Volleyball Sweeps; WBB Set for UK -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#3 Cards Handle Duke in L&N FCU Arena

At 5-9 in conference and 9-16 overall, I don't think anyone was overly concerned about Duke coming into Louisville last night and sparking an upset. Even with that, though, the level of beatdown that Coach Dani Busboom-Kelly's squad put on the Blue Devils was a bit unexpectedly thorough. The Cards opened with a 25-13 win in the first, allowed slightly more for Duke with a 25-16 second, and then came out of the halftime break to end the match with a 25-10 thumping. If there was any worry that Louisville would be looking ahead to the more interesting matchup against UNC on Sunday, the Cards quashed it immediately. 

I'll spare you the recap of a play-by-play, as there wasn't any drama. Duke led for exactly one point in the match, after they won the first point of the third set. A bit ironic, you could say, that the only time they led came in the set they were beaten most badly. The Blue Devils actually managed to tie that set at 3, as well, before Louisville went on an 18-5 run. In seasons of late, Louisville Volleyball has been the most deserving UofL program of the Boom U nickname. 

In the match, Anna DeBeer led all hitters with 13 kills. She was on fire, hitting .550 for the match. She also added nine digs, which tied Elena Scott for most in the match. While she was one dig short of the double-double, DeBeer's nine kills pushed her over the 1,000 dig milestone. Anna is the fourth Cardinal all-time to eclipse 1,000 career kills and digs. 

As a team, Louisville hit .432, putting up 41 kills with only nine errors. It helped that Duke could only manage three blocks, but Louisville showed their dominance offensively. Charitie Luper finished with eight kills and no errors, while Sofia Maldonado Diaz had six and one. It was a bit of a quiet day for the middles, offensively, as Cara Cresse and Hannah Sherman combined for only nine kills and two errors. They only had sixteen total attempts, though. Defensively, both were stellar, as each had two solo and three assisted blocks. Louisville had ten blocks as a team. 

Louisville will now turn their attention to the Tar Heels of UNC. As expected, their glittering season turned out to be a bit of fool's gold once the schedule toughened up. UNC is no longer tied for the lead in the ACC, having dropped three straight to ranked opponents. In fairness to the Heels, they took GT to five sets in Chapel Hill, but they were swept in Pittsburgh and lost 3-1 in Dallas. UNC defeated Notre Dame 3-1 last night. All that said, Louisville still can't afford to take any opponents lightly. The Cards hold onto a buffer over Stanford, but they're still tied atop the league with Pitt. Tomorrow's match gets underway at 1PM and will stream on ACC Network Extra. 

WBB Battle of the Bluegrass Tonight

In what feels like a pretty early matchup, Louisville and Kentucky will renew their rivalry this evening with a new twist. No longer will the Cards have to worry about the big matchups against UK and Kenny Brooks separately; those now happen at the same time. Tonight's Battle of the Bluegrass will be the first with Kenny Brooks at the helm for the Wildcats, and he has the Cards' familiar foe Georgia Amoore suiting up in blue for good measure. 

This will be an incredibly interesting matchup, as both teams are ranked roughly the same. UK started the season ranked 20th, and dropped two spots to 22nd after a season opening win over USC Upstate 98-43. The Cats responded with a 29-point victory over NKU and beat Wofford 76-42 on Tuesday. Unlike Louisville, who has played three games in three different arenas, UK has not yet left the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum. With another home game after tonight and then games against Arizona State and Illinois in Nashville, Kentucky does not play a true road game until December 5th against UNC. How's that for friendly scheduling? 

With this being a road game for Louisville, it certainly isn't a bad thing that they've played a neutral site game against a highly ranked opponent and a true road game against a scrappy UT Martin squad. While the Cards weren't necessarily dominant against the Skyhawks, they never appeared threatened, either. Tonight will be different, of course, with a tough opponent and all of what goes into the UofL/UK rivalry. 

