Cards in the WNBA -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Four Cards Currently on Active Rosters

We're a few weeks into the WNBA season and several former Louisville Cardinals are currently active for their respective teams. Here's how these players have fared.

Dana Evans, Chicago Sky

One of the more well-known graduates from Louisville, Evans has played a crucial role for her team. In 11 games played, Evans is averaging 27.8 minutes per game. She's posted strong numbers with 9.9 points per game, 1.5 rebounds per game, 3.9 assists per game, and 1.4 steals per game. The Sky are currently 4-7.

Liz Dixon, Phoenix Mercury

Dixon is another recent graduate from Louisville, having been with the program during the pandemic. So far, she has played a reserve role averaging 12.4 minutes per game. Dixon has contributed so far with 2.5 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 0.8 assists per game. The Mercury are currently 6-6.

Emily Engstler, Washington Mystics

Having played only one season with Louisville, Engstler is the only one on this list that did not play all or most of her career with the Cards. Engstler has moved around the league some and is now on her third team. Washington is slowly easing her into the normal rotation as she has averaged 6.9 minutes per game across seven games. She is averaging 1.9 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per game, and 0.7 assists per game. The Mystics are currently 1-12.

Myisha Hines-Allen, Washington Mystics

A veteran to the WNBA at this point, Hines-Allen has proven to be a reliable contributor during her career with Washington. She is seeing 17.7 minutes per game, right on par with her career. Hines-Allen is averaging 7.3 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game, and 0.7 steals per game.

There are several other former Cardinals who are free agents.

AD (formerly known as Asia Durr)- most recently with the Atlanta Dream.

Jazmine Jones- most recently with the Washington Mystics.

Arica Carter- most recently played overseas, most recent WNBA team is Phoenix Mercury.

Kiki Jefferson- most recently with the Minnesota Lynx.

Kianna Smith- most recently played overseas, most recent WNBA team is Connecticut Sun.

Kylee Shook- most recently with the New York Liberty.

Sam Fuehring- currently playing overseas, most recent WNBA team is Washington Mystics.

With just 12 teams in the WNBA, trying to maintain a career playing in the states is a tall task. With the expansion to 14 teams next season, we hope to see more former Cards playing in the pros. The 2025 expansion teams will be located in Toronto and Golden State (San Francisco).

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards in WNBA -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Five Cards remain on three WNBA rosters as of 5/16/23

update:  The Mystics cut Jaz and Em after this article was written and posted. 

As the WNBA squads get down to their roster sizes (11 or 12, depending on the franchise) we still find five Cardinals WBB players on three different rosters. 

Sadly, the Phoenix Mercury did cut both Liz Dixon and Kylee Shook. I was hoping, as a lot of Cardinal fans were, that one or both would remain on the roster to serve as backups to Brit Griner. But, it looks like the Phoenix squad is going to go with Megan Gustafson, who has four years of league experience, to play that role. Phoenix is down to 12 players on their roster.

The Chicago Sky has Dana Evans on their roster. Evans looks to be one that will make the opening day roster, despite there still being 16 players listed on the roster as of yesterday. Seven guards are still listed for the Sky, but two are rookies and two have just a year's experience. Also, three players haven't been assigned a roster number yet.  Evans was named to the All-Rookie team last year after leading all rookies in free throw percentage and hitting 40% from three point range. Kahleah Copper and Marina Mabrey look to maybe have the "jump" on starting spots, but now that Courtney Vandersloot went to the Liberty via free agency, and Allie Quigley is not playing this season...Dana should see plenty of minutes, we hope. And, she played her high school ball not far from Chicago and could help bring fans in. 

The Atlanta Dream have welcomed  Asia AD Durr home and she looks to be a great fit with the Dream. The Dream do have some quality guards on the roster in addition to AD, like Rhyne Howard, Danielle Robinson and Alisha Gray...but Durr scored in double figures in both Dream pre-season games so far. I love her chances of being a star at Atlanta. After the battles she had with COVID, it's so encouraging to see her back on the court...doing "incred-a-Durr" things. Shoot til your arm falls off, AD. 

That leaves us with the Washington Mystics. 

