Cards WBB upsets #13 Georgia Tech 69-60 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRESHMEN LEAD WAY IN LOUISVILLE WIN

Louisville womens' basketball got a combined 29 points from freshmen Tajianna Roberts (16) and Ja'Leah Williams (13) and held off a late Georgia Tech charge to pick up  the nine point win in front of 8917 fans on a chilly Sunday in Louisville at the KFC YUM! Center.

UofL started slowly in the contest, giving up the first five points in the game, but closed the first quarter strong, on a 9-0 run over the final 3:26 to graB a five-point advantage at 18-13 after Williams had six of the Cards final eight points in the quarter. 

The Cards pushed the margin to 10 at 25-15 three and a half minutes into the second quarter on a Merissah Russell layup and closed the half on a 9-1 run over the final 4:27 to go in the locker room at halftime ahead 37-23. It was a 19-10 second quarter for Louisville and they shot 7-10 from the floor (70%) for the quarter and were at 60% (15-25) from the floor for the half while holding GT to just 40% (10-25) in the first 20 minutes.

 Louisville...with the 37-22 lead in a bit of a surprise to many. 

Walz played just eight players in the first half, Williams playing all twenty minutes and she led all scorers with nine points The Cards were dominating in points off turnovers (22-9), points in the paint (22-10) and in rebounds (16-13). It was a fairly clean half for the Cards in the foul department too, committing just four in the first half. 

The third quarter proved to be the scoring quarter for both squads...Georgia Tech going for 26 points while the Cards mustered 22 points. Those 48 points were just nine short of what was scored in the entire first half. The Yellow Jackets had chipped away at the Cards advantage to trail 59-49. Kara Dunn had come alive for the visitors, with a 14 point quarter on 6-6 shooting and the Cards looked to be in for a battle in the final ten minutes. 

Give Louisville credit for not letting the lead slip below eight in the first seven and a half minutes of period four. The Cards were able to shut down Dunn  in a low scoring quarter, (11-10 Georgia Tech)  and the Cards were making the most of the shot clock when they had possession of the ball. With 1:29 to play, Tech converted on 1-2 free throws to get the closest they had been at 65-60, but would fail to score the rest of the way.  Williams nailed a jumper for the Cards with 59 seconds to play, and a Harris layup off a steal made it 69-60 with 27 seconds to go. GT would miss a three, in the final shot of the game, and Louisville had picked up their fifth conference win in a thriller. 

Fred Durst is today's Fred. No limp biscutz on this Cardianls squad sunday

THE FRED REPORT

Free Throws -- The Cards were 8-12 from the charity stripe...Jayda Curry going 3-3. That's 66.7% and not quite at our letter-mandate of 70% so...NO LETTER

Rebounds -- Louisville won the battle of the boards 31-24 and guard Ja'Leah Williams led the way with seven. Four were on the offensive boards. That's good for a CAPITAL "R".

Effort/Execution - The Cards led in points off turnovers, points in the paint, shooting percentage and second chance points. They took the fight to the visitors all game long and didn't wilt when the pressure was applied in the final minutes, It's worth a CAPITAL "E". 

Defense-  Holding Tech to 60 was quite the accomplishment and Louisville tied Tech with steals (7) and forced GT into 16 turnovers. 50% shooting for Ga. Tech was a bit head-scratching, but when you shoot 53%, it's another 'win". Defense was huge in producing this win and I'll award a CAPITAL "D". 

FINAL FRED TALLY:   _-R-E-D

So, we saw a Louisville squad that has played increasingly better in the last month and a half get a tier one win over a foe that started the season 15-0. Williams and Roberts continue to do great things as freshmen for Louisville...and they'll see any more tough tests as this season progresses...but, this win should do wonders for the team's morale and spirits. six wins in a row now, and this heat check continues Thursday when Syracuse comes to town. 

GUESS WHO CAME BACK FOR  VISIT? KASA ROBINSON!!

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

POST GAME ROBERTS AND HARRIS

POST GAME WALZ

paulie

WBB steals a victory vs Georgia Tech 61-53 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Hello readers and hello 2023 !

(Josie and Kasa celebrate Daryl getting a few days off)

I enjoyed my time off from work to close out the end of December... it was a much needed break from work and a schedule.   I got to hang out with my friends, family and cat as well as do some home improvement projects with the help of some holiday gifts.    I hope you also had the opportunity to slow down and enjoy your favorite things.  

BASKETBALL

Paulie's buddies -- Valerie and Gia -- brighten up any sidelines)

Louisville WBB got back to their winning ways when they hosted Georgia Tech Thursday evening. The Cards were lead by Hailey Van Lith with 24 points on 10-20 shooting with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  The starters for the Cards were Chrislyn Carr, HVL, Morgan Jones, Liz Dixon and Olivia Cochran.