While Georgia Amoore is the big name Louisville fans will be worried about, Clara Strack is the big player sure to be on Coach Jeff Walz's whiteboard. Strack is averaging a double-double so far this season, leading the team in both points per game (17.7) and rebounds per game (11.3) with a 27 minute average. Amoore has shot just 34.3% from the field and 17.6% from three so far this season, so I'm sure she'll pick tonight to find her rhythm. On the outside, Louisville will need to cling to Dazia Lawrence, as she is shooting 50% from the floor so far and is 7/12 on the season from deep. 

Tonight's game tips at 6PM and will air on SEC Network +. I believe that availability should be similar to ACC Network Extra, but I know that an ESPN+ subscription will get you the game. Tune in for what should be an exciting matchup in the first of a new era. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We should have four on the line today, with Daryl otherwise occupied. With volleyball in the thick of their season and basketball really getting off the ground, we'll have plenty to discuss. It should be an exciting show, so be sure to tune in. 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

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

VolleyCARDS host DUKE -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Cheers to Friday !  My house/plumbing issue is still not resolved.  Its a bigger issue than we can anticipate tackling before the wedding so it's causing some backup issues in the basement near our storage and its just exhausting being an adult!!!   But its also FUN because you can go check out the CHEERS bar in Boston on your Bach party after you watch the series!!! Which you L O V E 

Anyways,  cheers to another weekend closer to the new year.  Basketball is back in the Ville and I got to see my friends Paulie and Jared (and Coach Walz) in person again :D  We shared a nice meal together before CHEERING the Cards to victory with the home crowd.  

The Cats are 3-0 on the season, with substanial wins over USC Upstate,Wofford and Northern Kentucky..all in Lexington at the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum. They are in their first year with head coach Kenny Brooks, who is 520-204, wth previous stops at James Madison and Virginia Tech.

 

Volleyball

Louisville vs Duke 

7:00 p.m. 

ACCNX

Photo: Jared Anderson

The 3rd-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will return home to L&N Federal Credit Union Arena this weekend to face Duke and RV North Carolina. The Cardinals will face the Blue Devils Friday at 7 p.m.

Louisville finished last weekend 2-0 following sweeps of Syracuse and Boston College on the road. These wins marked the Cards' ninth and 10th conference sweeps of the season. The Blue Devils are coming off a 3-0 loss to #1 Pitt on Nov. 10th and #10 SMU prior. 

Duke is currently 9-16 overall and 5-9 in the ACC. They sit at 13th in the ACC standings.

Breonna Gross, the freshman middle blocker has 127 kills and 54 blocks with a .290 hitting percentage on the season. She was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 9 and Sept. 30.

The Cardinals are 13-6 all time vs the Blue Devils and 6-4 at home.  UofL swept Duke in the last meeting 11/10/23 and have beat the Blue Devils the last 10 times dating back to 2017.    

As Always,
Go Cards!

~Daryl

Softball Falls to IU 11-6 -- Lacrosse Plays in L&N Today -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 IU JUMPS ON CARDS SOFTBALL EARLY IN 11-6  WIN

A tough Tuesday night outing for Louisville Softball in Ulmer Stadium on Tuesday night. The Cards gave up six second inning runs en route to a 11-6 loss to the Hoosiers

After a scoreless first inning, IU put together two doubles and a single on starter Alyssa Zabala and reliever Sam Booe to put the Cards in a early hole. IU would tack on two more runs in the fourth and one more in the the sixth to have Louisville in a possible run rule scenario, but the Cards would battle back to score five runs, Riley Frizell's three RBI double the key blow in the bottom half of the inning

The outburst prevented the run rule but did not stop the IU scoring attack. Louisville would 

add a run in the bottom of the sixth to get within 9-6 but IU countered with two more runs in the top of the seventh for the completion of scoring and the 11-6 win. 

The Cards used four pitchers in the contest, Zabala, Holloway, Booe and Gray in allowing the 11 runs and 16 hits. 

LACROSSE FACING XAVIER IN LNFCU STADIUM TONIGHT

Louisville Lacrosse will host Xavier for a midweek match today in the Cards football stadium, the second match this year Louisville LAX will have played there. 

The 7 p.m. start will be televised on the ACCN. 

It'll be the first ever draw control between the two squads; Xavier began their LAX program last season. 

