WBB in Raleigh to face NC State -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCST LEADS SERIES 9-8

They're one of those ACC teams that Louisville has struggled with in the ACC. And, going to Raleigh and playing in front of what's sure to be a sellout pro-Wolfpack crowd isn't exactly a game where Coach Walz can unload the bench for the fourth quarter. 

NC State, coached by the ubiquitous Wes Moore, isn't quite the squad they were last year...but at 13-5 and second in the ACC standings...they are still a force to be reckoned with...and Wolfpack fans take a special delight in giving the Cards and Jeff Walz a welcome that is not warm and cheerful. 

Classless, mean, overly intense and abusive is the opinion of a few of the other ACC coaches and players when it comes to the NCST fan base. They, of course ,see themselves differently...as being loyal and passionate. 

A former UofL WBB player, who asked to remain anonymous, describes playing in the James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum as "worse than the biggest rivalry you had in high school. They'd probably boo Santa Claus because he wears a red suit..." 

Reynolds can hold up to 5.500 for women's basketball and has attracted a little over 5.000 for home games this season. Packed on top of the court, the crowd can be very intimidating to visiting teams. 

Of course, it's well known that my favorite mascot in the ACC WBB is Ms. Wuf...Below is a photo of the two of us, shortly before Mr. Wuf barged in and demanded to be in a picture. Yeah, things could get a little crazy in Greensboro 

So...who are the Wolfpack leaders? They currently have four student-athletes in double figures...junior Khamil Pierre leads the way with 15.8 a game.  

Khamil gives 'Pack fans a thrill...

The Pack have won four out of their last five...inexplicably losing to Clemson.

Last year, the Cards played NCST twice and won both...65-54 in November in Louisville and 70-68, in overtime, in the ACC Tournament.

 This one is a ESPN2 game and...of course, the network will trot out former NCST guard Deb Antonelli to do color analysis. It's a 1 p.m. tip.  Let's hope she doesn't go into a two-hour praise-fest of Wes and the Pack. 

And let's hope the Cards can hold up under the second most hostile fan base they face in a season...

paulie

Slow start and finish send Cards to defeat vs. NC State -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS POOR SHOOTING HELPS WOLFPACK WIN 63-51

It's a simple game in theory, this Naismith creation we love so much here in Louisville. You shoot the ball better than your foe and you make more baskets...and you're probably going to win. Louisville women's basketball couldn't do that, though, before a KFC YUM! Center crowd of 11,175 Sunday afternoon, falling by a dozen to the visitors from Raleigh, North Carolina 63-51.

For UofL, the afternoon began with a scoring slump where the Cards made just one of their first nine shots in the first five minutes and trailed the North Carolina State squad 10-2.  Jeff Walz got a time out to discuss and the Cards did get a three from CC Carr with four minutes left in the first quarter, but in the meantime -- NC State was building a lead that would put them up by 10, at 18-8 with 2:49 left in the quarter. We ever saw a rare Hailey Van Lith departure in the first quarter...she was 0-4 from the floor and a rough start for her

Louisville would see that Wolfpack advantage go to 11 before the Cards got the final five points in the final 3 seconds. Another Carr three and a Mykasa Robinson sinking a turnaround jumper in the paint as time ran out in the first. Carr had totaled Louisville's first eleven points, and at least she was fairly hot with 4-6 shooting and 3-3 from three-point land, but the Cardinals were not and registered a 5-17 (29.4%) first quarter number. NCST was on fire with a 7-10 (70%) shooting display and led the contest 19-13

The Cards needed to pick up the scoring frequency and cool Wes Moore's Wolfpack squad down a bit, and credit the UofL squad for not allowing the Pack to pull away. Carr nailed a three to start the second quarter and Louisville began to chip away at the visitor's lead.

The Cards would draw within three midway through the quarter (24-27) after a Van Lith basket and back-to-back Morgan Jones buckets. The Cards kept knocking at the door and Van Lith tied it at 28-28 with 2:13 until half. And, lo and behold, Louisville would get their first lead with 1:16 to go on a Robinson steal and basket and pad that lead to two when Robinson drove the length of the court and got fouled with a second left in the half. She made one of the two resulting free throws at it was Cards 33 - Wolfpack 31 at the half

UofL led the contest 37-35 after the first three minutes of the third quarter and had their largest lead of the game seconds later at 37-35.  In a closely played quarter, where the Cards held the lead for nearly 7-1/2 of it, it was NC State who scored the final five points of the third and grabbed the lead back at 48-47.

It's interesting to note that Louisville missed their final three shots of the quarter and had a turnover. Little did we know that it was the start of something much worse to follow. Jada Boyd and Saniya Rivers had substituted into the game and were using their speed over the final seven minutes of the third, and, along with Diamond Johnson, went 5-7 against UofL in the quarter.

There's just not a lot to say about the fourth quarter, except Louisville missed their first 13 shots, The teams were actually frozen at 54-48 for three minutes, bot NCST would regain their form and win the quarter 15-4. . 

