Baseball strikes early, holds on late for 5-3 win vs UK...What is happening at Maryland? -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS CORRAL CATS 5-3

Our custom here, as the regular reader knows, is to cover the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports. There were plenty of UofL women's athletes on hand at Jim Patterson Stadium last night, watching and celebrating Louisville baseball's 5-3 win over UK. A crowd of 6210 in attendance to see the annual battle of the Bluegrass on a beautiful Tuesday evening.

Louisville wasted no time in getting the party started.  Five runs in the first three innings gave the Cards a comfortable margin over the visitors and a revolving door at pitcher getting the work done...Louisville used seven hurlers in the nine innings. 

UK made it interesting in the end. Scoring three runs in the ninth and loading the bases before catcher Colby Finch threw out Zack Reks on a steal attempt for the final out.  

A top ten battle between #2 Louisville and #8 Kentucky that set an attendance record at Patterson. Plenty of blue sprinkled in with the red on the berm and in the stands. 

Cardinal head coach Dan McDonnell breaks it down:

"Our bullpen has been good all year. Fortunately, we got the lead early in that three-inning start. You gotta tip your hat to them. Hopefully, we learned a valuable lesson...that good teams don't quit. They [UK] showed they're a top ten team because they didn't quit..." 

The Cards (25-3) bring in Wake Forest for a three-game weekend set next. 


*          *          *         *         *         *          *          *         *         *


THREE TRANSFER FROM MARYLAND

Even though the NCAA WBB season has drawn to a close, there is still news out there in the world of women's college basketball. Three players from the University of Maryland have announced they are leaving the program. Destiny Slocum, Kiah Gillespie and Jenna Stalti have been granted permission to transfer. 

Slocum is big news. The freshman was second-team Big 10 and Freshman of the Year in the in the WBCA Coaches poll and in the Big 10. Cardinal fans might remember that she scored the Terps final seven points in Maryland's win over Louisville back on Dec. 7th...and hit six of nine from the free throw line.  

Gillespie is a 6'2" sophomore forward who displayed a nice touch from outside in addition to her inside scoring skills. Stalti, 6'6" freshman center that saw limited time in the post. 

The Terps also graduate their top two scorers in Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones. 

So, why the mass departure from a squad that went 32-3 and reached the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Oregon in the Bridgeport regional? 

Let's speculate...Slocum was from Idaho and a long way from an ailing mother with breast cancer. A chance to play closer to home might have been the reasoning there. With Gillespie and Stalti, it's probably a question of playing time. Gillespie had a great start in her freshman year but just never seemed to develop after that and didn't figure into the rotation that much as a sophomore. Stalti never really made much of an impact on the roster...a deep backup to Jones. Players want to play on occasion and other opportunities can come to be more desirable after the realization sets in that your expectations aren't matching your court time. 

Let's not forget that Lexie Brown also left the Turtles a couple of seasons ago...her stated reason was to play against the ACC. 

Transferred in, did well. 

Transfers. Yes. we get questions about them. Do we think this girl might end up here or that girl could leave and go over there? We have readers who monitor Twitter accounts looking for clues on who might leave. And, there's always the "I have a friend who knows someone that talked with someone who overhead that (so and so) might be looking around." 

We have no crystal ball nor direct pipeline to the future. Who goes, who stays? We wait and see, like you do. Do I think anyone will transfer out of or into the Louisville WBB program? I try not to think about it, honestly. We'll cover it if it happens. 

Players come. Players go. It's inevitable. As a coach, you deal with a lot of pressure. From the parents, from the players and from the fan base. The bottom line is this. You play those who give you the best chance of winning. Winning is job stability. Coaches like to be employed. Players have the opportunity to earn their playing time. If it doesn't work out, you decide to work that much harder, accept the situation or move on. 

Let's put it in horse racing terms...since we're drawing close to the Kentucky Derby. A trainer gets a promising two-year old to the race track. The horse runs poorly the first time on the track. You give the horse another chance. Another poor effort. You drop the horse down to a level you think it may compete well in. Nothing. So, you decide that maybe the horse might be better off in another barn and you run it in a claimer-type race. The horse isn't to blame. The horse simply isn't good enough to compete at a certain level. Maybe the horse does better at a lower level or for another trainer at another track. Maybe it doesn't. Or maybe the trainer decides to keep working with the horse. The difference is...the horse can't express their contentment, disagreement or sit down for a long talk with the trainer. 