The Cards are 5-6 on the season and 2-3 in ACC play. They have netted 143 goals this season, while allowing 146 .

BROOKS TO UK WBB

IN A MOVE....that caught a lot of people in my circle by surprise, former VT head WBB coach Kenny Brooks is leaving the ACC and coming to the Commonwealth, to take over head coaching duties for the Kentucky Wildcats WBB squad.

Brooks replaces the fired Kyra Elzy. 

This is a smart and classy move by our rivals to the east. Brooks builds winners and programs beyond reproach. He also develops and recruits fantastic talent. Georgia Amoore. Liz Kitley. Need I say anymore?  And, he did get further in the NCAA Tournament this year than Jeff Walz did. 

All of the sudden, one game on Walz's schedule for 2024-25 just got a lot tougher. Brooks is a great coach and gets the most out of his players. I've had the pleasure of talking with Brooks several times at ACC Tournaments and came away impressed each time. 

This is hard to say, but I'll wish UK the best of luck in all but one of their games next year. 

SOFTBALL PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

paulie

Sunday Losses for WBB and Lax -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Loses Big at Home to Virginia Tech

Louisville women's basketball lost their third game in the last five games, this time at home to Virginia Tech 86-70.

Liz Kitley posted a triple-double for the Hokies with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and about 25 fouls committed. Okay, so she officially had a double-double and finished with three fouls on the stat sheet, but the reigning ACC Player of the Year certainly was immune to whistles for much of the game. Georgia Amoore added 23 points on 9-11 shooting and 10 assists. The Aussie native took advantage of the international travel rules (you get an extra step in FIBA compared to most US rules), which the officials seemed to not realize we weren't playing FIBA rules.

Now, before you get on me for criticizing the officials, this game was not decided by the officials at all. Louisville was outplayed and had one of their worst games of the season. The Cards missed four layups in the first quarter and were up to seven late in the first half when I stopped counting. Louisville also went 4-16 (.250) from three-point range with half of the made threes coming in the second quarter.

One plus for Louisville is that they committed four turnovers in the game. That number is a season low for Jeff Walz's team. Virginia Tech didn't put too much pressure on full court or half court pressure and instead chose to go with allowing Louisville to miss shots and then dominate the defensive rebounding. The Hokies won the rebounding battle 35-24 with 28 of those coming on the defensive end.

Kiki Jefferson led the Cards with 19 points on 7-12 shooting. Jayda Curry scored 13 points and Nyla Harris and Nina Rickards each added 10 points. Olivia Cochran had a team-high six rebounds with Harris adding five boards.

Louisville's player intros have become creative over the years

Defensively, this year's team has not lived up to the standards of Louisville basketball yet. The biggest concern on defense with yesterday's game came on switches. Kenny Brooks was able to expose the Cards by running picks with Kitley and Amoore, often resulting in mismatches for both players. This allowed the duo to find easy baskets or force help from extra defenders, leaving the rest of the Virginia Tech team with open looks.

FRED Report

Fred Warner of the Super Bowl Runner-Up San Francisco 49ers

Free Throws- The Cards were at 8-12 late in the game but a pair of made free throws pushed that to 10-14 (71.4%) and get just within the threshold for a "F".

Effort/Efficiency- Well, the Cards had one of their worst shooting days this season and mustered up just seven assists on 28 made shots. They managed four second chance points and four fast break points, both of those marks well below what we've come to expect. I do believe the effort was there as the Cards continued to try to find scoring opportunities and attack the paint. Unfortunately, the shots weren't falling. And you have to give positive points to only four turnovers. I'm willing to give a lowercase "e" for effort only.

Rebounding- UofL was outrebounded by 11. They held VT to just seven offensive boards- probably because the Hokies shot 65%. Louisville pulled in 13 offensive rebounds but converted that into only four second chance points, so not too effective. Rebounding was one of the reasons Louisville dug themselves into a hole. No letter here.

Defense- Giving up 86 points is plenty of reason to not award a letter. The Cards were not effective at all trying to shut down Virginia Tech's top two players, something we talked about as a concern on the show Saturday. Case pointed out to me the VT went 24-29 (82.7%) on two-point shots. If I could give a negative letter I would.