The final was 63-51, NCST improves to 15-5 and 5-4 in conference and Cards drop to 15-7 and 6-3

THE FRED REPORT

(Maybe Fred Water would have help solve the Cards dry offensive spells)

Free Throws -- A substandard night from the line for UofL, going 7-11 for 63% No letter

Rebounds -- The Cards got out grabbed  41-37.  Cochran had 11 for the Cards, but a loss and losing the boards battle means no letter

Effort/Execution -- UofL lost the points in the paint stat, definitely got outshot from the floor and managed their second lowest point total of the year. Six assists on 20 baskets isn't a great number either. Add in the fourth quarter fiasco and no letter here.

Defense -- 63 points isn't too bad, forcing 15 turnovers and getting seven steals are things that could normally lead to a win, but NCST shot 46% and Louisville had no answer for Diamond Johnson, Jada Boyd and Saniya Rivers. small case "d"

FINAL FRED REPORT --  -_-_-_d

                                             ***********************************                                           

It wasn't Louisville's finest hour and it's a shame it had to happen in front of such a large crowd that realty wanted them to succeed. The inconsistent effort was maddening and frustrating. To fight all the way back and then go dormant .

Hopefully the Cards can regroup and rebound against Wake Forest -- who got handled by Virginia Tech yesterday by 17, 

Just another tricky day in the Atlantic Chaos Conference

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

THEY SAID IT

POST GAME JEFF WALZ

POST GAME CHRISLYN CARR AND MORGAN JONES

paulie

paulie

Basketball Gameday vs the Wufs - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 NC State Pays a Visit

(Paulie probably won/t get to see his gal -- Ms. Wuf --today. she doesn't do away game out of state.)

So, the day is here, maybe one of the most anticipated matchups of the ACC this season, but it's hard to articulate why.

We've had plenty of discussion about the weird year it's been here in the Atlantic Chaos Conference in Women's Basketball, and this matchup highlights quite a bit of it.  NC State is ranked 20th or 18th nationally depending which poll you look at but they're tied for eighth in the conference standings.

(So, how good is this team, Wes?) 

The question to answer is, how good is NC State?  We can look at their non-conference slate, where they waltzed through mostly mediocre competition.  They took a loss to UConn early in the season before the Husky's lost about half of their team to injuries, so that's not terrible.  They have a win over then 10th ranked Iowa, a good win to be sure, but the rest of the non-conference schedule?  It's just kinda meh.

OK, so let's look at what's gone down in conference for NC State thus far.  They came up against Duke early, and the Blue Devils are clearly a very good team this year, so fair enough.  A loss to Boston College is a bit of a head scratcher.  Yes, the Eagles are considerably improved this year compared to their usual level of play, but they shouldn't be much of a threat to a top-25 team.  Losing to Florida State is not that shocking, even if it was likely considered an upset by most.  Similarly, dropping the game against UNC was likely considered a mild upset, but mild is the key word, there.

And Wolfpack conference wins?  Clemson, Syracuse, Virginia, and Miami.  They're all just, kinda, "meh" wins.

So is this team any good?  Your guess is as good as mine, and guess seems to be about all we can do in the ACC this year.  They do absolutely have some really great talent on the squad.  Diamond Johnson shooting 46% from the field, and 42% beyond the arc.  Jada Boyd has similar shooting percentages, Camille Hobby also in the closer range shots.  Jakia Brown-Turner is also a threat from anywhere on the floor.

The biggest stats disparity when you look at NC State is in blocked shots, they have almost double the number of their opponents.  They best their opponents in turn-overs, but not by a big margin.  Overall, on the stats sheet, this has the makings of two team very similar ball and a close game.

So who's the favorite today?  NC State is ranked nationally while Louisville is the lower ranges of the "Receiving Votes" territory, but in conference standings, NC State is eighth, as mentioned above, while the Cards are tied with FSU for third place.

Nothing new in the keys for the Louisville game, we've been saying it all year, we've got to close the bakery and limit the turnovers.  21 turnovers vs Boston College was abysmal.  If we repeat that today, we likely come out on the loosing end of this one.  If we can keep control of the ball, I think the chances are good for a Cards win.

There will be a lot of eyes on the game.  Even in the Thursday post-game, Coach Walz mentioned that the lower bowl was already a sell-out and upper-deck tickets were being sold.  Combine that with national broadcast TV on ABC, and that's a recipe for a lot of viewers.  If you can't make it out the the KFC Yum! Center at 1pm for the game, you'll get Beth Mowins and Rebecca Lobo on the call, and I believe Holly Rowe roaming the sidelines.  All in all, one of the best coverage teams out there.

Of course, you always have the option of catching Nick Curran on 93.9, and Cortnee Walton is back on the microphone for color after being a bit under the weather recently.  We here at Cardinal Couple have always liked Cortnee and hope she is feeling better.