The Yellow Jackets were winless in the ACC heading into this one and looking to find a meaningful win against the Cards. UofL looking to turn things around as well, coming off a loss on Sunday vs Duke. The Cards came out victorious while GT gave them all they could handle. If it weren't for a 16-8 second quarter the entire Yum Center wouldn't have had any fingernails left.

Check out the recap below..

Coach Walz seeks clarity on a officiating decision)

End of 1Q 16 All
FG %
8-12 66.7% Cards
6-15 40% GT
Reb. 8-5 GT
3-pt %
0-1 0% Cards
2-6 33.3% GT

GT came out with some energy even though they did not put their two leading scorers, Cameron Swartz and Bianca Jackson in the starting lineup. With the Cards up 10-9 on GT at the first media time out, HVL lead all scorers with 6 points from her 3 shot attempts. However, the Yellow Jackets showed no fear of UofL as they dominated the boards before Nyla Harris entered the game with a couple minutes left in the 1Q. She had 3 of the Cards 5 total in her 3 minutes on the floor.

(Coach Walz offers a counterpoint)

End of 2Q 16-8 Cards

FG %
6-15 40% Cards
3-13 23.1% GT
Reb. 10-7 Cards
3-pt %
0-2 0% Cards
1-5 20% GT

(Is Archery a spring sport at UofL and will Josie
try out, if it is?) 

Like the first quarter began, UofL came out quick 6-0 on GT before the Yellow Jackets could score with 6:29 left in the half.  A 3 from Swartz would pull the Yellow Jackets within 22-21. A Liz Dixon block and then a lucky up and in in-between two defenders under the basket would give the Cards some breathing room at the media timeout with 3:28 on the clock. The Cards came out of the timeout on a 10-0 run. GT managed 3 more points in the half as Carr took the last shot attempt in the half looking to sink her first bucket of the game. The ball pulled itself out of the hoop and deflated the crowd but the Cards weny into the break with a 32-24 lead over the Jackets.

HALF 32-24


End of 3Q 16-14 GT

FG %
5-14 35.7% Cards
6-12 50% GT
Reb. 9-6 GT
3-pt %
1-2 50% Cards

(Morgan takes the shot in front of what appears
to be a Volleyball net)

Morgan Jones exited within a minute of the second half starting, perhaps turned an ankle or got a foot stepped on... not sure... but she was able to jog off the court herself.  The first three of the game for the Cards and points for Carr came with 8 min left in the 3Q to put the Cards up 35-28. GT closed the quarter on 6-0 run to close the final 2 minutes of the quarter and make it 40-46 Cards.

End of 4Q

FG %
6-15 40% Cards
5-11 45.5% GT
Reb. 10-5 Cards
3-pt %
0-2 0% Cards
1-1 100% GT

(Olivia goes in for two)

Jones came back in for the 4Q to try to give the Cards some more options on offense. Which was the case as HVL dished it to Jones in the paint for the layup. Olivia took a hard foul and exited the game to get looked at on the sideline. She got on the bike and gave a thumbs up to the bench. HVL scored her 19th and 20th points to tie it up 9-9 in the quarter with 3 minutes to go and UofL up 55-49. Who else other than Swartz gets a bucket and Olivia fouls to give GT a chance to inch closer from the free throw line. They sink both to make it 57-53 before Mykasa Robinson gets the offensive rebound and the putback to make it 59-53 with 1:12 left in the game. A hard foul on Robinson put her at the line with 23 seconds to go. She sank both giving UofL a 61-53 lead.



FRED REPORT

(It looked like the Cards could have used
Freddy Farm Bureau on the glass for most of this one)

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 12-15 at the line - good for 80% - which is an efficient night at the stripe. HVL and Olivia combined for 10-12 and Robinson hit her two FTs at the end of the game to put the team in a position to win. CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cards struggled on the boards early, GT dominating 8-3 at one point in the 1Q but UofL ended up winning that battle 31-29. I would still like to see the bigs get a couple more grabs. lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  UofL shot 45% from the field as a team but struggled behind the arc making only 1-7 attempts on the night.   HVL mentioned in the post game how hard the Yellow Jackets were defending the guards so the Cards found other ways to score with 30 of their total points coming in the paint.  Only 12 points came from the Cards bench.. Kasa struggled to get her few attempts to fall.  At times, the team looked lost on offense on who to go to as they went deep into the shot clock and chucked a couple of off-balanced and ill-planned shot attempts up.  lower case e 

DEFENSE --  GT committed 16 turnovers which the Cards were able to convert into a much needed 19 points.   The team was able to shut down the Yellow Jacket offense before the halftime break which ended up being the difference maker in the game.  The team had 4 blocks and 9 steals, with Coach Walz and Kasa admitting there were more opportunities for the team to take advantage.  lower case d 

Final FRED tally:  F_r_e_d 

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON -- Including this
great shot of Liz going to the hoop,)

UP NEXT

Louisville vs Pittsburgh 

Sunday 1/8 2 p.m.

