Sunday Cardinal Couple - Swimming and Baskets

                         **********UPDATE********

Louisville women's basketball got off to a superb start today and rolled past Marquette to advance to the NCAA women's Sweet Sixteen. The Cards were led by Myisha Hines-Allen's 24 points and had four in double figures. We'll have much more on this in our Monday morning Cardinal Couple article....Louisville outscored the Golden Eagles 60 to 36 in the paint and shot 63.5% from the floor.

March Madness

We're introducing another sport here at Cardinal Couple, Underwater Basket Weaving...

No?  Oh, we're highlighting Basketball, and Swimming & Diving...separately?  OK.

Basketball

Let's start with Basketball.  Our bracketmeister, Jared, gave us some updates on the progress of the pick 'em tournament in the comments yesterday (by way of Paulie)...my name wasn't even on the list of the top 8 brackets.  Ah well.

The men's bracket is truly living up to the March Madness moniker, with upsets galore.  We honored the UMBC Retrievers and their historic win, as a 16 seed, over 1 seed Virginia.  Last night, the Loyola-Chicago Gryffindors...oh, Ramblers?...sorry, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers beat Tennessee to advance to the sweet 16.  The maddest thing you could really find on the women's side was UConn's 94-31 score over St. Francis.  And, now, before you say that's, while certainly a blow-out, not totally mad as a score...that was at halftime.  Final score, 140-52.

Today, our Cardinals will be taking on Marquette after the Golden Eagles advanced over Dayton Friday afternoon.  We had plenty of discussion of this match on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour, and our guest Mike Gilpatrick was able to feed all kinds of awesome stats about Marquette's game against Dayton to help give us a feel for what to expect.  The basic takeaway?  Watch out for #11 Alazzia Blockton and #5 Natisha Hiedeman.

Marquette lists a 4-guard lineup on their site as probable starters so look for MHA, Sam Fuehring, Kylee Shook, and Bionca Dunham to have a field day in the paint.

Game tip is at noon and is on ESPN2.  I believe this may be the only noon tip-off today, so coverage should stay on this game pretty consistently.

Swimming & Diving

We devote quite a bit of coverage to our Swimming & Diving team, certainly more than any other media outlet out there, but still probably not as much as they deserve in their meteoric rise to national prominence as a Swim&Dive program.

Head Coach Arthur Albiero has built a program that used to practice and compete in a run-down pool in the basement of Crawford Gym - a building that doesn't even exist anymore because it became too run down - into a team that regularly competes at the top levels of NCAA Swimming and Diving, with individual competitors competing and winning on the International Stage.

The NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship wrapped up yesterday and UofL finished with a school best 5th place finish.  Mallory Comerford, in a result that will surprise absolutely no one, repeated as the 200 yard freestyle champion, marking the 7th consecutive year that UofL Swimming and Diving has had at least one NCAA National Champion.

Underscoring the progression of this program, they set 7 school records at the meet, Comerford with 2 of them, in the 200 free, and the 100 free.  Her 200 free time of 1:39.80 makes her only the 2nd woman in history to break the 1:40 time and is the 2nd fastest swim ever in that event.  Alina Kendzior in the 100 back, Rachael Bradford-Feldman in the 200 IM, and the relay teams for 800 Free, 400 Medley, and 400 Free, all set school record marks.

One note that I found interesting, Comerford's split in the 800 Free relay was 1:39.14, also under that 1:40 mark, but an unofficial result, so it doesn't go in the record book.  Of more interest, though is that this split bested her standalone time of 1:39.80.  Will she take the top overall spot in the 200 Free event next year (she's only a junior this year)?  I wouldn't be surprised.

Softball

Colonel Mike Ferguson threw out the first pitch
to his daughter, Caitlin Ferguson

Softball continued their series against Notre Dame yesterday, but went down to defeat 3-1.

The lone Cardinals score came in the 6th inning when Megan Hensley doubled, Caitlin Barber entered to pinch run and made it home on a Nicole Pufahl hit to narrow the lead to the final 3-1 score.

Contrast this game to Friday's scorefest, and you have to like what UofL did to shut down the Notre Dame scoring machine.  If the Cardinals can string together some consistent offense, they could develop into a contender this year.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse led 5-3 at the half over a very good Boston College team, but the wheels came off in the 2nd half as the Eagles got everything in gear and cruised to a 19-10 victory.

Hat tricks for Julia Wood and Tessa Chad, Madison Hoover picked up a pair, and Caroline Blalock and Emily Howell each found the back of the net once.

The Lacrosse squad steps out of conference for a trip next weekend to Robert Morris.

