WBB Cards survive wild one in OT 86-81 over Cavs -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MYISHA HINES-ALLEN RECORDS CAREER HIGHS WITH 31 POINTS AND 17 REBOUNDS IN UOFL WIN.

Louisville women's basketball overcame a 15-point 3rd quarter deficit and takes the win in overtime in a wild game at Charlottesville Thursday night to down Virginia 86-81. Myisha Hines-Allen had career highs with 31 points and 17 grabs, Mariya Moore added 23 points and Asia Durr with 16 in the win that saw both Myisha and Mariya on the bench for the final 1:24 of the extra session. 

It was a game of runs, luck, miscues and...in the end...free throw shooting that got the Cards to 14-3 on the season. While waiting for my sedative to kick in, let's see how they got it done. 

The first half was, in my humble opinion, the worst half of the season for Jeff Walz's squad. Despite jumping out to an early 5-0 lead in the first two minutes, the Cards couldn't find the basket after that and seven first quarter turnovers helped the Wahoos take control with a 12-2 run over six minutes and lead after the first ten 17-11. The Cards shot 27.8% in the initial session and Hines-Allen spent five minutes on the bench but had four points to lead the Cards in scoring. 12 turnovers. BJ still feeling the effects of her illness, it seemed and Asia Durr was off as well with just one three. Turns out, she wasn't feeling that great either in the game. Daggone illnesses...

It proceeded to get worse in the next ten. The Cards started with some effort...cutting the Cavs lead to two at 19-17 after three straight Hines-Allen scores to start the quarter. Hines-Allen still had Louisville hanging around when her jumper in the paint made it 25-24 Virginia with 4:14 until half but a 13-1 closing run put UVA in charge 38-25 and one had to wonder what was going on with the Cardinal squad and their lack of effort. 

We figured Coach Walz probably cracked the locker room walls with a half-time tirade (in fact... he didn't know what to say about the lackadaisical effort) and just
questioned his squad's commitment. Beside Hines-Allen and her 13 points...the Louisville boat was dead in the water and no one else seemed willing to pick up an oar and row.

It got even more dire to start the third, if that's possible. Hines-Allen and Moore tried to rally the Cards at the beginning and cut the UVA edge to 40-31. An 8-2 Cavalier run over the next four minutes, though, had the home team up 48-33 after a Aliyah Huland El three and some good things definitely needed to happen for the hapless Cards.

One of those good things was Taylor Johnson. Some key passing and tough defense started to raise the Cards out of their winter hibernation. A Cortnee Walton bucket, three T.J. free throws, a Durr three, two Moore charity tosses and Walton inside again and it was a 12-0 run and it was suddenly a 48-45 game. Hines-Allen got her 20th. point on a "and one" to make it 50-48 and the quarter ended at 52-48. We had a game again and the Cards had secured the momentum. 

Louisville would regain the lead for the first time since the first quarter when Moore knocked back a trifecta with 8:02 to play to make it 55-54. It was tooth and nail, back and forth for the next five minutes...then Taylor Johnson drew a key charging foul off of the Cavs and Moore sank her second three of the quarter to give the Cards the edge at 65-60 with 2:37 remaining. She popped another long-range, three-point net-swisher for her 20th point 39 seconds later and at 68-62 with 1:58 left...this one was looking awfully good for the visitors. 

Virginia wasn't buying that. A Breyana Mason three cut the edge to 68-66. The Cards went cold from the charity stripe over the next 45 seconds when Moore missed three free ones and Taylor Johnson missed two...but Durr's two for two at the line had the Cards up 71-68 with less than five seconds to go. 

The ball went to Virginia's freshman guard Dominique Toussaint, though...and she came through huge with a deep three at the buzzer to make it 71-71 and send the contest to overtime. Stunner....setting off a wild home crowd and home team celebration. Bonus ball and a possible momentum switch in the affair. 

I questioned why the Cards didn't foul on that in-bounds possession. Later, in his post-game radio interview show...Coach Walz admitted they probably should have done just that but he feared a make then a miss and Virginia rebound from their 6'9" center Felicia Aiyeotan for a put-back to tie it and possibly win it if she was fouled on the put-back score and hit a free throw. 

Conjecture...yeah...and I'm no probability expert...but in any event...bonus ball was on the way and the Cards had the M&M girls with four fouls each. White-knuckle time. 

Virginia never led in the extra session but they did make it interesting. The teams exchanged baskets for the first 2:30 and then a Moore foul sent her to the bench. Two free throws from Hines-Allen made it 77-74 Cards with 2:15 left but she was called for her fifth infraction 30 seconds later. Who would the Cards turn to now...with 54 of their points now on the bench? 