F-r-_-_.   Eek. That's not something we want to see late in the season.

Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks spent some time praising the teams in the ACC during yesterday's press conference. He discussed how the ACC is the best and most competitive women's basketball in the country this year. Eight ACC teams made the NCAA Tournament last year. The latest Bracketology has nine ACC teams projected to be in this year's tournament.

With yesterday's loss, Louisville's chances of being a top-16 seed and hosting opening weekend grew slim. If the Cards win out, then there's a possibility of hosting still. Louisville also dropped to fourth in the ACC at 10-4. Four teams have five losses in the conference. Win out and the Cards get the double bye and don't play until Friday in the ACC Tournament. Any more losses and they might find themselves playing on Thursday.

Louisville will play at Georgia Tech on Thursday at 6:00 pm. They then return home to host Virginia on Sunday.

Post Game Jeff Walz

POst Game Olivia Cochran and Kiki Jefferson

Lax Falls on the Road at Lindenwood

A slow start doomed Louisville lacrosse as they fell on the road to Lindenwood 12-9. The Lions scored the first goals of the game and led 5-1 at the end of the first quarter. The Cards cut it to 6-5 late in the first half and 10-8 midway through the fourth quarter but couldn't complete the rally.

Kokoro Nakazawa posted a hat trick with three goals. Kylea Dobson and Negai Nakazawa each scored two goals and Tiffany Natoli and Nicole Perroni both scored a goal. Perroni's scoring streak extended to 40 straight games, adding to her existing program record.

Louisville (1-3) returns home to host Virginia Tech on Saturday at 6:00pm. The match will be televised on ACC Network and will be played at L&N Stadium (football).

Happy Monday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB falls to #13 VaTech 81-79 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Here we are again y'all! Another weekend ahead and very much needed.  

I appreciate you checking back in with us at Cardinal Couple to catch up on the Cards and enjoy reading your thoughts in the comment section as well.  

Students are back on campus at UofL for the first week of classes and the WBB Cards are knee deep into the conference schedule and on the road this weekend.  
 

WBB

photo: gocards.com

Louisville fell Thursday night against #13 Virginia Tech 81-79.   The Cards had a chance to tie it or take the lead in the final 30 seconds but weren't able to convert.  It was a night where the Louisville bigs were not able to remain on the floor.   Olivia Cochran was on the floor for 10 minutes, Liz Dixon had the most opportunity with 24 minutes and only 4 points to show for it and Josie Williams with 12 strong minutes up against reigning ACC POY Elizabeth Kitley.  All three Cardinals finished with 4 fouls.  

Hailey Van Lith lead all scorers with 29 points going 10-26 from the field with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  22 of her 29 were in the second half. 

For the Hokies,  Taylor Soule fouled out with about 3 minutes left in the game finishing with 24 points while Kitley scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.   

 

End of 1Q    20-14 VT

FG %
7-13 53.8 %  Cards
9-17 52.9%   VT
Reb.   8-7  VT
3-pt %
0-3 0%        Cards
1-6 16.7%   VT

Some technical difficulties (ACCNX crap) kept me from getting eyes on the game until the second quarter but with the Cards up 14-12, the Hokies went on a 8-0 run to close out the first quarter and establish a 20-14 lead over UofL.  Kitley went 5-5 to jump start her scoring on the night.   UofL committed 6 of their 15 turnovers in the first quarter.  Cochran went 2-2 for only 4 points on the evening while also picking up two fouls in 7 minutes on the floor. 