Swim and Dive

The Swim and Dive teams were in action yesterday against Kentucky in Lexington.  Kentucky came out on top on the women's side of the competition in a close score, 168-132.  The Cards are ranked 6th in the country with The Cats carrying a 14th rank.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, Gabi Albiero came away with four wins in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, and 200 medley relay teamed up with Abby Hay, Cecilia Viberg, and Christiana Regenauer.  That performance was also an A-cut time, qualifying the team for the NCAA Championship at the end of the season.  Abby Hay also won the 200 fly.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It was a basketball show for the CCRHP yesterday.  All five of us (Case, Daryl, me, Jared and Paulie) made the call, a delight when it happens.  Plenty of bakery critique was part of it, of course, as we discussed the Florida State and Boston College turnover fests.

We then tried to preview today's NC State game, but none of us had our Johnny Carson Amazing Kreskin hats on us, so who knows.

As always pick it up from your favorite podcast directory or it's home at anchor.fm:  https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Basketball-on-a-Hot-Streak-e1tqcc5

-- JMcA

Smith home run gives SB win -- ACC Tournament -- CC ACC WBB Pick 'Em Results-- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

KENDALL SMITH HOME RUN GIVES CARDS 3-2 WIN

When Kendall Smith completed her four years at Western Kentucky, and wanted an additional year at a school that offered a master's degree in sports administration, my guess is that Holly Aprile's hand went high into the air and pointed to her, Ulmer Stadium and the UofL Master's Degree programs. After all, there was a bit of familiarity there. Smith had played in Ulmer, with the Hilltoppers in the 2021 season and she had caught Topper turned Cardinals pitcher Jen Leonhardt, One might speculate that she may have figured she just might be able to add a little depth to the Cards "behind the plate" student-athletes. 

The move up I-65 from Bowling Green to the "Ville has paid dividends, especially Sunday -- when Smith's sixth inning olo home run was the winning blow in UofL's  3-2 win over Hofstra. The "touch 'em all" was Smith's six of the season and gave the Cards a bit of revenge for allowing Hofstra to defeat them twice on Friday. .  

Hofstra was determined to make it a sweep over UofL and opened the contest with two runs in the top of the first. The Cards got one back in the bottom of the first and tied the game in the third. 

The Cards (11-8) used four pitchers inside the circle Sunday...Chardonnay Harris getting the start and going four innings, Sam Booe throwing an inning and a third, Gabby Holloway entering the circle in the sixth inning for 2/3rds of an inning and Taylor Roby finishing the contest in the seventh. Since Holloway was still the pitcher of record when Smith unloaded her bomb to left-center, Gabby gets the win and Taylor the save.

 

Louisville co-hosts the Bluegrass Challenge next with UK. Valparaiso plays the Cards in Ulmer on Thursday, Central Michigan and Ohio face UofL on Friday, EKU visits for a Saturday game against the Cards, and UofL and Indiana will meet Sunday morning. 

Jared Anderson got some post-game comments from Cards skipper Holly Aprile after the game. Hear them HERE

SOFTBALL PICTURES FROM JARED ANDERSON

NCST wins ACC WBB Tournament

The Miami miracles came to an end Sunday, as North Carolina State defeated Bassy's Canes 60-47 in the ACC Tournament Championship game.

Miami had to be exhausted --playing their fourth game in four days -- but gave the Pack a battle in the first quarter before running out of gas. NCST star Elissa Cunane left the contest with an apparent ankle injury in the third quarter but Miami actually lost ground to the Wolfpack while Cunane was being evaluated. Cunane did return to the floor, sporting an ankle brace and the Heels won their third straight ACC WBB Tournament title. 

Cunane finished with 17 points and was named Tournament MVP. 

Kelsey Marshall had 24 points for Miami (20-12), who probably improved their seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, with the run.  

Congrats to NC State.  Enjoy it while you can. A bigger dance awaits. 

CARDINAL COUPLE ACC WBB PICK EM CONTEST

And the winner is......(drum roll, please)...

Katy, who finished with a 11-3 record is the winnah !!!. She's Jared's finacee, and a FSU grad. It's her first win in the contest. She gets the $25 Cracker Barrel gift card.  

We had a four way tie for second at 10-4 between Nick O, Thomas, kstarksr and Louavulfan35, so we had to go to the tie-breaker, which was who would get closest to the total score of the final game.  The final points total was 107 and Louavulfan35 was closest with an entry of 117. The $20 Subway card awarded here. 

Winners, get in touch with me via e-mail at cardinalcouple@twc.com to let me know where to send your cards. 

A huge thanks to all who submitted entries and next up, the Cardinal Couple NCAA WBB Pick 'em. Jared will explain more about that as the March 13th NCAA WBB Selection Sunday gets closer.  We'll offer gift cards on this one, too -- I'm working on securing those ... 

paulie

  

A grimace in Greensboro for WBB -- FIeld Hockey, Softball and Volleyball results -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCST 58 - LOUISVILLE 56

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad saw an early fourth quarter eight-point lead over NC State disappear and fell 58-56 to the WolfPack yesterday in the finals of the ACC women's basketball tournament yesterday in Greensboro Coliseum. 

Transfer guard Raina Perez hit a jumper with 2.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Raleigh, NC squad the final, two-point lead that held -- as the Cards missed on two attempts to tie or win the contest after Perez's shot. 

