Louisville women's basketball. 20 minutes of perfection leads to 65-36 pounding of Pitt -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS HOLD PITT TO 19.2% SHOOTING IN 29-POINT WIN

Energy abounded (at least for one squad) in the KFC YUM! Center Sunday afternoon in front of 11641 fans as Louisville women's basketball rolled out to a 14-0 start and won their 24th. game of the season over the Pitt Panthers 65-36.

Myisha Hines-Allen led an early-game charge with nine of Louisville's first 11 points and when Briahanna Jackson nailed a three with 5:27 left in the first quarter it was 14-0.

On a Star Wars theme-day promotion, the Cards definitely had the force with them. 

Louisville led by the embarrassingly large total of 27-6 after the first period and then proceeded to hold Pitt to only four points in the second stanza to take a 42-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Not even Darth Vader could have helped the Panthers in the first twenty minutes of this one...the Cards shot 16 for 25 (64%) in the first half, led the rebounding battle 26-8 and held Pitt to 4-27 marksmanship (14.8%). Hines-Allen had recorded 17 of her game high 25 points by halftime and Jackson had 10 of her 12. 

Kathleen tells Deb about the double technical

If there was anything at all to be concerned about, it was Cortnee Walton leaving after just six minutes of play for the locker room and returning with her pinky on her non-shooting hand in a splint and heavily tape. Post-game comments by Jeff Walz indicated they thought she would be ready to go by the Cards first ACC game on Friday. 

After the onslaught, Walz began trying a multitude of different combinations in the final twenty minutes...Pitt did outscore Louisville in the third quarter 14-11...benefiting from a 7-12 free throw performance. The score was 53-24 and the Cards had Taja Cole, Sam Fuehring, Dakota Weatherford, Hines-Allen and Briahanna Jackson on the court. 

The squads mass-substituted again in the fourth period. Louisville using everyone but Walton and Pitt playing 11 players. Erin DeGrate had five points, along with Asia Durr in the final ten minutes and Louisville's Sam Fuehring picked up three fouls (one a technical) in the first minute of fourth quarter play. 

No Card saw more than 31 minutes of play (Mariya Moore) and the freshman got an impressive 76 of the 200 minutes available. Hines-Allen was a lights-out 11-14 from the floor with 13 rebounds as well...Jackson went 5-7 and DeGrate hit 4 of her 6 shots to finish with nine points in 15 minutes.

HOW DID F.R.E.D. DO? 

Fred Potvin from Pitt...
she had no points in 17 min.

The Cards only attempted 10 free throws...but hit eight of them for 80% and that's A-OK with us. Hines-Allen was a perfect three-for-three and Durr nailed both of hers. We'll award a capitol "F" for that performance.

Rebounds were strictly "no contest"...Louisville with a decided 43-31 edge, even with Walton limited to just six minutes. We proudly award a capitol "R" in this category and wonder how large the margin might have been if Walton had seen 20-25 minutes...

Easy Shots seemed to fall very smoothly in the first twenty minutes but dropped off (literally) in the final twenty. Even though the Cards won the points-in-the-paint battle 34-8, Louisville did miss eight of their 15 paint attempts in the final twenty so we'll withhold the awarding of an "E" in this category. 

Defense. You have to ask? 10-52 shooting for Pitt and 18 Panther turnovers tells the story here. The capitol "D" ...no doubt about it. 

WHAT WE LIKED

Hines-Allen Authority. "The reason she's so successful is that she takes good shots." -- Jeff Walz. Although the premise and effect seems simple enough, it takes a talented and smart player to affect it and some pretty savvy assist-makers to ignite it. 25 and 13 today for MHA. We think ACC Player of the Week again, right? 

Twenty minutes of perfection. What a fun first half it was. The Cards were running, rebounding, passing, scoring and playing defense. Pitt actually took two more shots in the first half that the Cards (27-25) but Louisville made 17 of theirs, Pitt four. You have to love that efficiency.

Defense! Defense! Defense! When you stop the opponent from scoring, it dramatically increases your chance to win. Louisville did that for 20 minutes very successfully and didn't really stink at it for the final twenty. 

THINGS THAT NEED WORK

Something afoul. With Fuehring fouling out and MHA gathering four we would have liked to see a little bit less of the whistle blowing on the home squad. 15 did come in the second half after the game had been long-decided, though, so we can't be too perturbed. 

