Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Cards find Houston no problem 81-62

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Shoni's 2000th career point highlight of 82-63 win

(Photo by Charlie Springer - UofLCardGame.com)

In what has become a predictable trend, the University of Louisville basketball team struggled with the opponent early in Wednesday night's game, made a late first half run to create some distance and embellished upon that with a run in the second half before allowing the opponent to cut into the lead over the final four minutes.

Houston tonight...but it could have been Temple, SMU, Memphis or several others in the AAC. Houston had a problem tonight and it came in the version of Sara, Shoni and "E". ...in addition to their own cold shooting.

Shoni Schimmel scored the 2000th point of her illustrious career with 18:11 remaining in the second half.

The affable and engaging Howie Lindsey

I set the "over/under" at 18 minutes on when she would reach the total...I took the "under" and LSR/CSR's Howie Lindsey picked the "over" and won the bet. I'm shaving my beard off on St. Patrick's Day. If I had won, Howie was going to challenge Emmonnie Henderson to a 100 yd. dash...

Louisville did lead early...a Sara layup had the Cards up 7-3 with three minutes gone. It stretched out to 13-3 after Sara hit a "plus one" at the 14:33 mark. Houston wasn't going to surrender without a battle, though and used a 12-4 run to make it 17-15 halfway through the half.

The Coogs were still in hot pursuit and had a chance to tie it at 21-21 but Yasmeen Thompson clanged both free throw attempts with 8:05 on the clock. Louisville took off from there...outscoring UH 17-8 the rest of the half. Nita Slaughter contributed five of the points and two Sara jumpers had Louisville leading 38-27 after twenty minutes.

Sara led the Cards with 12 first half points and Shoni added 10. The Cards were a perfect 5-5 from the line and were winning the second chance stat 12-1. Despite 39% shooting and patches of tough to watch three-point shooting (3-13), the Cards looked in control.

And, control was the mission statement of the second half. Louisville steadily added to the lead...a Sara layup gave the Cards a 47-31 advantage four minutes into action. The lead stayed around that mark until UofL pieced together a 11-0 run over a two-minute stretch.

With the score 65-50...beginning at the 6:38 mark on a "E" free throw... an A-Tayy free throw with 4:18 to go made it 76-50 UofL. It was the Cards largest lead of the night. Houston did manage to outscore Louisville 12-5 the rest of the way...Walz using a myriad of combinations on the court...including four minutes for Starr Breedlove.

Sara led Louisville with 17 points, Shoni ended up with 15 and Emmonnie completed the double-figure Cards with 12.

A workable win for Louisville (26-2, 14-1) against the cellar dweller of the conference. This one never in any danger...Shoni the only Card with more than 30 minutes. Walz used every combination available except me in the paint, Worldwide firing threes and Jenny at point.

Houston got a large performance from 6'1" soph. forward Marche' Amerson who led all scorers with 23 points. The Coogs fall to 5-21 and 1-14 in the AAC.

Shoni admitted that she wasn't for sure how many points she needed to reach 2K last night and gave credit to her teammates over the past four years who helped her achieve the goal. Perhaps the most touching post-game comment came from Sara...who said that someday when she becomes a mom and grandmom, she'll be able to tell her kids and their kids that she played with Shoni Schimmel.

Coach Walz's post game comments were mostly directed to her achievement...but declined on ranking her a position in the top five or ten players that he has ever coached....stating that he doesn't rank players in categories like that.

Walz did mention that the team had a lot to work on and he was concerned that they seemed to be making a lot of the same mistakes. Mistakes he and the coaches have worked to correct. He related that he told them they were running out days and games to get better and left it up to them to decide if they were going to come together and achieve what last year's squad achieved.

Coach also commented that a performance like last night's would translate into a loss against Rugters.

That is who is on tap next. The Scarlet Knights come to town Sunday for a pivotal game in determining the AAC standings. Rutgers is on a five game win streak and will be looking for some revenge when they enter the YUM.

Let's hope it's not on the menu...

paulie
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Cougars caged by Cards 93-52

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Shoni's seven threes spur Cards to 41 point win

Give Houston credit. They did stay fairly close to Louisville in the first half of the Tuesday night AAC contest. An 18-16 Louisville lead after 10 minutes gone in the first half. A 7-0 start by the Cougars to begin the game. Houston still hanging around at the half...down by nine at 38-29.