Paulie spoke to Scott Teeter after the contest. Hear it here:

Teeter post-game vs. Boston College

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Speaking of March Madness, Paulie, Jared, myself, and guest Mike Gilpatrick were in the studio yesterday for our weekly romp of dubious sanity that is the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

I believe we set a record on getting through the scheduling and twitter segment as we had a lot to talk about.

We played the UMBC fight song three times. After all, we are on a station that does feature a lot of music.

Hear it hear: https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/1969274029762537/


JMcA

Jeff Walz Interview...UConn wins title -- Wedesday CARDINAL COUPLE

UCONN WINS WBB TITLE

In case you missed the game and were looking for some kind of miracle upset by Syracuse write up...sorry, Charlie. UConn took their fourth straight title 82-51 Tuesday night in the Bankers Fieldhouse in Indy over the Orange. That was even with a 16-0 run by Syracuse in the third quarter.

Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck. All good as advertised. Fortunately, for the rest of the women's college basketball world, all graduating. 


INTERVIEW WITH COACH WALZ

Paulie had the chance to talk with Coach Walz Tuesday morning and here's the interview highlights. The full interview can be heard this Saturday on our CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

TUESDAY NIGHT'S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

" I'll be at home watching the game on TV. I went up on Sunday to the Final Four and spoke at the clinic they offered to all the coaches. I really enjoyed that. My two oldest were in town on their spring break so I decided to spend more time with them." 

ON CORTNEE WALTON

"I'm very happy for Cortnee and her award. It just goes to show you -- like I tell all of our kids -- what you put into it is what you get out of it. Cortnee's invested, and not only on the basketball side of it, invested in herself. Invested in our community, our city. The kids of Louisville. And she didn't do it just to get on The Good Hands team. She did it because that's what she's all about. And...it's going to pay off for her in the end. It's quite an honor for her and our program and most importantly...she's having the time of her life right now at the Final Four.

It's about how hard you work on the court and off the court.

MORE ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

"I'm friends with both coaches but I'd love to see the ACC and Syracuse and "Q" win. I'm good friends with "Q". We've always talked and compared our NCAA Tournament match-ups. Getting in the right bracket, what match-up you're going to get. He was really excited when his draw came out and I was excited for him. Seeing the teams he might possibly have to play and what those teams do from the outside and it worked out perfectly. His kids have played very well. 

The problem is...it's UConn. Breanna Stewart, throughout my 20 years is the best I've seen play. It's amazing what she can do offensively, defensively. Even in the semis the other night, she didn't have a great first half but she demands so much attention...it allows other players to get shots. It allows other players to get going and all of a sudden you have to worry about them and then you forget about Stewart and suddenly she has 20. It's a big task for Syracuse, no doubt about it. I think UConn is going to win but I'd love to see Syracuse pull it out if possible." 

THE SEASON THAT JUST ENDED

"Some great memories, no doubt about it. We start off the season 1-4 and we talked about it. I think our kids were living off what past teams had done. Not realizing the work that goes into it and that work that you have to put it. But, we regrouped from that. The kids got their focus back and we improved as a basketball team. We win 22 of 24 games. We get into the ACC Tournament and you lose by five to Syracuse in a game you're up by four in. A game we sat down and watched...because you've got to value the basketball.

We come home and play DePaul and lose by one. The telling stat of our season was that we had seven games that were decided by five points or less. We go 1-6 in those games. The NC State game was the only win. That's something I've talked to our kids about. You have to be focused for 40 minutes. You have to be disciplined and not cheat the process. When it gets down to that last two minutes, that's when your bad habits come out. 

I was proud of our effort this season and how we competed. With all the youth we had there were a lot of learning experiences for us and it's something we're going to grow from. Now we're at a crucial time of this year because we have until April 15th to do workouts. Two hours a week and that's it. In the month of May we can't do anything. In June and July we get two hours a week for eight weeks. Player development in the summer is really on the players. We can give them a nugget, what they need to do...but two hours a week isn't going to make them any better. Are they willing to go out on their own? 

That's the things I love listening to on post-game radio and TV interviews. The kids who say they love the game. Kids that live in the gym together. Stewart talking about Morgan Tuck and Tuck talking about her...saying she's the one who challenged me to get in the gym every day...and when she's there...I gotta go. When you're best players are in the gym, the rest follow. 

Those are the things we're trying to get our players to embrace and understand. We need that from our top echelon...to challenge the others to get in. 

MYISHA HINES-ALLEN: THE DEVELOPMENT, PROGRESS AND WORK TO BE DONE.


