WBB Dips Chips 76-63 -- WSOC and FH start NCAA Tournament Today -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

JONES, EVANS AND SHOOK COMBINE FOR 64 IN 76-63 WIN

Sometimes the old is the best. 

IT WAS SEVENTIES NIGHT...BUT I
DRESS THIS WAY EVERY DAY

Louisville WBB looked to veterans Jazmine Jones, Dana Evans and Kylee Shook last night to win their third game of the season, and the trio combined for 85% of Louisville's points in a 76-63 win over scrappy Central Michigan last night in the KFC YUM! Center. 

Maybe it's fitting on seventies night that the Cards tallied 76 points in a contest where the Cards had their woes in a struggling first half but eventually put CMU away. 

Louisville didn't gain the lead until five minutes played in the first quarter. A driving Jazmine Jones layup put UofL up 10-9. It was part of a six-point run in the quarter where Jones had eight of her career high 25 points and, despite shooting only 38.9%, Louisville forged to a 22-15 lead after 10 minutes. 

The going was treacherous and tricky in the first and, at times, not very pretty...UofL had a battle on their hands

The Chippewas were being the Matt Bevin's of women's college hoops and refusing to secede.  CMU guard Micaela Kelly responded with nine of her team-high 23 points in the next ten minutes and the visitors chopped the Louisville lead to three on several occasions, ending the half with a Kelly jumper at the buzzer. The second quarter for Louisville belonged to Kylee Shook and Jones -- they went five for eight and had 11 of Louisville's 17 points in the second quarter.

Your halftime score = Louisville 39- CMU 36.

Caption This Picture in the comments section

The Cards were having trouble stopping Chips guards Kelly and Maddy Watters on their drives to the basket and CMU forward Kyra Bussell was giving the Louisville front line all they wanted. Walz wasn't happy and had to inspire his guards to get into the game with more passion and hustle.

Out of the break, Dana Evans took heed of those words and took over. 

She owed the third quarter, with 11 points, while Shook took  over on the board with six grabs and four points as the Cards went on a 5-0 run to start the third session and closed it out with an 8-2 run to hold a 59-46 lead. 

Jeff Walz and the 7605 Louisville fans were getting increasing annoyed with the calls from "Godzilla and King Kong" -- refs Joe Vaszily and Carla Fountai... some inexplicable and unexplainable whistles, but the Cards appeared out of danger. Despite Bionca Dunham, "E" Balogun and Jones being in foul trouble.

Wrong. 

Central Michigan opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run. It was two-and-a-half minutes of Cardinal frustration until Jaz connected on the first of her eight points of the final quarter. She and Evans had 14 of Louisville 17 points in the fourth and the Cards methodically built the lead back to double digits. Seven free throws -- six from Dana and one from Jessica Laemmle closed out the Cards scoring in the final minute. A minute that seemed to take 10 minutes to play

I can understand CMU's strategy there -- foul and hope for misses -- but when you are down by 11 and 28 seconds remain on the clock...do you really need to commit a foul? Especially on someone (Dana) who was eight-for-nine in the game. 

CMU employs and illegal double team with coach and player
to guard Ya Ya. 

Still wondering here why Ya-Ya Diop isn't seeing more court time. Somehow, they have to find more than eight minutes for her, unless it a case of not working hard in practice or an ailment. 

Seygan Robins did not play -- her foot in a boot -- Walz explains the reason (her heel) in the post-game interview we have for you. 

Nevertheless, Cards win 76-63 !!




THE FRED REPORT

Today's Fred is Fredrick Douglass

FREE THROWS -- Nothing to worry about here. Louisville was 23-27 from the line (Dana 10-11) for 85.2%. They get a capital "F" for that. I'll even award a complimentary "F" to CMU...their 23-28 wasn't too shabby either.