It is a 40 minute game, however...and Louisville outscored the Coogs 55-23 in the final 20 minutes to win going away 93-52.

Jeff Walz still wants 40 minutes of hoops. Digging down. Not giving up second chance opportunities. Needing his team to know what works and go with it.

Louisville used a 13-0 run to erase the early Houston lead. After Houston rallied back on their own 9-3 run to get within two...the Cards put a 12-0 run together and led 30-16 after an Emmonnie Henderson free throw with 5:17 left.

The Coogs still weren't ready to head to Gilley's and ride the mechanical bull. A three cut the lead to 32-27 at the 2:57 mark. It was a 11-2 Houston run in progress. The Cards did finish the half on a 6-2 final spurt to lead by nine at half.

Asia Taylor was finding success inside and registered 10 first half points. Shoni knocked down three threes in the 20 minutes and had 11 points. With "E" and "Bree" adding six each...the Cards had safety in numbers. Even if Sara the Hammer couldn't figure out the flow, catch the ball or hit a shot.

It happens. Good players have rough games. The switch between the 2-3 zone and man-to-man baffled the Cards at times in the first 20 minutes. Halftime is for adjustments. Walz an his staff had a few to make.

Would the Coogs find a way to hang around?

No.

They aren't 4-14 for a reason. The UofL 'boom' was on the way and most of the 1000 fans in the stands may have hoped it wasn't going to happen but probably expected it.

It took the Cards a few minutes to deliver the thunder. 38-29 turned into 43-33 at the 16:41 mark. Two minutes later...Tia Gibbs scampered off on a steal and looked poised to to build the Cards lead to 16.

She forgot the rhythm of layups and it resulted in one of the most embarrassing moments (probably) of her career and a UofL unassisted turnover. It was, fortunately...a comedic opening to a blistering Cards finish.

At the 10:00 mark, a Shoni three set the score at 60-39. 90 seconds later, Hammond connected on her second goal of the game to top off a 23-6 Louisville run to make it 66-39.

It was over and the only query remaining was whether then Louisville final point total would be larger than the number of fans watching in the Hofheinz Pavilion by game end. 

A Shoni three put the Cards ahead 83-44 with 4:35 to go. The teams struggled through a 10-8 Louisville advantage the rest of the way...UH getting a buzzer-beating three by Palmer at the end to make the final 93-52.

For the Cards, Shoni led with 25 points. Asia had 16 and was dominating on the boards and in the paint. "E" added 14 and showed what a weight loss of 25 pounds can reap. Bria ended with 13 points and Nita Slaughter nailed three second half threes for all nine of her game points.

The Cards come home with a 19-1 record, fifth in the nation and ready to host the Memphis Tigers on Sunday. They are playing very exciting basketball and getting wins...despite Coach Walz post-game disgruntlement about "here and there" miscues.

It's his job.

The gaffes in a 30 point lead against a Houston could be devastating and detrimental in a four-point game against a Rutgers or UConn. Walz is coaching toward the end result while dealing with present-time. Scoreless starts in the first three minutes of a game against Memphis or Rutgers probably won't be so easy to recover from. 

No Jude in this one last night. It was announced she'd be a game time decision by Coach Walz. There wasn't a need for her. Shawnta Dyer will have her hip looked at when the Cards get home. She also watched from the sidelines.

Gibbs scored all of her six points in the second half rout. I hope someone got the blown layup/approach attempt recorded for America's Funniest Bloopers.

Hammond finished with four in what had to be a very frustrating night for her. Megan Deines drilled a three for her only points. Cortnee Walton produced three first half points. No 'cash' Monny points...she actually did attempt a three in the game, though. 

THE FINAL WORD

41-point wins against the cellar-dwellers of the AAC...while fun to watch...can still make for some brief nervous moments when the contest is a two-point affair 1/4 of the way through. Was there any doubt Louisville would win tonight? No. It just took Cardinal fans through a few early and nervous moments. We should be used to the sputters and stalls by now. It doesn't mean we should condone them.

Unfinished business. It can have several different connotations.

40 minutes. It's maybe a round-trip journey to work and back for a lot of UofL WBB fans. It's also the destination Walz wants the Cards to arrive at in terms of consistency.