"She had a great season...No question about it. She needs to work on her conditioning, she has to work on her outside shot from the three-point line...which is getting better but needs to improve. Working the defensive end of the floor. Special players separate themselves not only from the offensive end but from the defensive end. I think she was right there in almost being a Kodak All-American but some of the things I've heard is she needs to be more consistent on both ends of the floor. That's a challenge I've put in front of her. She wants to be great, now it's a matter of working harder to become one of those top ten. It's a learning process, a maturing process. I hope that she'll really grab and run with it." 

DAKOTA WEATHERFORD

"Dakota's a great kid. She really works hard. She's exactly what you want out of one of your players...she comes in to practice and busts butt. She takes care of business off the floor. She's always there for community service. She wants to give back. I was excited for the opportunity to give her a scholarship for this year. We'll wait to see how things turn out for that next year and it's one of the things I've talked to her and her family about. They've been great and very understanding about it even if she returns as a walk-on. As of now, she'll be a walk-on but we'll look and see if things can change on that. 

TAJA COLE

"We had had some talks during the year. Sometimes it's a challenge when a freshman comes in. They sometimes put expectations a little too high and when they don't meet them, there's disappointment. It was a situation where we played on Sunday afternoon against DePaul. By 7 p.m. she's sending me a text wondering if she can meet on Monday with her. She came in on Monday and said she wanted to transfer. We wish her the the best and hope she can find a place to develop into the type of player she wants to be." 

NEXT YEAR: THE RETURNEES AND THE FRESHMEN


"I think it's going to be a good thing for us because we need some competition at a few of the spots. I'm going to start to work, I think, on the philosophy UConn and Geno has with his players. If you don't work every day, you're not going to play. There's situations where I'm watching their games and they're up by 50 and there are kids not playing. And I've asked him about that and the answer is if you're not going to work hard every day in practice, you're not going to get rewarded by playing in the game....no matter what the score is. And, we're going to go with that philosophy. We have some very talented players but we have some players who need to turn that corner in dedication. I say it all the time. The great players...Angel, Shoni, Candyce, Dez. Look at Becky Burke. She wasn't a great overall player but she was really good at what she could do. She shot the ball. Toughness. What you do when the coach is not watching separates you.

Right now, we're trying to get that across to a couple of them. What you do in the hour and a half of practice isn't enough. You've got to be in this gym on your own working on your weaknesses. There's no reason to have a player that shoots 45% from the foul line. If I'm in that situation, I'm going to shoot 100 free throws a day. I want to step up to that line and have everybody say instead of our fans moaning...'aw, she got fouled'...to...the other team saying 'damn, she got fouled'...knowing that they're going in."

"It's a challenge we're trying to put in front of some of these kids who have never had that challenge back in their high school and AAU days."  

SYD BRACKEMYRE

"She's not going to continue to play. She'll still be a part of the program and help us from a coaching/instruction standpoint and still be with the players but her knees are not going to allow her to continue on. We really feel bad for her from that standpoint but we're really encouraged and impressed with her maturity level. She probably could have fought through it for two or three years and then needed a knee replacement....her knees have gotten to that point where it'd be rough playing at this level. She wants to be able to have a family someday and play ball with her kids and in the backyard and there really aren't that many 19-20 year olds that are thinking that far ahead. I give her a lot of credit for that. I feel bad that she's not going to be able to get out there and show people what she can do basketball wise but I know she'll continue to give a lot to our program just from within and being able to help the current players and those in the future. Sure, we probably could have used her against DePaul but if I play her and then something happens...I've got that to live with. She's got that to live with.  She knows the game, she's passionate about it. She could be a coach I'm going up against down the road." 

paulie
xxxxx

Defeated in Durham...Field Hockey now forced into waiting game -- Friday Cardinal Couple

2-1 loss to Wake Forest eliminates Cards from ACC Championships

Louisville Field Hockey's inaugural entry into ACC Tournament play turned out to be a short stay. Wake Forest used two second half scores to build a lead on the Cards and then held on late to advance to the semifinals with a 2-1 win and face #1 seed Virginia tomorrow.

The Cards got a late goal..a bit by accident...on a penalty corner with four minutes left in the contest. Chile Garcia's initial shot bounced off Alyssa Voelmle's stick to Erin McCrudden, who sent the loose ball past the WFU goalie to draw UofL within one.


Hoping to get the tying score, Coach Justine Sowry pulled Cardinal goalie with two minutes left to increase the offensive capabilities. The Cards could not capitalize, though...and Wake retained possession and ran the clock out. 

What does it mean for Louisville's chances to get an NCAA at-large berth? Consider the 2013 NCAA Championships when all seven ACC schools got selected. Maryland was ACC then. 