Jazmine Jones, Myisha Hines-Allen and Emily Engstler are on the roster, and I like all three players' chances of making the squad. The Mystics are down to 13 on their roster...Jones is a capable guard who was claimed off waivers from Indiana, and is one of seven guards on the roster. Engstler also came to Washington from Indiana, where she played 35 games last season I find it pretty incredulous that the Fever let her go, but they do still have Grace Berger on the roster, along with 10 rookies or first year players, so it may be a financial thing. Hines-Allen has been an essential part of the Mystics and works well in the lineup with Elena Della Donne. 

Friday is opening day for the WNBA's 27th season and the teams will play 40 regular season games in 2023. The Mystics play New York on opening night, Minnesota brings in Chicago, the Mercury goes to L.A. and Connecticut goes to Indiana. The other four WNBA squads (Las Vegas, Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas) play their first games on Saturday. 

We wish all our Cards greats a ton of success this season and will watch with interest any news on WNBA expansion. 

paulie

Jaz Jones Signs with Mystics -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jazmine Jones Signs with Washington Mystics

Adversity doesn't hold back current and former Louisville Cardinals. After being a free agent a majority of the current WNBA season, Jazmine Jones has signed with the Washington Mystic.

Jones will join the Mystics for their final two regular season games, a home-and-home with the Indiana Fever, and any postseason games. Washington has already clinched a playoff birth. Indiana is the first team eliminated from playoff contention.

Mystics head coach Mike Thibault mentioned that Jones would play more of an "insurance" role on the roster and her minutes would most likely be sparse. Still, it's a foot in the door for Jaz and a step in the right direction to continue her professional playing career.

Jaz joins her old Louisville teammate Myisha Hines-Allen. MHA has averaged 8.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg this season.

WSOC to Host Cincinnati Tomorrow

Louisville women's soccer is slated to host Cincinnati in an exhibition tomorrow night. This is the first time we'll get to see the 2022 squad in action.

Louisville finished last year 7-7-2 overall and 3-6-1 in the ACC. Cincinnati finished last year 7-7-3 and 2-4-2 in the AAC.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on the UoL campus at Lynn Stadium and admission is free. The clear bag policy is expected to be enforced.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

A WNBA Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FEVER HOLD ON AGAINST SKY...MYSTICS HANDLE SUN

A big day for WNBA action on Father's Day, with four Cardinals alumnae in action in the league. 

Dana Evans with the Chicago Sky visiting Emily Engstler and the Indiana Fever.  Myshia Hines-Allen and the Washington Mystics hosting Jaz Jones and the Connecticut Sun. 

(Just imagine what a double-header like this would draw to the KFC YUM! Center).  

SKY VS FEVER

Dana and her 10-5 Chicago Sky came to Indy to take on a Indiana Fever squad that desperately needed a win. And, after being down by 13 at halftime, the Fever fought back and got  the nail-biting win over the visitors 89-87. Courtney Vandersloot missed a jumper that could have tied it up and the Fever had the "W". Indiana improved their record to 5-13. 

"We had a very intense conversation at halftime, to say the least..." Fever head coach Carlos Knox commented after the game. "I wanted them to understand the game plan and I wanted them to pick up their game the way we had prepared for the game." It was Knox's inaugural game as the Fever head coach, you may know him as having been a superstar at IUPUI on their men's team from 1997-99. 

Emily Engstler saw 19 minutes in this one for the Fever and had five points and nine rebounds.  Dana Evans had six minutes for Chicago and had two points and a rebound. 

MYSTICS VS SUN

The home-standing Washington Mystics roared out to a 29-17 lead on the visiting Connecticut Sun and pushed that to a 16-point half-time edge. Washington was on top 61-41 after three. The Sun were not totally giving up the fight and got back within eight points before losing 71-63 to Myisha and the Mystics. Washington improved to 11-7 on the season, while the Sun went to 12-5.

Myisha saw just six minutes in the contest, grabbing a rebound and scoring a bucket. 

For Connecticut, Jaz Jones contributed a scoreless eight minutes. It's good to see Jaz getting some minutes after being with the Sun for such a short time. 

