WBB Gameday and a Wrap for Volleyball

UConn GameDay

"Jeff, meet Geno. Geno, meet Jeff!"

A Top 10 matchup in Connecticut today as the Cardinals get ready to take on the Connecticut Huskies.  The Hall of Fame Women's Showcase, which this game is a part of, is not on UConn's home floor, but it might as well be. Mohegan Sun Arena has served UConn well over the years. 

After a stumble to start the season, and a few early games where Louisville ended up in the win column, but definitely had some things to work on, the game plan is starting to come together for the Walz squad.

UConn has no "buckets" today

Today they'll be facing an injury depleted UConn team, with only eight players expected to be active today.  Notably, the Huskies are missing their lauded superstar Paige Bueckers, but also sidelined for UConn is another notable name in freshman guard Azzi Fudd, along with Nika Mühl, and Aubrey Griffin.

Even with those players out, UConn will still have the likes of Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Aaliyah Edwards, and Evina Westbrook.

The Cards season calling card seeming to be withering defense, and The Cardinal Couple Semi-Irregular Awards Committee is taking comments from interested parties about potentially raising the height requirement to be consider for the Attack Yorkie squad.  The proposal is to lift it to 5'7" to allow Mykasa Robinson, Chelsie Hall, and Hailey Van Lith to be eligible for the squad designation.  The squad is currently limited to players 5'6" and below. If the proposal gets out of committee discussion, we'll submit it to our Board of Chimps (along with nacho dip and Tostitos !)

Even without any currently official Attack Yorkies, UofL will be leaning on the lock down defense to set the tone of the game.  Increasing the tempo definitely works in the Card's favor.  When the opponent only has eight dressed players, fatigue can become a factor by the end of the game.  Geno Aurriema's teams typically have been well conditioned and haven't shown susceptibility to fatigue, but it's a weapon in the arsenal that you have to try to use.

The Huskies will be looking to try to take advantage of UofL's aggressive defense, playing off of defensive over commitments and using back cuts to try to get open looks at the basket.

Of active players, Christyn Williams is the highest point scorer, followed by Westbrook, and then Nelson-Ododa.  Williams, and particularly Westbrook, are threats from three point range, while Nelson-Ododa hasn't even attempted one all season.  UConn isn't much of a threat to the passing lanes, so if UofL can force some turnovers, that could lead to a fairly lopsided matchup.

The game is on ESPN (us Youtube TV folks will have to make other arrangements for this one) at 3:30pm and we'll have Eric Frede, Rebecca Lobo, and Andraya Carter on the call.

Angel tackles Geno for a loss of three...

An Open Letter to Volleyball

Dear 2021 UofL Volleyball squad,

Gwen Rucker

Becky Burke

Candyce Bingham

Janae Howard

Laura Terry

Monique Reid

Angel McCoughtry

Chauntise Wright

Keshia Hines

Dez Bird

These names may not mean all that much to you, but for longtime fans of UofL Women's Basketball, many of these names bring smiles to faces.  These fine women are thought of, almost with reverence, but certainly with gratitude to anyone that knows much of the past decade plus of history of the program.

You see, these are the members of the 2008-2009 basketball roster.  That team was the first UofL women's basketball team to advance to the Final Four.

These players are forever remembered, and thanked, for the major milestone that they achieved for the program.

I've heard Jeff Walz talk a number of times about how a successful program gets built.  He thanks Angel, and Mo, and Laura, and others for not only what they did on the court that season, but for how they helped build the program for the future.  He usually talks about hosting recruits, and points out that some of these players hosted recruits on campus for official visits, and some of those recruits end up becoming the core of the team several years down the road.  The impact of a special team is felt in a program many years down the road.

You all have taken this team from "Upset Queens" to the best team in the land in two years.  The future impact of that work will be felt far beyond two years.

Numerous people have posted open letters like this to you all.  Most have focused on your season this year being a breath of fresh air in a year filled with a lot of distractions and chaos at UofL.  They're...not wrong.  Your character, integrity, and spirit have shown through in a period that has been challenging at UofL, and frankly around the world as well.

But what I want you to know, particularly to the graduating seniors and super-seniors, is that, though this season is over, and some of you may not be putting on the jerseys anymore, you are still a part of this program, and you are still having an impact on the court.  Over the next four years when Alexis Finnvold, Hannah Sherman, Nina Moorer and others even farther in the future step out on that Taraflex at L&N FCU Arena, you are there alongside them, and when I and others are cheering for them, we're also still cheering for you.

Thank you for a season beyond words, and when you come back to visit and cheer, and I hope you do frequently, you have an open invitation to join me, for I would be honored to have any and all of you by my side, when the opponent calls a timeout.

C-A-R-D-S!

Jeff

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Due to the way the holidays fall on the calendar, the last CCRHP episode of the year was yesterday.  Case, Jared, Paulie, and myself were on the call.