KFC Yum! Center 
ACCN

(Hailey tells the ACC Network all about it)

THEY SAID IT

POST GAME WALZ

POST GAME VAN LITH AND ROBINSON

Enjoy your weekend! 

As always 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

 

Louisville 50-48 over Georgia Tech -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS ESCAPE IN ATLANTA 

Emily Engstler banked in a layup with 3.3 seconds left and Louisville Women's basketball pulled out a 50-48 win in Atlanta over Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon at the McCamish Pavilion.

If you are a fan of up and down the court, fast break, high scoring basketball, this wasn't the game for you. Defense dominated for 40 minutes in this one, The Cards shot 35.6% for the game, the YellowJackets performed even worse at 32.6% in a game where there were a combined 39 turnovers between the two squads, GT committing 22 of them. 

Louisville started cold from the floor, missing their first eight shots , before Chelsie Hall connected on a jumper with 3:39 left in the first quarter to make the score 6-2.Georgia Tech. A Hall free throw concluded the Cards scoring for the quarter -- but Tech wasn't exactly burning up the nets either, going 3-11 in the first ten minutes, Two Lotta Maj-Lahtinen free throws with a second left in the quarter gave the home squad an 11-3 lead after ten minutes. This was far from pretty, precise or point-producing basketball -- eight first quarter turnovers by Tech were about the only thing keeping the Cards around. One wouldn't have blamed Jeff Walz if he demanded a ladder and tape measure after the first quarter, just to make sure the rims were set at regulation height. 

A three-pointer by Lorela Cubaj a minute into the second quarter put the Cards down by 11. It was the Yellow Jackets fourth bucket of the contest -- all of them three pointers -- and it wasn't until Payton Verhurst connected on a layup with 6:46 left in the half that the Cards gathered their second basket of the game. That seemed to spark the dormant Cards, though. A Engstler three, another Verhulst bucket and Hall steal and layup over the next two minutes had the Cards within three at 15-12 with 4:47 to go in the first half. Tech had seen enough, though...and buckets from Cubaj and Hermosa over the next minute pushed the GT lead to seven at 19-12. Tech would score just a lone free throw over the final three minutes -- the Cards using a 8-1 run, with two buckets from Cochran, a Van Lith free throw and spectacular three from Ahlana Smith with three seconds left in the half to gain a 20-20 tie. 

Louisville managed just seven points in the third quarter. A three by Engstler 26 seconds in gave the Cards their first lead of the game at 23-20, but 2-9 shooting the remainder of the quarter plagued the Cards. 

An interesting development occurred with 5:02 left in the quarter. Mykasa Robinson got her face rearranged on a high Cubaj elbow and Jeff Walz loudly took exception with ref Karen Preato (and rightly so) for a review of the action for a possible intentional foul. Preato, in turn, first calls a technical on Walz, and then decides that maybe the crew should take a look. No intentional was called, though, and GT hit one of the ensuing two free throws. It was a quarter where UofL was whistled for nine fouls, and Georgia Tech just one. Fortunately for the Cards, the YellowJackets could hit only 5 of the 10 free throws they were awarded in the quarter....otherwise their 32-27 lead at the end of third third might have been higher. 

The fourth quarter was a virtual scoring frenzy, based on what had happened earlier. Both teams had their highest outputs of the game in the fourth in points -- Louisville 23 and GT 16. .A Kianna Smith three to start the fourth cut the Tech advantage to two. two Van Lith free throws a minute later tied the ball game up. Tech regained the lead, though, and that's how the contest went for the next six minutes, Tech's lead varying between 1-4 points. Cubaj nailed a jumper to give GT a five-point edge at the 2:58 mark at 47-42.. 

And then, the Cards came back. An Engstler steal and layup cut the lead to three. Two Cochran free throws with 1:05 remaining made it a 47-46 Tech lead. Cubaj countered with a free throw to set the lead at two, but a Van Lith jumper off an Engstler pass tied things up at 48 with 35 seconds left. Lahtinen whiffed on a three eleven seconds later and the Cards grabbed the rebound and got a timeout with 14 seconds to play. Would Walz come up with a game winning play? Van Lith's ensuing inbounds pass eventually resulted with the ball in Engstler's hands, she "fake fed" the crossing Van Lith and Hall and confidently drove the right hand side of the paint by Cubaj...released... and her shot dropped in.

50-48. 3.3 remained on the clock. It was Louisville's second lead of the game and it couldn't have come at a better time. 

Tech had one more chance, but no time outs. Lahtinen's desperation shot from sidelines mid court was well-guarded and well oft the mark. Louisville had prevailed in Atlanta.   

