO ONLY)

It was another combination-type Cardinal post-game media event, with players Kylee Shook and Jaz Jones joining Walz midway through his remarks. Per usual, he pounded Paulie about a question (defense) and revealed the stunning theory that "most points win a game". Farmer Tom derailed the whole thing later when he asked Jaz if she was going to video the upcoming Virgin Islands trip. Gee, post-game presser are fun. 

WALZ, SHOOK AND JONES POST-GAME


SOOOO...

Let's review the pluses from yesterday's contest. The Cards won and are now 5-0 to complete the home-stand. Jaz and Dana continue to still be a powerful 1-2 punch against opponents. Kylee is proving her ascension to a starting role was a wise call and Norika continues to show she's a worthy and productive early addition to games.  Liz Dixon has calmed down, for the most part, now coming off the bench and sinking her inside attempts. 98 points doesn't exactly stink, let's face it

Louisville found a new thing to work on after yesterday and that is maintaining defensive pressure against a better-than-average opponent. All, part of this jelling process, I suppose. 

Next up, a trip to the Virgin Island with three games in three days starting Thanksgiving afternoon. UT-Arlington, Oklahoma State and Oregon. Louisville should be 2-0 when they battle the #1 Ducks on Saturday. By far, the toughest contest of this early schedule awaits and we'll see...the Cards have shown their a top-ten team. They'll need to put together 40 minutes of excellence to survive Saturday. We'll see how it goes. 

(WBB PHOTOS FROM JARED ANDERSON.) 


VOLLEYBALL GETS OUT THE BROOM VS. MIAMI 


ON SENIOR DAY at the LNFCU, the Cards honored Melanie McHenry and then went out and got a  3-0 sweep over the Canes 25-19, 25-21, 25-19. 

Claire Chaussee delivered 13 kills and 11 digs to help propel the Cards in their second-to-last game of the regular season. Also in force for the VolleyCards was Amber Stivrins and Aiko Jones....this version of UofL's "A" Team had nine kills each and Anna Stevenson added seven kills and a impressive five blocks. 

The Cards jumped out to a 14-7 first set lead, weathered a bit of a Miami Hurricane flare-up but rallied from a 19-15 lead to prevail by six. .344 hitting from the accurate Cards and Anna Stevenson's block ended the set.

Set two had Miami active early but UofL tied it at 11-11. Leading just 20-18, Louisville went on a late 3-0 run, augmented by Miami errors. UM called a timeout, but their late rally wan't enough...another Miami miscue gave the Cards this one by four. 

In set three, the Canes battled the Cards to a 13-13 tie in the early going but Louisville turned to Aiko and she deflated the stormy conditions to lead the Cards to the final set, six point match closer. 

An optimistic effort from Louisville, who now travels to #2 in the nation Pittsburgh for a Thanksgiving Eve battle against the powerful Panthers. 

19-8 on the season for Dani's crew as they head for the re-match in the Three Rivers City. 


Have a magnificent Monday!

paulie
xxxxx    

WBB overcomes slow starts, beat Boise State 74-55 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DURR, CARTER LEAD CARDS IN 19 POINT WIN AT BOISE

Maybe it was a case of shaking off the rust after 10 days of no games. Maybe it was the kamikaze attitude of the Broncos players. Maybe the Cards players were wondering how the Kansas City v. L.A. Rams NFL shootout was going.

Whatever it was, the Louisville basketball team sputtered a bit coming out of the gate before eventually putting the Boise St. Broncos away 74-55 Monday Night in the Taco Bell Arena. 

Just 100 seconds into the contest, the Cards found themselves in a 5-0 hole to the home team. Louisville would finally get on the board when Sam Fuehring got loose inside for a bucket at the 5:58 mark and, after Jeff Walz brought in Yacine Diop, Arica Carter and Dana Evans...three who didn't start the game...Louisville eventually tied the contest after an Evans three with about four minutes left in the first quarter. 

