Lax Crushes Xavier — WBB Bracket Breakdown — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lacrosse Defeats Xavier in Blowout Fashion

Louisville lacrosse made a Wednesday night trip to Cincinnati. The Bearcats weren't the opponent at the end of the trail this time, though. Instead, the Cards had their sights set on the Musketeers of Xavier. Louisville would go on to win, 19-6.

The Cards raced out of the gate with three goals in five minutes. Xavier cut the Louisville lead to one, but the Cards led 7-3 after the first quarter. Louisville outscored the Musketeers 4-1 in the second quarter for a comfortable 11-4 halftime lead.

Coming out of the break, the two teams traded goals. After that, it was all Louisville as the Cards scored five straight to close out the third quarter and lead 17-5 and have a running clock. With the running clock in play for the entirety of the fourth quarter, the Cards were able to relax, but still took the final period 2-1.

10 different Cards scored in the game. Reese Whiteman and Maggie McMahon each recorded hat tricks. J Pleck played the first half in goal, logging five saves to go against four goals allowed. Hanna John took over the second half with four saves and two goals allowed.

Louisville improves to 5-5 on the win. They remain on the road and visit Clemson on Sunday. 

Jared Breaks Down the Women’s Basketball Bracket

Blank NCAA Bracket

We are one day away from the start of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Arguably, the best time of the year has finally arrived as we get three weeks of nearly non-stop basketball.

Here at Cardinal Couple, we have a long-standing tradition of hosting the Cardinal Couple Pick Em Contest. We hope to have you participate.

Today, I’ll break down some of my thoughts on the bracket including exciting match-ups and potential upsets. Remember, these will all be my personal thoughts and opinions. You’re welcome to take it into consideration on making your brackets, but do so at your own risk. If I go 0-for-63 and you copied me, well… good luck!

Spokane 1 Region

I like 10-seed Harvard over 7-seed Michigan State for a first round upset. The Ivy League likes to play dark horse when it comes to NCAA Tournament time and Harvard has a good chance to play that role this year.

8-seed Richmond vs 9-seed Georgia Tech is interesting mostly because of 8-9 match-ups have been pretty even. The Yellow Jackets have been trending in the wrong direction while the Spiders had won 17 straight before falling in the A10 Championship. I'm going against the ACC here.

Host seeds rarely lose in the opening round of play, but 4-seed Baylor could fall victim to this against 13-seed Grand Canyon. The Bears have been nearly unbeatable on their home court though. The Antelopes lost just twice all year and have the best win percentage in the NCAA while cruising through their conference.

I have a hard time seeing the regional final being anyone but 1-seed UCLA vs 2-seed NC State. UCLA lost twice all season, both times to USC. Wes Moore is always tournament ready and has a team of veteran players. I'm going with UCLA to go to the Final Four in this region.

Birmingham Region 2

5-seed Alabama seemed to stumble down the stretch over the last two years. Their offense has made up for their porous defense. 12-seed Green Bay is riding a 22-game win streak, but that win streak doesn't feature much top talent. Being a 5-seed can be tough seeing as the 4-seed line and a chance to host was right there in front of them so the homecourt advantage is gone. If there is a 5-12 upset, I think this is the most likely one, but my gut says Bama sneaks by.

2-seed Duke vs 7-seed Vanderbilt is a likely possibility in the second round. Duke has one of the stingiest defenses in the country, which helped them win the ACC Tournament. Vanderbilt has the frontrunner for National Freshman of the Year in Mikayla Blakes, who has scored 50+ points twice. Thor's hammer vs Captain America's shield will be fun to watch.

If 6-seed West Virginia can get past 11-seed Columbia or Washington then I could see them upsetting 3-seed North Carolina. It would be defense vs defense in that game, but the Tar Heels don't have a good offense to begin with.

1-seed South Carolina seems to be a title contender every year. I don't see any reason why they aren't this year. I do think 2-seed Duke squeezes out a tight one against 7-seed Vanderbilt in the second round, but I don't see them being able to take down the Gamecocks.

Birmingham Region 3

5-seed Tennessee has been hit-or-miss this season. They could fall in the opening round to 12-seed South Florida if the Bulls get hot from three, but they could also take down 4-seed Ohio State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. I'm just not sure the Lady Vols can piece together back-to-back strong performances.

11-seed Iowa State was one of the final teams in but were able to hold on to beat a tough 11-seed Princeton team in the play-in game last night. Last year's "Freshmen Five" took the NCAA by storm. While only four of them returned to the Cyclones for a second year, I like their chances against a streaky 6-seed Michigan team.

2-seed TCU vs 7-seed Louisville will be a must-watch even for non-Louisville fans. Jeff Walz vs ex-Cardinals player Hailey Van Lith could get interesting and have plenty of drama. With TCU playing at home, I have to give it to the Horned Frogs, but I'm going with 3-seed Notre Dame to take them down in the Sweet Sixteen. The Irish went through a questionable two-week stretch to close out the regular season, but a starting lineup full of WNBA players will have things figured out for tournament time.