In the final analysis, though...the final fifteen minutes of Cardinal WBB hoops Tuesday night was very fun to watch. Add another 25 minutes of the same effort and Geno just might have something to ponder and worry about in 18 days.

-paulie

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-- Cards put perfect AAC record on the line tonight

 

 

 

The fifth ranked Louisville women’s basketball will face Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The game can also be heard live on the Cards Radio with Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson, carried locally on WKRD 790 AM.

Houston enters Tuesday's game with a 4-13 record and a 0-6 record in the conference play. On Saturday the Cougars fell 48-40 at Memphis. Junior guard Demetria Foreman dropped in a team-high 13 points, while senior forward Destini Texada grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and poured in seven points.

Senior Te'onna Campbell leads the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game. Sophomore Marche' Amerson ranks second on the team in scoring with 9.1 points per game. Foreman rounds out the top scorers with 6.5 points per game. Senior Yasmeen Thompson leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.8 boards per game.

Louisville leads the series 9-3 over Houston. The Cardinals have won four of the last five meetings with the Cougars. The last time the schools faced was in the Duel in the Desert Tournament in Las Vegas....Houston winning 92-80 back on Dec. 19, 2010.

 

For Louisville, it should be a chance to see extended minutes for Cortnee Walton, Emmonnie Henderson, Monny Niamke and Megan Deines. At 18-1 and a 6-0 conference record...Louisville is just one of two teams still undefeated in the AAC.

 

We'll have a full report on the action in the Wednesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE.

 

Standings	Conference	Pct.	PF	PA		Overall	Pct.	PF	PA
UCONN	6-0	1.000	83.0	45.3		19-0	1.000	84.2	47.9
Louisville	6-0	1.000	71.7	56.7		18-1	.947	83.4	59.4
Rutgers	4-2	.667	68.8	63.3		13-4	.765	67.9	57.2
USF	4-2	.667	64.5	55.5		9-8	.529	68.9	59.9
Temple	4-3	.571	61.6	63.4		10-7	.588	65.9	63.4
Memphis	3-3	.500	65.0	66.3		10-8	.556	67.1	66.4
SMU	2-5	.286	61.9	70.0		11-7	.611	70.7	68.4
UCF	1-5	.167	52.7	72.8		8-9	.471	61.7	66.9
Cincinnati	1-5	.167	47.7	61.8		8-9	.471	57.5	59.2
Houston	0-6	.000	48.3	68.2		4-13	.235	56.3	63.5

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Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Catching up with The American WBB Conference

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- THE AAC PRESENTS CHALLENGES FOR UOFL WBB


We got an e-mail the other day at CARDINAL COUPLE asking how Louisville's nine opponents in the AAC were doing this season. I knew immediately about UCONN but found I was not real sure about most of the other WBB squads that the Cards will face. So, a bit of research and...voila!...a report on the teams is below.

UCF   (7-1)

The name around Orlando in women's basketball is Briahanna Jackson. She's had two 30-point efforts this season -- the latest coming in a 84-79 win over Flagler. The sophomore guard has led UCF against a less than challenging pre-conference slate and gets plenty of help from Sara Djassi, Zylira Lewis, Stephanie Taylor and Brittni Montogomery.

Excuse me if I'm not impressed with a five point win over the Saints. No, not the New Orleans version.

CINCINNATI  (4-4)

Hopeful things for Jamelle Elliot as her freshman star Bianca Quisenberry was named AAC Rookie of the Week. And Dayeesha Hollins is playing well with 12.6 a game for the Bearcats. They get a test Sunday when Ohio State comes to town. They did beat Youngstown State in their last...but losses to Northern Kentucky and Fordham aren't anything that you write home about. Unless you play for NKU or Fordham.

UCONN  (10-0)

What we know:  #1 in the country. Better than half the men's teams in Division I.

What you may not know: They're down to six healthy scholarship players currently.
 
What does it mean? Those six are pretty darn good. Brianna Stewart, Bria Hartley, Saniya Chong, Brianna Banks, Stefanie Dolson and Moriah Jefferson are a strong core.

Who they play next? A respite of sorts before they tangle with #2 Duke on Dec. 17th.

Geno vs. Coach Joanne P. Must see TV.