Louisville held a eight-point lead with 8:58 left in the final quarter after a Dana Evans three, but NC State methodically climbed back into the contest and regained the lead at 55-54 after two Elissa Cunane free throws with 2:23 left in the final quarter. The Cards went back up with 1:59 to play 56-55 after a Evans jumper, NC State tied it at 56-56 after one Cunane free throw with 47 seconds remaining, but Perez's jumper gave the Pack their second straight ACC Tournament title   

A tough loss, no doubt for Jeff Walz's squad, but Walz went for the win on the final play of the game, after an attempted lob to Hailey Van Lith on the right side of the court failed and went out of bounds. Kianna Smith's inbounds pass to Evans resulted in a three-point attempt that grazed the front of the rim but would not go in.

Evans led the Cards in scoring with 15 points, another slow start for Dana, but her 13 second half points (nine in the fourth quarter) kept the Cards in the fray and had them leading --  as the final ten minutes wore down.  Cunane took over for Wes Moore's squad late and she was named MVP of the tournament. 

The NCAA Tournament still looms large for Louisville (although just where the NCAA Bracket folks will seed the Cards is anyone's guess) and the Cards need to develop a short memory, focus on the task ahead and take care of business in the Lone Star State, beginning March 21st. 

For the Cards, Kianna Smith carried the load before Evans hot-hand took over, Kianna had 13 points for Louisville. Olivia Cochran added eight points and eight rebounds for UofL, who goes into the Big Dance with a 23-3 mark. 

THE FRED REPORT

(Yeah, we weren't too pleased with the final score either, Fred Thompson.)

FREE THROWS -- Once again, we saw a scarcity of Cardinals getting to the stripe. The officiating crew of Joe Vaszily, Eric Brewton and Dee Kanter called 22 fouls in the contest, 15 on Louisville. Formulate your own thoughts on that discrepancy. The Cards got four free throw attempts and dank two of them. Only  three Cards went to the line in 40 minutes. NC State, on the other hand went 10-12 from the charity stripe. We cannot award a letter here for the 50% mark by Louisville but have to raise an eyebrow on Cunane for NC State getting eight attempts. 

REBOUNDS  -- The Cards did close the gap from the first time these two met back on Feb 1st and lost the boards battle by just four. Besides Cochran's eight, Hailey Van Lith nabbed seven and that ridiculous "team" entry had six grabs -- all on the defensive end for Louisville. I cannot award a letter when you lose the rebounding battle, despite the improvement from the previous meeting.

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville shot 42.4% from the floor (25-59) and had seven assists on those baskets. A sub-par 4-16 (25%) from three-point range didn't help the Cards chances, but the Cards did fight their way back into this one from a seven-point deficit with 6:44 left in the third quarter to that eght-point lead in the fourth, so the effort and execution was certainly there for awhile. and, Louisville won the points-off-turnovers battle 16-7.  I'll go smallcase "e" for this category --no win means no capital letter. 

DEFENSE -- You really can't come down too harshly on the Cards "d" yesterday. They held NCST to 58 point, 43.1% shooting, forced 13 turnovers and had five  steals. The 18-13 NC State edge in the fourth quarter was fueled by NC States 5=6 from the foul line, the Cards were not awarded a free throw in the final 10 minutes. Dixon and Cochran picked up four fouls each in their efforts to contain Cunane and Ramani Parker had two fouls in 10 minutes. I'll go smallcase "d" here because of the Wolfpack point total and fact they had just one double-digit scorer. 

FINAL FRED REPORT:  _-_-e-d  

So, not the best result in Greensboro yesterday, but what's the use in dwelling on it. To use the overworked phrase: "it is what it is".

You move on.

It could have been a joyous celebration, if Perez's final shot bounced off the rim and/or Dana's three attempt went in. You congratulate NC State,  learn from the defeat and now turn the focus in planning for The Dance. 

FIELD HOCKEY BLANKS BALL STATE

It was a bird battle in Indiana yesterday and the #7 Louisville Field Hockey Cardinals soared over the Ball State Cardinals 5-0 yesterday

"Meche" (Mercedes Pastor) recorded the first "hat trick" of her long and illustrious time as a student-athlete with Louisville Field Hockey in the Cards 5-0 win at Ball State Sunday.  With the win, Louisville goes to 9-3 in the split season. 

A defensive struggle early, Louisville taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room in Muncie at the half. Pastor was involved in that lone score, her shot on goal bounced off the keeper and Aimee Plumb was there to collect it and fire it onto the back of the net. 

The Cards pushed the lead to 2-0 when Pastor connected in the third quarter on a shot from the right side of the circle into the bottom left corner of the goal. It was Pastor again (twice) in the final quarter, getting goals off penalty corners. Katie Schneider completed the Cards scoring with four minutes left in the contest. 

The Cards defense allowed just five Ball State shots in the match. Goalie Sam Minrath recorded the shutout and had three saves. Louisville took 18 shots, 13 on goal and Pastor had 12 of those attempts and nine of the ones on goal. 