THE FRED REPORT

A roller-coaster ride today in Atlanta for the Cards

FREE THROWS --  The Cards went 7 of 16 from the charity stripe. Only three Cards attempted "free ones", Cochran went 3-8, Van Lith 3-6 and Hall 1-2. 43.8% won't earn a letter here. 

REBOUNDS -- Louisville won the rebounding battle against the taller Tech squad 36-34. Cochran was huge in her effort, with 13 in her 34 minutes and Kianna Smith added six. You win the rebounding battle, you get a CAPITAL "R" in my book. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Engstler led the way with 14 points in just 22 minutes, the turnovers (17) weren't awe-inspiring, and the 36% shooting was salvaged by 62% in the fourth quarter. You have to admire a squad that comes back to win after leading only 1:18 of the 40 minutes. Louisville's last three minutes of execution to get the win dictates I award the small case "e" here. 

DEFENSE -- Despite Cubaj being a one-women wrecking crew on the Cards, Louisville didn't do that bad a job defensively. They held GT to 32% from the floor. They had 10 blocked shots and six steals. They forced 22 turnovers. Tech had 0 fast break points. Defense kept Louisville in this one and I'll award a CAPITAL "D" for the effort. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  -_R-e-D

 

Sometimes, you win ugly. This was a battle between two teams that could very well be in the Sweet Sixteen at the end of the year. It's hard to say that Georgia Tech actually lost this game, let's just say Louisville was better this Sunday. And, thank goodness, the Cards only face them once in the regular season. Championship teams find a way to win, someway, somehow -- and that's what Louisville did. Never say die, never stop until the clock shows 00:00 and holding the Yellow Jackets to one basket and one free throw in the final 4:22 of the game was the deciding factor. 

Besides Engstler's 14 points, three Cards finished with seven each -- Cochran, Hall and Van Lith.  Kianna Smith totaled six points, Verhulst added four, Ahlana Smith produced three points. Kasa Robinson finished with two. Dixon and Konno played but did not score 

Imagine this Cardinals squad without Emily Engstler this year. Built tough, plays tough and doesn't understand the phrases "back down" or "coasting''. Somewhere, Sam Fuehring is smiling and nodding slowly in approval. 

Lessons to be learned from this one, sure, and the Cards have to find a way to eliminate these ice cold starts...but road wins on the ACC should be worth more than just one in the won/loss column.  

And...a warning to the rest of the league. These Atlanta Yellow Jackets are more than capable of stinging you. The Cards avoided the stinger today, but nearly saw that top three ranking go up in smoke. I can't honestly say if only seven GT players dressed for the game made that big a deal or not. All five starters were dressed and Tech usually goes with a rotation of seven in close games. 

A Cards win that was in doubt until the end, but the conference standings don't care if you win by two or twenty-two. A "W" is a "W".  

paulie

Gameday in Atlanta - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 WBB vs 16th Ranked Georgia Tech

As Case's "Year of New", apparently we're trying some new formatting options here on Cardinal Couple, notably center justification*, so let's do this new thing.

The hoop squad is in Atlanta getting ready to take on the Yellowjackets of Georgia Tech.  Nell Fortner is in her third season as head coach.  She has assembled a high powered staff of women with Tasha Butts as Associate Head Coach; Blanche Alverson and Murial Page as Assistants; Mickie DeMoss, who has helmed the Florida and Kentucky teams during her career, as Chief of Staff; Louisville alum, and Cardinal Couple favorite Cortnee Walton doing recruiting operations; and more.

(* OK, nope, I can't do the center justification thing for a whole article.)

The Yellowjackets are 10-2 on the season so far with a win against Wake Forest in their only conference game thus far.  A second conference game, scheduled against Pitt on Thursday, was postponed due to Covid issues in the Pitt squad.  Their losses aren't terrible, falling by eight points to Auburn and by only a single point to Purdue.  Both games were low scoring affairs with scores in the 50s.

Not many signature wins for GT in the season at this point, though I'm sure they're happy with the rivalry win over Georgia.  Oh yeah, and the 13 point margin over UConn is sure to get a lot of attention.

The Techsters, much like UofL so far this season, have shown off on the defensive side of the ball.  They've forced almost 20 more turnovers from their opponents and have chalked up more than 10 more steals than their opponents so far in the season.  They get about four rebounds for every three their opponents get.

On offense, things get a bit fuzzier for GT.  Only one player has a free throw average that would earn them an "F" in the Fred report, Lotta-Maj Lahtinen (5'9" senior), who's 20-28.  Loyal McQueen is listed on the season stats as hitting two for two, but she transferred in mid-December to Alabama.

Top scorers overall on the squad are Eylia Love (6'1" sophomore) and Nerea Hermosa (6'5" junior).  Neither are particular threats from beyond the arc, though when Love takes them, she hits them at a 52.6% clip.  Hermosa hasn't even attempted a three this season at all.