End of 2Q    18-16 Cards 

FG %
7-14 50% Cards
7-16  43.8%
Reb.  9-7 Cards
3-pt %
2-5 40% Cards
1-4 25%  VT

The Hokies turned the ball over when Mykasa Robinson stole it and drove it in for the layup.   She finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in all 10 minutes of the quarter.  VaTech would gain as many as 7 points better than UofL at 23-16.  This was about when I was able to tune in.   Josie Williams had a confident couple of minutes when she attempted a 3 pointer and missed but was able to connect on the second chance attempt when Robinson grabbed the offensive rebound after the miss.  She hit another one when Kitley turned it over to make it 23-20 VT.  The Cards hit their first 3 with about 4 minutes left in the half, courtesy of HVL to make it 25-28 VT before the Hokies went on a run to make it a 7 point lead for VT again.  And here is when i noticed the calls were not going the Cards way this evening.  Morgan Jones got called for a charge when there is absolutely no way Georgia Amoore was planted to cleanly defend.  Alas, the home team gets the call and goes to the other end and nails the jumper to make it 36-30. 

HALF 36-32 

End of 3Q   26-21 Cards

FG %
10-15 66.7% Cards
7-15 46.7%  VT
Reb.  9-5 VT
3-pt %
2-3 66.7% Cards
1-6 16.7%

The Cards owned the third quarter and showed some early signs that they could do what they did to Pitt and come back in this thing.  HVL came out of the half to break the shooting slump - scoring quickly.   Mykasa also found a quick bucket to make it 36-38 and the two took some control.  VT walked to turn it over and HVL scored to tie it 38 all.  Carr's first bucket came in the final min. of 3Q to make it 58-54 Cards with less than a minute to go.  Traylor responded with a 3 of her own.. 58-57.  Traylor had 17 points on 6-9 with 3 threes, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. 

End of 4Q   24-21 VT

FG %
7-19 36.8%  Cards
7-12 58.3%  VT
Reb.  10 all 
3-pt %
1-2 50%  Cards
3-4 75%  VT

A couple of free throws by HVL put the Cards up 60-57 but VaTech's Kayana Traylor tied it up at 60 with a three before HVL took it in for the drive and one, making it 63-60 with 7:30 left in the game.  I can appreciate the high-ponytail Mykasa.  Robinson had been somewhat struggling to get her shots to fall in recent games...she was 3-4 from the floor with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.    The two squads battled in the final quarter.  Soule picked up her 5th foul with 3 minutes left to send Jones to the line.  Jones finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds.  The final 3 minutes lasted about 10 as the two teams used every opportunity to gain the advantage.  Kasa stepped in front for the steal but couldn't keep it in bounds and Traylor nailed a 3 pointer to cut the lead and make it 75-74 Cards.  In the Cards next offensive possession, Jones drove to the hoop and got fouled but missed both free throws.  VT went the other way with it and Amoore nailed the 3 in Robinson's face for the 77-75 lead and 1:48 to go.   Amoore finished with 13 points and 8 assists.  Again, Kasa comes up with the defensive stop with a huge block underneath but the Cards cannot convert on offense when Chrislyn Carr missed her attempt with 70 seconds left.  Carr had a quiet nights finishing with 6 points, 1 rebound and an assist.   As a team, VT finished the game making 4 of their 5 attempts while the Cards missed their final 5.  

Cards fall 81-79 to Virginia Tech

UP NEXT

Louisville @ Florida State

Sunday 1 P.M.

FRED REPORT

(How many fouls did Kitley get? One. In 39 minutes. Are you kidding me? Who refereed? Stevie Wonder? Or did she rediscover the Romulan cloaking device?) 

FREE THROWS --  Louisville went 12-16 at the free throw line good for 75%.  Van Lith and Morgan Jones were the only two who had an opportunity at the charity stripe.  HVL went 7-7 while Jones went 5-9.   Just because they didn't get there, doesn't mean they weren't fouled.  Capital F 

REBOUNDING --  The Cards were outrebounded 34-31 on the evening. Morgan Jones lead the charge for UofL with 9 with Robinson following closely with 8.   Olivia only had the opportunity to grab 1 in her 10 minutes on the evening.   Louisville had 10 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second chance points.  lower case r 

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  I struggle with this category the most because sometimes I choose to gauge it by numbers and other times the overall picture.  I want to go with the latter after this one because if you look at the stat sheet, it was very similar on both sides of the court.   I feel like HVL has to carry alot of the offensive weight on her shoulders.  I would've liked to see her distribute the ball more against VaTech.. she finished with only 3 assists on the evening while also turning it over 5 times.   She probably deserved a few more chances at the free throw line too that just weren't called.  She made 10 of the Cards' 31 buckets.  Capital E for effort