I think 1-seed Texas is the weakest of the four 1-seeds. Notre Dame got the best of them in December and I think the Irish do that again.

Spokane Regional 4

5-seed Kansas State has been not good since Ayoka Lee went out with injury. She could return for the NCAA Tournament, but if she doesn't then I like the odds 12-seed Fairfield has for pulling off the upset.

6-seed Iowa is not the same without Caitlin Clark, who could solve or hide a lot of problems. They have a tough match-up against one of the hottest offenses in the country in 11-seed Murray State. Without the Hawkeyes playing in the comfort of their home arena, I think the Racers can pull off the upset.

7-Oklahoma State against 10-seed South Dakota State is intriguing. I don't think the Cowgirls will "lose" this game as much as I think the Jackrabbits "steal" it. South Dakota State's schedule was full on NCAA Tournament teams and they still only lost three games. Their only bad loss was losing to to Texas by 46. 

1-seed USC vs 2-seed UConn is inevitable. The Trojans took the regular season meeting by two points. I think this could be the "Game of the Tournament" similar to Iowa vs LSU last year. Paige Bueckers gets her fairytale ending with a Final Four.

Jared's Final Four: UCLA vs UConn and South Carolina vs Notre Dame

Jared's Bracket

UCLA, Richmond, Ole Miss, Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Harvard, NC State

South Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Duke

Texas, Creighton, Tennessee, Ohio State, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Louisville, TCU

USC, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Murray State, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, UConn

UCLA, Baylor, LSU, NC State

South Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Duke

Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, TCU

USC, Kentucky, Oklahoma, UConn

UCLA, NC State, South Carolina, Duke, Texas, Notre Dame, USC, UConn

UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame, UConn

UCLA, South Carolina

UCLA - combined final score 120 points

Blank NCAA Bracket

Katy's Bracket

UCLA, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Michigan State, NC State

South Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Duke

Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan, Notre Dame, TCU

USC, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, UConn

UCLA, Baylor, Florida State, NC State

South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Duke

Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, TCU

USC, Kentucky, Oklahoma, UConn

UCLA, NC State, South Carolina, Duke, Texas, TCU, USC, UConn

UCLA, Duke, Texas, USC

UCLA, Duke

UCLA - combined final score - 105 points

(today's photos by Jared unless otherwise noted)

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

The Day After Christmas — TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ah, the day after Christmas… or as I call it, Recovery Day. The Christmas season can often be so busy with cooking, eating, opening gifts, talking to friends and family, and traveling that a day off is much needed. Fortunately, I am off all week as we are currently in Fort Mill, South Carolina spending time with Katy’s family.

Hopefully Santa Claus had everyone on his nice list. My need for a new suit finally paid off this year so I’m excited to show it off sometime. My previous suit lasted me since high school and didn’t fit anymore.

Boxing Day is when Santa punishes everyone on the naughty list.

We head back to Louisville on Wednesday and will get home just in time to watch Louisville football in their bowl game. We will then spend some time with my family later in the week before I head back to work next week.

For Louisville women’s sports, we still have a bit longer before anything picks up. Jeff Walz has always preached giving his players time off during the holidays so they can go home and spend time with family. They usually come back to practice itching to get back to playing basketball. They resume play on New Year’s Eve at Miami, another ACC squad to make the Elite Eight last year.

We here at Cardinal Couple wish Paulie the best in his procedure today. He will be away from the site for a few weeks as he recovers both in the hospital and at home. You can check his status by contacting his wife Sonya Sykes on Facebook or emailing me.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Cardinal Couple website, you can email me in the meantime at eupherjared@gmail.com. I check my email daily and will get back with you and quickly as possible.

We will continue to actively cover the Joy and Excitement of Louisville Women’s Athletics in his temporary absence, including in-person coverage at all home women’s basketball games. Speaking of women’s basketball, we will be having our annual Cardinal Couple Pick ‘Em Contests for both the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament again. We are not sure what the prizes are yet, but we will announce those closer to tournament time.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville Defeats Morehead State — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

COCHRAN GROUNDS EAGLES WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLE

(OK, WHO LET PAULIE ON THE COURT ??)

Hey, folks! Jared reporting here from the KFC Yum! Center on a Wednesday night in the break between Louisville women’s basketball and Louisville men’s basketball. Paulie wasn’t able to make it to the game so I was pulling double duty with writing and photo taking… plus trying to do my best Paulie impression in postgame.

The Cards improved their record to 10-1 with a 74-48 blowout win over Morehead State. Olivia Cochran posted a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double and Nyla Harris scored 16 points.

While the final buzzer showed a 26-point win, things were close in the first quarter. Louisville started 0-5 from the floor and the Eagles held a four-point lead shortly before the first media timeout. UofL would end up with a 16-14 edge in the opening quarter before using a 15-0 run in the second quarter to blow open the game. Missed three-pointers and missed layups were the major culprit for the early game woes.

Louisville would go into the half up 41-22, but should have been up by 30 if it weren’t for the struggles down low. The Eagles battled again in the third quarter and Louisville was only able to extend their lead by two more by the time “Joker and the Thief” played through the KFC Yum! Center.