REBOUNDING -- The Cards got tough when they absolutely needed to on the boards, but, the 42-34 edge against a considerably smaller squad wasn't what I expected. With Liz Dixon seeing just 14 minutes, the rebounding title went to Kylee with 12. A double-double for the "Rocky Mountain Rebounder". Good, but not great for UofL overall. I'll award a small case "r" 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville was playing hard -- no doubt about it -- but something has to be done about the Cards close-in shooting. Liz, Kylee and Bionca were a combined 8-25 and that's not going to win you a lot of games in the ACC. Still, the brilliant efforts from Dana and "J.J." were spectacular to watch. Dana, with a career high 24 points had NO assists, though. Liz was 1-7 from the floor. I'll grudgingly hand out a small case "e" here...and, in my opinion, CMU out-hustled the Cards for a great portion of the contest.

DEFENSE -- Holding an opponent to 38% shooting is good. Forcing them into 19 turnovers gets a thumbs up. The Cards allowed just 49 shots, compared to taking 67 of their own. Winning the points-off-turnovers 21-18 and the second chance points 15-6 is a plus for UofL. They couldn't stop CMU guards Kelly, Watters or Davis for most of the game, though, and that has to get better. I'll give a small case "d" here, because CMU tallied just 63 points. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-r-e-d

All in all, an exciting contest where a visiting team came in swinging and the Cards survived the punches. Walz has a lot to work on, between now and next Thursday, when UofL brings in UT Chattanooga...granted....but he can point to Jazz, Dana and Kylee and tell the rest of the squad "Give me efforts like this if you want court minutes." 


THEY SAID IT

-- Link to post-game presser with CMU head coach Heather Oesterle (a delightful person, actually)...  HEATHER HAS HER SAY 

--Dana and Jazz had the podium for players' post-game. Insightful words out of those two for sure and a bit of humor... JAZZING IT UP WITH DANA AND JJ 

-- Coach Walz had calmed down considerably from the contest and was as eloquent as I've heard/seen him. You could tell he was still a bit frustrated, but, for once...didn't call me out about anything. Maybe it was the blood pressure medication... WALZ WORDS 


FIELD HOCKEY AND WOMEN'S SOCCER BEGIN THE NCAA


A wild day on Floyd Street today, beginning with Louisville Field Hockey vs.Michigan at noon, in first-round NCAA Tournament action  more NCAA first-round action at Trager with Northwestern vs. Boston College after that. Then, to Lynn Stadium we go for NCAA first-round action for WSOC...taking on Lipscomb at 6 p.m.

There's also Volleyball at the LNFCU tonight with UofL looking to avenge their earlier road loss to Syracuse in a rematch against the Orange at 7 p.m. We'll have reports on all three Saturday here at the website and on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR at 11 a.m. on 100.9 FM and Facebook Live. 

C'mon down to the campus and "get some"! Leave work with a "headache" at 10:30 a.m. , grab some food and head to Floyd for fun on Friday ! 

Have a fantastic Friday! Be kind to people on Twitter and Facebook. Not everyone is as "brilliant" as you and, what do you gain by making fun of someone's struggles? 

(GAME PHOTOS FROM JARED ANDERSON..WHO WASN"T AROUND IN THE "SEVENTIES")


paulie
xxxxx

Signing Day -- Cards Host Central Michigan -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Signing Day

Yesterday was National Signing Day, meaning several new commits for our Louisville teams for the 2020-2021 season.  It's great that we received a high number of commits yesterday but it means we can't give a detailed bio on each student-athlete.

We will, however, list the commits for the different sports that were announced.

Volleyball

Anna DeBeer is a 6-0 outside hitter hailing from Assumption High School, coached by Ron Kordes.  DeBeer is Miss Kentucky Volleyball.

Ayden Bartlett is a 5-6 libero/defensive specialist from Leavenworth High School, Kansas.

Phekran Kong is a 6'3 middle blocker from Washington High School, South Dakota.  Kong hails from the same hometown (Sioux Falls) as recent alum Maggie DeJong.

Brooke Smith is a 6-1 outside hitter from Leo High School, Indiana.

Ceci Rush is a 5'9 libero/defensive specialist from Providence High School across the river in New Albany.







Soccer


Morgan Bentley is a 5-5 defending midfielder from Brookwood High School, Georgia.

Jessica Camken is a 5-9 forward from Cypress Bay High School, Florida.

Caitlin Elam is a 5-5 defender from Loveland High School, Ohio.

Emma Hiscock is  5-4 forward from Fenton High School, Michigan.

Riley Mulladay is a 5-5 forward and midfielder from Dublin Jerome High School, Ohio.