Turnovers plagued the Sun, while Washington committed just four in the first three quarters  

paulie

 

Jazmine Jones to Connecticut Sun -- Angel McCoughtry Gives Back -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jazmine Jones Signs with Connecticut Sun

As we hinted on our most recent Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, Jazmine Jones did not remain a free agent for long. The Connecticut Sun announced that they have signed the Louisville alum.

Jones spent all four years of her collegiate career with the Cards and only missed the NCAA Tournament her final year when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

Jones was drafted 12th overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty where she played up through the end of last season. She averaged 10.8 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game her rookie season.

Per Sun policy, the details of the contract were not released. It is unclear the role and playing team Jones will have as the season is approximately 1/3 completed.

At 10-4, the Sun currently sit atop the WNBA standings.

Angel McCoughtry Gives Back

Another Louisville women's basketball great has been in the news for good reasons. Angel McCoughtry is giving back to the Louisville community.

McCoughtry has been leading the charge, including offering major financial support, to open up a new basketball court in town. Shively Park will see the official grand opening of the new "Reaching for the Stars" court this Friday at from 11:00-2:30. The event is free and open to the public and McCoughtry has encouraged UofL fans to come out.

If you're free this Friday around lunchtime and want the chance to meet Angel McCoughtry you can head over to 1902 Park Rd., Louisville, KY 40216.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Catching Up With WNBA Cards -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

FOUR CARDS CURRENTLY IN WNBA

As we roll into June, the WNBA starts to heat up in action and it's a good time to take a look at how the four Cards WBB former greats are doing in the "the W". 

The four currently donning WNBA uniforms are Asia "AD" Durr (New York), Emily Engstler (Indiana) Dana Evans (Chicago) and Myisha Hines-Allen (Washington). It's interesting to note that all four play in the Eastern Division of the WNBA . 

ASIA "A.D." DURR

Asia began her WNBA time in 2019 with the Liberty, but was sidelined for two seasons with COVID before returning this season. She's a guard on the Liberty roster, who are 1-7 so far this season. Durr has played in seven games so far, as a back=up guard, and averages about 8.3 minutes a contest. As of 5/31, she's scored nine points in those seven games (1.3 a contest). 

One has to feel that once she gets back in rhythm after the two-year layoff because of COVID, her minutes and scoring will go up. She did average 9.7 ppg a game in her rookie season and almost 27 points a game. We all remember how she could take over a game at Louisville and she and Sabrina Ionescu have the potential to be a young, dynamic and high scoring duo for a New York team that hasn't shown much this season

EMILY ENGSTLER. 

The rookie has done some impressive things with the Indiana Fever, and Jeff Walz told us she would (in the WNBA) shortly after she arrived in Louisville for her final collegiate season. She's averaging 7.4 points and 7.3 rebounds for a Fever team that is 3-7 on the season. Engstler sees about 20 minutes a game for the Fever and had 13 points and nine rebounds in the Indiana win over L.A. 

You could tell she was all about te hard work when she got to Louisville and that desire and toughness goes a long way in "the W". We see her being a league fixture for many years in the bigs. 

 

MYISHA HINES-ALLEN

Going into her 5th season in the league, Myisha has proven to be a hard-nosed, rebound grabbing and point-scoring forward for the Washington Mystics. She's averaging 5.9 ppg and 4.6 rebounds a game for the 6-3 Mystics this season and sees about 18 minutes a game. 

Maybe her numbers were a little higher when Elena Della Donne was out, but Myisha has always been a team player, willing to do whatever her team needed her to do, and never taking a play or minute off when on the court.

That 2017-18 Louisville WBB squad with Asia, Myisha and Dana all on the roster is probably my favorite of all time -- 36-3 overall, a Final Four Trip to Columbus, and ACC Regular Season and Tournament champs. Myisha was the enforcer and the heart of that squad and I still believe to this day that McCowan fouled Myisha at the end of regulation. 

DANA EVANS

In her second season in the WNBA, Dana Evans has become a very solid and contributing  guard for the Chicago Sky (4-3}. She sees 20.3 ppg a night for the Sky and averages 9.7 points per game. 