Defense for both teams took over in the final quarter, with Louisville holding a 15-10 scoring advantage. Jeff Walz pulled off the press in the final few minutes. Hennie van Schaik went down in the fourth quarter, but Walz mentioned that he believes she just rolled an ankle.

Three-point shooting was abysmal- the Cards shot 3-13 (23.1%), but they dominated the points in the paint 46-16, much thanks to Cochran and Harris. A few fast break layups and an offensive rebound layup off a missed free throw contributed to that number too.

F-R-E-D Report

(we bring back Fred Sanford for today's "Fred"...that's as fine as chilled wine, Cards!) 

Free throws- Louisville shot 15-18 (83.3%) and followed up a missed free throw with a made layup. Great numbers there. Capital F.

Rebounding- The Cards had better success against Kentucky in the rebounding battle but still held the 47-39 edge against the Eagles. Hannah Hicks recorded 11 boards for Morehead State. Winning the rebounding battle was enough for a lowercase “r”.

Effort/Efficiency- Get past the first quarter and the effort increased drastically. The Cards looked sluggish early in the game, perhaps still hungover from their rivalry win over the weekend. Louisville had trouble beyond the arc and had trouble right under the basket. Everywhere else on the court looked great. I don’t think there’s enough reason for a capital letter but the Cards won big in the end so a lowercase “e” works for me.

Defense- If I could split this between the odd numbered quarters and even numbered quarters then we’d see both a no letter and capital letter, respectively. Allowing 14 points in the first quarter and 16 points in the third quarter against Morehead State isn’t pretty. The Cards limited the Eagle’s perimeter shooting and tried to minimize second chance points on the defensive end. A lowercase “d” is awarded here.

FINAL FRED TALLY: 

F-r-e-d. Plenty of room for improvement but a win is a win.

Louisville wraps up their home stand 3-0 and will gear up for a trip to UConn on Saturday.

(EXCLUSIVE PHOTO OF THE ADMINISTRATOR THAT THOUGHT 4 P.M. WEEKDAY GAMES ARE A GOOD IDEA...SO WAS PIZZA ON  STICK, RIGHT?) 

Jared’s Note: 4:00 weekday games don’t draw fans. I was fortunate to leave work early but most of the Cardinal Couple Crew and much of the fan base was still at work or school when tip-off happened. The posted attendance was 7,066 but it looked to barely break 5,000. Next time, put the men’s game early since they barely have fans at games (for good reason) and the women’s team could’ve had a larger crowd with the 8:00pm slot.

Daryl will give you your regular Friday post tomorrow so make sure to tune in!

THEY SAID IT: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLbQzsljX3c   Olivia and Kiki post game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izNaMlnxfNE   Jeff Walz post game

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Van Lith Named All-American — Lax Hosts UNC — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Hailey Van Lith Named All-American

The accolades continue to pour in for Hailey Van Lith. The junior guard was named as an Honorable Mention All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The College Sports Communicators also released their All-American list yesterday with Van Lith earning honors there too. The Associated Press also released their All-American list this week with Van Lith being an honorable mention.

HVL was Louisville’s top scorer this season with 19.2 ppg. Her 3.2 assists per game ranked second on the team while her 4.8 rebounds per game was third for the Cards.

Besides the All-American honors, HVL named to the All-ACC First Team and ACC First Team All-Tournament. She was also named a Drysdale Award Finalist.

Van Lith and Louisville women’s basketball start their NCAA Tournament stint this Saturday at 7:30 p.m., on ESPN2. The 5th-seeded Card will square off against 12th-seeded Drake. The other part of the group at the Moody Center features 4th-seeded Texas and 13th-seeded East Carolina.

Lacrosse Hosts #1 North Carolina

Louisville lacrosse is back in action today as they host #1 North Carolina at 1:00 p.m. The game will be aired on ACC Network Extra.

The Cards recently fell on the road to #5 Boston College, a game UofL and the Eagles were tied 8-8 before BC went on a run in the second half.

North Carolina improved to 6-0 on the year after defeating #9 Virginia 17-12 last weekend. The Tar Heels look to make history. A win against Louisville would give UNC 47 straight regular season wins, top. ping the 46 game record Maryland currently holds.

Louisville enters the game 4-3 on the year with a 1-2 mark in the ACC. 

Nicole Perroni continues to write her name in the Louisville record books. She is currently on a 27 goal-scoring and point-scoring streak, dating back to April 1, 2021. No, it’s not an extended April Fool’s joke. Her goal streak is fourth in Louisville history and her scoring streak is fifth.

Jeff Walz Presser 3/15/23

Jeff Walz caught up with the media Wednesday, as the team prepares to take on Drake in the NCAA Tournament. Per usual, Walz's pressers cover a wide array of subjects. Add. Hailey and the crew sound off as well !! LINK BELOW:

WALZ PRESSER 3-15-23

PLAYERS PRE-TOURNAMENT 3-15-23

Cardinal Couple NCAA Pick Em

(Jared will handle color analyst duties for 1st and 2nd round NCAA WBB action on the Food Network with this guy...)