The Cards had five turnovers in the first six minutes of action but after Jazz Jones sank back-to-back buckets to end the quarter, Louisville was within one of the fired-up, all over the court B.S.U team at 12-11. Louisville had survived the Bronco's best punch...Fuehring (called "Fur-ling" by the Bronco's TV crew early on) had four first quarter points for the Cards, Jones four and Evans three consisted of the scoring.  Durr was held scoreless in the first ten, despite the TV guy's attempts to credit her for both of Jones' baskets. 

The second quarter brought a better effort from "Nite-Nite", She hit the Cards first two baskets, including an opening three, and Louisville had pushed out to a 16-12 lead with 8:35 left in the half. Jones nailed two free throws to push the advantage to 18-15. 

Then, a scary occurrence transpired a minute later. 

Jones was hustling to make a defensive play under the Bronco's basket, went airborne, and crumpled to the court, writhing in obvious pain. Action was stopped. She lay there for quite some time. Jones was eventually helped to her feet and helped off the court. She did not return. Early reports indicate it was a right hip injury and she was taken from the Taco Bell Arena to a local hospital for X-Rays. A deep bone bruise is the diagnosis. It'll take time for her to come back, with the soreness that can produce. 

Without her, Louisville seemed shaken for a bit. The Broncos pulled back into a 25-22 lead before Yacine Diop knocked in a jumper with 1:45 left in the half. It stopped a 10-4 B.S.U run. Carter nailed the first of her four threes on the night to give UofL a 29-28 edge with a minute left and Diop hit from the paint to give the Cards a shaky 31-28 lead as the half ended. 

12 first half turnovers for Louisville. 5 for 15 shooting. Just two free throw attempts. It wasn't Louisville's best half of the season, by far, and one wondered what Walz and the coaches were going to address at halftime besides matching B.S.U. fire and aggression. 

Whatever it was, the Cards lived up to their early-reputation of being dominant in the third quarter and went on a 7-1 run to take a 38-29 lead after Durr put in a layup. Gordy Presnell, the B.S.U. head coach had seen enough and stopped the action just 103 seconds after it had started. The temporary cessation didn't slow down #25 for Louisville, though. She sank another layup. After a Kylee Shook score inside, "Ms. "Durr-able" drill a three and the Cards held a 45-33 lead halfway through the third quarter. A 14-5 run for UofL.

A.C. would cash in on another trifecta in the third quarter and Durr's three-ball sent Louisville to a 53-41 lead as the third session ended. It was a 22-13 quarter for the Floyd Street Fillies and Durr had 10 of them for 17 points. 

The Cards built the lead to 16 at 60-44 after Arica's fourth and final three with 7:24 left to play. Back-to-back long balls from Shook and Durr made it 68-51 Cards with 4:04 to go and Louisville had their biggest lead of the contest at 72-53 when Diop sank a jumper. Evans provided the Cards final points of the evening on a driving layup with 1:50 to play and the Cards picked up their third (yes, third...Jared) win of the season with a 74-55 final score.

Louisville took the second half 43-28.

Asia led all scorers with 20 points, A.C. added 16, Fuehring put in nine, Diop eight, Dana seven, Jones six, Shook five and Bionca Dunham completed the Cardinal scoring with three. Also seeing action bot not scoring were Mykasa Robinson, a surprise starter, Seygan Robins and Lindsey Duvall. 

A win is a win, and road wins are always welcome. The Cards lived up to their #5 national ranking in the second half after sputtering out of the blocks. 


THE FRED REPORT

A rather important "FRED" 

Free Throws. No complaints here. Louisville made their first seven and ended up shooting 12-14 (85.7%) on the night. Fuehring visited the line six times, making five. I HAVE NO TROUBLE ISSUING A CAPTIAL "F" HERE. 

Rebounding. The Cards outrebounded B.S.U 37-29. Sam Fuehring led the way with eight, Asia Durr grabbed seven. I'd still like to see a stronger performance by "the bigs" in the paint grabbing missed shots...between Diop, Shook and Dunham, only six total rebounds. I'll GO WITH A small case "r" here. 