DEFENSE --  This game was such an even matchup on paper but it felt like 5 against 8.   The Cards shot 51% while the Hokies shot 50%.  Kitley and Soule both shot 64% and led their squad to victory over the Cards for the first time in 27 years.  lower case d

FINAL FRED TALLY:   F-r-E-d

 

P.S. It's Friday the 13th 

As always 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

 

Louisville WBB Faces Hokies Today -- Softball Splits again -- CCRH -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS HOPE TO GOBBLE UP HOKIES

Fresh off the win over Syracuse Thursday night in the KFC YUM! Center, the Cards take to the road and will go Hokie-hunting Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg, VA in a noon battle against Virginia Tech. 

VT is an interesting foe. Under head coach Kenny Brooks (one of my favorite coaches in the ACC beside our 'mad scientist') ...they zoomed out to an impressive 13-0 start to the season against a bunch of non-conference "palookas" and "academic colleges" (to quote Milt Wagner). Schools such as USC Upstate, Monmouth, Radford, Mt. St. Mary's and Longwood don't normally strike fear into the heart of Power 5 conference teams and these were easy wins for Brooks' bunch. Impressive, yes, that they did beat Villanova, Ohio State and Rutgers...three schools that normally produce pretty good WBB products each year and are well-coached. 

Then came the ACC part of the schedule.

At 2-7 in conference play, VT has been less than satisfying. The first three games were losses, by less than eight each, to Syracuse, Miami and Virginia. Notre Dame followed and blew the Gobblers out by 29-points. NC State took a nine-point "W" over the Blacksburg ballers and UNC trumped them by 12. At 0-6, things weren't going so well. A close loss to FSU provided a bit of hope and led to the Hokies win streak of two in a row, against ACC doormat Pitt and mid-pack, but improved, ACC foe Boston College...who lost Taylor Ortlepp late with an ankle injury.


With just seven games left in conference play before the ACC Tournament, Virginia Tech needs wins to get back to at least .500 and keep any flickering NCAA Tournament hopes kindling. I don't see them getting one today. After the Cards
it's... at Duke, at Ga. Tech, Miami, at Clemson, Virginia and Wake Forest for Kenny and the Techs.

I have a hard time seeing them getting six wins in the remaining six games after Louisville and climbing to an 8-8 regular-season conference mark with this slate remaining. Yes ,all are beatable and I don't see NC State, Notre Dame, or Syracuse in the above list...but Miami and Clemson aren't exactly melted butter and Virginia already has a win over Hokie-nation. 

Names on the VT squad you might want to know are Taylor Emery, Regan Magarity and Dana Mabrey. Emery, a senior, leads VT with 17.9 points a contest. Magarity, a red-shirt senior leads the ACC with 12.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Mabrey is good for 12.4 per outing and is a legit three-point threat at 48.7%, tops in the ACC. If the name sounds familiar, her older sis...Marina...toils for the Irish of Notre Dame. 

Series history in the ACC has the Cards 5-0 against the Hokies. Overall, UofL leads 20-17. The Cards are 7-10 lifetime in the Cassell Coliseum, those losses coming from the old Metro Conference and C-USA days. There was a 20 year gap in the schools meeting each other from 1990-2015. 

#2 Louisville needs to just play Cardinal basketball and score points in order to go to 23-1 on the year. A week off for the Cards from competition after this one, not returning to games until next Sunday, when the Canes come calling. 

RSN is listed as the viewing option, that usually means Fox Sports South in our Kentuckiana area. Radio is always a great choice with Nick and A.J. on Cards Radio 790 WKRD. 

Louisville escaped with a 73-70 win the last time the two met, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament last year. I don't expect this game today to be nearly as close, but, on the road, in the ACCs proved to be deadly last Thursday to the two schools formally tied with the Cards atop the conference race (NC State and Notre Dame). 