Holly Stalls is a 5-7 forward and midfielder from Collierville High School, Tennessee.

Savina Zamborini is a 5-7 forward and midfielder from here in town at duPont Manual High School.  Zamborini has played alongside current Cardinals Allison Whitfield, Emina Ekic, and Jolene Ballard.


Women's Basketball

Olivia Cochran is a 6-3 forward from Carver High School, Georgia.  Cochran is ranked anywhere between the #10 and #26 recruit based on which site you check.  Cochran's mom played in the WNBA and her dad played in the NFL.

Merissah Russell is a 5-11 guard from Cairine Wilson High School, Ottawa, Canada.  Russell is ranked #54 in her class.

Ahlana Smith is a 5-9 guard from Mallard Creek high School, North Carolina.  She played her freshman season at UCLA and her sophomore season at Gulf Coast State junior college.  Smith has two years of eligibility remaining.

(We'll knowSaturday if Hailey Van Lith, the #1 ranked guard in the 2020 class will join these three. She's due to announce between the Cards and Baylor at herr high school Saturday afternoon)
Softball

Mia Forsythe is an outfielder from Lebanon Trail High School, Texas.

Taryn Weddle is a catcher from Floyd Central High School, Indiana.

Vanessa Miller is an outfielder from Southport High School, Indiana.

Gabby Holloway is a pitcher from Cannon High School, North Carolina.

Sydney Bickel is an infielder from Sunrise Mountain High School, Arizona.



Swimming and Diving


Tristen Ulett is from Georgia Connections Academy, Georgia.

Olivia Livingston is from Gateway High School, Pennsylvania.

Paige Hetrick is from Bradford High School, Pennsylvania.

Kayla Wilson is from Flower Mound High School, Texas.

Paige McCormick is from Hudson High School, Ohio.


Not all sports have announced those who signed so I'm sure we will hear about more soon.  We will give more in depth coverage on each commit as their respective sports roll around.


Women's Basketball Hosts Central Michigan at 6:00 p.m.

#9 Louisville will play their third game of the season, all at home, when Central Michigan visits tonight.  The Cards and Chippewas have an early tip-off and will start at 6:00 p.m., and will air on ACC Network.

Central Michigan (0-1) opened their season with a double overtime thriller against Green Bay, falling 111-105.  They are a three-time defending MAC regular season champions and are favorites this year.

Louisville holds the all-time series 3-1.  Louisville last won Dec. 20 of last season at Central Michigan 72-68.

A new coach for the Chips, but one that has been with the program as an assistant for many years. Heather Oesterle replaces long-time head coach Sue Guevara, who retired at the end of last season.

Central Michigan, like Louisville, has a deep bench and can afford to substitute players at will.  Maddy Watters and Micaela Kelly have the most experience for the Chippewas.  The guard duo is dangerous from deep range and can be a major scoring threat.  The weakness for Central Michigan is their lack of size.  Only one player stands taller than 6-0- junior forward Kyra Bussell but she led the team in rebounds and points against Green Bay. Also, one to watch is freshman Molly Davis, a guard who hd the most assists and steals for the Chips in the Green Bay game.

For UofL, Jeff Walz explains what the Cards need to do well in the presser below.

LINK: WALZ PRESSER 11-13-19 FOR CMU GAME

Catch the game on ACC Network or listen to Nick Curran and AJ call the game on 790 AM -- WKRD

It is 70's night so dress accordingly. I wonder if Paulie has any leisure suits left from days when he was tearing up the mirrored ball, lighted disco dance floor at Babe's?

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Friday Cardinal Couple - Asia Durr Has Herself a Night

Basketball vs Central Michigan

Asia Durr dropped 31 points to join the 2000 point club at UofL, currently behind Angel McCoughtry, Shoni Schimmel, and Myisha Hines-Allen.  In general, her pace will likely find here in 2nd place on that list by the end of the season.  MHA has 2,028, Shoni ended with 2,174, and Angel is way out in front with 2,779.