Louisville gets their spring home opener Saturday when Virginia visits. 

VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS WAKE FOREST SUNDAY

On Senior Day in the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on the Louisville campus, the VolleyCards swept the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 25-19, 25-18, 25-18.

Sophomore Aiko Jones had 15 kills for the Cards and two block, as Louisville sweeps the weekend matches over the Winston-Salem visitors. 

Louisville hit .337 for the match and 48 kills to WFU's 29. The Cards also got strong play from seniors Piper Roe and Alexis Hamilton, Roe had five kills and six blocks and Hamilton produced 13 digs. Also stepping up big for the Cards was Anna Stevenson, with 10 kills and three service aces. 

The Cards are now 7-2 on the split season and travel to Clemson next, where they'll face the Tigers on Friday and then take on Duke on Saturday in Clemson's arena -- part of the pod format being used this season.

SOFTBALL SHUT OUT BY MIAMI (OH) 4-0 

It wasn't a Sunday to remember for Louisville softball, the Cards managed just four hits against Miami (OH) in the final day of the Cardinal Classic. The Cards ran into a strong performance by RedHawks senior pitcher Courtney Vierstra, who fanned 12 Cardinal batters in her fourth win of the season.

Miami used a three-run homer in the first inning from Adriana Barlow's bat to register all the runs they'd need in this game.  

The Cards had chances. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Carmyn Greenwood smacked her second double of the affair and advanced to third on Taylor Roby's single...but both were left stranded. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cards filled the bases when Greenwood, Jennifer Leonhardt and Jordan Wolfe all reached safely but Celene Funke was caught looking at a called third strike to end the game and Cardinal late rally. 

Bellarmine comes to Ulmer for a Tuesday night contest next for Louisville 

CARDINAL COUPLE ACC TOURNAMENT PICK 'EM CONTEST

David Watson won the Cardinal Couple ACC Tournament Pick 'Em contest, by successfully choosing NC State in his bracket to defeat the Cards. 

It's the second straight year for a win for "Dave-O" in the contest. Cardinal Couple columnist Jeff McAdams finished second, choosing the Cards in the final game. Both contestant went 10-2 over the five-day event, Watson getting the win by turning in his entry earlier than McAdams. Only three of the 22 contestants had NC State as their winner. 

Full order of finish: 

10-2:  David Watson, Jeff McAdams

9-3:  LouavulFan 35, KStarksr, Case, Jared

8-4:  Arthur, Vivian, Daryl, Clemson Cuz

7-5:  Nick O, Paulie, Blue Lou, Kenny S, Phil, Doug A., Sonya

6-6:  Ramblin Eric

5-7:  Curtis, Joe Hill, Nole Knowledge

4-8: Cardinal Couple Chimps

Knowing Watson, I expect he'll pop in here sometime today with a celebratory remark or two. He wins the $25 gift card to Cracker Barrel and we're going to recommend he give it to one of his three kids. A concession speech from "Worldwide" probably won't occur -- he rarely comments on articles. 

A huge "thank you!" to all who participated (it was our largest ACC Pick' Em ever -- entry wise -- with 22 participants)  in the history of the contest, and we'll probably offer a NCAA WBB Pick 'Em as well, if our Bracket Czar Jared is willing to compile the entries and results. We'll keep you updated on that. 

have a menaingful Monday! 

 

paulie

CARDS ADVANCE TO SEMIS! -- ACC WBB REPORT

 THEN THERE WERE FOUR...ACC WBB Update

Who is in the ACC WBB Tournament semifinals?  Your final four are Florida State, Louisville, NC State and Boston College. Have a safe trip home Wake Forest, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and Duke. 

FSU 76 - Wake Forest 47

The Seminoles jumped on the Demon Deacons early and never took the foot off the gas. 22-10 after the first quarter and 44-25 at the half. FSU shot 51.7% for the night and placed four in double figures. A 32-22 rebounding edge for the 'Noles, they forced 18 turnovers and committed just seven. 

The Noles get the Cards Saturday at noon. Wake waits to see about a WNIT bid. 

Nausia Woolfolk (15), Kourtney Weber (15), Nicki Ekhomu (12) and Kiah Gillespie (10) led the charge for Sue's Seminoles. Ivana Raca was about the only bright spot for WFU with 18 points. 

LOUISVILLE 71 - SYRACUSE 46

Revenge is sweet and the Cards got it in bucketfuls with the romp in the second game. Dana Evans and Jaz Jones led the first half smack-down, which had UofL up 34-13 when the buzzer sounded after 20 minutes. 5-29 Syracuse shooting in the first can be attributed to one of the best Cards defensive efforts of the season. 12-0 on the second chance points for Walz's squad and 10-2 on fast breaks. The Orange never knew what hit them.

Louisville went deep into the lineup in the second half and Dana Evans led all scorers with 23 points, fitting for the league's MVP. Jaz finished with 11 and Kylee added 10 in just 28 minutes. 