HOUSTON (3-6)

A loss last time out to Alabama in a game where they only managed 44 points. They lost to Washington before that. I have a feeling the word "loss" is going to be a part of most of the Coogs game descriptions this season. They have talent...Yasmeen Thompson (C), Marche Amerson (G) and Te'onna Campbell (F) play stifling defense and are the leading scorers...but they'll probably dwell in the AAC cellar for the season.

Think Seton Hall stats from our previous association with that other league.

MEMPHIS  (4-5)

Freshman guard Breigha Wilder-Cochran was huge in a win over UAB last out with 14 points and AAC Honor roll recognition but their next against Tennessee Tech will probably put another "L" in the Tigers loss column.

Compare this. They beat Wright St. 83-75. Louisville beat Wright State 99-40. The Tigers also have losses to Samford, Ark-Little Rock, Texas A&M (by 10), Syracuse (by 19) and Texas (by 29).

Teams are taking the Tiger by the tail this year and will continue to do so...

RUTGERS  (6-2)

Back in a big way is Betnijah Laney...averaging a double-double for the season (10.7/10.1). They demolished Davidson and pounded Princeton. They'll wear out Wagner in their next
game. It's a cupcake schedule...except for the loss to LSU. The defeat to UMass (2-7) is a head-scratcher.

C. Viv Stringer's squad hasn't scored over 80 points a game yet this season, though. Despite a win over Texas Tech, I'll need to see more offense out of the Scarlet Knights before I can consider them a threat to Louisville or UConn.

But...they still have Precious Person on the roster. Julie Hermann is the AD. That's enough to make me cheer for them all season long...except when they play The 'Ville.


USF  (5-3)

Gone are the Smith sisters. The Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova is out with knee trouble 3 or 4 more games. Courtney Williams is filling in nicely with 15.6 a game, though, and veteran Akita McDonald is still a beast of "board"om.

Jose Fernandez also has a very talented player by the name of Ariadna Pujol from Spain on the roster that'll make an impact this season.

Losses to Clemson and Maryland aren't too surprising. Falling to Florida-Gulf Coast isn't shocking either...but this Bulls squad isn't quite the caliber of previous years.


SMU  (8-2)

Keena Mays is turning heads in the AAC. She's been named the Conference Player of the Week for the second straight week and third time this season. Mays had 34 against UTEP last out in a loss to the Miners. She and Louisville's Shoni Schimmel are battling for the assist lead in the conference. 

The Mustangs return to ballin' on Dec. 21st against North Texas. They'll get tested soon enough...their first two AAC games are road trips to Louisville and Cincy.

They also fell to Tennessee this year. No shame in that.


TEMPLE   (4-2)

A twenty point loss to city-rival St. Joseph surprised me.  Freshman Feyonda Fitzgerald leads them in scoring (14.2) and they travel to Montana Saturday.

The Owls lost to Michigan State by only 4. Four starters average in double scoring figures.

They just might be might dark horse team in the AAC to crack the top four by the end of the season. Like every other women's sport they face Louisville in, though...they'll lose in hoops also to the Cardinals.

Owls. Dark horses. Bill Cosby. And Philly Cheesesteaks.

Go Owls!


paulie
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Lady Cards fall to Marist 74-68

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

Tough way to start the three day event for Louisville, the Cards not hot early...Shoni Schimmel with 26 points in the loss but Louisville unable to close the margin late because of clutch Marist free throw shooting down the stretch.
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Keisha Hines added 11 for Louisville and Monique Reid 10 for Louisville (8-4). The road doesnt get any easier for the Cards Sunday with Houston up next.

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Asia Taylor, pictured here, returned to the court for Louisville and grabbed a couple of rebounds for the Lady Cards in limited playing time. Louisville grabbed 31 overall, one shy of Marist's total.

Schimmel got her 26 points on 10-26 shooting, including 3-10 from long range. She was the only Lady Card to play all forty minutes. Hines nearly had a double double with nine rebounds to go with her 11 points

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The Cards went 23-54 from the field for 42.6%. They were 7-20 from trifecta range...good for 35%.

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Both Hines and Sherrone Vails fouled out for Louisville...the Cards has 25 fouls whistled on them...compared to 17 for Marist.

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Marist goes to 7-2 with the win. Cornelle Varde had 25 for Marist in the win. They led early, 26-13 at one time in the first half. Louisville drew within one in the second half....before a 10-0 Marist run put the Cards away for good.