Effort/Execution. The slow start was frustrating...yes, but the B.S.U. players and fans were whipped up into a early frenzy. A total of 18 turnovers is too many. 19 fouls is another number that needs to drop. I'm OK with 14 second-chance points and 17 fast break points...and 14 points off of 21 Bronco turnovers. Asia was, well, Asia.  Still, the slow start warrants a small case "e" here. 

Defense. UofL held B.S.U. to 34.6% from the floor (26% in the first half) and did force 21 turnovers. nothing wrong with none steals. They had problems containing Riley Lupfer and Braydey Hodgins from three-point range (a combined 6 for 12) but shut down the Boise State transition game pretty much in the second half. A tough call, but I go with the small case "d" here.

Final FRED tally:  F-r-e-d


THEY SAID IT

Asia Durr: "They (BSU) definitely scouted us better. We got a great punch from them in the first half and they didn't stop fighting." 

Gordy Presnell:  "Their third quarters are legendary. We held them to 22 points, which is a positive, but we just didn't get back into it. We fatigued out a bit and had some cramping. But, they're just really good and Walz does a great job with them." 

Jeff Walz:  "Right now, they're far from a 16  seed, I was really impressed with them. It's a very well rounded ball club." 



FINAL THOUGHTS

-- I'd have to award game balls to Carter (five for seven from the floor) and Durr for her 20 points and seven grabs. A serviceable, if not exactly pretty win for the Cards Monday night. Coach Walz wasn't pleased with the first half execution in his post game remarks but credited the good play of Carter and Durr. 

-- For some reason, Diop looked lost early on in this one. A very-detailed officiating crew, led by Lisa Jones, missed several calls -- all to the dis-advantage of the Cards. Even the B.S.U. announcers acknowledged that. 

-- Here's hoping Jazmine's Jones' hip isn't too severe. Deep bone bruises can take awhile. I've had one, and they are quite painful. 

-- 4125 is a huge crowd for B.S.U. women's basketball and they stayed energetic throughout the contest. Bringing in 16 area girls high-school squad for the contest is a nice touch...

-- Louisville is fast, no doubt about it. Early season miscues when you run so much are part of the process. Hopefully, the Cards will get a more congruent and error-free fast break, transition game developed. Speed without consistent efficiency equals sloppiness. 

Louisville goes to Vegas next for two games, beginning with Arizona State on Friday 11/23 with a 5:30 p.m. E.S.T start time. 



DONATION MONTH

IF you like reading about Louisville women's basketball, you'll always find comprehensive coverage here at CARDINAL COUPLE. We'd like to ask for your help in continuing this in 2019. Pay-Pal it if you want, or send a check or money order to: 

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. Box 91521
Louisville, KY     40291

Thank you for your consideration!  





paulie
xxxxx




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WBB faces Boise St Tonight -- Jared Plays It -- MSOC Eliminated -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FACES BOISE ST TONIGHT

It may seem like it's been since forever, but, in reality it's been 10 days since the University of Louisville women's basketball team has had a game.

They are in Boise, ID. tonight to face the 3-0 Boise State women's basketball team for a contest that starts at 9 p.m. (EST).  

If the name sounds familiar, the Cards faced the Broncos to start their march to the NCAA Final Four with a first round 74-42 win against them in the KFC YUM! Center on March 16th, 2018 in first round NCAA Tournament action.

Louisville used a strong 27-8 third quarter to pull away from a 32-22 halftime lead in that one. Sam Fuehring and Kylee Shook led the Cards in scoring with 14 points each in the 32-point blowout, Jaz Jones and Bionca Dunham rounded out the double figure scorers that night with 10 points each. Jazzy, with her hustle and skills, could have a big night tonight. 

Both squads return four starters from last season. For B.S.U., the start of the 2018-19 season has been quite successful. They opened with a 74-63 win over Cal State Northridge, followed that up with a 91-46 drubbing of Southern Oregon University and rolled past Northwest Christian University 93-26 on Friday night. In the win over NCU, the Broncos led 57-7 at the half and ended up 11-22 from beyond the arc. 