Syracuse got 18 from Kiara Lewis and will hope to try their fortunes in the WNIT. UofL and FSU in another stop on the revenge tour to open Saturday action. It's all good..got ya, "Q".

NC STATE 57 - GEORGIA TECH 48

Give GT credit for making it interesting for a long time in the loss. They led 16-7 after the first quarter. They stumbled a bit in the second, a 9-0 Wolfpack run key there, but it was tied at the half 23-23. Francesca Pan was keeping the Yellow Jackets hot with seven points and Lorelei Cubaj was working the inside for Nell Fortner's squad with nine. GT had kept Elissa Cunane quiet, saddled with fouls. 

NC ST took control in the third quarter and extended the lead to eight early after a CUNANE "plus one". The Techsters tried to come back, cut it to 40-37 after the third quarter, but the fourth quarter belonged to the Raleigh, NC school and the Wolfpack increaesd the margin steadily. 

Cunane and Ace Konig had 16 each for Wes Moore's Pack. They'll face Boston College in the second game Saturday. Pan and Kierra Fletcher totaled 15 each for GT. They are now probably on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. 

BOSTON COLLEGE 84 - DUKE 77

A late collapse in the fourth quarter spelled doom for the Blue Devils and sent Boston College to the quarters. 77-70 Duke with five minutes left in the game and they didn't score the rest of the way. Wow. Those 14-0  runs will get ya every time. 

Haley Gorecki had 25 point and 10 boards for the Dookies. Leanna Odom added 22. Another probable bubble team for the NCAA Tournament with the loss. BC lives to take on the NC State squad today. 

this one was a real barn-burner, back and forth game until the closing run. Taylor Soule had 26 for the Eagles and Emma Guy good for 14 pts. and 10 boards. 

It should be (hopefully) two fun ones today


BRACKET CONTEST UPDATE

I haven't heard from our Bracket Czar Jared lately (his GF Katy is in town), so I'll give you the numbers I have on the contest. 

9-2    Daryl
8-3    Cardinal Couple Chimps, David Watson
7-4    Jeff McAdams
6-5    Case, Sonja

The 0ther 13 of you have some serious work to do.

GO CARDS! 

paulie
xxxxxx

WBB at NC State Tonight -- Walz Presser -- Lacrosse Interview -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SHOWDOWN IN RALEIGH 

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad is in Raleigh, NC and will take on the Wolfpack at 8 p.m. this evening in a game that could either propel the Cards into a share of the ACC lead or drop them to two games behind NC State. 

No easy task ahead for Jeff Walz's Cards. 

NC State is 22-1 overall and 11-1 in ACC conference games. They are ranked #4 in the nation now and on a eight-game winning streak. Only UNC has blemished the Wolfpack's record. NC St. handled Virginia Tech 71-59 last time out. 

Ms. Wuf's school has some put some very impressive numbers to date. They only commit an average of 12 fouls a night and are a strong defensive rebounding team at 31 a contest. They average a +19.1 scoring margin over opponents and allow just 54.9 points per game. 

Leading the way for NC State offensively in sophomore center Elisa Cunane. Averaging 17 points a night, she's considered one of the front runners for ACC Player of the Year and is one of three Wes Moore-coached players in double figures. Senior Aislinn "Ace" Konig contributes 11.1 ppg and junior Kayla Jones produces 10 ppg. 

The Cards get back Elizabeth Balogun for this one, having returned from Serbia, where she played for the Nigeria National Team during their Olympic qualifying action. A healthy Yacine Diop could also bolster the Cards chances in Carolina tonight.

Jeff Walz points out that when one of the two mentioned here play well, the other usually doesn't. It's time to break that trend and get hue games out of both tonight.

Louisville will need to be aggressive and find a way to take advantage of the fact that NC State commits more turnovers than they force other teams into. The scoring woes of sub-60 point performances in the last two outings for Louisville need to end. The Cards need to be bolstered by Jaz Jones and Dana Evans, hopefully they'll be a huge, positive factor if they can get her shot to fall.  Kylee will have her work cut out for her with Cunane, but we hope the all-time blocks leader in Louisville WBB history can gather a few swats and keep Cunane away from the basket. 

Evans picked up two more national honors this week, being named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch list and the Citizen Naismith Trophy Mid-Season team. 

The Cards have been the "hunted" most of this season and find themselves in the role of the "hunter" tonight. Louisville has had a modicum of success in previous outing against North Carolina State, They hold a 7-3 all time record against the Wolfpack, are 2-0 in Raleigh since joining the ACC and have won five in a row against the Raleigh squad. Last time out, in the ACC semifinals last year, the Cards beat NC State 78-68 in Greensboro. It was a back-and-forth game, both teams actually had double-digit leads in this one. 

It's a ACC Network televised event and Pam Ward has the call with Deb Antonelli providing analyst work. Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson will handle radio duties on 790 AM (WKRD) Cards Radio. The toughest conference test of the season awaits the two squads in a sold-out Reynolds Coliseum and we'll have the results for you here tomorrow morning. 