Turnovers. Hines-Allen and Jackson with five each and the Cards actually committed 22 for the game. High risk, high reward maybe...some of the UofL fast breaks looked like Lamar Jackson trying to hit James Quick on a flanker bomb in double coverage...but when you're up that much, getting "cute" once in a while should be expected, we guess. 

MYISHA AND DEB CHAT IT UP POST GAME

Another blowout win for Louisville and in front of another large crowd that was absolutely loving the action. A great way to end the regular season and go into the ACC Tournament. Was it Louisville's best effort in ACC play this year? Debatable...but nevertheless an indication that the train is rolling with no engine malfunctions (knocking on wood that Cortnee will be OK). 

March Madness beckons and Louisville women's basketball looks ready to answer the call and be heard from.

Here's your ACC pairings. Feel free to enter our free contest here, in our comments section or by e-mail. Sonja promises to have her picks in the comments section by midnight (busy watching the Oscars currently...) I'll take a little longer to publish mine. $25 gift card if you get the most picks right out of the 14 games. 

        Wednesday, March 2

Game No. 1 – Seed No. 12 Pitt vs. Seed No. 13 North Carolina, 1 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 2 – Seed No. 10 Wake Forest vs. Seed No. 15 Clemson, 3:30 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 3 – Seed No. 11 Virginia Tech vs. Seed No. 14 Boston College, 6:30 p.m. (RSN)

Thursday, March 3

Game No. 4 – Seed No. 5 Miami vs. Winner of Game 1, 11 a.m. (RSN)
Game No. 5 – Seed No. 8 Duke vs. Seed No. 9 Virginia, 2 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 6 – Seed No. 7 Georgia Tech vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 7 – Seed No. 6 NC State vs. Winner of Game 3, 8 p.m. (RSN)

Friday, March 4

Game No. 8 – Seed No. 4 Florida State vs. Winner of Game 4, 11 a.m. (RSN)
Game No. 9 – Seed No. 1 Notre Dame vs. Winner of Game 5, 2 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 10 – Seed No. 2 Louisville vs. Winner of Game 6, 6 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 11 – Seed No. 3 Syracuse vs. Winner of Game 7, 8 p.m. (RSN)

Saturday, March 5

Game No. 12 - ACC Semifinal No. 1, Noon (ESPNU)
Game No. 13 - ACC Semifinal No. 2, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Sunday, March 6

Game No. 14 - Championship Game, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)

_______________________________________________ 


SOFTBALL SLUGS BACK FOR 6-3 WIN OVER KENT STATE. 

The 'hit and pitch' Cards ended the Red and Black Classic with a huge 6-3 win over Kent State Sunday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium. Megan Hensley (7-1) gets the win by pitching three scoreless innings of relief for Maryssa Becker.

Down 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, Louisville pieced together a walk, single, double, triple and sac fly to take a 4-3 advantage. They bolstered the advantage in the sixth when Hensley drilled a shot over the left-field fence that scored her and pinch runner Jordan McNary.

Louisville (10-4) hits the road next for a Wednesday double-header in Nashville against Lipscomb.

_________________________________________________


HEAR YE, HEAR YE! 

The Soundcloud rebroadcast of Saturday's CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR is at the link below.

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 2/27/16

Your Cardinal Couple ACC Pick 'em tournament entries can be left in the comments sections or e-mailed to cardinalcouple@twc.com

You have until Wednesday 1 p.m. to get your picks in. A $25 gift certificate to either Panera or Cracker Barrel awaits whoever gets the most games correct out of the 14. 

You can see Sonja's picks in the comments section.

Link to a printable bracket: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pitt/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/ACCTournament.pdf

Good luck! 

paulie
xxxxx

Softball Splits on Home Opening Day

Cleveland State

The afternoon didn't really start well for the Softball Cards when, with two outs, Cleveland State bounced a ball off the scoreboard at Ulmer, bringing home the two runners on base to end the first inning with a 3-0 score.  But the Cardinal pitching, with freshman Megan Hensley in the circle, and defense stiffened up in the chilly weather and held the Vikings to four innings of 3-up, 3-down play.

Sandy Pearsall's squad did get the win, 9-5, in the end, but not without a little bit of drama getting there.