Turns out, it was a group effort. Jazmine Jones nailed one of two charity tosses to give the Cards a 78-74 lead with 1:24 in the overtime. After VA hit two free throws, Durr got the same chance and reciprocated on her attempts with 30 seconds left. Huland El made good on two free tosses with 20 seconds left to set the ledger at 80-78. The Hoos fouled Taylor Johnson immediately (and maybe mistakenly) and she nailed both chances to give UofL the 82-78 edge. A foul sent Jazmine Jones back to the stripe with six ticks left and she came through on both to create what seemed to be an insurmountable 84-78 advantage. J'Kyra Brown thought differently for UVA, though and her three cut the tally to 84-81. Virginia should change their nickname to the Cats...because it seemed they had nine lives last night. 

A Mason foul on Durr gave her two attempts with 1.1 seconds on the clock and both went through the net to give UofL the 86-81 win. Fortunately, a five-point play didn't happen. 

Myisha did her best Godzilla impersonation tonight in the John Paul Jones Arena tonight. The people of Charlottesville are not safe until she boards the charter flight home. Mariya stepped up big-time when she was absolutely needed. Asia Durr overcame a dreadful start and held the squad together in overtime and Taylor Johnson provided a needed spark off the bench to give the Cards a hard fought, if not shaky, ACC road win. 

Let me catch my breath here...let's go to Fred. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Farmer Fred from THE WATERBOY movie

Free Throws --  The Cards went 24-32 in a game that featured 40 total fouls. Billy Smith earned a voucher for a replacement whistle after that one. Costly misses prevented the Cards from taking this one in regulation but expert marksmanship at the end secured the victory in overtime...the Cards sinking their final six attempts and 11-12 in the overtime session. Louisville made just two baskets in the bonus ball period and none in the final 2:12. You know the routine...if it's over 70%, we award the capital "F". 

Rebounds -- Give the Cards a 51-42 advantage Thursday night. Hines-Allen was dominating. They took both the offensive and defensive categories. We will award the capital "R" because of that. 

Effort/Execution -- This one is a tale of two halves. Louisville performed like a three-legged horse in the Kentucky Derby in the first twenty. They finally showed signs of life in the third quarter and won the overtime 15-10 but it wasn't a thing of beauty. Because it was a win and because of Hines-Allen, I'll distribute a small-case "e" here. Maybe an "e" minus-minus.

Defense -- Virginia shot 42.3% (50% from three-point range) and Huland-El torched the Cards time and time again. The Cards did get 12 steals but forced only 14 turnovers. The 12-0 stretch in the third quarter was spurred by the defense, though, and UofL held UVA to 2 for 8 shooting in overtime. Grudgingly, I'll award a small case "d"...since defense did get Louisville back in the game and they won.

FINAL FRED COUNT:  F-R-e-d


THINGS WE LIKED

Marvelous Myisha Hines-Allen. She put on her best performance of the season, maybe of her career on a night when it was desperately needed. Losing her at the end of this one -- on a whistle-happy night -- was critical but the squad finished the work she started. Any questions on why she was the pre-season ACC Player of the Year top vote-getter? 

Taylor-made. Taylor Johnson resembled a point-guard in many ways tonight and did it off the bench to give UofL a much needed lift. She caught the eye of the UVA based TV crew and deserved the kudos on a night where BJ wasn't at her best. 

Finishing. Too often we've lamented here about Louisville losing the fourth quarter. Louisville actually won it,  the second half and overtime session tonight. It was a topsy-turvy, roller-coaster ride but the objective is to out-score the opponent and Louisville did that after a horrendous start. 


THINGS TO WORK ON

Consistency. This team needs to put 40 (or 45 minutes) together from here on out if they want to achieve ACC success. Let's face it, Virginia might well probably be dubious in getting an NCAA Tournament bid but they looked like UConn against the Cards for 26 minutes tonight. Time to commit, buy in, do the work and invest in yourself Cards. 

Bench. Not a stellar effort out of those who aren't starters tonight...except for Taylor Johnson and a few Jazmine Jones flashes. Walz tried to play 12 players tonight but zero points and three rebound in 13 minutes for five of them forced him to stay with seven players the majority of the way tonight. 


SO...

What did we learn tonight? We learned that Louisville can come from behind on the road. We learned that lackadaisical and uninspired play to start a game can be a real tough situation to overcome. It was confirmed that Myisha Hines-Allen is the best player in the ACC and that smart play can eliminate turnovers.