With the video for this one on ESPN+, which I don't have, I didn't get to watch this one, but the descriptions from other coverage sound like this C Michigan is every bit of a serious team that other teams need to be wary of.  We knew that a bit coming in to this game, but they showed it last night as well.  The Chips had 3 in double-digit scoring, while UofL only had two, with Sam Fuerhing submitting her final portfolio for the fall semester with 14 points, and two each of assists, steals, and blocks.  Asia's portfolio was rounded out with a team leading 4 assists and a pilfer.

Durr with 26 second-half points. Is there any doubt she is the #1 player in women's college
basketball? The threes weren't there (only one made) so she took it to the hoop and sank 10 of 11 free throws in addition to 10 shots from the floor. She and Sam were responsible for 45 of the Cards 72 points.

Beyond those two, the stats are only so-so.  Bionca Dunham poured in 8, Jaz Jones 7, and Arica Carter and Dana Evans got 6 each.  Rebounding was by committee with the starting 6, with the exception of Durr, getting between 4 and 6 each.

Sue Guevara, CMU head WBB coach summed it up with the comment:

"We can compete with some of the best teams in the country. And, I think we are a pretty good basketball team. These kind of games prepare us for March. And, that's what it's all about".

I doubt Jeff Walz would disagree.

Let's get a quick Fred report in here:

Add caption

F - 82.4% free throw shooting with get a capital "F" with anyone's rubric.

R - 32 rebounds, to C Michigan's 37.  That's a nope on the letter grade, here.

E - 9 assists overall is so-so, particularly compared to having 7 turnovers.  7 turnovers isn't bad, but we need to share the ball more to get that ratio higher.  I can't, in good conscience, award a letter grade here, either.

D - The Chippewas turned it over 15 times, so that's indicative of good defense, but I can't award the capital letter when I see the Michigander getting 12 offensive rebounds to our 19 defensive.  Better blocking out is need to get the capital letter. Small case 'd". 

So that's F- _ -_ -d, and maybe I'm just grading harder than Paulie usually does, but that's indicative of a game that could've been a lot better.

A key win on the road. In a loud and supportive away venue. 12-0. Asia delivered her Christmas early to the team and has earned "some time nestled in bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in her head".

The Cards fly out of Detroit Friday morning to their various hometowns. 

The players get a few days of rest, as they get to go home and spend a few days with family for Christmas, before getting back to Louisville and start gearing up for the conference slate that starts Thursday, Jan 3rd at home vs UNC.  That's a typical 7p.m. start time for that one.

-- 

JMcA

Louisville women's basketball hopes for pleasant results in Mt. Pleasant --Softball Academic Success -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FACE CENTRAL MICHIGAN TONIGHT

The University of Louisville women's basketball team puts their 11-0 record on the line tonight when they face the Central Michigan Chippewas tonight in Mt. Pleasant, MI at 7 p.m. A very dangerous and worthy opponent at 8-1 and victor over two opponents Louisville has also faced this season, the Chippewas return four starters from a 2017-18 squad that made it to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen last year. 

CMU has downed these Cardinal opponents this season. A win over Western Kentucky (108-90) and Chattanooga (73-50) as part of their impressive resume so far. They also have wins over ACC member Virginia (74-61) and Vanderbilt (66-57) as well, the Chippewas have suffered just one loss -- to talented mid-major South Dakota State -- and return home to McGuirk Arena after being on the road for nearly a month....where they downed UCF 75-68 on Nov. 21st. Although not received any top 25 recognition in any of the major polls, Central Michigan is considered the top team in the MAC and returns to defend the conference title after going 15-1 in MAC play last year.

So, who should #4 Louisville worry about? 

Senior Presley Hudson leads CMU in scoring at 23.3 p.p.g., which is fifth-highest in the nation. The 5'6" guard averages four made three-pointers a game and is almost automatic at the foul stripe with a 93.3% success rate. Senior Renya Frost averages a double-double for the "Chips" (16.0 p.p.g./10.7 rebounds). The 6'0" forward was the MAC Tournament MVP last year. Sophomore guard Michaela Kelly, a 5'6" sophomore, averages 13.8 a night and is 16-34 from three-point range. 

It's Ugly Sweater Night in McGuirk as well and the game is pretty much a sellout despite the students being on Christmas break in the 5,300 seat arena. 


GOSH PAULIE, HOW CAN LOUISVILLE WIN THIS ONE? 