We spent most of the hour wrapping the magical volleyball season and talking a bit about the bright future for the program.

We did preview a bit of the UConn basketball game today.  I expect basketball to be the core of the discussion for the next couple of months.

You can check out the replay on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP4WkFqaPBI.

You can also listen to it on via your favorite podcast directory and app with some tweaks to the audio that Case always does so well with.  He posts it via anchor.fm, so you can catch it at: https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Volleyball-Comes-Up-Short-Basketball-to-Face-UCONN-e1bt1cr or search for "Cardinal Couple" in whatever podcast source you use.

CARDS WBB vs. UCONN in Hall of Fame WBB event. -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS VS HUSKIES ON DEC. 19th AT MOHEGAN SUN 

(NOTE:  FRIDAYS WITH DARYL will have to wait until next week, as I got a text message this morning from her -- outlining her "sunup to past sundown" work day Thursday and the same for today. The good thing about Cardinal Couple is that we cover for each other when things come up. So, I head to the plate as a pinch-hitter this morning to bring you the Friday write-up. As fate would have it, we have women's basketball news this Friday -- a rarity in late May. Batter up !) 

--paulie-- 

GENO AND JEFF:  ROUND 19

Jeff Walz and Geno Auriemma have faced each other 18 times since Jeff Walz took over the Cardinals program in the 2007-08 season. They renew the rivalry for the 2021-22 season after the game was cancelled in 2020-21 because of the pandemic. Geno is one of the few active  college women's basketball coaches out there in NCAA DI women's hoops that has a winning record over Walz. Why ruin a perfectly good Friday by re-hashing the entire series, let's just say that the Cards and Huskies are 1-1 in the last two meetings. 

The two will square off again in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Showcase this year at the Mohegan Sun Arena, in Uncasville CT. on Dec. 19th. The matchup is one of two games that day in the facility -- Baylor (minus Mulkey) will face Michigan, who is headed up by Kim Barnes Arico. 

Walz speaks of the event: 

"We are extremely excited to play UConn in the 2021 Women's Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena. Our experience at Mohegan Sun last year was first class and it's an honor to participate in this Hall of Fame event. After being unable to play UConn last season as we had hoped, we are thrilled we are able to continue our rivalry." 

As you may remember, Doug Bruno gallantly offered his DePaul Blue Demon as a replacement for UConn against the Cards last year and the Cards looked most impressive in a record-setting 116-75 win in just their third game of the season. I hope "Dougie" at least got a Jerry Garcia tie out of the sacrifice. 

So, let's take a look ahead at the match-up and the possibilities that might exist. On the Cards side, they'll be in their first "AD" (after Dana) season and one would expect they'd already have a few games already under their belt before this match-up. They add a strong nucleus of Payton Verhulst, Sydni Schetnan, Emily Engstler and Chelsie Hall to a squad that'll have Kianna Smith, Liz Dixon, Hailey Van Lith, Ahlana Smith, Olivia Cochran, Kasa Robinson. Norika Konno, Merissah Russell and Ramani Parker returning. A squad that went 26-4 (14-2 in the ACC) before running into eventual champion Stanford in the "Great Eight" of the NCAA Tournament

Over on the Huskies side of the court, Geno brings in frosh standouts Saylor Poffenbarger, Carolina Ducharme, Azzi Fudd and Amarie DeBerr -- along with grad-transfer Dora Juhasz to join a lineup that returns Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Odoba, Aubrey Griffin, Evina Westbrook and more. The Huskies went 28-2 in the 2020-21 season, before getting upset by Arizona in the NCAA Final Four. 

What say you, Geno? 

"We're always excited to have the opportunity to play at Mohegan Sun. The Basketball Hall of Fame has put together another exciting Women's Showcase this season. Our fans didn't have the opportunity to see this team in person last season, so I think it will a great experience for them and the players." 

It's noticeable that Geno didn't mention who the Huskies were playing. The first salvo has been fired across the bow...

We'll give Geno a little leeway, though, he has been busy blasting the transfer portal. 

Obviously, it is way too early to predict just where the Cards and Huskies will be ranked when the game comes around. It's also a Sunday game in the middle of college bowl season and pro football, so it'll be interesting to see what time it is played and which network will pick up the double-header. No info on tickets yet, but, we have about six months yet -- so let's let the cake bake a bit first before we get the folks and plates out, right? 

Nevertheless, it's another sign that things are slowly starting to return to pre-COVID normalcy in women's college basketball. Let's hope the trajectory stays uplifting and promising. 

Have a fun Friday!

paulie

WBB #2 in latest rankings -- Asia Durr named ESPNW Player of the Week. -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL #2 RANKED

Following the wins over Connecticut Thursday night in the KFC YUM! Center and at Clemson Saturday, the Cards have climbed one spot in the AP Poll and are now #2 in the nation, behind Baylor.  

