Two WBB Cards Named To Pre-season All-ACC Team -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ROBERTS & ZIEGLER GARNER PRE-SEASON HONORS

(PHOTO FROM GO.CARDS)

You know basketball season is getting close when the preseason teams and awards start to get posted and we have good news today about two of the student-athletes on Jeff Walz's 2025-26 Louisville WBB squad. 

Since yesterday was National Dessert Day, what could be a sweeter treat than having Tajianna Roberts and Laura Ziegler named to the 2025 All-ACC pre-season team? 

Hannah Hildago

They join top vote-getter Hannah Hildago (Notre Dame), Nunu Agara (Stanford), Zoe Brooks (North Carolina State), Kymora Johnson (Virginia), Toby Fournier (Duke), Ashlon Jackson (Duke), Khamil Pierre (NC State) and Reniya Kelly (UNC) on the ACC first team.

One bit of news that isn't exactly frosting on the cake or Creme Brulee is the news that the government shutdown might affect the Cards planned trip to Germany to face UConn on a Air Force base. 

Jeff Walz: "Our first game, as you know, is on our Air force base... if we (the  government) open back up. We're closed right now -- our country"

Taj Roberts on the potential trip: "I'm really looking forward to going. I think Walz really makes a point to help us  enjoy life as a whole....and understand that after basketball, there is going to be life. We got to go to Paris. It was really fun. Now, Germany. I'm sure we'll do a lot of cool things out there and be able to play at the highest level. UConn, they won the National Championship last year..so we are coming out with a bang and I am really excited for it.' 

Other options include moving the game to either the KFC YUM! Center or even a UConn site. 

In the pre-season team rankings...Duke has gathered the most votes...with 40 of the 70 possible. Following them, in order, are NC State (25), North Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame, Stanford, Virginia, Miami, FSU, Virginia Tech, Clemson, California, Syracuse, SMU, Georgia Tech, Pitt. Boston College and Wake Forest.

Being picked fourth overall in such a strong conference is encouraging, especially with such a young team and transfer-laden squad. 

We will keep you up on all the latest UofL WBB news here at Cardinal Couple.

paulie 

Cards WBB falls to Notre Dame 89-71 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Irish's strong second half sinks Cards. 

For 20 minutes Sunday afternoon, the Louisville women's basketball squad looked perfectly capable of defeating Notre Dame. Even though the Irish's Hannah Hildago was doing everything but driving the Irish team bus to Dizzy Whiz to go get burgers and a shake, Louisville was only one point behind the Irish at 39-38 at the half...and UofL had led for three minutes in the second quarter. 

Then, they played the second half.

Whatever ND head coach Ivey said to her squad during the halftime break needs to be bottled and sold to college basketball. The Irish outscored the Cards by ten in the third quarter and led by 23 with 3:40 left in the game before settling for the 18-point win.

It was 45-44 UND with four minutes gone in the third quarter. Notre Dame then proceeded to go on a 15-6 run over the next five minutes...take 60-50 lead... and the nearly 12,000 in the YUM (except for the Irish fans) had gotten deathly silent. Hidalgo had 12 points in the quarter and the Cards were on the short end of a 65-54 score. 

the Irish would continue the out-scoring of the Cards, despite 10 second half turnovers, and coast to a 50-33 second half edge and 89-71 win. 

70 points scored usually is good enough for the Cards to win a game, especially in the KFC YUM! Center..but the #3 Irish weren't seeing it. Thank goodness the visitors were only 6-20 from three point range...they could have stuck triple digits on the Cards. 

Hildago was the story, with her 34 points...I now believe all the hype about her being the best player in college basketball right now...she and her teammates shot 55% against the Cards.

 The Louisville defense chose a bad time to take an afternoon off. 

 

So, the Cards go to 15-7 on the season and 9-3 in the ACC. Notre Dame improves to 19-2 and is undefeated in ACC played at 10-0. What had promise at the start of the game turned into a disappointing drubbing by a team that just may be your impending National Champions...only UCLA and South Carolina are ranked higher...and nether have faced Notre dame yet.  

Taj Roberts finished with 17 for the Cards...she's outplaying the experienced players on the Louisville roster right now.

Freddy Fazbear 

THE FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS -- The Cards went 16-21 from the line, Jayda Curry going 8-10, and the 76.2% is good enough to get them a CAPITAL "F".  

REBOUNDS -- The Cards got their "you know what" handed to them on the boards losing 44-29 to the the taller Irish. Mackenly Randolph had 10 for UofL, in just 23 minutes. NO LETTER

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- 17 turnovers for the Cards, they shot 35.9% fort he game and got another huge effort from Taj Roberts, but Harris and Cochran combined for only 21 points on a night where they needed to double that total. A 46-30 drubbing in the paint scoring told the story, NO LETTER. 

DEFENSE -- 89 points is the highest point total UofL has surrendered this year, and 55% Irish shooting and losing the second half 50-33 to Notre Dame indicate the defensive woes the Cards had . NO LETTER.

FINAL FRED TALLY: F-_-_-_.

The Cards remain home for their next one...California visits for a 8 p,m, tipoff Thursday the 5th. 

Today's photos by Jared Anderson

POST GAME JEFF WALZ

POST GAME NOTRE DAME

paulie