One of the Cards biggest opponents tonight just might be the calendar. This is Louisville's final game before heading off on Christmas break tomorrow morning. The players will spend 5-6 days at home before returning to prepare for the next contest, against North Carolina on January 3rd. Will the Cardinal student-athletes have their "heads" in the right place? Is the anticipation of seeing loved ones and friends for a few days the prime thought in the Cardinal squad's thought-process right now? 

Getting past the mental aspect of the holidays, the Cards can come at an opponent in waves and many ways. Stop Asia...arguably the best player in women's college basketball this year...? Fine...Dana and Jazz will pick you apart. Concentrate on the Cards guards? No problem, Sam, Kylee and Bionca will "inside you" all night long. Think you can outrun the UofL squad? Good luck...the Cards are 28-0 in fast break advantage in the last two wins over UK and NKU. We haven't seen a guard yet this year who can keep up with Dana Evans and Arica Carter runs the squad with the precision of a brain surgeon performing an operation. 

Louisville has played and beaten tougher this season, but the pre-holiday test on the road for them should be interesting. We're hoping the Cards are of "business trip" mentality and go in, negotiate the terms and seal the deal. 

Are the Chippewas that "tiger by the tail" in the Cards pre-conference schedule? A enthusiastic arena, high-level performing opponent and veteran squad face Walz and company. 



WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME IN MT. PLEASANT? 

The last time the schools met was on Dec. 2nd. Louisville traveled to Mt. Pleasant with a 4-1 record and engaged the Chippewas in Rose Arena (the previous name of McGuirk) and it was a tight contest...Louisville up by two with 10 minutes to play. 

Then, someone pulled a fire alarm. Action was halted for about 20 minutes while the arena was emptied. When the teams re-took the hardwood, CMU coach Sue Guevara and Jeff Walz met at mid-court to discuss the bizarre halting of action. According to Sue: 

" I told him that I had no idea what had happened or why. Then, as we're talking, something falls out of the ceiling. We both looked down and see a screw from the ceiling on the floor. I turned to Jeff and said "Oh, god, you're screwed.'" 

When play resumed, it was the Chippewas who caught on fire and took a 84-75 upset. 

That UofL 2009-10 squad ended up 14-18. Who knows what shenanigans CMU has in store for tonight? Tornado warnings? ID checks? Building inspections or the lights going out? Elvis appearance? 

Radio, of course, a way to follow the team tonight. 790 WKRD with Nick and A.J. The game will also be shown on ESPN + which means you'll probably  have to pay for that viewing privilege. 

WHAT DOES WALZ THINK? 

Jeff Walz has previewed this contest several times in the past few days. He expects a great ball game. He knows the Chips can score. He'd like to see the Cards force CMU to a half-court game with defense. Keeping turnovers low when Louisville has the ball will be key. Getting up shots (more than the foe) is always a priority. Getting good shots. The Cards guards will receive a test. Rebounding must be better than against NKU...and creating after the rebound on the defensive end is a priority.  

Blocking out, seizing the opportunity -- these things are key for a UofL win. The Cards are, obviously, a big game and potential program-shaping win for any Cardinal foe.

Not a "trap" game, as Walz pointed out after the NKU win, but a tough road game against a worthy and dangerous opponent. Good preparation for the tough ACC schedule ahead. 

I expect Asia to step up and be "prime time" in this one. We'll see and know in about 12 hours. 


SOFTBALL SUCCESSES IN CLASSROOM


We reviewed Louisville women's basketball success in the fall semester academically yesterday. Louisville Softball has released G.P.A.'s as well and more excellent numbers are there. 

Louisville Softball with the 3.204 cumulative grade point average for the fall, with 14 players over the 3.0 mark. 

Rebecca Chung, Madison Cousineau, Celene Funke, Megan Hensley, Sidney Melton, Maddy Newman, Paige Schindler and Danielle Watson named to the Dean's List after getting a 3.5 or better semester effort. 

Coach Aprile getting it done with her charges in the classroom as they get ready for the season. A sincere and heartfelt "Congratulations"!! to the Floyd Street Fence Swingers from all of us at Cardinal Couple! 


paulie
xxxxx





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