From range, watch out for Lahtinen, Digna Strautmane (6'2" super senior), and Lorela Cubaj (6'4" super senior).  Avyonce Carter (5'10" sophomore) is also a three point threat coming off the bench.  Lahtinen and Cubaj are the main distributors with 46 and 58 assists respectively.

With both teams being primarily driven by defense, look for a scrappy messy game.  Look for transition offense resulting from aggressive defensive plays, and a well coached game between two high quality coaches.

McCamish Pavilion is the location for this game, with a noon start on ACC Network, so you can find it on ESPN's streaming, or on linear TV.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The CCRHP is still on winter/holiday hiatus, but should be back next week, where we'll try to catch up on all the Basketball action of the previous three weeks and preview a bit of the Miami and Syracuse games.

We hope to start the new year off with a bang, and hope you'll join us.

Happy New Year! -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

It has been one heck of a week, so you might notice this post is out quite late. After the last few days, we hit the hay around 10:30PM, not bothering to watch the ball drop, and I caught up on a lot of sleep to start my 2022.

I'm not much of a resolutions guy, having recently taken up the idea of yearly themes instead. Resolutions are very unforgiving and can put you in quite a poor headspace if you aren't able to stick to a new habit or hit an arbitrary goal you created, at least that's the case for me anyway. Themes give you the flexibility to model your year how you see fit and change targets as necessary if the situation demands it. 

My theme this year is the "Year of New", and I'm trying to freshen up a lot of aspects of my work and personal life. I'll be taking a look at my routines, habits, hobbies, physical spaces, and more to try to make the most out of 2022. It feels like the right time for that theme given what has been a bit of a slog over the last two years. 

As the sun sets on 2021, UofL and the athletic program will be going through their own Year of New as well, but theirs is due to a different set of circumstances. Hopefully as fans of the Cards, the new we see can be a new National Champion or two. 

Louisville women's basketball's quest for a national championship continues tomorrow when the two Louisville teams play a double-header against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Jeff will have more in his preview article tomorrow. As Daryl mentioned yesterday, we'll be back with the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast next week!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Louisville WBB excels on Senior Night vs Georgia Tech -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS 85 - GEORGIA TECH 70

Happy Holiday Weekend Louisville fans! It's the 'I Love Dana Evans' edition of Cardinal Couple 

Lucy Walz took to the stage for the National anthem in the pre-game ceremonies for Thursday night's matchup with Georgia Tech... Coach Walz said she wanted to do it for Dana on Senior Night... As a freshman, Dana was heading to the Final Four with these two in tow (See pic below).  I'd say that both parties are very attached to the other, so the sweetness surrounded by Lucy wanting to sing the anthem for Dana's special night just fills me with so much joy I could burst. 

Daryl with "Lucy and Lola

RECAP: Louisville WBB vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 

It was Senior Night for the lone upperclassman, Dana Evans.  She added another headline to her Player of the Year campaign with 25 points on 8-19 shooting from the field, 4 rebounds and 7 assists on the night.  Kianna Smith followed her lead with 21 points of her own on 9-13 shooting, 3-6 from three with 3 rebounds and 5 assists.  The Cards scored 44 points in the paint and Elizabeth Balogun and Cochran came off the bench for 10-17 shooting for 9 and 13 points respectively. 

It was a tight race in the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets holding the advantage most of the way through the first ten minutes.  GT Guard Loyal McQueen finding the back of the net from deep going 3-3 with three assists.  Liz Dixon led the Cards with 6 points going 4-4 at the FT line and grabbing 4 rebounds. 

End of 1Q 20-19 GT 

FG %
7-16 43.8% Cards
7-16 43.8% GT
Reb.  10-9 GT 
3-pt %
1-3 33.3% Cards
3-4 75% GT

Dana Evans said she let the pre-game ceremony emotions wear off and started to warm up for the Cardinal offense in the second quarter.  She lead Louisville in the quarter in points and beat GT herself with nine points on 4-6 shooting in about a 3:30 minute span compared to the Yellow Jacket's eight points total for the quarter. The Cards closed the quarter on a 6-0 run 

End of 2Q 17-8 Cards 

FG %
7-15 46.7% Cards
4-17 23.5% GT
Reb. 11-10 Cards
3-pt %
2-6 33.3% Cards
0-3 0% GT

HALF 36-28 Cards

Kianna Smith had four points at the halftime break but she turned up the heat coming out of the break scoring 13 in the third quarter to lead all scorers. Kianna's 13 points were the first 13 points for the Cards in the third quarter.  Smith was 5-6, 3-4 from 3 with 2 assists and a rebound. She kept the Cards in it or it would've been close -- as the Louisville defense gave up 23 Georgia Tech points, five of them at the free throw line.  