Please try to have picks in by 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday. 63 games + combined final score of the championship game. If you get less right than Paulie then your punishment is to go on a dinner date with him.

We did see a couple play-in games last night. The early game saw 11-seed Mississippi State vs 11-seed Illinois. Sam Purcell earned his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach as the Bulldogs beat the Illini, 70-56. We then saw 16-seed Sacred Heart vs 16-seed Southern in the late game. No, this wasn't two Louisville high schools playing. Sacred Heart with the 57-47 "W" in this one, they advance to play Stanford. . 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Onto the ACC Championship — Softball Splits — SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(He waits for UofL on Sunday)

CHAMPIONSHIP DAY !

Happy Sunday and Happy ACC Championship Day, Cards fans! That’s right, Louisville women’s basketball is still playing. They highlight a busy day that also features a pair of softball games and a lacrosse match.

You may notice I’m not Jeff, but it’s time I check in from down here in the ACC Tournament. To say it’s been a busy couple of days would be an understatement. My photo credential allows me to photograph any and every game of the ACC Tournament and I took that literally. Starting with Miami vs Boston College, continuing through four games on Friday, and a pair of games yesterday, the camera shutter has been clicking like crazy. Then comes the editing and minimal sleep.

Besides the every game “thank you’s” from Louisville fans, players, and staff for the photos, I also received some pleasant compliments from a couple twin players on a certain orange and green team for some photos from their games this tournament. While that’s cool, my heart is still red and black.

Louisville Gets Revenge, Crushes Notre Dame

Third try is a charm, right? In this case, Louisville women’s basketball made sure their victory over 1-seed Notre Dame was no fluke as the Cards crushed the Irish 64-38.

Louisville lost the two regular season meetings by a combined five points. Yeah, yeah, you can point out that Notre Dame had Olivia Miles in those games… sort of. Miles did hit the game winner in South Bend in the first meeting, but the Irish were trailing when the sophomore went down inside the KFC Yum! Center and came back to win with her on the bench.

There was no doubt in yesterday’s game. Notre Dame had three straight single-digit quarters while Louisville raised out to a monstrous lead that had players smiling, laughing, and hugging on the court long before the final buzzer sounded.

The Cards shot 1-13 from three-point range, possibly the only downside to the game. However, they made up for it in several other statistical categories- 75% free throw shooting, +12 rebounding margin, only 12 turnovers, and 22 forced turnovers. Those 22 forced turnovers converted into 26 made points, coincidentally the exact margin the Cards won by.

Hailey Van Lith didn’t have a lights out performance like she did against Wake Forest, but the junior did contribute in many ways. She led all players in scoring with 15 points. She limited her turnovers to two while logging three steals and being responsible for six fouls drawn.

Mykasa Robinson had another stat sheet-filling performance. She shot 5-7 from the field for 10 points while also pulling in eight rebounds, dishing out five assists, and recording two steals. One of those steals and assists came on a beautiful loose ball play in the first quarter that wound up being a nice layup by Morgan Jones.

Olivia Cochran had one of her best performances of the year. The junior shot 5-6 from the field along with a pair of made free throws for 12 points. She added eight boards, two assists, one steal, and four fouls drawn while keeping her fouls committed and turnovers to nil. It was a continuation of the return of the Olivia of old,  And, it's great to see. 

1Q: Louisville 12, Notre Dame 7

Offense was not the name of the game in the opening quarter. Nyla Harris hit three of four free throws to start the game, but it took four minutes before Louisville made a field goal. Notre Dame needed almost two minutes for theirs, a pull-up jumper by Sonia Citron. The Irish held a 5-3 advantage at the 6:40 mark, but Louisville’s world famous defense got to work. The Cards forced six turnovers in the first quarter to halt Notre Dame’s scoring and Louisville used a 9-2 run to close out the quarter.

2Q: Louisville 29, Notre Dame 15

In a low-scoring game, a 14-point halftime lead feels like a large margin. The play on the court confirmed that. Louisville went on a quick 6-0 spurt that caused Niele Ivey to call a timeout. The Cards forced a turnover following that timeout to push it to an 8-0 run in the second quarter (12-0 run over both quarters) before Notre Dame was able to knock down a shot. A fast break layup by Jones pushed the lead to 15 with six minutes remaining in the quarter. The Irish scored on back-to-back possessions after that to cut the lead to 11 but the two teams traded baskets up to halftime.

3Q: Louisville 50-24

You don’t often see a team double up their opponent late in the game, but Louisville did that yesterday at the conclusion of the third quarter. Louisville’s defense forced a pair of turnovers and the Cards had a 6-0 mini run to open up the second half to push their lead to 20. The Cards continued to toy with Notre Dame as nearly half of the Irish’s third quarter points came from the free throw line. They had three times as many turnovers (six) as they did made baskets (two).