Transferred out...hopes to do well. 

Players can. They sometimes do. The key is this...what is best for the player? Most coaches want what is best for the player. If it means playing for" fake directional state" instead of "Prime Time U"...then that's how it is. 

Fans speculate. Why did this girl want to go to that school when she could have done "this or that" if she had stayed. What's going on at "this school" to make players want to leave? 

Transfers happen. Get used to them. One man gathers what another man spills.



paulie
xxxxx

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL -- Cards comeback falls short in 78-72 loss to Maryland

ASIA DURR'S 20 NOT ENOUGH IN LOSS

The University of Louisville women's basketball team used a 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter to erase a nine-point deficit and take a 64-62 led in front of 7816 in the KFC YUM! Center Thursday night...but the comeback died there and #5 Maryland went on a 16-10 run over the final five minutes to down Louisville by six...78-72.  


Heart. Winning and losing. 

Subjects Jeff Walz's kept coming back to in his post-game presser.

After making a gallant bid to overtake the Terps...the Cards were still in a dog-fight with less than three minutes to play...tied at 67-67...but a missed Asia Durr jumper and huge three-point play plus two free throws by Maryland freshman Destiny Slocum keyed a 7-2 Maryland run to make it 74-69 with 46 seconds left on the clock. It seemed the visitors were making the big plays and stops while the Cards were falling short and a step slower. After getting back into the game, the Cards went 3-12 over the final five minutes. Fatigue wasn't a factor...Maryland wanted it more and went and got it.

For some inexplicable, debatable and hard-to-define reason, whatever momentum the Cards had decided to leave through the Main Street exit doors of the KFC YUM! Center in the last three minutes of this one. Rudely and abruptly.
  
Poise. Toughness. Composure. They were things Maryland head coach Brenda Frese pointed to as key elements that brought Maryland back off the ropes. That, and hitting their final seven free throws...Slocum sinking five of them. Slocum being able to shrug off whatever happened earlier in the game and just go get the win. 

Louisville started the contest well...jumping out to a 18-9 lead when Durr sank a three with 3:36 left in the first frame and led after 10 minutes 24-20. It was Durr doing the damage...11 points in that stretch. 

Maryland wasn't intimidated, though and battled back to grab a 28-26 advantage when Shatori Walker-Kimbrough connected with 7:08 until the half off a nice pass from Slocum. They would stretch that out to 40-32 after two Kiah Gillespie free throws at the 3:14 mark...but the Cards would go on a 6-2 run to end the half...A Durr jumper setting the halftime score at 42-38. 

Although Myisha Hines-Allen started to show signs of life in the third quarter after a first half of two points...Louisville fell victim to a 11-2 Terrapin run over a four minutes stretch that had the Big Ten member leading 55-45 after Slocum nailed a jumper. Things weren't looking so good for UofL after three...trailing 62-53. Where would it lead from here? 

It led in a pretty good direction to start...this fourth quarter, get-back-into-it-and-take-the-lead stretch...followed, sadly, by the late letdown for Louisville. When Briahanna Jackson sank a fast-break layup with 5:41 remaining to give the Cards a 64-62 lead...it was deafening in the YUM! Center. Hines-Allen was playing with a renewed vigor and it looked like Louisville might just be ready to grab control of this game again and go on to win. 

Then, the air went out of the balloon.  Hines-Allen basket plus one gave Louisville their final lead at 67-65 but the Cards couldn't get the defensive stops or hit the shots and free throws the rest of the way.

Durr led the Cards with 20 points (on 8-27 shooting...including 3-14 from three-point line) and Myisha and Mariya rounded out the Cards double-digit dwellers with 16 and 13 each. B.J. added nine points and dished out eight assists and Cortnee Walton, getting her first start on the year, played 35 minutes and ended up with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.