All their wins have been on their home court, the stylishly-named Taco Bell Arena on campus. The Broncos will spend the month of November there with Louisville being the fourth of six home games before the friendly fans. 

HOW IT CAME ABOUT

Jeff Walz and his staff like to invite teams that are playing against them in the NCAA Tournament out for a "bite and a drink" when they come to town. Boise State's staff took them up on the offer. We're pretty sure Coach picks up the tab as well, which is doubly nice. 

We'll have to come up with a "Cardinal Couple" squad and qualify for the NCAA Tournament...so we can get in on the "Walz Is Buying" bonanza. (Hey, we got height with Jared, Case and me). 


Here's a link where Coach explains it all: 

WALZ TALKS ABOUT THE BOISE STATE SERIES


WHO SHOULD WE LOOK OUT FOR? 

A'Shanti Coleman

Marta Hermida leads the Broncos in scoring with a 13.7 p.p.g in the Broncos three outings. She's a senior from Madrid, Spain.  She had nine points against the Cards in their previous meeting. A'Shanti Coleman, a 6'2" red shirt junior forward who transferred in from Arizona, has produced a nine-point average so far . She played 19 minutes but did not score against Louisville back in March. Joyce Harrell is second in scoring with 13.0 a game and leads in rebounding with 7.7 a night. Back in March, she got two points in ten minutes against the Cards.

Riley Lupfer is the third double-figure scorer for B.S.U with 10.0 per contest. She's a 5'9" guard that played 33 minutes against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament and gathered nine points. Ellie Woerner is a 6'0"red-shirt junior guard who was previously at Portland. In 19 minutes against Louisville, she totaled two points. 



FOR THE CARDS

Third quarter romps have been the standard in the opening two games for Louisville and it was as well when the two schools faced in March. We'll hope Asia likes tacos and can throw a few treys in the cylinder against Boise. Both Kylee Shook and Bionca Dunham had good games against the Broncs back in March and we'd like to see a repeat of that. Sam Fuehring should have a field day inside against the foe and we'll look to her for a big night. Dana Evans' quickness won't catch B.S.U off guard...she played 24 minutes and had seven points back in the spring...but will they be able to stop the speedy sophomore? 

I LIKE TO WATCH

The game will be shown on the Mountain West Network. The link is below: 

https://broncosports.com/sports/2018/7/31/mountain-west-digital-network.aspx

Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson will be describing the action on 790 AM WRKD Cards Radio. Always worth a listen! 




PLAY IT, JARED! 

We all know how talented the youngest member of the Cardinal Couple "A" team is with his photography and writing skills. Did you know he's also excellent with the euphonium? 

The baritone brass instrument looks like a "mini" tuba...and Jared has mastered it, as well. He played in the UofL marching back and also currently plays with a couple of orchestras and musical ensembles around town. 

Sunday afternoon was a highlight for him. He was asked to play the National Anthem before the start of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship game between North Carolina and Maryland. Hear/see the performance at the link below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_jj878q6N8&feature=youtu.be

Jared is also co-owner of River City Cards, another fine UofL-oriented website and has his own photography business...www.jdaphotos.com  Contact him for quality photo shoots at very reasonable prices. 

He also holds down a 40 hour a week job. It's rumored he sleeps, we just don't know when. He was also seen later on Sunday night banging the drum and yelling with a cheer group at the Louisville men's soccer game.

We pleased as punch and proud of "Mr Anderson Jared" and, if we can get him in the studio with the euphonium...maybe he can play THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR show-opening music one Saturday morning! 


LOUISVILLE MSOC FALLS TO SPARTIE ON SUNDAY

A tough loss for the guys Sunday Night in second round NCAA Tournament action at Lynn Stadium -- falling to Michigan State 2-1 in overtime. 

Louisville fell behind early but tied the contest with 12 minutes left in regulation on a goal that was reviewed by the officials. A rough way to end the season for Ken Lolla's guys...who were #4 in the nation. The Cards end the 2018 campaign with a 11-5-3 record.