Also consider that Virginia was 15-5 (Louisville's current record), Duke 14-6, UNC 16-5, Wake Forest 11-6 and Boston College 12-7. Syracuse, Duke, Maryland and UNC were seeded in the top 4 and hosted first round games. Virginia hosted also. 

The fact that Boston College, ranked #3 in the tournament, lost 5-2 to #6 Syracuse today probably doesn't help the UofL chances. #2 UNC needed overtime to get by #7 Duke.


A look at last years' NCAA Sweet Sixteen shows (7) ACC schools, (2) Big 10 schools (Penn St. and Michigan St.) and automatic conference champ qualifiers in UConn, American, Princeton, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Delaware and Old Dominion. 

Stanford will most assuredly be in the mix this year. So will eight other conference qualifiers. Figure in at least four more (semifinal, maybe? participants) in the ACC and the numbers start to get tight.

The Cards were #8 in the most recent coaches poll and #11 in the NCAA RPI rankings. The Cards have quality wins over Duke, UNC and Wake Forest in the regular season. Add in wins over Michigan, Michigan St., IU and New Hampshire and the Cards look pretty good. Let's hope the loss to Liberty doesn't come back to haunt them.

We'll know Sunday night starting at 10 p.m., when the NCAA Field Hockey Selection Show will be shown on NCAA.com and the 19 teams announced. 

*                       *                       *                     *                  *

Maybe the Field Hockey squad should take the pressure off,

head south and join Louisville Volleyball in Miami tonight. 

Louisville will face Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. on


 Friday night at 7 p.m. This will be the third time in history

 the two teams have faced off, with the Cards notching both

 wins. The Hurricanes (15-7, 8-3 ACC) are coming off a split

 as they notched a 3-0 victory over NC State and took a 3-0

 loss against No. 9 North Carolina. Senior Savannah Leaf led

 the Canes offensively in both matches with double-digit

 kills. Miami hit .323 against NC State while hitting .142 in 

the loss against North Carolina. 

paulie
...
..
.

Monday Cardinal Couple -- One for history

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Biggest upset in NCAA WBB history

-USA WUGS WBB schedule

A friend and I were discussing the Louisville WBB win over Baylor in the NCAA regionals yesterday. As I got home last night, it was still on my mind...so I watched a replay of it.

It never gets boring.

Not a lot of sports news going on right now for the UofL women's programs....so, enjoy the link below and watch "threedom" ring, since the 4th of July is coming up soon.  Enjoy the game! 

82-81 LOUISVILLE DEFEAT BAYLOR


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If you are interested in following those wrascally WUGS in their WBB adventures in Kazan for the World University Games, here a website you can go to that'll keep you in the loop.

USA WBB WUGS


The squad leaves today to fly to Russia. I wonder if they'll play this little ditty on the flight on when they land? 

PAUL MCCARTNEY - BACK IN THE USSR





-Paulie

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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Worried about talent? Not at UofL WBB

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Walz's Cards 2013-14 roster full of talent

A friend and I were talking about the 2009-10 Louisville women's basketball team the other day. It was a squad that was coming off the NCAA Finals appearance but a squad that had lost several key ingredients. With Angel McCoughtry, Candyce Bingham and Dez Byrd gone, the Cardinal ranks were already thin and transfers depleted it even more. By the end of that 14-18 season, the Cards were down to Monique Reid, Keisha Hines, Shelby Harper, Gwen Rucker, Rachel Story, Asia Taylor, Brandie Radde and Becky Burke. If I've forgotten anyone, I'm sorry. I try not to think about that season much...

The 2013-14 season finds the Cards once again the defending NCAA runner ups...but that is where the comparisons with the 2009-2010 pretty much end. Only Asia Taylor and Tia Gibbs, who sat out that season, remain from that 14-18 squad. Joining them are the five starters from 2012-13, a solid supporting cast and three talented additions...sixteen players in all.

They may have to expand the Louisville bench into the first row of fan seating in the KFC YUM! Center.

Ironically, last year Walz was going with a eight player rotation a lot at the end of last season like he did in 2009-10. If he's down to eight players by the end of the upcoming season...maybe Kentucky One or Humana should open a hospital wing on campus.

There are, of course, some questions. How well will Asia, Tia and Shawnta Dyer return after sitting a season with injuries? It'll be Monny Niamke's return season as well, after transferring from Lindsey Wilson...where she started as a freshman point guard. How well will she perform at Div. I level? Can Emmonnie Henderson, Janelle Cannon, Starr Breedlove and Davionna Holmes find significant minutes in a rotation that returns Shoni, Bria, Nita, Sherrone, Sara, Jude, Cortnee and Megan?