The Cards received three of the 28 first place votes, Baylor the other 25. Oregon checks in at #3, Notre Dame is #4 and the UConn Huskies drop to #5. A guy whose quips equal those of Jeff Walz...Mr. Geno Auriemma was asked about his two losses this season after the Huskies beat Cincinnati 85-55 on Sunday. He replied in typical Geno fashion: 

"Last time I checked, there were 365 Division I teams in America. 364 would trade places with me in a heartbeat. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it." 

Would Walz, Mulkey...even McGraw or Kelly Graves' squads make that switch? How about the Bulldogs at Mississippi St. would they abandon ship to put on UConn jerseys?  

Rounding out the top 10 are #6 Mississippi State, #7 Oregon State, #8 Marquette, #9 North Carolina State and #10 Maryland. Other ACC schools getting the top 25 nod are #15 Syracuse, #24 Florida State and #25 Miami. Louisville bring the 'Cuse to town for a Thursday night tangle this week. It means the return of "Q" (Quentin Hillsman) to the 'Ville'...he's one of our favorite showmen in College WBB and a snappy dresser to boot. 

The win over Husky nation means a lot of things, obviously, to Louisville and NCAA women's basketball. It gives the Cards a huge confidence factor from here on out. It does put an even larger "target on their back" when they travel to places such as Blacksburg, Charlottesville and Pittsburgh the test of the regular season and the four foes coming into the downtown arena over the next three weeks. Syracuse, Miami, Boston College and NC State know that a win over Louisville at Louisville is a season changer, heck, program changer and would weigh heavily on the thought processes of the NCAA selection committee. 

The clear-cut favorite as NCAA Tournament favorite is, well, unclear as well. Baylor showed a little vulnerability last night when Texas roared back from a 21-point deficit after three quarters to cut the Bears lead to four with 30 seconds to play. The Cards, the Huskies, the Irish and the Ducks all have losses that were either head-scratchers or sound defeats. Toss in Miss. State, add Oregon State and Maryland for a little seasoning and you have a eight-team stew that is unpredictable from spoonful to spoonful. 

That's why they play the game, though, I doubt the upsets and surprises are done for the regular season. Here's hoping the Cards can stay clear of them. 


ASIA DURR NAMED ESPNW PLAYER OF THE WEEK

After a sparkling performance against Connecticut, Asia Durr has been named ESPNW Player of the Week. 

There were plenty of candidates, no doubt. Five others that come to mind are Kristine Anigwe (Cal), Ruthy Hebard (Oregon), Stephanie Watts (UNC), Destiny Slocum (Oregon State) and Haley Gorecki (Duke) all had weeks that were noteworthy, but Durr delivered a 24-point performance Thursday night against then #2 Conn on ESPN and that was enough to put the award in her steady hands. Why, there was even a quad-double last week, engineered by Grambling State's Shakyla Hill. 

The award trophy case for "Nite-Nite" has to be crammed full, if there is such a thing. 

Durr is projected to be #2 in the WNBA mock draft coming up Wednesday. She's averaging 20.8 p.p.g. this year. 45.1% from the floor and 35% from three-point range. 

The awards, the honors, the recognitions....the triple-teams....all of the emphasis on #25 would be a whirlwind type of experience for just about any DI WBB student-athlete. Durr keeps a calm demeanor, though, and keeps her eyes focused on the ultimate goals. A Final Four slot. A National Championship. 

"What do you think? I think that #25 is pretty good." 

Out of the previous 12 Player of the Week recognitions, the ACC has two others in Jackie Young (Notre Dame) on Nov 26th. and Paris Kea (UNC) last week. The Pac 12 has also had three players-of-the-week. There has not been a repeat student-athlete of multiple award winner this season. 

Have a Terrific Tuesday and stay dry. The monsoon season has apparently begun in Louisville. 


paulie
xxxxx

Cards Shock Country-- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Women's Basketball Makes Statement with Win over UConn

The country was probably shocked when they witnessed Louisville Women's Basketball defeat Connecticut, 78-69 last night in the KFC YUM! Center.  Four players scored in double-figures  for the Cards, led by Asia Durr's 24 points.

Durr showed everyone why she truly is the BEST player in the country.

17,023 fans packed into the KFC Yum! Center for the event, the largest of the season for the Cards and also the largest of the season for all of women's basketball.  The record for the largest crowd at a UofL women's basketball home game is 22,163 vs UConn back in 2014.

Sam Fuehring and Jazmine Jones each recorded a double-double with Sam going for 10 points and 12 rebounds and Jaz went for 13 and 12.

Jaz also dished out four assists to tie Dana Evans for a team-high.  Evans also tallied 20 points including 5-10 shooting from deep.  Overall, Louisville had 13 assists and limited their turnovers to four.