End of 3Q 24-23 Cards 
FG %

10-18 55.6% Cards
8-15 53.3% GT
Reb. 8-7 GT
3-pt %
3-5 60% Cards
2-3 66.7% GT

SCORE 60-51 Cards

After the halftime break, GT was never able to pull it within less than 9 point lead for the Cards.  Lead by Dana's perfect 8-8 performance at the FT line in the 4th quarter and Olivia's seven points and three rebounds, the team won the quarter 25-19.  The Cards did commit eight fouls, though, including a technical foul that was handed out to each team with just 5 or so minutes left in the game. I'm sure a curse word warranted the judgement from the ref for it.  It wasn't anything to write home about as this game just kind of came and went.  The Cards are on a 3 game win streak as they hit the road for the final four game stretch of the regular season (fingers crossed).

Dana kisses the Cardinal Bird at the end
of the game, a long-standing Cards WBB
tradition for seniors. 

End of 4Q 25-19 Cards
FG %
8-16 50% Cards
6-12 50% GT
Reb. 10-6 Cards 
3-pt %
0-0 0% Cards
1-3 33.3% GT

FINAL 85-70 Cards

With the win, Louisville goes to 19-1 on the season and 12-1 in the ACC. Georgia Tech falls to 11-5 and 9-4 in ACC games. The win streak goes to three now and the Cards are 8-0 liffetime against Georgia Tech. 

 

FRED REPORT 

The late, legendary Fred Wiche
would have approved -- Flowers for Dana! 

F-Free Throws The Cards managed to go a solid 15-16 at FT line on the night good for 93.8%. Dana was 8-8 all in the 4th quarter, Liz Dixon 5-5 on the night and the team was 10-10 in second half.  It was a good night for the squad, in fact, it was the difference maker in this matchup and more than the required 70% for a CAPITAL F

R-Rebounding 37-34 Cards with the advantage in the game. 20-20 for both squads in the first half, 17-14 Cards advantage in the second half.  With the towering size of Dixon and Cochran, as well as the ability of HVL and Mykasa Robinson to snatch to boards for the Cards, its ideal that this squad average several more of these and take away the opportunities for the opponents.  Ill give this performance a lower case "r" for the advantage 

E-Effort/Efficiency 17 assists on 32 baskets, the Cards scored 25 more points than Georgia Tech was averaging allowing coming into the matchup. As a team, they shot almost 50% from the field for the evening and made sure Dana left the Yum! Center with a win.  It was a fiery effort on an icy evening in downtown Louisville. CAPITAL E 

D- Defense Georgia Tech didn't have a bad night from the floor.  They missed 7 of their 21 attempted free throws and turned it over 14 times which gave the Cards 13 extra points.  The Yellow Jackets matched their averaged coming into this one with 70 total points scored, 18 assists on 25 made buckets.  It was a Cards advantage in steals 7-4 and in blocked shots 4-1. GT found a good amount of quality scoring opportunities. Ill give the defense a lower case "d" 

FINAL Fred Report: F-r-E-d 

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

-- Coach Walz said he 'wishes there could've been 20,000 fans in the stands for Dana's Senior Night.' 

-- Kianna Smith on Dana.. 'She's the only senior... she's our leader and the only one who's been in a Final Four and in big games and she challenges me to be better.'

-- Check out the website the athletic department put together for Dana's Player of the Year Campaign.  You're gonna wanna see these videos and graphics... they're spectacular.  I even made it into Chapter 2 when they put a clip of my interview with Dana following the loss to Mississippi State in the Final Four in Columbus her freshman year.  Seeing that clip made make the cut made my week!

 

http://danaevans1.com/

CARDINAL SOFTBALL SWITCHES DIRECTION

UOFL Softball - Oh boy, don't look now but the first 'Cancelled' has found itself into the softball schedule already.. this time, weather to blame for the change of plans.  The Cards will be heading to #8 Alabama instead of Columbia SC for some SEC action this weekend to kick off the 2021 campaign. 

Next Games: 

Sunday 2/14 

WBB at 1pm vs Syracuse 

SBALL at 1pm vs Alabama

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

(Dana auditioning for the Cardinal Couple
Radio Hour Podcast? No, probably not..) 

We will be back on the radio Saturday morning with a smaller crew for another episode of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast.  Jared and Paulie will be freezing at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium for a (for now) 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning Lax match against Florida. 

Yep, they're crazy.

Tune in with me, Case and Jeff (as far as I know) at 11 a.m. Saturday to talk about the Cards. 

(GAME PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

WBB Travels to GT -- Naismith Watch List -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Travels to Georgia Tech

Louisville women's basketball holds first place in the ACC and they look to stay that way in Atlanta tonight when they face Georgia Tech.  It's an early tip-off with a 6:00 p.m., start time, and will be aired on Fox Sports South.