It's not a bad problem for Coach Walz to have. He's got a lot to smile about these days. A new daughter, new assistant and new conference. If he added a new car, new suit, and some new season-ticket holders in the KFC YUM! Center... he'd have a six pack of treasures that anyone would desire.

If this bunch ever gets worried about how a particular stretch of games are going, all they need to do is have a sit-down with Asia. I'm sure some of the stories she could tell about that 2009-10 season, her own physical ailments and such will snap anyone back to reality pronto. Surviving when things were rotten gives one a great perspective on handling adversity.

It's way too early to start predicting starters and playing time rotation for these 16 girls. But...if the injured come back able to contribute...if the newest additions live up to the hype predicating their arrival...if the returning players have improved just the slightest bit from last year...

You might want to book hotel rooms in Nashville this spring for the NCAA Final Four.

And, just how many lockers are there in the KFC YUM! Center women's basketball dressing room?

Paulie

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Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Does NCAA WBB need changing?

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Does College women's basketball need to "re-invent" itself?

The NCAA is looking at women's college basketball again.

Before you run to the hills screaming and clutching your pitchforks and possessions, you need to know that it's just a preliminary study. Given the rate that the NCAA decides on most issues, most of the things that are out-lined in Val Ackerman's "white paper" on the sport probably wouldn't take place or receive serious consideration until years from now. In addition to loving their rules and regulations, the NCAA never sprints down the court...

Val has conducted interviews (100+ of them) over the last six months with coaches, college presidents, conference commissioners, athletic directors, television network executives and representatives, NCAA National office staff and outside sports executives.

No, she didn't contact Don Paulie or Timmy the Intern here at CARDINAL COUPLE.

Val is the founding president of the WNBA and past president of USA basketball. Based on her findings, she notes that the sport needs a jolt in order to spark growth and that the game is not "broken" but has plateaued in recent years and there is a "tremendous appetite" for change in the way the sport is played, marketed and managed.

Her paper is an outline for an action plan that focuses on the "vision, values and priorities", "the championships", "the game", "the business of women's basketball" and governance and management. Link below:

White Paper on WBB


Some things she discusses are:

-Avoiding doing things the same way men's BB does and beginning a separate identity for the sport.

-Returning to a Friday/Sunday Final Four format.

-A two site super regional instead of the current four sites...with eight teams per site.

-New seeding policies where the bottom 32 in the NCAA Tournament play each other in a game before advancing to play the top 32 teams.

-A multi-year site for the NCAA Final Four, like softball has in Oklahoma City and baseball does in Omaha.

Some of the ideas will not be popular with fans and schools. Some of her suggestions should be tossed into the dumpster with the trash. Some are thought-provoking and several are actually pretty good.

The question here is...does the game of women's college basketball need a radical makeover on the Division I level? Do scholarships need to be cut from 15 to 13 to create parity? Should the height of the rims be altered and does the game need to be more marketable, easier to score and referee and...will all this create interest and more attendance?

Heady stuff. Val seems to think the game has stagnated since 2004. Cardinal fans would beg to differ, seeing the game explode here locally over the past 10 years...largely due to the presence of Jeff Walz, two final NCAA Tournament game appearances, Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel. The KFC YUM! Center didn't hurt either.

Yet, there are schools with very good programs and players that would absolutely love to have 2,000 a game in the stands.

Does the NCAA need to meddle, poke, prod and change College WBB?

Time will tell. And, one can only hope that the clock ticks very slowly on changes. An old adage goes..."If it isn't broke, don't fix it." Wise guidance, prudent judgement and avoidance of radical adaptations in policy changes is the words we'd offer Val and the folks in Indianapolis.

-Paulie

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Best sister WBB combo of all time?

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Are Shoni and Jude Schimmel the best sister combo of all time in women's college basketball?

-KY Girls High School Softball Tournament results


They've played for the University of Louisville for two years now as a tandem. They're recognizable nationwide. But...are they the best sister duo to ever suit up on the same team in women's college basketball history?

We're talking about Shoni and Jude Schimmel, of course. They aren't the first sister pair to ever play for Louisville... both Toni (2006-07) and Nita Slaughter (2010-current) played for the Cards, just not on the same roster together). Are the Schimmels the best sister combo of all time in NCAA WBB?

Folks on the west coast would point to Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike from Stanford as contenders. And, the two did put up some significant numbers while toiling for the Cardinal. Out around Oklahoma way, fans might mention Courtney and April Paris for the Sooners. What they did was impressive for OU, no doubt. The Smith sisters were a powerhouse at USF over the last several years. There are challenges...and contenders that rival Shoni and Jude.