How many losses does UConn have?

Durr went scoreless in the first quarter, but Louisville still went toe-to-toe with the Huskies, tied 21-21.  UConn's 3-5 from three-point range kept their offense going while the Cards spread the wealth among five scorers.  Louisville's six fouls and UConn's five would total to be the most combined (11) of any quarter until late fourth quarter.

Things were evenly matched in the second quarter, but Louisville won it, 19-17, to hold a two-point halftime lead.  Nite-Nite began to heat up.  She scored 14 points, going 4-6 from deep and 5-9 from the field overall.  Surprisingly, neither time committed a turnover in the period.

Louisville still held the lead, and was winning the rebounding battle. 20 minutes remained. Cardinal fans were as energized as the frisbee-chasing dogs performing at halftime.

The third quarter is where momentum shifted into the favor of the Cards.  They won the quarter, 18-13.  Asia added another seven points to her total, but it was the defense that showed its strength.  UConn was forced to go deep into the shot clock every possession knocking them out of rhythm.

The fourth quarter was another higher-scoring quarter with Louisville winning it, 20-18.  Between Louisville shooting a high number of free throws down the stretch and the Huskies knocking down a pair of threes near midcourt both teams found life on offense.  UConn got a bucket 13 seconds in the fourth quarter but then went silent for almost five full minutes, pushing Louisville's lead to double-figures.

The Huskies were nailing shots late in the fourth, but so were the Cards. No losing the lead late here. The overall shooting numbers were not spectacular (38% U Conn -  UofL 39.7%). Dana gets our "star of the game" nod. 20 points, four assists, zero turnovers.

This was Louisville's night to shine with a nationwide audience checking in and the roar of the KFC YUM! Center will long be a fantastic memory for me, Paulie, Sonya, Daryl Foust and all of the over 17,000 who were in attendance.

The Cards still have plenty of work to do, of course. A dangerous Clemson team awaits them Saturday in Littlejohn Arena. NC State remains perfect. Syracuse is coming in soon and they are always a "tough out" for UofL

Not a lot of time to celebrate this historic win but, oh, what a night down by the river here in Louisville !


F-R-E-D Report

Paulie says...."Nite-Nite"

Free Throws: Louisville looked great for a while before having a rough stretch in the final minute where there were a lot of 1-2 trips to the line.  Still, the Cards went 17-24 for 70.8%.  There was also an offensive rebound in there so the percentage can go up for that.  Capital "F".

Rebounds: Add another game to the list of games where Louisville won the rebounding battle.  The out-rebounded UConn 46-40.  More importantly, the 35 defensive rebounds helped keep the Huskies from pulling in offensive rebounds for second chance points.  With both Jaz and Sam with 10+ rebounds I'm sold on a capital "R".

Effort/Efficiency: 25-63 (.397) from the field isn't great but 11-29 (.379) from three is pretty solid.  What really catches my eye here is the 13 assists on 25 made shots opposed to only five turnovers.  In terms of effort I'll quote Geno Auriemma "They deserve it.  They worked their asses off tonight."  Capital "E".

Defense: Okay, so UofL didn't hold an opponent under 50 points.  UConn scored 69 points, which is still about 13 less than average.  The Huskies were held in the teens three quarters.  UConn had zero fast break points and only 11 second chance points.  The Huskies looked out of whack for most of the game due to Louisville's pressure.  To finish the perfect score we see a capital "D".

When one plays UConn and wins, things must go right so a perfect score of F-R-E-D isn't all too surprising.

I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that this is a game we soon won't forget and will talk about many years down the road.  It was a privilege to cover the game as media.

Louisville improves to 20-1 on the year should move back up to #2.  UConn falls to to 18-2 for their multi-loss regular season since 2013.  Jeff Walz is now 1-17 against UConn while in control of the reins at Louisville.

The Cards travel to Clemson this Saturday (not Sunday) to play at 2:00 p.m.

Caption These

You can catch videos of post-game below.

In these two pictures, one of Jazz celebrating and Walz looking like he's about to break into dance, it was a time for smiling, dancing and letting their feelings loose.

The Cards met the dragon and slayed the dragon .

Jeff Walz post game presser

                                                          Asia Durr and Dana Evans

                                                               Geno Auriemma

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON AND POST-GAME COVERAGE BY SETH SPALDING) 

- Jared -

Louisville women's basketball faces Connecticut Tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#2 VS. #3 

Geno now

The Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team comes to the KFC YUM! Center tonight for a 7 p.m. game against the #3 Louisville Cardinals. The city probably could have used Huskies and any dog sleds they cared to bring yesterday morning after a snow and arctic blast rendered driving difficulties and school cancellations. 

