Durr de force...Cards WBB tumbles Bowling Green 83-58...SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ASIA DURR'S 34 LEADS LOUISVILLE OVER THE FALCONS

'Tour de Force' is a phrase for an impressive performance or achievement that has been accomplished or managed with great skill.

A "Durr de Force" happened Saturday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center..where Asia Durr scored 34 points (in just 23 minutes) for the Louisville women's basketball squad in a 25-point romp over Bowling Green. 

Durr lit up the scoreboard with eight threes...going 12-18 from the floor...and had Louisville's first 16 points in the third quarter. When she left the game with about five minutes remaining in the third stanza, the score was Bowling Green 36 - Asia Durr 34. The Douglasville, GA sophomore keyed a 31-16 third quarter effort that gave Louisville a comfortable 67-43 lead. In short, she wowed the 8194 in attendance to frenzied levels when three after three kept falling through the next from beyond the arc. 

" Every time we came down the court, they were trying to find me and get me the ball. I was thankful for that." Durr related after the game.

The third quarter wasn't the only bright spot for the Louisville guard. Durr led the Cards with eight first period points and added seven more in the second stanza...helping the Cards forge a 36-27 halftime lead over a pesky Falcons squad that kept hitting clutch threes against the Cards to stay within striking distance. 

Louisville jumped out to a 12-5 lead three minutes into the action (after a Durr three) and pushed that to 18-8 with three minutes left in the first after Briahanna Jackson scored a layup on a fast break keyed by Myisha Hines-Allen...but the Falcons battled back to climb within six at 22-16 after the first ten minutes. The Cards were leading...but the Falcons weren't making it easy for them at all. 


Scoring took a brief holiday in the second quarter...the teams going over three minutes without points...before the Cards went on a 9-3 run over the next 150 seconds to take a 31-19 lead after Hines-Allen popped one in from the paint. Durr nailed another three and made a layup to close out the half...but Bowling Green outscored the Cards 8-5 over the final 3:36 to narrow the UofL lead to 36-27 at halftime.

After the break, it was spotlight on Asia. Her three just six seconds into the start of the final half was followed by two more in the first minute of action. Steals by Hines-Allen and Mariya Moore led to two consecutive layups by Durr and her three with 7:39 left in the quarter culminated a 16-0 Durr run that gave the Cards a 52-29 edge. Asia would nail her final points of the game (a three -- what else?) with 5:37 remaining to set the scoreboard at 58-34. 

Walz experimented with a variety of combinations in the fourth period...Jessica Laemmle and Sydney Zambrotta assuming the "Attack Yorkie" guard roles over the final 4:18 and Brianna Jones showing her range with a nice jumper...the Cards were outscored 7-2 over the final 5:35...but it didn't really matter...Louisville got the final two points of the game when Jones fed Sam Fuehring for a bank-in and the Cards took at 83-58 win to the locker room. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Fred Gwynne...who played Herman Munster
in the 60-70's sitcom "The Munsters" 

FREE THROWS --  These were pretty much a non-factor for the Cards...they attempted six and made four (66.6%). This referee crew of Ed, Roy and Angela was so pitiful that they couldn't have called a coin-toss correctly and drove Coach Walz into an absolute melt-down which resulted in a team technical foul with 6:50 left in the second quarter. Bowling Green did go 11-13 from the line. No letter awarded here for the Cards...but a failing grade of "F" for the three stooges in striped shirts. 

REBOUNDING -- Bowling Green won the rebounding battle 40-39. No Card had more than five in the contest (Hines-Allen and Jazmine Jones) but no Card played more than 28 minutes. What was distressing is that after a first half where Bowling Green was held to just one offensive rebound...the Falcons grabbed 11 of them in the final twenty minutes. No letter award for Louisville in rebounding. 


EFFORT/EXECUTION -- We have to award a capital "E" to Louisville here. Based on Durr mostly, but to the team for creating her opportunities as well. The Cards did shoot 45.5% for the game while holding Bowling Green to 35%. Louisville also won the points-in-the-paint battle 38-14.