The Cards hope to get an early lead, put their stellar defense to work and call on the outside skills of Durr, Evans, Carter and (dare I say it?) Jazmine Jones. Inside, here's hoping Kylee continues her upward trend and Louisville gets the normally dependable paint performances out of Sam and Bionca.

People speak at times of potential "trap" games and Jeff Walz will tell you there is no such thing as a "trap" game in the ACC...but this has the signs and warnings of being one, if you believe in the trap game scenario...if the Cards don't come out and take care of business. 

Go get the ball. Put it ball in the basket. Score points. Grab rebounds. Play defense.

Mission assigned. Carry on. 


SOFTBALL SPLITS IN THE TITAN CLASSIC

If you followed the Friday Louisville Softball results, a scoreless loss and blowout win, the same scenario unfolded in day two of action in Fullerton, CA.

In the first game, Louisville jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first two innings against Buffalo. Redshirt freshman Taylor Roby continued to impress at the bat, with a two-RBI double in the first inning. UofL tacked on five more runs in the second, triples from Celene Funke and Caitlin Ferguson proved to be the "big swats" and three Bison errors certainly didn't hurt. 

Roby also made her pitching debut for the Cards and it was all systems go for the Mt. Washington, KY native. She stuck out nine Buffalo batters and allowed just one hit in five innings. Look out Lindsey Duvall, the town-folk of Mt.Washington might be naming a park or street after Roby if this keeps up. 

Freshman catcher Rebecca Chung had the Cards final three RBI's to seal the deal via run-rule. 10-0 Cards. It would appear that Holly Aprile has some hitters on her roster.

At times. 

In the second game of the day, a pitcher's duel developed. Six scoreless innings of softball between UofL and Northwestern. In the circle for the Cards was sophomore sensation Danielle Watson. This was a "battle of the Danielle's"...featuring Wildcat pitcher Danielle Williams as the other hurler. 

A triple and sacrifice fly gave Northwestern a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh. The Cards started the bottom of the seventh in fine fashion with "that Funke music" and a leadoff triple for center-fielder Celene. Sadly, three subsequent Louisville batters could not get her to home plate and the Wildcats took a 1-0 win back to their lair. 

Props to Watson for doing all she could. Allowing just two hits and getting six "punch-outs" in seven innings. Louisville wraps up their stay in California with a test against Utah St. today. 


LACROSSE AT MARQUETTE TODAY

Louisville Lacrosse plays their second game of the season today at Marquette. The "Stick and Net" gals had a rough patch of it against Northwestern Friday and hope to bounce back against a Golden Eagles squad that hosted Notre Dame to start the year and lost 19-4.

Best of luck to Teeter's team. We'll recap it tomorrow. These scenarios of three sports on the same day are always fun-times around the antiquated Paulie laptop. 



THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Another Saturday morning in studio with the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports happened yesterday at WCHQ 100.9 FM, in the majestic, marvelous media mansion on Mellwood.  

CCRH featured me, Case, Jared and Daryl on the left side of the tables this week (Worldwide still stalking Crocodile Dundee, Asia Taylor and Kiwis) and we discussed Cardinal WBB mostly, with additional coverage of Softball, Lacrosse, Women's Tennis and other assorted minutia and trivia that usually pops up in our weekly broadcasts.

We learned Daryl doesn't care much for Kroger. Jared is a night-owl and Case remains the undisputed master and champion of the world and area beyond in scheduling and Twitter information.

YORKIES RULE. 

A special thanks to Colin Trask, senior engineer at WCHQ, for coming in to run the show, turn the knobs, slide the levers, monitor You Tube Live and play the sound effects and music.  I think he even had some fun in the process as well, listening to our madcap, random banter. 

We were on You Tube Live instead of Facebook Live, one of the changes going on at the station and check out (most of) the show at the link below. We lost about ten minutes at the start of the show. No big deal, it was just introductions and free-form rambling about Jared's "beveraging" and National Anthem experience, Daryl ranting and me and Case just sitting back and letting the dialogue flow. 

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 2/9/19


Have a super Sunday and GO CARDS! 

paulie
xxxxx