Hisses to the post-game behavior of the Spartans. Starting a fight in the end zone after the game-winning goal is a  pure example of "no-class" whatsoever. And, the refs just stood there and watched it. 

Ken Lolla discusses the match at the link below: 

KEN LOLLA POST-GAME


DONATION MONTH

"Donate! After this food fight! " 

As we go into the final 12 days of Cardinal Couple Donation Month, I'm not sure what else we can say or do to ask for your support for 2019. 

So, I'll share a letter we got, along with a check, from a reader: 

"Paulie...I start my day with CARDINAL COUPLE. I've learned so much about UofL women's sports by reading the site over the years. My favorite women's sport in basketball and, being out of town, I appreciate the coverage you and your writers provide on it and the other sports on campus. 

I couldn't imagine a day with having my morning coffee, getting on my computer and reading about what's going on with Cardinal Women's Athletics. I wish I could donate more. Know that you have a very loyal, out-of-town reader that appreciates your coverage of the school and squads I love!" 

(Name withheld) 

You can send us a check at: 

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. Box 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY 40291

Use Pay-Pal if you want. No amount is too small or too large. 

Thank you! For being Cardinal Couple! WE never forget that.


paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- Cards "bench" Boise St.

FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES AS CARDS WIN FIRST ROUND NCAA GAME 74-42

If I told you that Myisha Hines-Allen and Asia Durr combined for just 13 points in a 32-point romp in the NCAA Tournament, you might raise a questioning eyebrow or wonder if Paulie got into the Yuengling before writing this. 

But, buoyed by a 33-point bench effort and getting 14 from Kylee Shook and 10 from Bionca Dunham, Louisville muscled their way past Boise St. in the stretch and advances to Sunday action against Marquette at the KFC YUM! Center. 

The bench was impressive, no doubt but starters Sam Fuehring (14 points and 11 grabs), Jazmine Jones (10 points and six grabs) were also essential in the #1 seeded Cards going on a 42-20 second-half blitz that left the Broncos at the starting gate in the second half and proved once again what Jeff Walz has been telling us all year: 

The Cards play as a team and if someone needs to step up, they do. 

A 51-30 rebounding edge over BSU and 52 points in the paint, compared to Boise's 14. Louisville never trailed in the contest and after a first half that saw the Cards up only 32-22...it was Louisville's defense and a strong third quarter that put this one comfortably out-of-reach and moved the Cards forward in the "Big Dance". 

The Cards scored the first nine points out of the break, with Arica Carter and Asia Durr fueling the burst and Louisville went on to outscore the Broncos 22-4 in the first seven minutes in the third quarter to hold a 54-26 lead after Dana Evans put in a layup with 3:34 left in the third. Give the freshmen Evans a salute as well, she finished with seven points, and solid defense for Louisville. Myisha "Dooblay" Hines-Allen was a cold 2 for 7 from the floor but had 14 grabs (11 on the defensive end) in just 17 minutes. 

Kylee Shook got the crowd (no attendance provided but I guessed about 7900) roaring when she nailed two threes in the first quarter...the only two  threes UofL would sink in 10 attempts. Asia Durr 4-14 performance from the floor was the result of Boise throwing a lot of effort into stopping her. Fortunately, the rest of the team was there to pick her up and secure the lopsided win.  

"We just got beat by the #1 seed" BSU head coach Gordy Presnell matter-of-factly commented in the post-game presser and that Broncos 23.7% shooting for 40 minutes didn't help matters at all. BSU's two top leading scorers on the season (Marta Hermida and Riley Lupfer) were held to a combined 18 points on 7-26 shooting and BSU went a chilly 4-30 from three-point range. 

Cards advance to take on Marquette Sunday, who broke a 15-15 tie with Dayton to plow past the Flyers 84-65 in the second game. Louisville will need to pay heed to guard Natisha Hiedeman, who had 32 points and eight threes in the win and forward Erika Davenport, who offered 16 points and 13 rebounds to send the Golden Eagles to Sunday. 