WALZ PRESSER

Jeff Walz met with the media yesterday morning to discuss tonight's game and I was there to offer questions and capture the words. A link to the audio of his weekly presser is below for your listening pleasure. 

LINK: WALZ PRESSER 2/12/20

If you'd like to view as well as listen, the UofL link is below. Walz is resplendent in his black Adidas pullover and if you're wondering what to get Paulie for his birthday this year, I won't say no to one of those...

LINK: WALZ 2-12-20 PRESSER (VIDEO VERSION)  


LACROSSE INTERVIEW

My day on the Belknap campus yesterday concluded with my weekly interview with Louisville Lacrosse head coach Scott Teeter and student-athlete, junior attacker Ally Hall.

Coach and Ally discussed the season opening win over Cincinnati and Saturday's upcoming match against #9 Denver. The Denver game is Louisville's home opener and will take place at noon at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. Admission is free. 

We also got to know a little more about Ally, who is from Maryland andd led Louisville on Sunday with four goals. 

Just audio on this one, but it's a fun, lively and informative chat that is definitely worth a listen ! 

LINK:  LACROSSE INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT TEETER and ALLY HALL

We'll be doing these "talks with Teeter" and a player throughout the Lacrosse season when scheduling allows and hope you find this look into the action, players and philosophy of what makes Louisville Lacrosse enjoyable !! 

We invite you to give Lacrosse a try, if you're new to the sport. It has been described as "basketball with sticks" and you'll find a lot of the same terminology and movements, like fast breaks, zones, blocks, feeds and sets, that you find in basketball. Lacrosse offers a bit more scoring than Field Hockey or Soccer and the action is exciting! 


Have a Terrific Thursday ! 

paulie
xxxxx 

Senior Night for Louisville women's basketball -- Seniors and Walz Presser -- Lacrosse falls in O.T. Heartbreaker. -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LACROSSE STAGES HUGE RALLY BUT FALLS IN OVERTIME 9-8

When this 2019 Louisville Lacrosse team can put together a full 60 minutes, they will be one of the elite teams in Division I Lacrosse. The process is still not quite there. Louisville looked like much the best of the two teams for 36 minutes -- and the majority of the second half --  in yesterday's match against Vanderbilt...but the gaps in continuity and team play the rest of the way proved costly in the 9-8 overtime loss to Vanderbilt at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

The Cards surrendered an early goal to the Commodores before putting three straight on the scoreboard to hold a 3-1 lead with 13 minutes until halftime. It looked like the rout might be on, but...

Vanderbilt used their fast-break, all-out jail break style of offense to counter against the Cards to end the half. The visitors ran their way to six straight goals in the final 13 minutes to grab a 7-3 lead. A buzzer-beater by junior Gwyn Devin with four seconds until halftime set the tally four goals in favor of Vanderbilt. For Devin, the kamikaze pilot of the Commodores attack, it was her second goal of the match and the 'Dores had the momentum going into the break.

Head Louisville Lacrosse Coach Scott Teeter delivered a "stay-within system" and play as a team halftime message and the words proved to be just what the Cards needed in the final 30 minutes. After a quick Vandy score from Devin to start the second half, the Cards applied excellent defensive pressure and two quick scores by sophomore Ally Hall brought Louisville back to a three-point deficit at 8-5.

Red shirt sophomore goalie Rachel Florek and the Cards defense were slowing the Vanderbilt squad down and finding ways to keep the Commodore off the scoreboard. Florek's second half performance "between the pipes" was one of the most impressive I've seen "in goal" since I've been following the Teeter era at UofL. 13 saves for her and the Cards were utilizing the team concept by getting scores from three different players to roar back and tie the match when sophomore Shayla Scanlan delivered her third goal of the match with 29 seconds to play on an unassisted shot to te the affair at 8-8. 

To overtime the two squads went. 

Overtime in Lacrosse is a bit different that most sports. It is a mere three minutes and whoever scores first wins. Vandy got the winning goal with four seconds left in the overtime session for the 9-8 heart-breaker.

Despite the loss, we may have seen the Louisville squad take a huge step towards success in the rebuilding process Teeter and the LAX girls are undergoing. This was a poised, confident and productive Cardinal squad in the second half. The defense made the adjustments and the offense was finding out that scoring could happen when they stayed in system and passed the ball. 

The two game home slate ends with a 1-1 record. The Cards travel to South Bend for an Irish match-up this Saturday. Then, it's off to Butler for a Wednesday match. The Cards will need to be at their best, offensively and defensively against both. 

Yesterday, the team showed a lot of heart, refusal to quit the fight and some stellar performances. Let's hope it is a continuing  sign of a team that is beginning to "get it" and moving forward together in the reclamation project currently being engineered by the players and staff. 

Rebuilding can take time, ask my adopted sister, as she goes through the rebuild from the fire that destroyed her beautiful house in Oldham County. This particular Lacrosse rebuild is underway and there will be highs and lows, bumps and smiles and peaks and valleys. 

If these LAX girls and this staff can learn from this one and push forward...then the rebuild gains a welcome boost and step in the right direction.