Dana has that incredible three-point range and somehow finds her way to the basket against much taller players in the league, Evans has no fear when it comes to taking on a tough guarding assignment, either, and compliments well with the Sky's guards Vandersloot and Quigley. 

I can see Dana playing a long time in the league and being a success. 

Last night in WNBA action, three of the four mentioned above were in action. The Fever vs Mystics had Hines-Allen get two points, three assists and six rebounds in 15 minutes -- Engstler saw 24 minutes for Indiana and had six points, six boards and three assists.. Washington won 87-75.

For Chicago, Dana Evans played 10 minutes, and had six points, an assist and a rebound in the Sky's 73-70 win over the visiting Phoenix Mercury

Here's also hoping Jaz Jones and Angel McCoughtry find their way back to the WNBA. They're too excellent players that would be a benefit to a lot of rosters out there. We also hope Kylee Shook returns after her year's hiatus. 

paulie

Softball closes home schedule vs Virginia; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

 

Shout out to the weekend and the Cardinal Couple gang for stepping in for me these past few weeks.   Baseball and Summer Camp season got me like D:   *a little lotta bit* stressed making sure things runs smoothly around Louisville.  

But I do have a lot to look forward to and sometimes spontaneous decisions make the best ones.  

Funny story,  decided on some Happy Hour sushi on Bardstown Rd this past weekend and who do I cross paths with at the entrance?!  None other than Cardinal forever, Jazmine Jones!  The best part was she recognized me as well and gave me a hug in front of my friends.  What a gem!  I love seeing Cards come home and enjoy the town.  I told her that we would have to get up to Indy to see her play again, and she said 'Please do!' 

I've been on a mission to up my boyfriend's WNBA jersey collection in recent years.  He prefers to wear jerseys to festivals and when he plays shows (he plays the drums in a local band) So I think a trip to Indy is in the works for mid-summer.  The Chicago Sky plays at the Fever June 19th and July 7th.  

    

Look at these stars!!  I've got my eye on that Kianna Smith LA Sparks jersey too.  Y'all know I'm a sucker for purple and gold! 

SOFTBALL

Louisville vs Virginia

Friday 6 p.m. 

Ulmer Stadium or ACCNX

Series History: Louisville leads 15-3
Last Meeting: Feb. 20-21, 2021 - Louisville defeated Virginia 5-4 in Durham, N.C. and 4-0 in Raleigh, N.C. during the ACC Pod Weekend.

The Cardinals bring a 24-20 overall record after falling in all three games at No. 3/3 Virginia Tech last weekend.  Louisville also carries an 8-10 mark in ACC play and is currently eighth in league standings. Louisville is tied for the ACC lead and stands 11th in the nation with 22 double plays turned.

Virginia is 26-21, 12-9 (.571) in the conference coming off a sweep of Pittsburgh (last in the ACC 2-17) as well as 3 top-ranked series in a row. Virginia is second in the ACC in fielding percentage (.976) and 14th nationally.  Leah Boggs leads the team with a .292 batting average and Tori Gilbert has belted out a team-best 11 home runs. Sarah Coon and Katie Goldberg have produced 28 RBIs apiece.  Mikayla Houge (9-4) has carried the bulk of the pitching duties and holds a 3.22 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 87.0 innings. Aly Rayle leads the team with 55Ks in 67.1 innings of work. Madison Harris’s six saves is top in the ACC this season and ranks second nationally.

KENNY KLEIN RETIRING

The announcement came down yesterday about Louisville's head SID announcing a retirement date. No big dissertation or commentary on that. He did his job for 40+ years in athletics, is well respected by his peers and fellow SID's and I hope he enjoys his retirement. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast -- We are on schedule for an 11 a.m. start time Saturday.  Case will be covering the Saturday A.M. write-up duties but wont be home to jump on air but the four of us should be on to talk some Cardinal coverage. 