DEFENSE -- A definite capital "D" here for Louisville...forcing 32 turnovers and getting 16 steals. Only one Falcon managed double figures...reserve Clare Glowniak...who picked up most of hers in the third quarter on free throws and a "bank-in" three pointer. Ciera Johnson had four blocks for UofL, crafty Briahanna Jackson pilfered six steals.

FINAL FRED GRADE:  _-_-E-D 


WHAT WE LIKED

-- Durr that to me again! One of the most impressive performance in the Cards KFC YUM! Center history by Asia! As Myisha Hines-Allen stated in the post-game presser...teams have to pick their poison when it comes to who is going to eliminate them when they play the Cards. At MTSU, it was Mariya. Yesterday, it was a deadly Durr dosage. 

-- Spurtability. Louisville started the second half on a 19-5 run. Finding the hot hand, shutting down the opponent's offense and doing it with the starting five of Durr, Hines-Allen, Moore, and the Johnson gals. The run took BG completely out of the contest and the Cards looked sensational during it.

-- Fine Freshmen. Hats off to Kylee Shook (Six points, three rebounds in 17 minutes) Ciera Johnson (Eight points and four blocks in 24 minutes) and Jazmine Jones (Four points and five rebounds in 13 minutes). A fine effort and...they're only going to get better. 


THINGS TO WORK ON


-- Turnovers anyone? 16 Louisville turnovers is a bit too many against a team of 0-3 Bowling Green's talent. 11 of them came from non-starters, granted, but taking care of the ball is everyone's responsibility...whether you're a starter or not. 

-- If it's a miss, grab it! Losing the rebounding battle for the third time out of four games this season...it does make one appreciate what a healthy Cortnee Walton did for this squad. Until she returns, Ciera, Myishia, Sam, Bionca, Kylee and Mariya need to be aggressive, block out and go for the missed shot. 

Yes, a nice win to start out the three-day home-stretch. Asia Durr put on what has to be an ACC-PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK performance. The Cards take to Denny Crum Court today at 4:30 to face Lafayette...who fell in the first game 68-43 to Chattanooga. Besides guard Anna Ptasinski...the Leopards don't have a wjole lot going for them. She's a three threat. 

Chattanooga and Bowling Green get the action started at 2 p.m. today in the Chicken Bucket. 

LINK: POST-GAME ASIA AND MYISHA

LINK: COACH WALZ DISCUSSES WIN 


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SOCCER STARTS NCAA QUEST AT LYNN TODAY

Best of luck to Ken Lolla's Louisville men's soccer squad today...the face UCLA in second round NCAA soccer action over at Lynn Stadium. It's a 5:00 start for the Cards...Louisville (12-5-2) enters as the #4 seed in the Big Dance. 

The ACC Network Extra will have the game broadcast



The Cards would face either Notre Dame or Loyola-Chicago at Lynn if they advance. Get 'em guys! 


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THE BIG SHOW!

If you missed THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR yesterday, no need to take to the streets and riot. We've got the re-broadcast link for ya below. Case, Worldwide and I had a huge time discussing the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports (mostly) and the disappointment of Football. 

Be sure to catch former Cardinal Couple intern and now distinguished AP writer Sam Draut's hilarious end to his interview with Belnont head coach Cam Newbauer!!

Enjoy!!!

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 11/19/16


paulie
xxxxx

UK, Michigan State advance in 1st round at Freedom Hall

6'9" Michigan State center Allyssa DeHaan grabbed 11 boards (most of them pretty easily) and added eight points in the Spartans 72-61 win over Bowling Green in the first game on Denny Crum Court this afternoon.