Speaking of turnovers, I was brought up in Coach Walz's post-game radio presser. Not because of any I committed (although I made a judgement call and did leave the lap-top view for a brief while to listen on the radio out on the porch and yell..) but in his reference to the Cards opening a bakery and distributing turnovers right and left. He attributed the phrase to his grandfather but dedicated it to me. I like those lemon-custard turnovers...but would opt-out for a nice cheese danish if there is an option. Maybe someone will bring me one on media row Sunday...

I will study this and decide...1) If I want to get into the bakery business with Coach Walz. 2) What to name it if I do -- although he probably has a name picked out -- and 3) Who our staff and servers will be. They don't want me on the counter, by the register or near the oven...so I expect I'll be on trash runs, dishes and clean-up...much like what I do here daily on the website. 

The Cards go 1-1 against "the Joanne's" on their road trip and Pitt comes in Sunday. Hopefully the Cards and Walz will close the bakery and open a pest-elimination service. 

I can't cook and I can't dance...
Paulie
xxxxx 







  

Louisville women's basketball -- Where Do We Go From Here?/Games People Play -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS HAVE FUTURE AND FATE FOR 2016-17
IN FRONT OF THEM




I heard this classic from the Alan Parsons Project on Christmas Day when we were on the road. Give it a listen...it's a great song! It started me thinking (always a dangerous thing) about what lies ahead for the Cards WBB squad (and the ACC foes) as they come out of the Christmas break and the team
gets ready for conference and tournament play.


(Just as a side note...I actually met "the man" himself in the airport in Atlanta back in the late eighties...we were both waiting for a flight to Miami and had a pleasant conversation for about an hour about music and his works...I never knew he worked on Beatles albums and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album or that he wasn't much of a sports fan.) I figured with Games People Play...but I was wrong. 

Okay, enough of Paulie Irrelevant Musical Reminisces. Off to hoops we go! 

It was good for the players (we hope) and the staff to have a little while
to see family and friends over Christmas. We know most of the Cards flew
out of Nashville the morning after the win at Vandy or came back to Louisville
and departed from there. They probably didn't meet Alan Parsons but they'll start arriving back on campus today and begin preparations for Thursday's ACC opener against "Q" and the Cuse. We're hoping the players had a good respite at home. The games these people play start up again in a dizzying flurry in a few days. 

Coach Sam Purcell's outfit for Easter? 

Trips home can be a blessing and a curse. I wonder if Mariya and Minyon Moore did some comparison notes on their seasons so far. Did Briahanna Jackson guard the turkey and ham to make sure no one got any before Christmas dinner was ready to serve? Was Asia Durr deftly tossing dinner rolls across the table with precise accuracy to the rest of the family? Did anyone beat the speedy Jazmine Jones to the table? Did Myisha Hines-Allen control the stuffing and block everyone from getting dessert? 

Then, there's the "why aren't you playing more?" or "how did (so-and-so) beat you?" questions. A bit of the good and bad mixed in. The trip home was, hopefully, nurturing and restoring in spirit for what lies ahead. 

So...what does loom ahead for these Cards? Where will they go from here? In this case...the "games people play" turn into ACC contests and the drive to get a nice seeding in the NCAA Tournament. It's hard to believe there are only 17 games left until the ACC Tournament in March in the Hooterville/Bugtussle Memorial Warehouse in Conway, SC. 

The Cards get to the heavy shoveling right off the bat when "Q" brings his defending NCAA WBB runner-up squad to the Bucket on Thursday, Dec.29th. Probably a less than satisfying start for these Orange at 9-3...especially after their stumble-and-spilling-all-the-eggnog effort against Texas A&M in Florida.

(Didn't get the Red Ryder BB gun?) 

They have Peterson, my 'name-sake' Sykes, the tall Day twins and "Slim" plus a few others back
from that championship quest and I'm betting they'll have a major voice in the clamoring for Elite Eight and better slots in late March. The Cards are 8-6 against Syracuse in the all-time series...knocking the pulp out of the Orange 71-53 at the Orange Dome last year and then falling to them 80-75 in a game in the ACC Tournament I'm pretty sure most of the Cards would like to forget. 


So how do you list this one...category-wise on the KFC YUM! Center list of events? Sports, comedy or entertainment? 

After the "Brother Q travelling prime-time road revival medicine show and revue" exits the YUM!...so do the Cards for a couple of days...making a stop in the Cameron Indoor Stadium to check in on Becca Greenwell and JoAnne P first. Another tough game...the Dookies are #17 in the nation and are 11-1...getting sunk by the Commodores in that quaint little barnyard by the Duke Chapel and Forest. The journey continues to Charlottesville, VA after that...facing a Virginia Cavaliers bunch that is 9-2 (losses to St John and Northwestern) and has another JoAnne head coach. Someone in the ACC scheduling phone booth has a sense of flair for humor, I guess. 