Paulie was kind of worried I wouldn't have anything to talk about here this morning so maybe I'll end by quizzing our readers on what they think Jaz Jones ordered at the hibachi grill on Saturday's show. LOL

As Always, Go Cards
~Daryl 

Saturday News Roundup -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Winter Storm Brings Friday Dormancy

The only team scheduled to play yesterday was tennis, as they were set to host Ball State at the Bass Rudd Tennis Center. Unfortunately, with the winter storm bringing ice and some snow to Louisville and a whole lot of snow to the middle of Indiana, yesterday's match had to be postponed. The match will now take place on February 11th, just one week later. Louisville is next back in action on the road tomorrow against Vanderbilt. It will be the first time they venture away from the nest this season.

After a successful meet last weekend at home, Louisville Track & Field is off to hit the road once more. This weekend, the Cards have headed up to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational, though the results and start lists for the events so far indicate that the whole team may not be competing. Louisville had no participants in the long or high jumps or the weight throw yesterday, and Gabriela Leon is not listed in the roster for the pole vault today. Either way, today's events get underway at 9:45AM and you can follow along on the Endurance Timing site or the Louisville Track & Field Twitter account.

Yesterday, Louisville announced the broadcast plan for the lacrosse season, and it includes three games on the linear ACCN channel. Louisville will play Duke on ACCN in Durham on March 17th, and they'll host Ohio State and Notre Dame on the channel on March 31st and April 23rd, respectively. The Ohio State game is on a Thursday night, so should be expected to be in Cardinal Stadium, and we'll see if the Notre Dame game is shifted to there as well for the better video infrastructure. The remainder of Louisville's home games and conference road games will be on ACCNX. The Cards open the season on the road in Colorado against the Buffs next Friday and will take on Denver on Sunday.

The New York Liberty are becoming less of the Louisville Liberty than we all hoped. After the Liberty seemed to be rebuilding a Louisville final four team, Sandy Brondello has come in and made some changes. The most recent were the addition of Stef Dolson and resigning of Rebecca Allen. Those roster moves demanded some space to be made, and Jaz Jones was a casualty of such a change. She and Neah Odom were waived yesterday. Kylee Shook and Asia Durr remain on the Liberty, but with free agency and the draft still to come, no roster spot across the league is locked in quite yet. We'll hope for both of them to keep their spots and for Jaz to find a new home.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(Should the Cardinal Couple crew form a lawn bowling squad?)

Once more, I'll be out this week. Fortunately, the tasks remaining in my office are few and that space should be ready for me to move back in before the end of the weekend. In my absence, four will be available to carry the show. They'll talk the big basketball wins, including a career night for HVL, and look ahead to the remainder of the Louisville basketball season along with the upcoming spring sports. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WNBA Update -- Alexia Mobley In Town -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDINALS COMPETING WELL IN WNBA EASTERN DIVISION

Depending on the squad, the WNBA teams are 16-20 game into their 2021 schedule.  For our interests here at Cardinal Couple, we're keeping an eye on those former Cards great that are active currently in the league. Right now, that's currently Dana Evans, Myisha Hines-Allen, Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook. 

Dana Evans is shining along with the Chicago Sky and the Sky have the fourth best record in the league at 10-9, along with the New York Liberty. Her playing time isn't significant so far, but, she is averaging 2.3 points a game (in 18 games) 0.8 assists a contest and is shooting 94% from the free throw line.  She saw three minutes in the Sky's last outing -- a 100-91 loss to her old team, the Dallas Wings. Dana had no points, assists or rebounds. 

Myisha Hines-Hines is currently out resting a patella tendon for the Washington Mystics and did not play in their last game -- a 82-79 loss to the Liberty on Saturday.. She's logged eight games for the Mystics this 2020-21 season, and had averaged 14.0 points-per-game, 2.3 assists and 7.1 rebounds for D.C. The Mystics are 7-10 in the league, which is fourth in the Eastern Division and would not make the WNBA Playoffs as of now.  They have been banged-up pretty badly with injuries, in their defense, using only six players in a few of their most recent games. They play against Saturday, at Chicago 

Kylee Shook has been a regular starter for the New York Liberty and is averaging 6.1 pts. in 19 games. She's averaging 5.3 rebounds a game, second best on the Liberty. Kylee sees about 22 minutes a contest for the 10-9 Liberty.  In a 99-96 win over Dallas on Monday she had eight rebounds, five points and one assist. 

