HINES-ALLEN, DURR AND ZAMBROTTA LEAD LOUISVILLE OVER WKU.
Leading the charge was junior forward Myisha-Hines Allen...who had six of her 16 points in the four minute stretch that saw Louisville erase an eight-point deficit after three periods and go ahead 55-54 with 6:10 left in the contest. Two Asia Durr threes sandwiched a Mariya Moore layup to give UofL some breathing room at 63-59 with 3:33 left in the contest. After a Walton jumper set the score at 65-51, the Cards introduced the latest Walzian Theorum to the crowd in the final 13 seconds.
1 for 2, followed by 2 for 2 is better than 2 for 2. Briahanna Jackson sank a free throw to give the Cards a 66-61 lead. She missed the second attempt but Hines-Allen was there to corral the rebound and got fouled by WKU's Kendall Noble. Hines-Allen sank her two free throws to set the final score. If Jackson hadn't missed hers, Hines-Allen wouldn't have had the chance to complete the theory's presumption. If B.J. had made both, it would have been 67-61 and Western would have needed two three-pointers or three-point plays in 13 second to tie the game.
The 23-9 fourth quarter for Louisville was unlike most of the game. Louisville looked sloppy and unfocused the the first quarter, trailing 10-6 until a couple of freshmen in Kylee Shook and Sydney Zambrotta came in and got the crowd and the team fired up. Shook's jumper drew the Cards to within two. Zambrotta's two threes in the final 1:42 of play cut the Topper's lead to 16-14.
Why Zambrotta so early? Coach Walz mentioned that she had a great week of practice and that he had told her she would get a chance to show if she could continue that with some early playing time. The North Babylon, NY sharp-shooter responded with three more trifectas in the second period...making up half the Cards first half scoring offense...but WKU turned Ivy Brown loose on the Cards and her nine points led the visitors to a 38-32 halftime lead. Louisville was 8-9 from three point range after 20 minutes. Normally, you'd think that would be associated with a 14-20 point lead...but the Cards were not getting the job defensively and already had 10 turnovers in the books.
Whatever Walz said at halftime worked for a few minutes. Cortnee Walton started the second half on a 4-0 run and UofL finished their 10-0 start-of-the-half run with a Hines-Allen jumper to give the home squad a 42-38 advantage halfway through the third. The Toppers refused to yield, however and responded with a 14-2 to finish the quarter...a space of time where Topper sophomore Jaycee Coe did her Sydney Zambrotta imitation and sank three three-point bombs during a stretch where the Cards went 1 for 6 and committed five turnovers. It was 52-44 WKU after 30 minutes and Cardinal fans were feeling slightly nervous in the KFC YUM! Center about Louisville's less-than-Heisman-Award winning-performance.
On an afternoon where cloudy skies and rain threatened, Louisville broke through with a little sunshine late in the afternoon and the ACC Player of the Year turned in a finishing performance that showed why she got the award last season.
HOW DID FRED DO?
 |
| Legendary Louisville sportscaster and my buddy Fred Cowgill. |
-- Rebounding -- Louisville did out-grab the smaller foe by 16 which is an encouraging stat. The starting Louisville front line (Hines-Allen, Moore and Walton) had 28 of the 41, which we like to see and...besides Ivy Brown...who had nine for WKU and had to missed 13 minutes because of a smash to the face and jersey-change...Louisville did a good enough job keeping the foe off the boards and controlling them (especially in the final stanza) to give the capital "R" out
-- Effort/Execution -- Quite honestly...and except for the five-star performance of Zambrotta in the the first half, we thought the Cards looked as flat as a three-day-old-opened soda for most of the first 30 minutes. Still, the Cards rose to the occasion when it mattered and for that, we'll give out a small "e"
-- Defense -- Once again, there were stretches when the Cards played "efense" (No "D") but effectively shut down the foe in crunch time. Maybe the tired legs caught up with WKU in the final ten...we'll still offer a small "d" here
THE FRED TOTAL: -_R-e-d
WHAT WE LIKED
Mr. Walz...may I introduce you to Ms. Zambrotta?
Get outta the way for MHA -- Myisha took over the fourth stanza, with a lot of help from Asia. 3 for 3 shooting, two free throws and seven rebounds say "YES!" to us and if you need a definition of the term "refuse to lose" look no further than the Montclair, NJ junior.
Sealing the deal -- Winning the fourth quarter has been a bit of a tricky procedure for Louisville women's basketball this season but the Cards dominated in the final ten minutes yesterday. If it is "all about the heart", the Cards showed that theirs was beating pretty strongly at the end of Sunday's game.
THINGS TO WORK ON
Consistency -- We don't like beating this horse as much as we have been lately, but this was two separate games yesterday. 30 minutes of playing below the level of their competition and 10 minutes of looking like a top-10 team. 19 turnovers are a few too many against Western.Defense -- We'll plead for about the same thing here. A constant effort. Yes, WKU knew what Louisville was going to try to stop them with, thanks to Michelle Clark-Heard's long association with the program and very few expected Coe's barrage in the third...but you have to recognize the shooters on the court and WKU was getting a lot of easy looks in the paint early on.
SO...
 |
| Always good to see my "lil sis" |
Chalk it up as a "W" and Louisville is 8-2 now. A tip of the cap to the starters for finishing strong and to Syd for creating some memorable moments. Louisville narrowly avoided a train wreck Sunday, though, and that should be something for them to keep in mind when they face a very talented (8-2) South Dakota State squad Wednesday that is looking for a signature win.
SIDE BARS
 |
| Coach may be air surfing here...we're just not sure... |
One of my favorite refs in Dennis DeMayo had the call in the game yesterday, which tickled me..since I thought he was going to retire after last year. Nice to see him out there. I did hold up a cookie for him to see at the end of halftime, like I do with most of the refs...and offered it to him. His response was classic..."I'd rather have a beer." Keep calling them like you see them, "Dub D". I was pretty much ready for one starting the second half myself.
Also in attendance was another great guy in Paul Sanderford. I got to chat with the long-time coach and color commentator legend in the Media Room before the contest and he's still as fun, gracious and entertaining as he's always been.
A great story about a new and "wordy" play-by-play guy he once worked with. Paul couldn't get a word in edgewise in the first half of a game, so when they went to commercial break, he informed the gabby guy...
"i'm going to go take a pee, get a coke a hot dog and enjoy the rest of this one...because it's obvious you don't need me." (Guess who got all the time he wanted in the second half and rest of the season?)
CLASSIC Paul...keeping it real. Keep 'em coming, Coach!
CONVERSATIONS
I probably didn't do as good of a job with the players as I SHOULD HAVE...that's on me...but I was in there pitching with no one in the bullpen to back me up and runners in scoring position. Nice practice for the comedy routine Coach and I are taking to the road after the season ends.
Your post-game links:
LINK: MYISHA HINES-ALLEN AND SYDNEY ZAMBROTTA DISCUSS THE WIN OVER WKU
LINK: JEFF WALZ POSTGAME REMARKS
LINK: POST GAME MICHELLE CLARK HEARD
paulie
xxxxx