We'd love to see Louisville emerge 3-0 out of the stretch of the schedule because it doesn't get any easier after it. It is, after all, the ACC and despite Vanderbilt head coach Stephanie White's claim that her conference is the toughest in the land.....we'll respectfully disagree and point to the conference that had seven teams in the latest Top 25 poll. 

Alex, let's go to toughest conferences in college sports for $1000. What is ACC women's basketball? 

It is very pleasant and almost spring-like in Louisville, KY this morning, if you ignore the gusting breeze blowing. A high expected in the 70's...a possible record warmth temperature for this day in Louisville meteorological history.

A calm before the storm? A brief lull in the battle? Definitely a change in the weather, though, in terms of scheduling ahead...as a storm front rolls into Lamar Jackson's college town beginning Thursday. 

any gifts to return? or gifs? 
paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball looks to continue win streak against Cavs -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

CARDS HAVE WON EIGHT STRAIGHT AND ARE 4-0 IN ACC

The University of Louisville women's basketball team faces Virginia today in the KFC YUM! Center at 3 p.m. Louisville will be looking to go 5-0 in ACC play and 17-1 overall. The women's sports programs at UofL will also be looking to get their first win of the season over Virginia. Field Hockey, Soccer and Volleyball have all fallen to the Cavaliers in this first season of ACC play for the Cards.


Virginia (13-4, 3-1) has won four out of their last five. Most recently, they handled Boston College 68-56 on Thursday in Charlottesville. The Wahoo hit 13 three pointers against BC and went 11-13 from the charity stripe. 

Faith Randolph had 23 in the win and she's leading the Cavaliers with 17.8 ppg and steals (27). The 5'10" junior guard gets backcourt assistance from Mikayla Venson (11.8 ppg) and Brevana Mason (9.2). Big on the boards for Joanne Boyle's team are Sarah Imovbioh (14.6/11.2)...a season double-double performer and Lauren Moses who averages 6.2 grabs a game and has 23 blocked shots this season.


Losses to Toledo, Illinois and Davidson early in the season raises eyebrows...their sole conference loss to Syracuse perfectly understandable, the 'Cuse is as good as advertised.

The Wahoo was picked to finish 10th in ACC in preseason polling. Louisville and UVA have faced each other one time...Louisville losing in Charlottesville 74-60 back in 1985.



The Cards will need to curtail the activities of Randolph and Venson when they have the ball...they are well capable of driving the lane and scoring inside. Louisville will also need to be aware of the board-busting ball play of Imovbioh and Moses and block out while denying second chance opportunities. 

This one will be on Fox Sports South if you can't attend. Drew Deener faces up at center court and Christy Winters Scott will provide color. Matt and AJ handle the radio duties in case the two minute delay gets to be too much....radio feed being first in game action...

An early arrival for CARDINAL COUPLE at the KFC YUM! Center today...the Atlanta Dream is making a special announcement at 2:15 p.m. Watch our twitter feed on the right hand side of the site for updates. 

DID YOU KNOW?

-- Bria Smith was verballed to Virginia until the coaching change that brought Boyle to Charlottesville. 

-- The Cards have a player from Virginia...freshman reserve Arianna Freeman.

-- Virginia's Faith Randolph is third in the ACC with a .895 free throw % 

-- Virginia reserve Sara Beth Barnette was the 2010 Kentucky Miss Basketball and started her career at UK? 

-- Sarah Imovbioh had 24 rebounds for the Cavs against Ohio State back on 11/14/14..the highest ACC rebounding total this season.

We'll have a full recap of the action in the Monday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE.

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Our latest CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO broadcast is up and

archived on WCHQ 100.9 Crescent Hill Radio's Soundcloud!

We had a busy show recapping WBB, Lacrosse, Volleyball, Tennis, Track and Field and much, much more. 

Give it a listen at the link below:

THE VILLAGE IDIOT HAS RETURNED TO HIS VILLAGE !!


paulie

Softball wins 11th straight, Lacrosse falls at Georgetown

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MONDAY...CARDINAL COUPLE PRESENTS:

Caralisa and the Cards have won
eleven straight.

-Softball pounds Pitt 10-3 to sweep series

-Lacrosse loses a close one at Georgetown

-Boyle hired at Virginia...Smith reinterested now?

The University of Louisville softball team roared out of the gate yesterday against Pittsburgh with four first inning runs and Caralisa Connell pitched another complete game as Louisville goes to 30-10 and 8-1 in the BIG EAST. They sit behind USF (7-0) and Notre Dame (5-0) in the conference standings.