Jazmine Jones also plays for the Libs and averages 7.1 ppg and 2.8 rpg. She sees about 18 minutes an affair and had 16 points and two rebounds against Dallas. It was a good weekend for Jaz, she also had 17 points Saturday in a win over the Mystics and had some pretty dramatic actions and antics in that game, as Jeff highlighted in his Sunday article. 

We hope to see our Cardinals continue the good work and, in Myisha's case, get back on the court soon. It would be great to see all three teams mentioned here with Cardinals on them make the WNBA Playoffs!  We also hope that a fifth Cardinal (in Angel McCoughtry) is recovering nicely from her knee injury earlier this season -- and is able to return next season. Her Aces are 14-4 in the league, which is tied with the Seattle Storm for the best record in the WNBA. 

ALEXIA MOBLEY IN TOWN FOR TFN RUN FOR THE ROSES

I get a lot of inquires about 2022 Cardinals commit Alexia Mobley and can tell you that she is in Louisville for the July 5-8 Run for the Roses Classic with her Cincinnati Angels squad. 

I was able to find a Twitter clip of her in action at the event (being held at the KEC in Louisville) and the word is she's looking good and the Angels are a very impressive and talented squad. 

Alexia's Clip:  

Mobley at Run For Roses

The event obviously draws a ton of college coaches and i did notice that there were media passes, so I thought I'd see if I could get one for Thursday. We'll see how that goes. 

Still no definitive work on whether she'll be on campus for any portion of the 2021-22 season, as far as I know. Try as I might, I was unable to find any stats on how and the Cincinnati Angels were doing here during their stays. I'll see if the media request brings about any type of numbers. Truth be told, I didn't realize the Tournament was taking place until yesterday. 

Here's hoping she plays well while here. She's fun to follow on Twitter, You might check her out at @AlexiaMobley23  

have a wonderful wednesday

paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple

A Butchertown Outing

With an unplanned Saturday evening, and Racing Louisville FC in town, I decided to check out my first game at "the other Lynn", Lynn Family Stadium in Butchertown.

Racing Louisville FC hosted the Portland Thorns in a nearly picture perfect day for an outdoor sporting event, so I decided to go catch the game.  A quick jaunt downtown, and I found easy on-street parking on Witherspoon underneath the I-64 and I-71 ramps.  After spending a few minutes navigating the electronic ticket system run by Seatgeek, I did finally manage to get a barcode on my phone and gained entry.  My seat was good with mostly good sight lines from about halfway up the upper deck.  Crucially, for your fair skinned reporter, the seat was on the western side of the stadium, and thus in the evening shade.

I arrived early, circled the interior of the stadium to explore a bit in this my first visit, and picked a place to eat.  The cheeseburger was not gourmet, though the seasoned fries were decent, and the total tally for the burger, fires, and a large bottle of water was $10...definitely not bad for stadium fare.  There were a number of potential options for food, and some of the others hold promise of being more culinarily rewarding, and prices were quite reasonable across the board.

Oh, how did the game go?  Well, the Thorns are good.  They're down about five players who are off playing internationally in the lead-up to the Olympics right now, but they're still good.  The team sits in second in the leagues standings, and even with a depleted roster was able to keep majority control of the game.  Racing put up a good fight, particularly early, but eventually fell to the Thorns 2-0.

Early aggression for Racing didn't work out so well.  A handful of...let's call them "quirky"...calls by the official deflated the energy of the home team.  A first half foul called on Racing in the box was particularly poorly received by the admittedly biased crowd, which resulted in a penalty kick for the Thorns and the first score of the game.

For the second half of the game, I relocated down to the end zone at the open end of the stadium to hang out with a friend has his season tickets in the Waterfront Supporters  Zone.  The second score for the Thorns, then, was at the far end of the field from me, so I didn't get a good view of it.  Regardless, the damage was done.

While the majority of the control in the game went to Portland, it wasn't overwhelming, with Racing have a number of opportunities to attack and challenge the Portland GK, but nothing found its way into the net.

Former Card Emina Ekic did see action, playing 16 minutes at the end of the game.  She got several touches and made some great moves toward goal, but wasn't able to connect.