Georgia Tech comes into the game with a 17-9 record.  Their conference record is a bit over .500 at 8-7.  They have won three of their last four games but had a five game skid before that.  Three of their recent losses were overtime losses, so, theoretically, a 11-4 ACC mark was within their reach.

The Yellow Jackets are in no hurry during games and happily take their time, which is part of the reason the rank near the bottom of the ACC in scoring at 62.8 points per game.  Their defense, however, ranks fourth in the country and top in the ACC at 51.8 points allowed per game.

We doubt they allow the "Ramblin' Wreck"
inside the McCamish Pavilion

First year head coach Nell Fortner has done a good job in coming in and reformulating the Yellow
Jackets, who lost two key players from 2018-19 when Elizabeth Balogun and Liz Dixon left the program via the transfer portal for Louisville. Both are sophomores, Balogun the ACC Freshman of the Year last season and Dixon namedd to the ACC All-Freshman squad.

The few points Georgia Tech scores is spread pretty even with four players scoring in double-figures.  Francesca Pan leads the way at 12.9 points per game.  Her convoy includes Jasmine Carson (11.1 ppg), Kierra Fletcher (10.1 ppg), and Lorela Cubaj (10.1 ppg).  Lotta-Maj Lahtinen follows close behind at 9.1 points per game.  That leaves less than nine points combined by the rest of the team. Pan has had a few contests were she's gotten off to quick starts, so the Louisville game plan will most likely be structured to knowing where she is and that she's not allowed to get off un-guarded attempts from the floor. 6'5" center Nerea Hermosa had a starting role for much of the season for Fortner but now comes in off the bench and gets about 20 minutes a night and adds 6.1 p.p.g. a contest.

Headed back to where it began for them...

Georgia Tech has averaged a +3.5 turnover margin per game, a mark that is best in the conference.  For reference, Louisville has a +2.3 turnover margin per game.

Seven players see a fair amount of playing time with three others picking up scrap minutes at the end of games or in the event of foul trouble. Forward Anne Diouf, a red-shirt freshman from Senegal, draws the start but is primarily used for rebounding and contributes only 1.4 p.p.g.

The Yellow Jackets are smart with their shot selection, shooting nearly 41% from the field.  Their free throw percentage has not been great, however, with a 66% mark.

Louisville is a perfect 6-0 against Georgia Tech all-time, with all six meetings coming in the ACC.  In the most recent match-up, Louisville rolled past Georgia Tech 61-44 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Walz Named to Naismith Coach of the Year Watch List

In an obvious sign of who his favorite Cardinal Couple member is, Jeff Walz made sure to come visit me first before hanging out with Paulie in the usual midweek presser.  Actually, it was just a fluke that Coach and I ran into each other but it was good to have a normal conversation before wishing him and the team safe travels.

Speaking of Walz, he was named one of 15 finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year watch list.  NC State's Wes Moore is the only other ACC coach on the list.

Walz has guided this year's team to a 23-3 record and a 12-2 conference mark with four games to go.  The Cards also sit at #5 currently and took down then-#1 Oregon in early season.  All of this has come despite losing three seniors to the WNBA Draft last year.

In Case You Missed It: 

Walz's weekly presser was back to it's normal time of 12:30 p.m. yesterday. Coach talked at length about Ga. Tech, but also pontificated on Kasa Robinson (mostly at the behest of "pizza girl") and got into the Astros scandal and Pete Rose.

We also learned that they play with a round, not square, ball in Atlanta and the court dimensions and rim height are exactly the same as they are in the KFC YUM! Center. We also learned he's a fan of tin trash cans and that his S.I.D. needs to stand, not sit, at pressers.

You just never know where Coach will go in his comments. He reacts to asked questions in his own unique style and that famous Walz sarcasm is still alive and prospering.


Here's the link to his presser:  Walz Presser


Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards take sting out of Yellow Jackets 61-44 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DURR, FUEHRING LEAD LOUISVILLE TO 17-POINT WIN

They say the best way to avoid being stung is to avoid the source. Georgia Tech didn't bother the Cards offensively, never let Georgia Tech get close to them, thanks to a strong Cardinal defense, and UofL goes to 15-1 on the season with the 61-44 win Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center. 

Tech managed just 26.2% shooting (17-65) on a cold and cloudy day by the Ohio River and couldn't pester Louisville from the the free throw line either with just nine attempts and six makes. The Cards drove the swarm away early, with an opening 15-2 salvo in the first
4 -1/2 minutes and was never seriously bother the entire game by the 12-5 Jackets. 

That early UofL run featured Asia Durr, who led all scorers with 21 points, 10 of those in the first session of the afternoon, and "#Nite-nite" went 8-16 from the floor -- including three threes in her body of work in the Cards fourth ACC contest of the season. 