The Huskies, you see, have no problems driving. Or hitting threes, playing defense or scoring points. They, like the WBB Cards, have just one loss on the season -- a stumble at Baylor back on Jan 3rd -- 68-57. Back on Jan. 3rd, Louisville was still undefeated, having turned away North Carolina 73-68.  The Cards only loss would come a week later, at South Bend when Notre Dame upped Louisville 82-68. North Carolina must have learned something from the UofL loss, they knocked off Notre Dame earlier this week  in Chapel Hill. The Irish are the only common opponent the two teams have in common this season, Connecticut going to Notre Dame and winning 82-68. 

Geno back way back when

So, what does all of that tell us? I'm not really sure, except that -- maybe -- try and schedule the tough contests and foes at home. Or avoid playing them. 

Geno knows a thing or two about the Louisville squad. He's 16-1 against them lifetime, his only loss coming back on 3-17-93 to a Bud Childers coached Cardinal squad 74-71 in the NCAA Mideast Regional first round at Iowa City.  Bud left Louisville a few years later to take the head coaching job at James Madison (back then they were a better program than Louisville) and then WInthrop before retiring and becoming a successful franchise owner of several Sports Clips hair cutting franchises. 

Caption this picture if you want...

What have we learned here? A college coaching career can lead to owning several "clip joints"... salon styling and hair cutting franchises? Geno has a full head of hair, his restaurant business and spaghetti sauce. Coach Walz keeps his lettuce high and tight and has never ventured into hair-cutting (except as a patron), restaurants (except to dine) nor making his own spaghetti sauce (that we know of). Walz was offered a maitre d job at one of Geno's four restaurants. I wonder if they'd let him sit in the "wee chair" during slow periods? 

Geno's streak of win against UofL is impressive but consider that he's 24-0 lifetime against West Virginia, 47-2 against Seton Hall, 43-3 vs. Georgetown and 19-0 over Cincinnati. Who has won the most games against Geno? Let's circle back to Notre Dame, where Muffet McGraw has 12 wins and 36 losses against the Huskies. 

"Hey, is that Coach Walz coming to watch us practice?"

Coach Walz loves what he does, probably had a good night's sleep last night, isn't stressed out about tonight at all, knows his players are fired up about tonight and is looking for a high-level performance out of them. He knows how hard Geno's squad plays.

Walz knows the prime time opportunity ahead of him tonight comes down to one main thing. Scoring. Putting the ball in the bucket. Knowing your role and carrying it out.  

Trying to out-coach the legendary Geno. Not getting blown out early, like last year. 

What does Coach Walz think about tonight? Here's his presser from yesterday: 

LINK: WALZ PRESSER 1/30/19   

(WBB SID Nick Evans "calls me out" at the very end about my game and Coach points out to me that. "Shooters, shoot"...Hey, I wasn't called the "Fern Creek Force" for nothing.") 


BUT WHAT ABOUT TONIGHT, PAULIE?

Connecticut is 18-1 and has outscored their opponents by an average of 31.4 points (80.1 to 48.7) in seven ACC games. Overall they hold a +28.5 edge in scoring in their 19 games (81.9 to 53.4). 


Five Huskies are double digit point producers. Katie Lou Samuelson leads the way with 18.8 a night. The senior also tops UConn with 49 made threes on 137 attempts (36%). Napheesa Collier isn't far behind her with 18.6 points per outing and gets to the charity stripe more than any other Husky, (62-89), for 70%. Both Megan Walker and Crystal Dangerfield have been good for 12.9 a contest. Dangerfield is deadly from the free throw line, 31-33 (94%). Freshman Christyn Williams completes the double-digit points providers with 11.1 an event and sees about 34 minutes a game on the court. 

The Huskies starting lineup is basically a five-guard attack with Collier the "big" in the middle at 6'2". All of them are perfectly capable of getting the ball up the court and leading the fast break.  Samuelson is 6'3" but more guard-than-paint-oriented.

Another freshman, Olivia Odoba-Nelson, has seen action in all 19 games and plays an average of 10 minute a game.  After that, the Irish have four "benchers" who come in to do clean-up in blowout games, all five could probably go elsewhere and be starters...Batouly Camara, Kyla Irwin, Molly Bent and Mikayla Coombs.  

Sophomore Lexi Gordon announced last month she was going to transfer and will toil for Texas Tech next season. 

Five UConn numbers: 

Biggest win -- 56 ( vs.St. Louis)

Most Points Scored -- 99 (vs. Seton Hall)

Best Quarter -- 1st, where they outscore opponents 446-251

Turnovers  -- The Huskies force 16.1 a night and commit just 11.6 

Games in the 90's -- (5) against Ole Miss (90), DePaul (99), St. Louis (98), Seton Hall (99) and UCF (93) 


SO...WHO WILL WIN? 

Why, the team who scores the most points, that's who!! (One of Walz's favorite answers when he's asked that question). 