FC Racing Louisville will be on the road for the next game.  Orlando will be the hosts on Friday with a 7pm start.  Racing returns home for a 3pm game on July 25th where the smart money is on it being hot and humid compared to last night's wonderfully comfortable weather.

NY Liberty and Jones Acrobatics

Jazmine Jones may have the most watched play of the WNBA for the week in the NY Liberty's 82-79 win over the Washington Mystics.

The Liberty got some insignificant leads in the opening minutes of the first quarter before the Mystics would go on a 14-2 run to close out the opening frame 28-15.  The Liberty wouldn't lead again until under four minutes left in the game before going on to the narrow victory.

Jones scored 17 in just over 21 minutes of play.  She went 4-9 from the field, and 2-3 from three point range.  Add a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe, five rebounds, a steal, and a block, and you have a pretty darn good game for the Tallahassee lassie.

The play that's getting everyone's attention was early in the 3rd quarter, with Jones attempting to corral a rebound on what should have been an easy lay-up by Shook.  With her usual energy and over-the-top exuberance, Jones chased it to the sidelines, hurdled the bench seats, and ended up coming to the stop at the behest of a walkway railing to her midriff.  After the flip over the railing and landing in the walkway, Jones popped up as only she can and continued play. 

Here it is: Jazmine's Audition For the Tokyo Olympics gymnastics squad

 The worst part of the whole affair was that she was unable to save the possession.  All was not lost, though.  The next time down the court for the Liberty, she got a nice assist from the top of the key out to the three point line and drained it.

The 17 for Jones didn't top the scoring for the Liberty in the game, Betnijah Laney did that with 19, though it did take her 36 minutes to get to that tally.

Next up for the Liberty, the Dallas Wings come to town tomorrow night at 7pm.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We had a fun show yesterday, with four out of five on the call.  Case was up in Madison watching boats go fast and turn left.

The audio levels are a bit out of whack on this one, so if you wanted to wait for Case to do his magic in the podcast posting, it might be easier listening.

A fun discussion, on everything from traffic woes in Louisville, to basketball and trips to Tokyo, and a great quiz about coaches both here at UofL and others.

JMCA

Allison Daley Joins Lax -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Allison Daley Joins Lacrosse Staff

One of these days we'll finish recapping these seasons from last year. Our women's basketball recap keeps getting pushed back as other news falls right onto our lap. It's like the cliff hanger that drags on annoyingly long, but I promise we'll recap their season one of these days. Paulie gave us a nice preview of what 2021-22 Louisville women's hoops will look like yesterday. 

Today, we take a look at a spring sport that calls Floyd Street home. Louisville Lacrosse welcomed a new assistant coach to the crew yesterday. Allison Daley will join Coach Scott Teeter's staff. Although Daley holds no relation to Larry Daley and his nighttime magic at the American Museum of Natural History (did you know that movie is 15 years old?!), we expect her to bring her own magic to a talented Cards roster. 

The Cards LAX program had Cortnee Daley, an All-Big East selection, who played at Louisville from 2013-16, but she and Allison are not related. Cortnee did register a goal and assist against Canisius, though, with Allison on the Golden Griffs sidelines, back when the Cards played Canisius in Buffalo back in 2016, Louisville winning 15-7.

Allison Daley and Teeter go way back. The former was both a player and an assistant coach under the latter. Daley also served as associate head coach for the Canadian U-19 national team at the 2019 FIL U-19 Women's Field Lacrosse World Championships.

When Teeter left Canisius for Louisville, Daley was promoted to the head coaching role at Canisius, where she has spent the last four seasons. Daley replaces Renee Poullett at Louisville, who left the Cards midseason and took a job as an academic advisor at Cornell University. She's up there hanging out with Andy Bernard. Another I feel old moment: that show's first season premiered 16 years ago.

"We are very excited to add Allison to our staff as an assistant coach," said Teeter. "We have a long history together, as she played for me and has been a member of my staff, so she understands our systems and is familiar with our culture. As a former standout goalkeeper and head coach, she brings extensive knowledge, especially on the defensive side, and will be a tremendous asset for our program."