Showing her strength and skills, as well for Louisville, was Sam Fuehring. Her 13 points and 14 rebounds gave her a double-double for the afternoon. The feat was the sixth  of her career and first of the season. On an afternoon where Louisville lost the rebounding battle for the second straight time 46-32...almost the same numbers we saw in the Notre Dame game  (48-32), Sam and her sleeveless arm had the most time on the quarter for the Cards (37:20) and 44% of the Cards grabs. 

The future...my girls Duv and Kasa

Arica Carter with another steady performance, 10 points that included two threes and 50% shooting. She also, maybe for the first time in her career, led Louisville in blocks with two.  A strong 14 minutes off the bench for Kylee Shook yesterday as well, getting six of her eight points in the fourth quarter to keep a Georgia Tech team,that had trimmed the lead to 11, at bay. 

The Cards took that 24-14 first quarter lead and turned it into a 36-23 halftime advantage. Jazmine Jones and Dana Evans took their turns at dismantling the Rambling Wreck with five points each in a 12-point quarter for Louisville...the Cards getting eight of those off turnovers. 

Georgia Tech would pare that Cardinal lead down to 44-33 at the end of the third quarter. Freshmen point guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen (from Helsinki, Finland) sparking Buzz's Ballers with four of her eight points in the ten-minute segment. 

Kylee Shook took over the offense for Louisville early in the fourth quarter, though and made the Cards first two baskets to create a 48-33 advantage that had Cardinal fans breathing a bit easier and Louisville actually won a fourth quarter for once, outscoring the Atlanta school 17-11. 

"Gimme that s--t" 

105-point games aren't exactly as exciting as they get. But, a win is a win and Louisville's defense was a thing of beauty. Coach Walz will tell you he wants his team to get up shots but it was the Techsters who held the 65-53 shot attempt edge. Fortunately, the Cards led in "makes" (23-17) and that's the stat that makes the biggest difference. 

The Ramblin' Wreck never could get started against UofL WBB yesterday. Call AAA. 


THE FRED REPORT

The late, great Fred Wiche would have
approved of this elimination of a
pollinator. 

F- Free Throws. Louisville didn't take many (10) but converted eight of those. Just three players had the privilege of toeing the line (Fuehring 4-4, Shook  2-2 and Durr 2-4). We universally accept 80% as capital letter material here at Cardinal Couple...we bestow the capital "F" for the job done.  

R - Rebounding. Besides Sam, the Cards sent in a few absentee ballots on the boards Sunday afternoon. Jaz had the misfortune of being in the wrong place all night with zero grabs in 21 minutes. The offensive grabs were particularly embarrassing for UofL, Tech taking that stat 21-4. No letter awarded

E - Effort/Execution. Points off turnovers was a bright spot, 23-24 in favor of the Ville. Fast break points solidly in the Cardinal camp at 10-0. Nineteen assists on 23 made hoops shows a bit of team unity and effectiveness as well. Unfortunately, the hustle involved in getting second chance points wasn't present...GT taking that category 15-2. I'll offer the lower case "e" here. IT was a win, UofL didn't stink the place up and the hustle was there

D- Defense. The Cards came out hawkish, hungry and harassed the Tech squad into 21 turnovers. Credit the Cards for six steals, too. Holding an opponent to 26.2% shooting can mean two things...an excellent defensive presence or an opponent that isn't very good at shooting. Besides three-time freshman of the week Elizabeth Balogun's 13 points,t here weren't many offensive threats in yellow and white uniforms. Hand out the capital "D". 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-_-e-D

SOOOO...

On a day where there was one surprising result in ACC play (Clemson taking down #22 Florida State 57-45) the Cards did what was expected and what they needed to do with the win over Georgia Tech. You need to pile up the wins in the ACC when you're expected to, even if they aren't exactly masterpieces, and the Cards added another one to their resume. 

Virginia comes in Thursday night, sufficiently humbled by still-undefeated NC State 66-38 yesterday. The Cards feature the Jeff Walz bobble-head as a promo, so get there early to grab yours...even though we got several reports that fans were getting "bobble-heads" yesterday afternoon.

On "spirit" and Speed School Day, yesterday....Louisville exhibited plenty of "get up and go" early on Sunday afternoon and constructed a needed and earned win over "a hell of an engineer" school. 

"I've got spirit, how about you, Tom?" 

The defense rests. They deserve that rest, after a strong performance on National Rubber Ducky Day...the Cards put the squeeze on Georgia Tech. 

Links for Walz's, Asia's and Sam's post game presser below. 


LINK: WALZ POST-GAME GEORGIA TECH

LINK: ASIA AND SAM POST-GAME GEORGIA TECH

(Photos by Jared Anderson, except for Fred. Check out his other photography work at https://www.instagram.com/jdaphotography1994/  or www.jdaphotos.com ) 


paulie
xxxxx