Ball control is going to be a key tonight. How do you do when you have it, can you limit turnovers and steals, are you able to work it effectively and get open, not forced, shots?

Are you able to play the shutdown defense and how will you do on second chance opportunities? 

The Cards have nothing to lose tonight. Time to "go for it" on fourth down, swing for the fence, pull the goalie and serve the ace. 

Most pundits and predictors are picking UConn to win. It's not a conference game. It won't affect the ranking or NCAA Tournament seeding that much. Louisville has been shutting down ACC offenses in the last five games, yes, but UConn is a horse of a different color. UofL has arguably the best player in NCAA Division I women's college basketball in "Nite-nite". She'll meet two other contenders for that crown in Samuelson and Collier. 


The Huskies are 93-0 in the AAC since joining the league. 108-0 if your toss in tournament play. They won't face a larger, crazier, louder and enthused fan base on the road the rest of the season than they will tonight. How will they handle it?  



ESPN comes in with their "A" team.  Amin, Lobo, Lawson...with Holly Rowe running the sidelines (dressed in blue, whatcha wanna bet?)   

I hope the Cards come out, shake the nerves and just have some fun in a great Thursday night matchup between two great teams. Two teams who were shocked in the Final Four last year. Two teams bent on returning to that "foursome" this year in Tampa. 


I hope "the AC is 'on'", Asia is "Durrific" and "JJ Airlines" is running on schedule and packed with passengers. I hope Sam is a chairwoman of the boards and Kylee, "B" and Dana are representing their "A" games. What role will "Kasa" play. Does Lindsey get a chance to bomb threes? 

It's four probable WNBA players in Durr, Carter, Samuelson and Collier. It's two of the best coaches in the women's game.

It's gonna be wild. The "intro" should be crazy. Make sure you're there early to catch it. Bring your "outside" voice. 


Let's go 81-79. Cards. In a thriller. That's the pick. Be there, so you can tell your grand-kids and co-workers you were there "that night". Get there early, it could be a crowd of 16,000 plus.  Feel free to leave your prediction in our comments section. 

Probably won't be there tonight...

We'll recap it tomorrow here at Cardinal Couple. Hopefully, a" glowing report on a victory type of article".

Then, again, it's Jared's write up. Who knows what he'll touch on. His spontaneous viewpoints are a favorite here at the Chimp ranch.  

We also invite you to join us Saturday. 11 a.m. for the "not ready for drive time" radio broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Jeff Walz (well, at least his bobblehead) will be in studio with a selectively picked group of audio talent. WCHQ 100.9 FM and Facebook Live. 

The Cards try to match steps with UConn on the frantic treadmill of women's college basketball tonight. Let's lace 'em up, climb aboard and get with it. Pulse and heart monitors optional. 

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- UConn capitalizes on Cards slow start, wins 69-58 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

19-0 HUSKY RUNS EARLY SINKS CARDS

If, by some chance, you missed the first ten minutes of the Louisville women's basketball game against Connecticut in Storrs last night, consider yourself fortunate. It was a disaster. It started well, enough, with Arica Carter hitting a three to give Louisville the only lead they would have in the contest, but the walls caved in after that. The Huskies went on a 19-0 run that virtually eliminated Louisville's chances. It was ugly, painful and disappointing to view if you are a Cardinal fan. It was just another day in the office for Husky backers. 

Shots wouldn't fall and were hurried and forced. The offensive patterns never materialized. The first quarter turnovers were atrocious (nine of them) and the Huskies couldn't miss from the floor. Led by Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn just went off on the bewildered and out-of-sync Cards, roaring to a 19-3 advantage and a 24-6 first quarter lead. It was what UofL did to Notre Dame earlier in the season, but the Cards were on the receiving end. We know who is #1 in the nation with no doubt whatsoever now and it isn't the ACC school on the banks of the Ohio.

Walz called timeouts. They didn't help. Kia Nurse, UConn guard, was applying intensive-care defensive on Asia Durr and the junior couldn't gather enough space to tie her shoes...much less get a good shot off. Louisville looked clueless, the Huskies scored at will and the capacity crowd in the Gampel Pavilion nodded and cheered in approval every time the Huskies did something right and Louisville miscued and floundered. 
The sense of dread and disillusionment clear and present as I watched from my easy chair. This wasn't so easy. 

"We defended them about as well as we wanted to and that was the plan going in" 

Those words, from UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, were a understatement. Mission accomplished. The Cards looked like one of the non-conference patsies that were sacrificial lambs to Walz's crew early in the season. 

After those bloody and deflating first ten minutes, the Cards started to gather a bit and get back in sync...but it was too late. The Red and Black played on fairly even terms in the second session with Connecticut but still found themselves on the short end of a 42-22 halftime score. It was "Lou" (Samuelson) taking on Louisville single-handedly and doing quite well, almost outscoring the Cards by herself after twenty minutes. Threes, drives to the basket, layups, jumpers...she was the Energizer Bunny and Louisville was dead batteries when it came to containing her. 