Teeter now has both Daley and Kay Morissette on his coaching staff, both of whom have coached with him in the past. Things tend to run smoother when you're surrounded by a staff you're familiar with and can trust. Daley's defensive expertise can help Louisville shut down opposing offenses. Many of the losses last season can be credited to opposing teams going on a run at some point in the match. Rachel Florek should continue to command goal and having a beefed up defense around her will make her job that much easier.

We will see if Paulie can set up an interview with Scott Teeter and Allison Daley later this summer and get a feel for her personality and the team's goals for the upcoming season. He has made the preliminary request and gotten a positive answer from Teeter. 

Before the spring sports season ended lacrosse was a sport that had been approved for a new video board and revamped sound system. The video board had ongoing issues throughout the season as it had reached the end of its tenure so a new and improved video board will increase the experience at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

WNBA

There were no games last night but we see a pair of WNBA games on the calendar today. Jazmine Jones, Kylee Shook, and the New York Liberty face a struggling Atlanta Dream team at 7:00 on ESPN3. Although MHA is out, her Washington Mystics team hosts a tough Connecticut Sun team at 7:00 on ESPN2.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Sunday Cardinal Couple

 WNBA

Sundays are "Cards in the Pros" days it seems in the summer.  Today is no different.  The big crazy news stories like changes to NIL rules always happen during the week, but summer weekends means Pro play and we want to keep you up to date with what our former Cards are doing.

We start with the WNBA.  The New York Liberty put it to the Atlanta Dream yesterday.  A close first half, but the Liberty drew out to a good lead in the second.  101-78 was the final.  You might think the team was bolstered by the attendance of Asia Durr, who was in the stands for this one.  Durr is out for the second consecutive season dealing with the lingering effects of Covid.  After the win, pretty much the whole Liberty squad came over to embrace Durr and catch up, showing how much they miss her presence on the squad.

Kylee Shook continues in the starting lineup with the Liberty.  She played about 27 and a half minutes yesterday, got six field goals, and did a great job cleaning the boards on the defensive side, getting 11.  Also chalk her up for a blocked shot and an assist.

Jazmine Jones makes the most of her bench time, entertaining the WNBA crowds and the camera crews, but she is also getting some decent playing time as well.  We all know some of Jaz's contributions don't show up on the stat sheet, but she put some numbers in a few columns yesterday.  In almost 18 minutes of playes, she did get a field goal, a free throw, a couple of rebounds and a couple of assists.

The Dream will be looking for revenge when these teams meet again Tuesday again in Hotlanta at 7pm.  You can catch this one streaming on ESPN3.

Dana Evans is in Connecticut with the Chicago Sky team.  They'll be playing the Suns at 2pm today.  No easy viewing options for this one, unfortunately.

NWSL

The hometown Racing Louisville FC club were on the road yesterday, playing the Chicago Red Stars.  Chicago may be The Windy City, but it was rain that delayed the start of the game yesterday.

Emina Ekic played 26 minutes in this one, but it was after all the scoring was finished for the game.  Racing won this one by a convincing 3-0 score.  Ebony Salmon justifying her late arrival to the squad got it started in the 38th minute.  Yuki Nagasato got her first goal in lavender in the 56th, and Savannah McCaskill finished the trio of goals in the 62nd.

By the way, if you're a fan of Jazmine Jones in part because of her antics on and off the court, you should check out Yuki Nagasato.  She's got all the spirit and playfulness of Jones and has contributed tremendously to the success of this Racing team.

Gaby Vincent is the other Card in the Pros with the NWSL, playing for Kansas City.  The stats are incomplete for this game, and I didn't get to watch it live, but Gaby did see the field. We don't have info on how long she played as the minutes played column of the stat sheet is blank.  Vincent did get a shot, but it wasn't on-frame.

Kansas City will play again on Friday at 7pm, and Racing Louisville FC will take the field Saturday at 7:30pm.  Both will be streamed on Paramount+.

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

Speaking of professionals.  The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast is definitely not.  Jared, Paulie, and I were on the call this week.  Daryl and Case missed out on a fun mascot quiz, but the recent developments in Name, Image, and Likeness rules, regulations, and yes... even court cases, dominated most of the discussion in this one.

Check it out below.

JMcA