4Q: Louisville 64-38

The women’s basketball world turned their heads as Notre Dame, the ACC’s best in the regular season had dug a deep hole against Louisville. The Cards opened up the final quarter on a 12-4 run and held a commanding 32-point lead. Louisville started the substitutions about midway through the fourth quarter as the game was well in hand. Josie Williams, Norika Konno, and Alexia Mobley all got to see extended minutes down the stretch. With a different look on the court for the Cards, Notre Dame was able to cut into the lead a tad, but a basket by Konno with 28 seconds left in the game pushed the lead back to 26 before the Cards then ran out the clock shortly after.

Never doubt Louisville when March rolls around. There were more questions than answers when non-conference play concluded and Louisville was unranked and already had four losses. Rome wasn’t built in a day and this year’s team needed some extra time to gel and get things to click. With their second straight win by 26 points, Louisville seems to have figured a few things out.

ACC PHOTOGRAPHS BY JARED ANDERSON -- EXCEELLENT WORK, SIR!

(Still dancin')

FRED Report

Free Throws- Louisville shot 15-20 from the field with HVL leading the way, going 7-7. A 75% team mark is good enough to earn a capital “F”.

Rebounds- The Cards crashed the boards all game and won the rebounding battle 42-30. That’s a good advantage when going against a team that has Maddy Westbeld and Lauren Ebo commanding the paint. 16 of those were offensive boards that turned into 15 second chance points. Easy decision on a capital “R”.

Effort/Efficiency- Despite the 1-13 mark from three-point range, Louisville shot 40% from the field. They had more assists (13) than turnovers (12) and scored 26 points on 22 forced turnovers. They also had 12 fast break points. The Cards were out for revenge and it showed in all four quarters. They didn’t pull off the gas at any point in the game. Even with a few points deducted for the poor outside shooting, there was no question on the effort in this game. Capital “E”.

Defense- Notre Dame scored seven, eight, and nine points in the first three quarters, respectively. No Irish player scored in double digits and Sonia Citron was limited to eight points in 33 minutes after being on a hot streak. Notre Dame shot 1-10 from three and 31% from the field. What stands out the most is the 22 turnovers. A Kasa-led defense is a defense I want to see in the tournament. The ACC regular season champion got “upset”, much to the credit of the defense of Louisville. Jeff Walz credited it to the hours of practice on working around screens and recovering when they did hit a screen to get back to face guarding as to why his team was so successful on defense yesterday. Capital “D”.

F-R-E-D is well deserved following one of the most complete performances for Louisville this season. This might not have had the 41-3 start like last year’s regular season finale in South Bend, but it had that same feel.

Louisville has made it known they think they should be a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They face the ACC 3-seed and projected NCAA Tournament 2-seed Virginia Tech today at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN.

(Bye, Bye Kara...thanks for showing up)

Virginia Tech had no trouble dismantling 2-seed Duke yesterday. The Hokies rolled past the Blue Devils 58-37 highlighted by Georgia Amoore’s 24 points.

Kenny Brooks has built a powerful team this year. His starting lineup includes one super-senior in Taylor Soule, three seniors (Elizabeth Kitley, Kayana Traylor, Cayea King), and one junior (Amoore). The two top bench players are also seniors (D’asia Gregg, Taylor Geiman).

THEY SAID IT

WALZ VAN LITH AND COCHRAN POST NOTRE DAME

ACC Pick Em

Now, onto what everyone wants to see- the updated Pick Em standings.

After yesterday’s games, we saw even more chaos. Quite a few brackets are done, regardless of what happens today, but there’s some major possibilities for ties, which is why we have the tiebreaker.

Updated standings:

13-0: —

12-1: —

11-2: Case, Daryl, Thomas I, Karen J

10-3: Paulie, Jeff, KStark Sr, Jared

9-4:  Dave-O, John S, Sonja, Vivian, Nick O

8-5: Jason W, Joe Hill, Curtis, Katy, Ben J

7-6: Lilli D, Jacob S, Bea

6-7: Blue Lou, Ken B, Arthur

5-8: Seminole Sally, Kenny S. 

4-9: —

3-10: CC Chimps

2-11: —

1-12: —

0-13: —

13 brackets are done with those brackets having picked winners such as Florida State, Notre Dame, Duke, Clemson, and Georgia Tech.

Five brackets have Virginia Tech winning- Jason, Sonya, Joe Hill, Karen J, and Jared.

Nine brackets have Louisville winning- Nick O, Curtis, Arthur, Paulie, Jeff, KStark Sr, Daryl, Thomas, and John S.

Scenarios

If Virginia Tech wins…

-Karen J wins at 12-2.

-Case, Daryl, Thomas I, and Jared tie for second and we go to the tiebreaker.

If Louisville wins…

-Case, Daryl, and Thomas tie for first at 12-2 and we go to the tiebreaker.

-Karen J, Paulie, Jeff, and KStark Sr tie right behind them at 11-3, but do not win any prizes.

We did have some confusion initially when Ally posted an incorrect bracket last Sunday. That, plus me staying busy down here at the ACC Tournament, could lead to a mistake so I’ll have Paulie double check me.