Fans of Georgia WBB would argue that Coco and Kelly Miller, who both entered the WNBA in 2001 have a legit claim to the honor as best sister combo. They were spectacular and had a very good college and WNBA run. Both played together for a season with Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream.

When you look at the entire body (or bodies) of work, though...it's hard to surpass what the Schimmels' have done on and off the court. It goes way past assists, threes and ball handling when it comes to the Louisville duo.

Playing for UofL, sisters Shoni and Jude have become heroes to Native Americans and that native pride is resonating throughout not only their 2800 member Umatilla Tribe, but throughout Indian Country. Their play serves as inspiration for current and generations to come in Indian Country.

The sisters' love of the game is evident when their playing in a national championship game or in a pickup game at home which might include anyone from their four-year-old brother to their mother and father. Shoni says it best when she comments:

"On any given day, I think we're just ready to play ball. That's our competitive nature. We just want to go out there and win...to have fun and compete."

They've been the subjects of documentaries, of national forums on Title IX and after Shoni arrived at Louisville, Jude had no doubt about where she would be the next year.

"It's really rare to get to play a Division I Sport with your sister and I wanted to share that experience with Shoni."

They still have strong connections to their heritage and credit their family and tribe for their successes. As children, they dressed in traditional regalia handcrafted by their great grandmother and danced at tribal events. They've carried the dancing on as college students and members of the UofL women's basketball team...dancing by opposing guards in the BIG EAST and NCAA to two straight NCAA Tournament appearances as a duo and the National Championship game in the 2012-13 season.

"We both want to give back." said Jude of returning to the reservation. Shoni has considered the possibility of opening a restaurant that features traditional Native American foods. "I want to make it known that we have our own foods too." Holding true to their heritage is important to both sisters. Inspiration comes from the Native Americans who helped pave the road for them.

Inspiration on the court for the two is obvious. It was evident during the last Louisville WBB season that a lot of good things occur on the hardwood when Shoni and Jude were out there together.

"We've played together thirteen years." Jude will tell you. "I'm not surprised by anything Shoni can do or what we can do together. We have this zone, this wavelength between us."

Because of the Schimmel's inspiring dedication, a watershed of Native American talented student athletes will flow. If that doesn't make them the most influential and talented sister combination in the history of NCAA Women's basketball, then show me one better. I suppose one could say I am possibly prejudiced here...since I am a huge UofL WBB fan...but when you look at the whole picture...it's hard to top the Sho and Jude show.

And it still has a year to go.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Results from the first round of the Ky. Girls 2013 Softball Championships:

Notre Dame 6 (no, not the BIG EAST one) - Montgomery 5
Greenwood 7 - South Laurel 1
Lone Oak 4 - Central Hardin 0
Scott Co. 2 - Louisville Male 1 ( it was the girl Male team)
Boyle Co. 3 - Estill Co. 0
Louisville Mercy 5 - Oldham Co. 4
Owensboro Catholic 14 (what!) - Livingston Central 2
Ashland 6 - Magoffin Co. 0

Congrats to the victors and they go at it again tomorrow in Owensboro. We'd love to see this thing moved to Louisville down the road...but finding a place where four games could go on at the same time might pose an insurmountable task.

If your favorite team lost yesterday, fret not. It's a double elimination format. 

-Paulie

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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Redemption Train halted. UConn93 - UofL 60

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards fall in Championship Game by 33


Connecticut stopped the Cardinals in their tracks. The UConn squad that emerged with a new purpose after losing to Notre Dame in the BIG EAST finals didn't miss a beat tonight in a dismantling of Jeff Walz's Louisville Cardinals 93-60 Tuesday night in New Orleans.

The Cards did make a game of it for awhile. Buoyed by a game-opening three from Sara Hammond, Louisville battled the Huskies with skill and smarts for the first six minutes of the game. Bria Smith's free throw with 13:53 left in the first half gave Louisville a 14-10 lead.

You had to believe at that point. The Cards were hitting shots and making free throws. Taking the fight right to UConn and frustrating them...as evidenced by Caroline Doty's flagrant foul, cheap-shot elbow to Bria Smith's face just three minutes into the game.

Then, the wheels fell off Redemption Train. The ugly ducklings and party crashers got tossed by the bouncer. 

Bria Hartley scored back-to-back baskets to tie it. Kaleena

Mosqueda-Lewis cashed in on a +1. Breanna Stewart drained a three and then hit a two on the next possession. She scored again with 9:46 on the clock. Hartley nailed two free throws and Mosqueda-Lewis popped another three home to cap a 19-0 UConn run over a five minute stretch...making the score 29-14 UConn at the 8:44 mark. 