The defense didn't exactly get out of the gate right away, and the offense had a bit of a sluggish start as well.  Jordan McNary got a lead-off walk in the 1st and then advanced to 2nd on a Nicole Pufahl ground-out.  She used her speed to make it home on a Megan Hensley single up the middle, but that was all the Cards would get on the scoreboard until the 4th inning.

In the 4th, Lillie Goetz got on as the lead-off with a single, Brittany Sims caused a fielder's choice and also got on with Goetz advancing to 2nd.  Jenna Jordan was hit by a pitch, pushing everyone around and loading up the bases and from there the Cards played some small ball.  Sidney Melton created a fielder's choice, which led to Jordan being out going to second, while Sims claimed 3rd, and Goetz scored.  Sidney Melton promptly stole 2nd, then Jordan McNary sacrificed to get Melton to 3rd and Sims around to home.  The Cards would get no more, but that tied the game up at the end of the 4th inning.

The scoring continued in the 5th for UofL, however, with Maryssa Becker drawing a lead-off walk and then being replaced on the base paths by the quicker Jessica Adell.  Megan Hensley reached on an error by the 1st baseman and Adell made it to 2nd safely.  Mo Hart, who had a fine day overall, was credited with a single up the middle, and the advance to 2nd on an error.  This also got Hensley to 3rd and Adell finished the round trip to the Cards up for good.  A passed ball let Hensley sneak home, while Hart got around to 3rd, and things were looking shiny for the Cards indeed with no outs.  Alas, nothing else came from it with three straight outs recorded to get the Vikings out of the pinch.

The 6th inning wasn't a 3-up, 3-down for Cleveland State, but it might as well have been.  A lone single doesn't get much done.

In the Cards half of the frame, however, things got going again on offense.  With 1 out, Jordan McNary drew another walk, then got to second on a Nicole Pufahl single.  Maryssa Becker was credited with a single, but got to 3rd on an error which brought McNary and Pufahl home.  Megan Hensley went yard, putting another couple on the scoreboard for herself and Becker.  After a pitching change by Cleveland State, Mo Hart got a single, but nothing else was to develop.

The Vikings would get two more in the 7th, but it wasn't enough and UofL claimed a big W for the home opener.

Kent State

The Cards had to face another fake state before the day would be over, though.

Less recap in this one, because, well, it was pretty ugly.  The Cards did have some success on the offensive side of things, but pitching failed us a bit in this one.

A few highlights were to be found.  The 1st started out with a Jordan McNary single to center field, she wouldn't be on base long, though as Nicole Pufahl came up right after and plopped one beyond the fence in left field.

Kent State got on the board in the 3rd with a 3-run shot to right center...they seemed to be targeting the scoreboard...that put them on top.  UofL would get back to square that inning with a Brittany Sims sacrifice that scored Jessica Adell who was in running for Mo Hart, who I did say was having a pretty good day.

The Golden Flashes put a whopping six on the board in the 4th and UofL was chasing taillights the rest of the way despite a 4 run inning to followup.  Megan Hensley took the reigns in the pitching circle starting with the 5th inning, but it wouldn't change the Cards' results all that much.

Then we get to the sixth inning...you'll want to skip this paragraph if you have a sensitive stomach...I'll keep it brief.  Kent State lead off with a home run, picked up a couple of outs, and then queued up another pair of solo round-trips (one of which would also hit the scoreboard).

UofL would get one back when Mo Hart scored after reaching on another solidly hit single.  Maryssa Becker returned to the circle, but the hits just kept on coming for Kent State, and by hits, I actually mean home runs.  OK, only one really, but it did hit the scoreboard again.

The Cards would get one more in the bottom of the 7th, but it was too little, too late at that point, with Kent State taking the game 13-9.

Softball has three more games this weekend, with a rematch against Cleveland State at 1pm(ish) tomorrow, and North Dakota State slated for a 3pm start.  There is an 11am game, and as always with Softball, when there's an earlier game, start times are...flexible.  The Cards will have another shot at Kent State on Sunday at 3pm...again with the "ish".  While it was downright chilly for these game, the forecast for the Saturday games looks pretty nice, maybe a bit of a nip in the air, while Sunday looks to be downright fantastic.

Also in action on Saturday, Lacrosse has a noon start to start conference play against Boston College.  This one is on ESPN3. And don't forget The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this morning on WCHQ 100.9 FM and streaming at www.crescenthillradio.com

JMcA
--