I saw both Sam Purcell and Beth Burns intent on the scout of Marquette, so Louisville definitely knows who these two women are and that Marquette likes the "three ball", hitting 12 of 26 offered.


THE FRED REPORT

Using Fred McGriff today
because the Cards went fence

F-Free Throws -- The Cards went 12-17, which tops out at 70.6%. That's what we grade a capital "F" by Paulie standards...Bionca Dunham's 4 for 5 get a nod and tip of the cap. 

R- Rebounding. 51-30 in Louisville's favor. BSU Coach Gordy did remind us that their starting, all-conference last year, center went out early in the season. They still had height with three 6'3" players, but Louisville dominated. I award the capital "R " easily.

E- Effort. Despite MHA and "nite-nite"s average outing, everyone else really shone. 12-0 fast break points, eight steals and 16 forced turnovers. Kylee, Sam, J.J, Bionca and Arica were superb. I have mixed feelings, so I'll go with the small case "e" here. 

D- Defense. A nightmare if you had to go against it. No more than 12 points allowed in any quarter and the 23.7% shooting night say it all. I see a capital "D" here. 

Fred recap:  F-R-e-D

Survive and advance. It's what this time of year is all about. Mission accomplished and with the approval of a loud and amped-up fan base. See ya Sunday...

(A special "muchas gracias" to Mike Gilpatrick to the photos and post game today. Hear him on radio with us a 11 a.m. Saturday morning on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour).

POST GAME COMMENTS

BOISE STATE AFTER THE LOSS

CARDS DISCUSS WIN OVER BOISE STATE




NOTRE DAME SLUGS BY SOFTBALL 10-3

Meanwhile, back on the UofL campus, the Hit and Pitch Cards had trouble doing both yesterday against the visiting Notre Dame Irish, falling 10-3 to their ACC foe. 

A six-run third inning lifted the Irish to a comfortable lead over Sandy Pearsall's squad. Louisville scored all their runs in the fourth inning when Caitlan Ferguson's double cleaned the loaded bags full of Cards, but by then the score was 8-3 and Louisville would fail to push anything else across the plate in the final three innings. 

Danielle Watson got the loss for UofL, going 2.1 innings. She's now 12-4 on the season. 

Sandy Pearsall saw it this way: 

"We put together a game plan for today but simply did not execute it well at all. Credit Notre Dame for taking advantage of our mistakes." 

The two squads match up again today at Ulmer Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.


LACROSSE FACES BOSTON COLLEGE. 

A noon start for this ACC match at "the Ellis" for Lou Lax and the Eagles today.  The Cards have been on the road for the last two weeks and come into today's match after a 21-14 win at Mercer. 

Louisville (6-3, 0-2) faces a B.C. squad that is ranked #3 in the nation and sports a 9-0 record. The Chestnut Hill gals have knocked off four top-twenty teams this season and defeated Louisville 14-11 last season. 

If you can't attend, it'll be on the ACC Network Extra. I'll be dashing over there after radio this morning. They got a food truck and Tessa Chad. Who could ask for more, except maybe a upset win for Scott Teeter's squad? 


ON THE AIR AGAIN

We invite you to get your day started the right way....by listening to The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this morning at 11 a.m. 

We're on WCHQFM 100.9 on the air AND also present to you a Facebook Live broadcast at the very same time! 

We're without one of the "A" team for a considerable while...Case Hoskins tore his Achilles playing soccer...just hours after our broadcast last week and is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. Subbing in this week is our ol' buddy Mike Gilpatrick, from River City Cards, a guy who can tell you just about anything you ever wanted to know about Detroit Tiger MLB. 

We'll review the WBB win with him today, the Sunday match-up, softball, lacrosse, the men's NIT quest and as much as we can crowd into  mere hour.  The other "knuckleheads"...myself, Worldwide Jeff and Jared will be in the magnificent media mansion on Mellwood to bring you the best in UofL athletics! 

Paulie
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