Play Louisville basketball? Certainly not this version. 

You can credit the Cards for not letting this one get any worse. In fact, Asia Durr and company won the second half 36-27. She finished with 20 points, Myisha Hines-Allen recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds -- her 13th double-double of the year -- and Arica Carter hit a career high four trifectas in the affair to finish with 12 points. Sam Fuehring had a strong effort inside, mostly in the final half, with strong rebounding and eight points. 

But it was all after the contest had been decided. The 11-point margin of loss was the closest Louisville got to the lead since the horrific first period. Jeff Walz discussed the first quarter: 

"We had good shots there in the first quarter and just missed them. I thought that some of them were too quick and those led to transition for them. That's something you can't do." 

A non-conference lesson learned. 

Losing to #1 in the nation is no disgrace. Louisville shouldn't plummet from their #4 status in the nation, especially when you consider Notre Dame is #5. The ACC Championship is still a very attainable goal and the Cards continue on, with the road trip taking them to Boston College next for a Thursday night contest.

How will the loss to UConn affect them against the Eagles? One would hope they come out madder than hell and punish B.C. But, that first quarter gave every other coach in the ACC key insights on how to stop the Cards. Whether there is anyone in the ACC that can duplicate what UConn did is highly doubtful. Will the Cards come out still hurting and stung in Chestnut Hill? We hope not. 

I'm going to do my best to forget the first half-hour of what I saw last night. Walz will probably use it as a teaching tool, and rightfully so, because there are a lot of things to learn from there. I'd just as soon forget that beginning last night. UConn came out and did what they do. They took control of the car and never gave the keys or driving privileges to the passengers. They showed all women's college basketball fans that the road to Columbus and Final Four dreams goes though Storrs and Geno's roadblock and gauntlet. 

"I thought we competed, which is want we wanted to do, but I just wish we could have made it a better game off the bat".

So do we, the fans, Coach. So do we. 

The question is...how will the Cards react when they get behind the wheel Thursday?
Cardinal fans had hopes, expectations and dreams of knocking off #1. I did too. What we got was a painful and embarrassing lesson on how the elite team in women's college basketball handles big match-ups. 

The casual basketball fan who may have missed the game will look at the final score and maybe think that UConn got a bit of a test last night by only winning by 11. They would be mistaken. This one was over early and UConn maintained. Case closed. 

Let's hope UofL learned something and can put it to use. 28% shooting in the first half would be a great place to start the teaching. Remaining calm and collected in a frenzied environment a good teaching point.  

Does Louisville want them again? Further down the road...NCAA Tournament time? I'd just as soon pass. I hope we end up on the other side of the bracket. We will learn from the loss, yes, but can the Cards do anything to prevent the Huskies from doing it again? Geno's squad learned too. 

I'll dwell on it no more. As UofL football coach John L. Smith said many years ago...sometimes you just have to tear off the rear view mirror and just keep driving. 
Let's hope the Cardinal Caravan doesn't have any slow, sluggish starts in what's left of winter.

I know this column isn't in the usual vein of our "joy and excitement" of Cardinal women's athletics. I'll try to end on that note. The Cards didn't completely fold up the tent. They won the second half. They played UConn as close as just about anyone has this year. They are still a great team and will have many more successes this season. 

Onward. 


THE FRED REPORT

Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) must
have watched the first quarter...

FREE THROWS -- UConn rarely fouls, in the eyes of most referees. When they did last night the Cards failed to capitalize. 55.6% on 5-9 shooting doesn't get a letter.

REBOUNDING -- Here's one battle the Cards did win last night...36-34. Myisha with 12,  Sam with seven and Arica grabbed six. We'll provide a small case "r" for that. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Throw out the first quarter and it wasn't all that bad in effort and execution. But, that first quarter...ugh. I'll take the high road here and award a small case "e" for the overall performance. 

DEFENSE -- Holding the Huskies to 69 points is pretty impressive.  Samuelson and Williams pretty much scored when they chose to, though, and the Cards got pounded in the points in paint category 44-24. The closer you get, the easier the bucket gets. Based on that, I'll with-hold the letter. 

FINAL FRED REPORT:  _-r-e-_


paulie
xxxxx

USA U 23 WBB tryouts begin -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

36 VYE FOR THE CHANCE TO GO TO JAPAN

The best and brightest of the NCAA Women's College basketball world have convened in Colorado Springs for five days of tryouts, practice and competition to determine who the 12 players representing the USA will be in the round-robin tournaments that will be held in Japan from Aug. 12th-15th against Australia, Canada and Japan. 