Three players. Nineteen points. Walz looked on helpless. It was sound, fundamental clutch basketball and you can't coach against that.

And...that was the end of any hopes of Louisville pulling off the major upset. Although the Lady Cards would play the Huskies even until halftime...Louisville went in at the half behind 48-29.

The Cards would offer a brief rally in the final period. Down 60-38...back-to-back threes from Monique Reid (surprise!) and Jude Schimmel had the Cards within 16 points with 13:03 left on the clock.

It was just poking the bear.

UConn responded with a 23-6 run over the next six and one half minutes before Bria Smith hit a jumper to make it 84-52 with 6:20 left in the game.

Breanna Stewart led all scorers...the freshman ending her incredible tournament run with 23 against the Cards. Sara Hammond finished with 15 for Louisville. 11 in the first twenty minutes. 13 in the first 21 minutes. No other UofL players reached double digits.

An incredible run for the Lady Cards, though, this season. a cornerstone in creating an image that isn't based on the Angel McCoughtry effect. An incredible post-season run by  a team that believed, bought in to the coaches teachings and shocked the women's basketball world several times over the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes...you just get beat by a better team, though... and that happened Tuesday night. Congrats to the Huskies.

They were incredible to watch Tuesday night...those Huskies were. And, they have most of their squad returning next season.

It won't be the BIG EAST...instead, the AAC or whatever you want to coin it. Maybe the BIG EAST will take them back...or us, for a season. You don't want these Huskies.

 Oh, boy...

This Cardinal team will be back, however... and a contender again next season. A heartfelt thanks to all the Lady Cards for making this party a fun one to crash. You gave us joy, pride, hope and the incredible, improbable, wild thrill of beating a team that everyone said would not lose. Covering you was a privledge, not a task and very incredible at times. Win or lose, you girls are the greatest.

The future looks bright for Jeff Walz's Lady Cards.

When's the first pre-season game for 2013-14?

--Paulie

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Monday Cardinal Couple - Cards 64 - Cal 57

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-On to Tuesday...Cards 64-57 over Cal!

"Anything can happen...why not us?" - Jeff Walz

Guess who's coming to the national championship game in NCAA Womens Basketball?

The Louisville Cardinals.

Down by 10 at halftime, Louisville tightened up the defense and the Cards got big scoring from Nita Slaughter and Sara Hammond to win going away in the final minute 64-57. Louisville scored the final seven points of the game after a 57-57 tie with 1:49 to go.

Nita Slaughter had 18 points for the Lady Cards, but five different Cards scored in the final 4:25 to lead Louisville to the NCAA Championship game.

Sara Hammond got a plus one with 1:28 left and after a missed Cal three Bria Smith got fouled and sank two free throws to make it 62-57 with 17.7 seconds left. Another missed Cal attempt and Jude Schimmel added the final two from the free throw line for the final 64-57.

CARDS WIN! CARDS WIN!...THE CARDINALS WIN!!!!

It is the first-ever appearance for a#5 seed in the FINALS in women's NCAA Tournament history.

Believe.

Louisville will face Connecticut, a surprising 83-65 winner over Notre Dame. The Huskies led by 10 at the half, Notre Dame narrowed it to six midway in the final stanza but UConn got a fantastic game from freshman Brianna Stewart and won going away.

GAME RECAP:

The Cards started out with the frenzy that put both Baylor and Tennessee behind early. After Bria Smith scored the first basket of the game on a layup a minute into the contest, a Slaughter three, Vails free throw and Smith steal and layup had the Cards up 8-2 at the 17:10 mark. Cal responded, though, with a 14-2 run over the next 3:40 to take a 16-10 lead after a Gray inside move. Cal had the momentum and the Cards were getting hammered on the boards.

Smith scored again on a layup to cut it to 18-13 with 11:58 left and a Slaughter three had Louisville down only 20-16 a minute later. The Bears responded again with a 10-6 run, capped by Caldwell inside to hold a 30-22 lead and 5:42 on the clock.

Cardinal fans held their breath when Monique Reid went down hard after a collision under the Cal basket at the 5:07 mark and the senior was helped to the locker room. Shoni Schimmel connected on a jumper and then 1 of 2 free throws to pull Louisville within seven at 32-25 and 3:25 showing...but the Bears continued to work inside and pushed the advantage to 35-25 after Boyd scored.