The Cards loaded the bags in the first inning with no outs. After a ground out that forced an out at the plate, Maggie Ruckenbrod singled home a run, Chelsea Bemis and Colby Wherry scored on a fielding error and another Pitt fielding miscue brought Ruckenbrod home for the 4-0 advantage.

After Pitt got two runs back in the bottom of the first, Louisville picked up a score in the third when Hannah Kiyohara touched home plate after a  Jennifer Esteban double. Louisville bumped the advantage to 8-2 in the sixth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, the Cards scored on a passed ball and then Kiyohara drilled a two RBI single.

Chelsea Bemis completed the Cards portion of the scoring with a two run homer in the seventh.

This was a very impressive road trip for the Cards, who went into the series knowing they would need to bring out the bats against a Pitt pitching staff that had a microscopic ERA and was undefeated in BIG EAST play, They leave Pittsburgh after scoring 20 runs in three games and knocking the Panthers record back to 3-3 in conference. The Cards are doing it with a combination of young and veteran players and the red hot pitching of freshman Connell. Yesterday she turned in another solid seven innings...allowing three runs on eight hits and struck out three Panther batters.

Louisville returns to action Wednesday in Ulmer Stadium with a doubleheader scheduled against Connecticut. First pitch is slated for noon.

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Lacrosse did not fare as well...as they completed their road trip with a 19-12 loss to the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday. Louisville (8-4, 1-2) saw Georgetown take an early 3-0 lead and increase it to a 9-4 halftime advantage. Bergan Folly tried to rally the Cards in the second half with five scores...but the Hoyas outscored Louisville 10-8 in the final half.

Folly was Louisville leading scorer with her five second half goals. Sophie Thomas netted seven for the Hoyas. Katie Oliviero added three goals for Louisville and the Cards used all three of their goalkeepers in the contest in an effort to find someone able to slow down the Georgetown attack.

WE still think that the lacrosse squad will have some big wins as the season progresses...the weekend's opponents were two of the best in the nation and neither blew Louisville's doors off. This group of Cardinal lacrossers are a competitive bunch and will rally.

Louisville returns home to face Rutgers in the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium on Friday at 5 p.m. If you are planning on taking in the Louisville Football Spring Game Friday night...why not come out a few hours early and give your support to this deserving team? If you've never seen a live lacrosse match, you're in for a treat.

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The Virginia Cavaliers have hired California Bears coach Joanne Boyle to replace Debbie Ryan...a move that some suggest may draw Bria Smith back to reconsidering the ACC school. Boyle was 137-64 in six years at California and the Bears made four NCAA Tournament appearances and two WNIT trips while she was head coach. They won the 2010 WNIT championship. Boyle is the second high profile coach to evacuate the Pac10 in women's college basketball recently...Nikki Caldwell dumped the UCLA Bruins and settled at LSU after allegedly checking out Virginia and being considered a possible replacement at South Carolina if Dawn Staley left.

Joanne Boyle coached the Bears to
six straight postseason appearances.

Smith has scheduled visits to Louisville and Tennessee this month and has two more official recruiting trips she can make. With an established and successful skipper installed in the Cavalier camp now, WE have to wonder if UVA might figure back into her plans now. The Louisville Cardinals have recently received a verbal from point guard Monny Esther Niamke and point guard Jude Schimmel states that she'll very likely end up in Derby City this fall also.Smith claims that she isn't bothered by other commitments and will go be competitive at wherever she ends up.

We're hearing from other sources that Louisville remains a favorite for the New York combo guard...but that was before the Cavalier coaching announcement was made. WE still think Louisville is the best fit for Smith but the decision making process may have become a bit more difficult for her now. The University of Kentucky still remains interested in Smith also and Bria Goss, who is headed to UK, played with Smith in the recent McDonald's All-American game.

Someone cue up the Jeopardy theme song...this one is getting more and more interesting each day...

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WE don't normally watch a lot of golf on television, but found the finish to The Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia a very exciting block of television yesterday. Had to feel sorry for the way Rory McElroy fell apart at the start of the back nine and it looks like Tiger Woods is beginning to find some of that talent again that made him the top of the heap a few years ago. We remember the adage..."Drive for show and putt for dough" and eventual winner Charl Schwartzel drained a couple of spectacular putts on the final holes to get the green jacket. They really amp the drama up when they present that item of clothing, don't they? We  thought we were watching a high stakes summit meeting of world leaders when they cut to the six figures sitting solemnly in the chairs. Then. poof... it declined to five chairs. We half expected them to stand up and get in a game of  "Musical Chairs" next...Maybe the NCAA should go to a similar format.....nah, forget it.
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