The University of Louisville is one of the 22 universities that have player(s) involved in the tryouts.  Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen will compete for the roster and their coach, Jeff Walz, is the head coach of the squad. Walz will not be one the official squad-picking committee...that's made up of six different coaches and people representing USA basketball...but he was on hand last night to hear lead clinician of the tryouts Geno Auriemma address the hopefuls. Although Walz isn't quite sure how the committee will divide the players into the four-team groups that will compete against each other for several days...he did have this to say about Geno's presence in the process:  

CAPTION THIS PICTURE

" I think it's perfect. You have a lot of great college basketball players who need to hear from someone else. They get the same rhetoric from their college coaches all the time. Now you get the Olympic coach come in here and basically back up what we've been saying. It's important for them to hear and understand. It's not just 'what do you do during and game' or 'how do you come to practice?' or 'how do you get your teammates better?' It's so valuable for him to come in and be a part of it." 

Geno had some very straight-forward words for the participants last night, including: 

"I'm not saying you're going to become an Olympian...but I'm not here to say that you won't either..."

Coach probably wouldn't mind having this gal out there.

The task ahead is formidable for these 36. Showcasing their skills in hopes of making the squad.  The players will train all week and also have a mini-tournament that will culminate with a gold meal game on Friday....the ultimate goal being to make the team that will travel to Japan. Five participants (Napheesa Collins, Azura Stevens, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby WIlliams of UConn...plus Rebecca Greenwell of Duke) will be unavailable to go to Japan because their schools have trips planned to go to Italy at the same time...but the selection committee will obviously have plenty of talent to choose from for the travelling roster. How many ACC girls will be selected? A lot of questions ahead. 

A training camp designed for the individual to get better. A chance to compare yourself with the top names in college women's basketball. A chance to travel internationally and compete against three other very viable and talented programs from other countries. 

We'll watch with interest on how this all shakes out with the University of Louisville girls...as well as former Card Mariya Moore, Ownesboro native Greenwell and Elizabethtown, KY's Erin Boley...who are also in Colorado Springs. A run down of the roster is truly impressive...11 girls that the Cards played against in the 2016-17 season are in-camp. Seven players Walz was with in Russian back in 2015 are also participating. 

Jeff Walz, Michelle Clark-Heard and Courtney Banghart will be presented with a roster that most WNBA franchises would be proud to enter in competition. Their job will be to mold them into a unit, yes, but just as importantly...to guide them in exploring their capabilities and learn about leadership. Jen Rizzotti, Wes Moore, Kara Lawson-Barling, Karen Aston and Tonya Cardoza...all pretty good basketball minds themselves... have the task of selecting the 12. I'd be surprised if they didn't consult closely with Walz and his staff...plus Geno...on the final squad, but we can't say with any certainty that they will. Separation of church and state scenario possibly at work here...it will be a great question to pose to Walz later this year, I'm thinking. Or, maybe just another thing for him to gripe at me about...the stakes are high when you're an independent and senile site-owner/editor dealing with a mad scientist.  

The bronze and gold medal of the training camp will be streamed live from the USA Training facility on August 4th. at 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. (MST) on usab.com and the final squad is expected to be announced later that Friday. 

Good luck to our Cardinals and in-state players! 


***********************************************************************************************************

NICE TO BE BACK ON THE PAGES...


A few of you may have noticed that Jeff, Case and Jared have been doing the columns for the last 11 days here at the website. (Or maybe you didn't...I am that inconspicuous, perhaps). A big thanks to them for carry the Cardinal Couple torch onward while Paulie took a much-needed and greatly enjoyed vacation far away from the UofL sports world. The guys did a wonderful job and it is my opinion that we've assembled the best darn writing staff here for coverage of UofL sports on the Internet. 

Sometimes a renew, refresh and rejuvenation is needed. That, combined with the chance to step up my on-going physical rehab therapy after my hip replacement, was most welcome and I come back to this site and these pages ready and raring to go as our fall sports campaign draws closer. I'm walking really good these days. I can't express to you adequately, I suppose, just how important that is to me. Thanks for the calls, messages and encouragement. They served as motivation to stay on task. Let's go !!!

We have a fun August planned for you here at these pages and on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR Saturdays on WCHQ 100.9 FM.  We've been having full studios for the radio show and that will continue...with several backups lined-up in case one of our starting foursome has a conflicting event on Saturday. We'll continue the "catching up" segments as as well...and the weekly quizzes...which some of you think are the best features of our broadcasts. Our last "catch-up" with Tia Gibbs was fantastic and is available for listening at the Crescent Hill Radio archives...as well as here at the site. We're waiting for someone to step up and defeat the "Worldwide" dominance of Jeff in the quizzes. 

Check the gear, warm up and stretch and get your mind and attitude "right"...fall sports are right around the corner and we'll go to battle in them together here at the Couple.


paulie
xxxxx