Softball Splits on Saturday

The weather in Louisville was good enough to play ball on campus. Much of the city was still dealing with a lack of power, downed power lines, or wind and fallen tree damage so a few softball games is a promising sign of improving conditions in the 502. We had no photographer or writer at the games, so thanks to various sources for the information. 

Louisville 8, Toledo 4

In their first game of the day, Louisville softball squared off against Toledo. The Cards came out on top 8-4.

Louisville posted a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning before Toledo matched it the next inning. The Cards plated one in the second and two in the third. A three-run fifth inning helped pull Louisville ahead for good.

Sam Booe got the start. Taja Felder came in relief in some mid innings and got the win. Cassie Grizzard and Gabby Holloway each tossed two innings in the win.

Northwestern 4, Louisville 1

The second game of the day wasn’t quite as good for Holly Aprile’s squad as #22 Northwestern took a 4-1 win.

The Wildcats broke a scoreless game with two runs in the fifth inning. Louisville got one run back in the bottom half of the inning before Northwestern plated a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings.

Alyssa Zabala got the start and tossed five innings, but took the loss to drop her record to 5-2. Taylor Robby came in for the final two innings in relief.

Louisville faces Northwestern again at 3:00 today and will close the weekend with a 5:30 game against Northern Kentucky.

Lacrosse Back in Action

After their match against Cincinnati on Friday was cancelled due to inclement weather, Louisville Lacrosse is back in action. The Cards host ACC foe Pitt at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium at 4:00 p.m. You can catch this one on ACCNX.

Happy Sunday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Schedule Change — ACC WBB Tournament — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Changes Schedule Due to Weather

Inclement weather has forced Louisville softball to alter their schedule after just one home game into the season. With heavy rain expected all day Friday, the Cardinal Classic was adjusted with it now set to start today.

Thursday

4:00 p.m. LOUISVILLE vs Northern Kentucky

Friday

No Games

Saturday

10:00 a.m. LOUISVILLE vs Toledo

12:30 p.m. Toledo vs Northern Kentucky

3:00 p.m. Northwestern vs Northern Kentucky

5:30 p.m. LOUISVILLE vs Northwestern

Sunday

10:00 a.m. Northern Kentucky vs Toledo

12:30 p.m. Toledo vs Northwestern

3:00 p.m. LOUISVILLE vs Northwestern

5:30 p.m. Northern Kentucky vs LOUISVILLE

Louisville is 11-4 on the year following a run rule victory over Bellarmine on Tuesday and are now on a five-game win streak. The Cards are in the receiving votes category.

Northern Kentucky is 3-7 on the year. The Norse are coming off a 1-4 weekend last weekend. Louisville leads the series, 2-0.

Northwestern is having a somewhat down year this year, sitting at 6-6 on the year. The Cards and Wildcats are tied 7-7 in their all-time series.

Toledo is 2-7 this season. They went 0-5 last weekend. Louisville leads the series, 3-0.

ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament

The first day of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament was a success. While other conference tournaments saw fights during the middle of the game *cough cough SEC cough cough* things went great in Greensboro.

Wake Forest held a commanding lead in the first half over Virginia before the Cavaliers cut their deficit to five in the fourth quarter. Jewel Spear had seen enough and helped the Demon Deacons pull away for an 11-point win. Virginia was without senior star Sam Brunelle, which was noticeable with Wake Forest winning the rebounding battle by a large margin. 68-57. Wake goes to Thursday. 

The second game of the day saw Clemson taking on Pitt. The Panthers held a small two-point advantage at the end of the first quarter before the Tigers used a 19-4 second quarter to command a large lead. Clemson continued to further their lead in the second half highlighted by 19 points from Hannah Hank.  71-53. Clemson advances

Day one’s final game pitted Georgia Tech against Boston College. While the Yellow Jackets held a slight lead after the opening quarter, Boston College had a strong second quarter to build a strong lead. Georgia Tech managed to get the game back within one possession but the Eagles hit their final five free throws to help hold on. Dontavia Waggoner came off the bench in her first game back in several weeks to score 16 points for Boston College. 62-57. Eagles move on. 

Today's action has four games and all four of them should be good games.

11:00 a.m. 5-seed Florida State vs 12-seed Wake Forest

2:00 p.m. 8-seed NC State vs 9-seed Syracuse

6:00 p.m. 7-seed North Carolina vs 10-seed Clemson

8:00 p.m. 6-seed Miami vs 11-seed Boston College

All games will be aired on ACCN.

The good news is we will have in person coverage of the tournament later this week. By the time this article goes live, I will be on the way down to Greensboro. I hope to catch some of the final game of today’s slate, but will for sure be present for all four games on Friday. In the event Louisville wins on Friday, I will remain there for Saturday’s slate. Let’s hope the Cards advance to the final on Sunday and I will be there for that game as well. We may not have Paulie available to travel this year but I’m excited to be going down with my camera to catch some of the games.