It's hard to explain exactly what happened to Louisville in the final 3:15 Thursday night...even Coach Walz was stumped by it..except that a freshman visited the KFC YUM! Center for the first time (appropriately named Destiny) and had her way with the Cards at the end of the game. 

HOW DID FRED DO? 

'Fred' barely made an appearance tonight. Certainly not like the ones the late Freddy Mercury of Queen ...who is pictured to the left... used to put on for the fans. Speaking of singers...CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO favorite Robbie Bartlett did the National Anthem tonight...and nobody does it better! We love "The Robster". 

-- FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 6-14 from the stripe. That's below 70%...a paltry 42.8% to be exact and we can't award a letter here. 

-- REBOUNDING -- A 48-35 edge for Maryland in the battle of the boards. Having Walton back helped some...and Myisha did grab seven...but when you lose the rebounding battle, especially by 18 on the defensive end, no letter gets awarded here either. 

-- EFFORT/EXECUTION -- We loved the fast start and the furious fourth quarter comeback...but when it came to "crunch time" the Cards were out-played. Asia Durr left it all out on the court, so we'll award a small case "e".

-- DEFENSE -- Louisville held Maryland to 18 points under their season average and 4-23 three point shooting...but Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones were a combined 15-23 from the floor. The Cards forced 18 turnovers, so we'll hand out another small case "d". The defensive intensity at the end left a lot to be desired. 

FINAL FRED STAT:  _-_-e-d


WHAT WE LIKED 

-- Astounding Asia. She gave it her all in 37 minutes of play and, despite the 8-27 shooting and 3-14 three-point night, she showed us again tonight why she's the best player and hardest worker the Cards have currently. 

-- Courageous Cortnee. 35 solid minutes in her first start of the year and providing some key rebounding...plus 4-5 shooting. That's not bad and will probably improve. Welcome back, C.W.

WHAT NEEDS WORK

-- A return to successful three-dom. 4-23 is 17.4% and I don't know of a coach in college hoops that would rave about that. Granted, Asia took 14 of them...but Mariya and B.J. need to get back into a knocking these home mode. 

-- Sealing the deal. Louisville was primed and posed to win this game. They had Maryland back on their heels and all the momentum. Then, it stopped. Call it what you will...lack of heart, no killer instinct, not wanting it as much...but this was a prime opportunity that slipped away. 

FINALLY...

Losing back-to-back games to top #5 teams is certainly no crime, maybe expected by the rest of the basketball world and we wouldn't be surprised to see Maryland (as well as South Carolina) playing in the Final Four come tournament time. The outrage could get pretty vocal, though, if the Cards fall to Kentucky. Cardinal fans want to beat UK in everything and in women's basketball...well, let's just say I'm gonna dread the e-mails and comments here at the site if UofL doesn't win Sunday at home against the gals 80 miles up the road on I-64 East.

There are reasons for concern, sure...about the fact that the Cards can't beat a top-five team. They had a boisterous crowd, home court edge and no referee bias against them last night (total fouls were 19 on Maryland and 20 on Louisville and Dee Kanter, Billy Smith and "Louie" Gonzalez are three of the best in college WBB). Still, the Cards could not get a win.
  
Yes, these are early-season games and this has been the toughest part of a pretty brutal five-game stretch for Louisville. Conference play matters much more...but the patterns you set early in the season can sometimes provide a road-map for the rest of the year.

It's time for this team to show they are a top-ten team instead of talking about their desire to go to Dallas this year. Right now, they aren't a top ten team and would be a prohibitive long-shot for the final four. Time is a saving grace, though, and you need to have a short memory sometimes...but actions speak louder than words. It's time for Louisville to close some doors and out-play the competition. Sunday would be a good day to start. 


*          *          *           *          *          *          *          *          *          *

POST GAME WALZ LINK : WALZ POST GAME MARYLAND  (Make sure and catch where Coach "zings me" at the 9:45 mark...loved it!) 

POST GAME HINES-ALLEN AND ASIA DURR LINK: MYSHIA AND ASIA POST GAME MARYLAND

POST GAME BRENDA FRESE: POST GAME MARYLAND WBB HEAD COACH BRENDA FRESE

paulie
xxxxx