The Michigan State Spartans roared out to an early 8-0 lead against the Bowling Green Falcons and seemed to be able to score anytime they wanted in the paint with Haan and forwards Aisha Jefferson and Lykendra Johnson. In a half that featured several swings in momentum, though, Bowling Green fought back to tie the contest with 15:30 remaining and used a 15-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with 12:13 remaining. Bowling Green negated the Spartans powerful inside game with some spectacular three point shooting and with Tracy Pontius canning four trifectas in the first twenty minutes they battled to a 36-36 tie in the first half. Pontius's twelve points led all scorers and the Falcons went 8-16 from three-point range in the first half. It was clear that Michigan State needed to continue to use their inside advantage in the second half to gain some momentum in this game. They had 18 points in the paint compared to just 2 by Bowling Green.

The Spartans started the second half strong and used a 9-3 early run to lead Bowling Green 45-39 with 15:58 to go. Although Bowling Green would stay close for most of the rest of the final half, they could get no closer that four the rest of the way. Despite Lauren Prochaska's 11 second half points, Bowling Green goes home. Michigan State held Pontius to only 3 second half points and forced the Falcons into 16 turnovers while committing only 10 themselves.

Jefferson (17 pts.) led the Spartans in scoring. Four Michigan State players reached double figures. Suzy Merchant's team scored 22 of their points off turnovers and added 12 2nd chance points. Bowling Green returns Prochaska and Pontius next year and head coachCurt Miller is in an ideal spot to make a nice run with the Falcons again in the 2010-11 season.

By the time the second game between Kentucky and Liberty started, Freedom Hall had turned into a lower arena sea of blue. Liberty came out undaunted, though and scored the first six points of the contest. Using a decided height advantage, the Flames built a 12-4 lead with 16:46 to go in the first half. UK head coach Matthew Mitchell needed a way to spark his team and he found the fire by putting the Wildcats in a full court press. It spurred UK to a 15-1 run and the Cats, led by Adia Mathies and Amani Franklin took a 19-13 advantage with 11:20 to go. Liberty was not done just yet, though, and battled back to lead the Wildcats 28-25 with 3:39 remaining in the first half. A basket plus one by Liberty forward Kylee Beecher gave the Flames a 35-33 edge at the half. 31 of Liberty's first half points came from their tall front line and the Flames held a 24-14 advntage in points in the paint. They outrebounded UK 23-14 in the first twenty minutes but had no answer for Mathies and her 14 points.

Mitchell went back to what worked in the second half and UK defensive pressure allowed them to put together a 7-2 early in the second half and lead 40-37. Liberty fought back to regain the lead 48-45 with 15:03 to go but UK used three point shooting from Keyla Snowden and Mathies to surge past the Flames and led 58-52 with 11:15 left. Liberty would manage to cut the lead to six on a couple of occasions but could stop the explosive show from Mathies and took the loss 83-77.

Mathies was spectaular for the Wildcats this afternoon with 32 points. The Louisville native obviously enjoyed the soft rims in Freedom Hall...going 9-15 from the floor and 12-17 at the charity stripe. Keyla Snowden (15 pts,) and Victoria Dunlap (15 pts.) joined her in double figures. The Cats forced Liberty into 22 turnovers but lost the battle on the boards 38-26 and were outscored in the paint 54-30. They'll need a stronger effort on the boards Monday night to contend with MSU.

From my vantage point on press row, I had the dubious fortune of being right next to the UK pep band. Although quite entertaining with their musical selections, they kept up a constant and somewhat annoying banter directed at the Liberty players. Cheering for your team is one thing and quite acceptable, but personal insults and snide remarks about opposing players' physical apperances and hair styles is going over the edge. A potentially serious off court entanglement by Liberty's Devon Brown with the support behind the basket while going for a loose ball was met with rude comments and laughter. No need for such sophomoric and crass responses.

I guess they were mad that they didn't get to go to New Orleans to watch the UK men's team as members of the main pep band. Or maybe they're just loud-mouth, obnoxious jerks...

The second round game between Kentucky and Michigan State will be played Monday at 7 p.m. in Freedom Hall. Plenty of good seats are still available.

Written by Paul
3/20/10