The eye-popping play of the game occurred after that...Shoni on a fast break delivering a no-look, behind the back assist to Jude in the paint...who converted the layup to make it 35-27 with a minute left in the half. Cal scored on their final possession and Louisville found themselves down by ten at the intermission 37-27.

Shoni was 1-7 in the first 20, Sara spent time on the bench with two fouls and Caldwell, Clarendon and the Bears were controlling the boards. Louisville was missing free throws and the Bears were shooting 58% from the field. The Cards need to step up the defense, find some offense rhythm and get a little momentum back if they wanted to get back into the contest.

Whatever Jeff Walz said at the half worked. Louisville fans were encouraged to see Mo come back out with the team after halftime --ready to go. Shoni nailed a three to start the second half. Bria connected at the 18:34 mark and Sara Hammond's inside muscle move capped a 7-0 Louisville run with 16:23 on the clock and the score 37-34 Cal.

Cal wasn't folding the tents just yet. They pushed the advantage back to 41-34 before Nita sank a three to make it 41-37 and 15:03 remaining. The Bears responded with two scores, however...Clarendon's basket had UC in the lead 45-37 and 12:55 left in the game. The Cards needed some answers and needed to stop just trading baskets with the Bears.

Sara Hammond found success inside to cut it to six but Clarendon responded at the 11:14 mark. Nita drained a long range three with 10:55, her fifth of the game and after two Bria free throws and two Jude charity tosses, it was 47-46 Cal and 9:17 showing on the clock. The Cards had clawed their way back into the contest and the New Orleans Arena was rocking with the sound of Louisville fans rallying their team.


UofL then missed out on two opportunities to go back ahead. Sara Hammond scored but was called for a questionable charge and the basket was taken away. Nita Slaughter found her herself wide open under the next possession but missed a point-blank bank shot and Boyd countered for the Bears with a three to give Cal a 50-46 lead. Cal pushed it to 52-46 with 5:19 left and you had to wonder if the Cards had peaked too early and were finished.


They were down 36-19 on rebounds and needed to find a way to get back just one more time.

Louisville was not ready to end the journey, however.

In fact, the Cards had Cal right were they wanted them.

Shoni started the resurgence with a jumper at the 5:10 mark. 45 seconds later, Nita drilled her sixth three of the game. Sara Hammond went to the hoop, missed but got fouled and hit two free throws to give Louisville the lead back at 53-52 and 3:40 remaining in the game. Clarendon gave Cal the lead for the final time at the 3:13 mark 54-53. Bria regained the Cardinal advantage with a drive to the hoop to make it 55-54 and Shoni sank a jumper to make it 57-54 with 2:02 to play.

Cal made a last-gap effort to tie it on a Clarendon trifecta as the clocked showed 1:49. From there on, it was all Louisville.

Hammond scored beneath the basket, a rim-hanging attempt that seemed to take forever to finally drop through the next. Fouled, she sank the ensuing free-throw to make it 60-57 Cards with 1:28 remaining. After a Cal miss, Bria Smith was fouled and sank two from the line to provide Louisville with a 62-57 margin at 17.7 and Jude completed the Cards scoring

with two more free throws four seconds away from the end of the game. 64-57 was the final score.

Louisville held Cal to five points in the final 5:19 while scoring 18. They held the Bears to 20 second half points while scoring 37.

Toughness. Walz challenged them if they had it late in the game and they showed they did.

An improbable but exciting and remarkable ride comes to a close Tuesday night in NOLA. Are the Cards ready to make one more "shock the world" statement? They've downed Blue Raiders, Boilermakers, Bears, Volunteers and more Bears...

Time to cage the Huskies.

Believe.


-Paulie

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Here the link to the press conferences below for the semifinal games:

Semifinal pressers


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Although it is WBB's day to shine, we do need to mention that both softball and lacrosse both kicked a little a$$ yesterday as well...

The softball Cards closed out their visit to the BIG Apple with a 8-0. five inning win over St.John. Whitney Arion with a big, 3 run 'tater early to give Rachel LeCoq all the runs she needed in a 2 hit, shoutout performance. Louisville swept the series 3-0 and will now move on to Rhode Island...where they'll face up with the Friars for a Tuesday double-header.

Meanwhile, on the University of Louisville campus, the lacrosse Cards were stifling the Marquette Golden Eagles 19-2. Plenty of scores for our CARDINAL COUPLE darlings Cortnee "Lace" Lacey and Kaylin Morissette. Nikki Boltja and Katie Oliverio filled up the Golden Eagles net as well. Louisville was up 19-2 with about half of the second half to go when Kellie Young pulled the starters and concentrated on ball control, keep-away tactics and kept the score down.