Paulie Recap:  Day 1

(Sadly, I am not with my girlfriend in Greensboro this year)

( I was not able to travel to the ACC WBB Tournament this year and I miss not being there. Mind you, I don't miss that drive out of Louisville to get there. I've tried both ways (the West Virginia Turnpike route and the I-75 to I-40 way) and have decided that if I go in 2024, depending on where it is...I might look into airplane and rent-a-car as an option. After all, I'm not getting any younger and my pleas to get on the Louisville charter in past years has gone un-noticed.) 

And....they're off ! Stephanie White is on the early ACC Network call. I like her analysts work. 

Game One had Wake Forest and Virginia. Wake threatened to run away with it early and Virginia was having trouble even inbounding the ball with no one guarding them.  In time, the Deacons finally started playing like a #12 seed, but Virginia was taking their time trying to catch them. Virginia cuts the lead, finally, to one...and then Wake runs off nine points in a row. Put out the fire, call in the dogs and bundle on up in the sleeping bag --- this one is over. They call the UVA coach "Coach Mock" . I guess that's life imitating art or an appropriate moniker for her job....it's was clear to see she was quite done with this season, this team and will roll the dice with a new bunch in 2024. Off you go to play FSU, Wake. Pity upon you and DON'T try to run with them. Seriously.

Game 2 was Hannah Hank vs. Pitt and the Aussie came out and made it career afternoon. She was on fire and the Tigers even look like they have improved and learned how to crash the boards. This one was over by halftime and the real question is can the Tigers keep the magic alive vs. UNC today? You gotta love Hank, Douglas, Bradford and Gaines for the Tigers and Coach Amanda B got Clemson to the second round...that ought to be worth a new, five-year contract. Go find a center, now. 

Game 3 was maybe the most entertaining of the day (or night). 

First off, we got Deb Antonelli doing analyst work. She's my fav., so it'll be a fun two hours.

Second...Joanna Bernabei McNamee coaches Boston College and she's another fav of mine. BC wanted this win and simply would not give up to what we all figured to be a powerhouse GT team at the start of the year a chance to get within range until late in the game, when it was basically over. Freshman power present in BC's Dontavia Waggoner stepped up and hit her free throws late.

You have to wonder how Cameron Swartz feels. She left BC to play her final year at GT and it's BC that knocks her new team out of the ACC Tournament. One helluva coaching job by Joanna for the Eagles. Will they have a prayer against Miami today? I fear not, these Canes have something to prove and the Cavinder twins are pretty awesome (and hard to guard0. Off we go to Day 2. 

I'm by the TV. Watching. 

paulie

Cardinal Couple Pick Em

We had a record number of entries for the Cardinal Couple ACC Pick Em Challenge with 27 people filling out a bracket. Thank you to all of you! We love your participation and the fact that this fun event continues to draw in more people each year.

Louisville was the crowd favorite with nine picks to take the title. Six brackets have Notre Dame winning it all. Five brackets picked Virginia Tech to take the crown. Florida State earned three picks to win the ACC. Duke got two picks while Clemson and Georgia Tech each got one pick.

We do still have a few perfect brackets after three games while other brackets have been a bit less fortunate.

3-0: Katy, Vivian, Bea, Case, Jeff, K Stark Sr, Daryl, Thomas, Lilli

2-1: Jason, Sonya, Nick O, Ben, Seminole Sally, Paulie, Dave-O, Jared, Karen, John, Jacob, Joe Hill

1-2: Kenny S, Curtis, Arthur, CC Chimps

0-3: Blue Lou, Ken B,

If you're like me, a couple of unknown injuries caught me off guard, but many folks went the smart and safe route by picking the higher seeds in the opening round.

Here's to more chaos in the second round of the ACC Tournament!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB Adds Another -- Louie Awards -- Six Service Award Winners -- Weekend Happenings -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Chrislyn Carr Joins WBB

Louisville women’s basketball added another member to next year’s squad. Chrislyn Carr joins the Cards from Syracuse for her final year of eligibility. Standing at just 5’5, Carr possibly qualifies to be an Attack Yorkie? We’ll check with Paulie and Jeff on that.

Carr spent last season with the Orange, ranking second on the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game. Carr scored in double figures in 22 of her 29 games. She started all 29 games for them. Carr shot .440 from the field and .372 from three-point range, both team-highs.

Prior to joining Syracuse, Carr was with Texas Tech and was a force with the Red Raiders. She was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2019 and was in the running for National Freshman of the Year. Besides finishing top two on the team in scoring in her freshman and sophomore seasons, she also was a threat from three-point range.

We are still unsure on how big of a role Carr will play with Louisville, and she joins a crowded guard pool with Mykasa Robinson, Hailey Van Lith, Ahlana Smith, Payton Verhulst, Norika Konno, and Merissah Russell, Zyanna Walker and Jayln Brown. However, Jeff Walz has shown a focus in scorers with the transfer portal this year, which makes sense following two of the top three scorers from last year going pro in Emily Engstler and Kianna Smith.

Louie Awards

Last night was the annual Louie awards where student-athletes and teams are recognized and honored with different awards and accomplishments.