Scott, Rachel and redshirt junior Brenna Shanahan talk about the match at the link below

LINK: TEETER, FLOREK and SHANAHAN POST GAME VANDY


SENIOR NIGHT AGAINST THE WOLFPACK FOR WBB

Has it really been four years since Asia Durr arrived on campus? Someone tell me I'm dreaming and she, Arica and Sam are not getting ready to play their final regular season home game in the KFC YUM! CENTER. 

Maybe it's my huge fondness for these three, but it is hard for me to come to the realization that their time as Cardinals is drawing to a close. 11 possible games remain for them and this 2018-19 UofL WBB squad (counting tonight, at Pitt, three potential games in the ACC Tournament and, hopefully six in the NCAA Tournament). Where has the time gone? 

The foe tonight is a top ten squad. The N.C. State Wolfpack started the season 21-0 and sits at 24-3 coming into tonight's match-up. They are #10 in the nation. Projections have them as a solid #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so far.  A win for Ms. Wuf's bunch would tie them with the Cards in conference standings at 12-3. A lot on the line for both teams as we prepare to honor and celebrate these three seniors (despite what a certain TV talking sports-head blundered out -- yes...only three seniors, not four).

This Wolfpack team has been average their last six games with a 3-3 record. It has been an arduous stretch for Wes Moore's squad, though.  

The Pack fell to a rapidly improving UNC squad in Raleigh by 13. A trip to FSU produced another loss, to the Noles in a close one 75-70. Then, it was off to Syracuse an a hard-fought 77-73 win over "Q's" bunch. Hosting Notre Dame next, the Wolfpack were punished 95-72. Wake Forest came to the NC State campus next and was dispatched of 80-46. Last out...NC State got revenge at Chapel Hill for the previous loss to UNC with a 74-69 victory. 

Freshman center Elissa Cunane and veteran Kiara Leslie have been the leaders of the Pack since talented Grace Hunter went down with a season ending injury after 14 games. The two combine for 30.6 points a contest and are aided in their offensive success by the heady, point-guard play of Aislinn Konig..who leads the squad with 107 assists and adds 11.4 points a game. 

N.C. State holds foes to 58.6 points per game while averaging 72.2. They out-rebound opponents by 10 a night...a team effort, no N.C. State player averages more than 7.6 a contest. Konig and Leslie are the three-point threats...Konig good for 82 makes on the season and firing at a .412 success rate.  

Like the Cards, they are primarily "seven deep" with Erika Cassell, DD Rogers Kai Crutchfield and Kayla Jones augmenting the main three threats of Cunane, Leslie and Konig. 

Louisville has to avoid a slow start tonight, play with intensity for 40 minutes and find a way to battle on the boards with the Pack tonight. A ball-hawking defense might serve to the Cards advantage by keeping Konig from releasing the three or finding Leslie and Cunane. 

The motivation should be there, with Senior Night and a crowd over 11,000 + expected. Get there early, the senior introductions begin around 6:45 p.m.

The Cards are 5-3 lifetime against the Wolfpack. A nervous, "grab-a-big-lead" and "hold on for dear life" 55-47 win last year in the conference regular season at Raleigh. Sonya and I were there for that one and I was honestly glad just to get out of a packed and crazy-loud Reynolds Coliseum seeing a Cards road win on New Year's Eve Day.  Another nail-biter in the ACC Tournament semis last year in Greensboro. 64-59.

A referee contingent today that includes Eric Brewton (Jerry Abramson's favorite stripe shirt) he was one of the crew that called the Louisville vs. Notre Dame game earlier this year in South Bend. 

We hope Asia Durr does "Asia-Durr type things", Arica and Sam produce at what they do well and the force of "B" and Kylee rebound and score frequently. Jazmine Jones could use a stat-stuffing night. The key tonight just might be speedy Dana Evans...her disruption of opponent's defenses and play-making abilities need to be at their best tonight to assure a Cardinal win. If Kasa is cleared from concussion protocol, any minutes she can contribute will be welcome and, hopefully, effective.

We think Dana is the ACC's "Sixth Player of the Year" and tonight would be a good time to mark her territory on that accolade. 

With the tournament seedings for the ACC still up in the air, the Cards need a convincing performance tonight to solidify their claim as potential ACC Co-Champs. Let's hope the Cards can "make it so" and "Pack up the Pack" and send them home with the "L". 


WEDNESDAY WBB PRESSER

The three seniors and Walz spent nearly an hour in front of the media yesterday to primarily discuss their careers and the team. It is certainly worth listening to and there were some great revelations and stories told.  You need to set aside an hour and listen to it in it's entirety. 

Here is the combined clip: 

LINK: ASIA, SAM, ARICA AND jEFF 2/27

Sorry that the questions were mostly inaudible after my opening question. My guess is that the Courier-Journal guy asking questions turned the media microphone off.   For better audio where the questions can be heard, try the two links below: 

LINK: WALZ (Audio only)

LINK: PLAYERS (Audio only)

Have a tremendous Thursday!


paulie
xxxxx