The winners are as follows:

Teammate Award- Elana Ornelas (softball), Arina Openysheva (swim and dive), Etienne Donnet (men’s tennis)

Outstanding Support Staff- Becky Schroeder (Director of Sports Nutrition)

CardsCARE- Kaylee Wheeler (swim and dive), Bradley Sample (men’s soccer)

CardsCARE Team- lacrosse, men’s soccer

Spirit Award- Evan Schneider (band), Maddy Robinson (Ladybirds), Terrell Cabral (cheer)

Cardinal Cup- coed cheer

Moment of the Year- full seasons for women’s basketball, volleyball, and field hockey

Alli Bitting

UPS Leadership Award- Alli Bitting (field hockey), CJ Avery (football)

Adidas High Performance Athlete of the Year- Anna Stevenson (volleyball), Nicolas Albiero (swim and dive)

Newcomer of the Year- Emily Engstler (women’s basketball), Sander Roed (men’s soccer)

Highest Senior GPA- Reigan Lines (rowing), Kiana Klein (women’s soccer), Sam Minrath (field hockey)

Highest Team GPA- field hockey

UofL Names Six for ACC Service Award Winners

Katie Schneider

Louisville Athletics named six student-athletes as the top ACC Service Award winners. Kaylee Wheeler, Katie Schneider, Ashley Osborne, Bradley Sample, Kaden Kozlowski, Dawson Orlowski were the six named to the ACC's Top Six for Community Service.

Kaylee Wheeleer (swimming and diving) works with adaptive sports and programs as well as working as a disabilities ministry volunteer.

Katie Schneider (field hockey) has been present in College Mentors for Kids as well as having done work with both National Girls and Women in Sports events and Martin Luther King Day initiatives.

Ashley Osborne (lacrosse) has been active with several groups including Bless The Block, Operationa Brightside Cleanup, Martin Luther King Day initiatives, and the annual Jack O' Lantern stroll.

Bradley Sample (men's soccer), Kaden Kozlowski (cheer), and Dawson Orlowski are the men's athletes honored and were involved with several different groups and initiatives.

Weekend Happenings

Although campus will be fairly quiet for women's sports this weekend, there is still plenty going on.

Louisville lacrosse is the only women's team in the Ville as they host Notre Dame at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday at noon for Senior Day. The Cards are looking for their second conference win of the season and to close the regular season on a two-game win streak.

Louisville softball is on the road in Blacksburg, VA., against #3 Virginia Tech starting Friday. The Cards are fresh off a sweep against Syracuse and hope to build off of that momentum.

Louisville rowing will be taking part in the Lake Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday and Saturday.

Louisville track and field goes north to Bloomington, IN. for the Indiana Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Women's pole vault ranks first in the country and women's high jump ranks fifth.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Host Boston College Tonight — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cards Host Boston College Tonight

As PauliE said yesterday, the ‘Second Season’ for Louisville Women’s Basketball begins tonight. Back from the holiday break, Louisville opens ACC play against Boston College inside the KFC Yum! Center at 7:00 p.m., ET. The game will be shown on ACC Network Extra (online) or you can tune into 790-WKRD AM radio to hear Nick Curran and AJ call the game.

#3 Louisville boasts a 10-1 record on the year highlighted by three wins against ranked opponents including rival Kentucky. The Cards went undefeated against in-state opponents in Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Bellarmine. Who owns the state, again?

Boston College is 8-3 on the year. The Eagles opened conference play against North Carolina recently, and fell to the Tar Heels 76-73. When it comes to offensive efficiency, the Eagles are one of the best in the country. They average 75.6 points per game and their 48.7% shooting is best in the ACC and ranks third in the country. The one weakness on offense for BC is their turnovers- 19.3 per game.

On the defensive end, Boston College is giving up an average of 64.1 points per game while forcing 19.2 turnovers per game, 9.6 of those being blocks. The Eagles are also a good blocking team at 4.3 blocks per game.

Their roster lists eight players between 6’0 and 6’3. The other six are no shorter than 5’7. Taylor Soule and Cameron Swartz have been the heart-and-soul(e) of this team. The duo averages a combined 29 points per game. Both standing at 5’11, they’re versatile enough to run with the guards but also have the size to be a presence in the post. Seven different Eagles average between 3.3-5.1 rebounds per game, led by freshman Maria Gakdeng.

Boston College looks way different than the 7-12 team from last season and more like the 20-12 team from the previous year. The Eagles are hoping to have their second winning season in the last decade.

ACC play is no walk in the park. Not every team Louisville faces will be at the level of NC State, but a good portion of the conference has the potential to win on any given night. Boston College is one of those teams that can shock you if they get hot.

As we get into the second half of the season the rotation could drop to 7-8 players consistently, but to try and wear down opposing teams, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Jeff Walz has 10 different players see action. To try to limit the strong shooting, this game has the potential to see a lot of full court press for both teams.

Paulie will be on the court with live tweets and asking Walz about his favorite Christmas present. Being back in town, I plan to be at the game tonight with my camera. 

(TODAY'S PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS B.C. GAMES, TAKEN BY JARED) 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared