Sunday Cardinal Couple

 WNBA

Sundays are "Cards in the Pros" days it seems in the summer.  Today is no different.  The big crazy news stories like changes to NIL rules always happen during the week, but summer weekends means Pro play and we want to keep you up to date with what our former Cards are doing.

We start with the WNBA.  The New York Liberty put it to the Atlanta Dream yesterday.  A close first half, but the Liberty drew out to a good lead in the second.  101-78 was the final.  You might think the team was bolstered by the attendance of Asia Durr, who was in the stands for this one.  Durr is out for the second consecutive season dealing with the lingering effects of Covid.  After the win, pretty much the whole Liberty squad came over to embrace Durr and catch up, showing how much they miss her presence on the squad.

Kylee Shook continues in the starting lineup with the Liberty.  She played about 27 and a half minutes yesterday, got six field goals, and did a great job cleaning the boards on the defensive side, getting 11.  Also chalk her up for a blocked shot and an assist.

Jazmine Jones makes the most of her bench time, entertaining the WNBA crowds and the camera crews, but she is also getting some decent playing time as well.  We all know some of Jaz's contributions don't show up on the stat sheet, but she put some numbers in a few columns yesterday.  In almost 18 minutes of playes, she did get a field goal, a free throw, a couple of rebounds and a couple of assists.

The Dream will be looking for revenge when these teams meet again Tuesday again in Hotlanta at 7pm.  You can catch this one streaming on ESPN3.

Dana Evans is in Connecticut with the Chicago Sky team.  They'll be playing the Suns at 2pm today.  No easy viewing options for this one, unfortunately.

NWSL

The hometown Racing Louisville FC club were on the road yesterday, playing the Chicago Red Stars.  Chicago may be The Windy City, but it was rain that delayed the start of the game yesterday.

Emina Ekic played 26 minutes in this one, but it was after all the scoring was finished for the game.  Racing won this one by a convincing 3-0 score.  Ebony Salmon justifying her late arrival to the squad got it started in the 38th minute.  Yuki Nagasato got her first goal in lavender in the 56th, and Savannah McCaskill finished the trio of goals in the 62nd.

By the way, if you're a fan of Jazmine Jones in part because of her antics on and off the court, you should check out Yuki Nagasato.  She's got all the spirit and playfulness of Jones and has contributed tremendously to the success of this Racing team.

Gaby Vincent is the other Card in the Pros with the NWSL, playing for Kansas City.  The stats are incomplete for this game, and I didn't get to watch it live, but Gaby did see the field. We don't have info on how long she played as the minutes played column of the stat sheet is blank.  Vincent did get a shot, but it wasn't on-frame.

Kansas City will play again on Friday at 7pm, and Racing Louisville FC will take the field Saturday at 7:30pm.  Both will be streamed on Paramount+.

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

Speaking of professionals.  The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast is definitely not.  Jared, Paulie, and I were on the call this week.  Daryl and Case missed out on a fun mascot quiz, but the recent developments in Name, Image, and Likeness rules, regulations, and yes... even court cases, dominated most of the discussion in this one.

Check it out below.

JMcA

SHOOK, LIBS DOUSE SPARKS IN L.A. -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LIBERTY 76  - SPARKS 73

The New York Liberty, of the WNBA, and featuring Cardinal greats Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones were far away from their Brooklyn home court yesterday in their Fathers Day WNBA tilt with the Los Angeles Sparks in the L.A. Convention Center .  They got a huge fourth quarter from Shook and got the three-point win to improve to 7-6 in an exciting fourth quarter. 

Shook had five points in a key stretch in the final quarter, nailing a three and getting a wide open layup to keep NYL in the lead against the Sparks, who fell to 5-7 on the season. New York survived two late three-point attempts by LA, one of which was blocked by Rebecca Allen, in the final possession of the game to hold on.

 

It's a bit of a different look currently for the Libs, second-year guard Sabrina Ionescu saw just 21 minutes and totaled nine points for the visitors. Allen, Australian Sami Whitcomb picked up the scoring slack, though with 36 points combined  Jazmine saw 13 minutes of action and contributed a couple of rebounds and assists but no points. 

The Libs were facing their center from last year in Amanda Zahui B, now in a LA jersey, and Shook did the job defensively on her -- limiting her to four points in 11 minutes.   

It was a celebratory game of sorts, 24 years ago the Sparks and Libs squared off in what was the first official game of the WNBA. The league has been through some ups and downs in this almost-quarter century, but is riding an all-time high in popularity currently and providing some very exciting basketball. 

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A quick Monday Morning check of the league standings shows New York in second place in the Eastern Conference, a game back of the Connecticut Sun and in fourth place overall in the conference standings. The Western Conference has the two current powerhouses with the Seattle Storm holding a 12-2 mark and the Las Vegas Aces sitting at 10-3

Myisha Hines-Allen's Washington  Mystics are at .500 in the East, with a 6-6 record and Dana Evans and the Chicago Sky are also at .500 in the East at 7-7. 

Hines-Allen will be out for a few upcoming games with a strained left patellar tendon strain, but the good news is that she doesn't appear to need surgery. 

Watching the end of the Mystics vs. Dream game Saturday nigh, t I was amazed to see so many Mystics on the sidelines in street clothes. Besides Hines-Allen, Alysha Clark is out with an ankle injury, Elena Della Donne is still having back issues, Erica McCall out with a knee injury, and Natashia Cloud injured an ankle in the game. The Mystics had just six available players by the end of the game against Atlanta. Fortunately for them, one of them was "the black hole of Washington"  Tina Charles, who ended up with 39 minutes,  30 points and 15 rebounds, 

It's rumored the last time Tina passed on a shot opportunity was in the Obama Administration. But, in the words of Jeff Walz and Deb Antonelli -- scoring wins games and brings in fans, so ice up the shoulder, Tina, and keep hoisting. 

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A nice slate of games are on tap for Tuesday -- the Libs finally get back home and will entertain Dana and the Chicago Sky. (Three Cardinal greats in the same venue!) The Mystics will face a tough task at league-leading Seattle (most likely without Myisha)  and the Dallas Wings will travel to Connecticut to face the Sun. 

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FINALLY...

If you're here looking for an update on the Shoni Schimmel situation, we are Sgt. Schultz on the issue, (we know nothing.) When main-stream media reports on it, you'll find out as soon as we do. 

Have a Marvelous Monday! 

paulie

LIBERTY, SKY TAKE LOSSES IN WNBA -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HELLO, IT'S ME, AGAIN

Hello, it's me again. (Apologies to Cheap Trick for using the tag line from their great song "Voices" (1979)  

(Link to song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo71pQxvAvc  )

Daryl, who would normally bring you her "Fridays With Daryl" CARDINAL COUPLE article, is covered up with work and putting in more hours than an ice cream vendor on a 100 degree day at a festival, so, we go to the bullpen again and bring in the veteran righty -- Paulie. I heard the "voices in my head" to do the write up, so pull up a seat and grab a coffee. 

 I was bopping back and forth between the NCAA Softball College World Series, WNBA action and the other mysteries of life that can confront a senior citizen yesterday. Since we're all "basketball crazy" here at the Couple, and we had three Cardinals WBB greats toiling last night, that's where we'll go today. 

SKY FALLS TO MERCURY IN OVERTIME

Dana Evans made the quick transition from a Wings jersey to Chicago Sky gear yesterday and joined the squad in Phoenix last night for the late game on the WNBA slate for Thursday. Shaking off jet lag, moving duties and the newness of a different group of teammates, Evans saw nine minutes of play for Chicago and contributed two points in a 77-74 overtime loss to (5-3) home-standing Phoenix. She probably saw Jared's article yesterday indicating she probably wouldn't be able to join the Sky so quick and made a solemn vow to prove "camera boy" wrong. That's my thinking, anyway... 

A new number (#13) for Evans in the Sky jersey and a role which primarily is intended to use her as a back up to Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot. Evans got her two points off free throws in the third quarter last night in a game that featured a high scoring third quarter by Chicago to get them back in the game. The 25 third-quarter points by the Sky gave them  a 51-43 lead, after trailing 34-26 at the half. 

The contest went to overtime, a rally by Phoenix was aided by a technical foul late in the game called on Vandersloot.. The Sky kept it close but couldn't pull off the win, though, in the extra session and they drop to 2-6 on the season. The Sky are a squad that could use some accurate three-point shooting, let's hope their coach, James Wade recognizes that and give Dana the minutes to show what she can do. 

Chicago continues their westward trip with a visit to the LA Sparks on Saturday at 3 p.m. 

ACES DOWN LIBERTY

 

Two more of our Cardinals were on the court as well last night when the New York Liv=berty brought the Las Vegas Aces to Brooklyn. On the court, yes, for Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook, but not for a lengthy period of time in the Liberty's 94-82 loss to the Aces. 

The Las Vegas squad put this one out of reach early with a 30-16 first quarter output and contained the Liberty the rest of the way to improve to 6-3 on the season. For New York, the loss dropped them to 5-3. 

Kylee drew the start for NYL but saw just five minutes in the contest. Guarding Liz Cambage is a tough-enough assignment for most, but when Las Vegas's  A'ja Wilson goes off for 30 against you and adds 13 rebounds, it turns into a long night. 

Jaz, for her part, did see some first quarter action, but picking up two quick fouls sent her back to the bench after just four minutes and she did not score in the game. 

This NY Liberty team is getting a huge effort out of Rutgers former star Betnijah Laney (23 points, but the guard play suffered last night for the Libs. Sabrina Ionescu managed just five points last night, but did add nine assists. A couple of WNBL Australians in Sami Whitcomb (14 points) and Rebecca Allen (16 points) did what they could for the Libs but Vegas is showing no ill effects from having Angel McCoughtry out for the season. 

Myisha Hines-Allen's Washington Mystics wlll get their chance at knocking off Las Vegas tomorrow when they bring the travelling Aces squad to our nation's capital Saturday. Myisha has had a solid start to her season, after returning from EuroBall in Russia, with a 11 point, 10 rebound effort against the Connecticut Sun and 15 points and 10 rebounds against Indiana, Let's not forget, though, that the Mystics are a squad that looks to Tina Charles first and foremost, Charles has had an eye-popping 59 points in those last two games. 

 

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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

We'll join you tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. for another exciting edition of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. I can confidently point to Jeff, Jared and myself as starters for this one, I'm pretty sure Daryl is swamped with Bats duties. As for Case?

Honestly, I've lost track of his week-end commitments, but we'd love to have him available to add a challenge in the resurfaced Cardinal Couple Worldwide Quiz that I'll spring on the crew in the second half of the show. Check his article tomorrow for hints on his status. 

No hints on the topic of the aforementioned quiz, but I hope you'll join us. You can find out more about listening at the Cardinal Couple You Tube site or... just find Jared out taking pictures somewhere and ask him! 

LINK:  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cardinal+couple

Have a fun Friday! 

paulie

Cards In The Pros - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 NY Liberty Lose in OT

Kylee Shook was back in the starting lineup for the NY Liberty yesterday, and made two baskets, including a three pointer, but the Liberty would go on to the lose the game in overtime, 90-87.

Even had the Liberty won this game, film sessions on it would be filled with lessons learned on what not to do.  The Liberty came out flat, and were plagued with turnovers early.  They did get it in gear and turned the ship around by the end of the game.  The turnovers ended up almost even with the Atlanta Dream 20-17 by the end of the game.

In addition to the pair of baskets, Shook also contributed a trio of both rebounds, and assist.  She had a big blocked shot towards the end of the game, but with little rebounding help under the basket Elizabeth Williams was able to get a second, and third attempt, and the third time was the charm.

Jaz Jones saw the floor for about 13 minutes of playing time, got a bucket and a pair of free throws, though if you go back and watch the highlights you see plenty of her celebrating her teammates' success on the sidelines as the camera kept returning to her.  This, of course, comes as no surprise to anyone who saw her antics at UofL.  She did draw lots of commentary from the broadcast crew, and with good reason.  Her aggressive lock-down defense was in full effect and she pulled down four rebounds, again a stat that we know she can excel in with her quickness and leaping ability.

After a hot start of the season, it's disappointing to see the Liberty drop this one.  Sabrina Ionescu had an off performance, with only two field goals, though some credit must go to the Atlanta Dream as they consistently swamped her with double-teams.

The big performers for the Liberty were the rookie Michaela Onyewere, with ten buckets and six of them from beyond the arc; and Sami Whitcomb, who dropped six buckets with five of them being threes.  Whitcomb was also extremely active on defense getting four steals from the Dream.

Dana Evans will be in action with the Dallas Wings Tuesday evening.  You can catch this one on ESPN3 streaming, and Shook and Jones with the Liberty will play again Thursday evening on YES network with extremely limited alternative streaming options.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The CCRHP was back in action again yesterday as well, and we had the return of the Cardinal Couple Quiz!  Jared got the win over me in this one.  Case is off doing who knows what and Daryl had a conflicting appointment so couldn't join either.

We pretty much put a bow on the UofL sports year, wrapping up coverage of Lauren Hartlage in the NCAA Championship.  We then went on to talk about the WNBA a bit, we looked forward to the announced UofL vs UConn matchup in the fall.  We also took a few minutes to highlight Meghan Schneider's contributions as she was named a finalist for the Honda Award for Field Hockey.

See how you do against Paulie's challenging quiz below!

WTen Season Ends -- WNBA -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

We had a pair of Cards in action yesterday and some former Cards that played in the evening so we take a break from reviewing the different seasons to look at what went on throughout the day.

Women's Tennis Falls in NCAA Tournament

The Cardinals #13 ranked duo Raven Neely and Tatiana Simova fell to Florida's #7 ranked McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein 6-1, 6-3 in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Doubles Championships.

Florida started hot in the opening set by racing out to a 5-0 lead before the Cards mustered up a point. Florida would go on to take the next point to claim the set.

The second set looked promising as the two foes traded points on service with Louisville going up 3-2. The Gators would go on to take the next four points and breaking the Cards twice to claim the win.

Louisville's pair of Neely and Simova finished the year 11-6 and was the first UofL doubles team to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2015.

WNBA

We saw a trio of former Cards playing last night in the WNBA. The Dallas Wings traveled east to take on the New York Liberty last night. The game ended up being live-streamed for free on the WNBA twitter account. The Liberty improved to 4-1 with an 88-81 win while the Wings dropped to 1-2.

Dana Evans came off the bench for the Wings and saw nine minutes. She missed a three-pointer while committing one turnover and one foul.

Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones both started on the bench but saw valuable minutes on the floor. Shook dropped two points with three rebounds, one assist, and two fouls on 13 minutes. Jones played 18 minutes and had five points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal to go along with a turnover and three fouls.

Tonight, the Washington Mystics will visit the Indiana Fever at 7:00 p.m. I do not think Myisha Hines-Allen is back with the Mystics yet. She has been playing in Europe this spring. 

On Thursday, the Dallas Wings will visit the Atlanta Dream, so we get to see Dana play for the second time this week.

LAUREN HARTLAGE

University of Louisville senior Lauren Hartlage golfing days in college came to an impressive conclusion with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championship at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Monday.

The senior, who was in contention after the second round, finished the tournament at 1-over-par, carding 73-68-75-73=289 to end as the fourth-best individual in the tournament.

We look forward to see how her career progress as she moves on to the pros ! 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Hartlage third round action -- Liberty face Wings tonight -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LAUREN HARTLAGE AT EVEN PAR FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 

The golfing continues in Arizona for the collegiate NCAA Championships today, as the participants enter their fourth round of play. University of Louisville golfer Lauren Hartlage fired a 75 Sunday to slip out of a tie for second and slide into a tie for 10th after 54 holes. 

Hartlage remains as the participant with the best score for golfers not playing for the team title, but as individuals... with an even par 216 after the third round. The Stanford golfers had the right answer for the Grayhawk Golf Club course in Scottsdale, AZ....three of their team participants were on fire with Rachel Heck putting up a 70 to go to -10 under for the 54 holes, Angelina Ye carding an eye-popping 65 for Sunday to move to -5 for the event and Brooke Seay firing a 68 Sunday to go to -1 under. 

Hartlage began well Sunday with a birdie on the first hole, a par 4, and stayed at -1 under until the eighth hole, where she recorded a bogey on the par 3. She finished the first nine with an even par 36. 

The final nine was a bit more turbulent for the Elizabethtown, KY graduate student. It began well with a birdie on the par 4, Hole 10 and she stayed at -1 under until a bogey on the par 3 13th hole. Lauren recovered to fire a birdie on the par 4 -14th hole. 

The final four holes were a roller coaster ride for Hartlage. She fired a par on 15, a par 4, but produced a double bogey 5 on the par 3 - 16th hole. Holes 17 and 18 were bogeys for Hartlage for the final round score of 75.   

She takes to the links at 12:33 today (Mountain Time Zone) 

In team competition, Stanford has run away and hid from the rest of the field with an impressive -18 par after three days.  ACC member Duke is in second, 20 strokes back at +2 for the 54 holes. The Blue Devils are one of three ACC schools in the top ten team competition -- Wake Forest is in seventh place with a +16 and FSU stands in eighth place with a +17 mark after three days. The PAC 12 also has Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon in the top 10 and the SEC is represented by Ole Miss. The Big 12 is doing pretty well with 3rd place Okla. St and 4th place Texas. 

Here's hoping Lauren can solve the mysteries of the Par 3's in Scottsdale and finish strong in Day 4. 

DALLAS COMES TO BROOKLYN TONIGHT

The Dallas Wings bring their game to the New York Liberty in the (Brooklyn) Barclays Center tonight -- meaning we get a matchup of former Cards Dana Evans (Dallas)  against Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook.

The trio aren't a major factor in either lineup, so far, in the early season WNBA contests  

Yesterday, New York downed the Chicago Sky 93-85 to improve to 4-1. It was the Betnijah Laney (20 points) and Sabrina Ionescu (19 points) show for the Libs  -- who broke open a halftime 52-52 tie to outscore the Sy 41-33 in the second half. Kylee Shook produced five points and six rebounds in 18 minutes for New York and Jaz Jones added three points and three grabs in ten minutes.

Dallas sits at 1-1 after an overtime 100-97 loss to Seattle on Saturday. It continues to be the combination of Arike Ogumbowale (28 points) and Marina Mabrey (26 points) piloting the Wings...Dana Evans got seven minutes Saturday and contributed five points, after seeing two minutes in the season opener for Dallas against the LA Sparks. 

Sadly, viewing options for this one tonight consist of just a broadcast on the YES Network, which is a "pay" network that primarily covers New York City professional sports squads. It's also on FUBO, if you have that. I have neither.

I can't figure out, after due deliberation in this senile brain, why aren't these WNBA games aren't getting more ESPN or another readily available sport network coverage? The WNBA is a popular, resurgent and growing-in-popularity professional sport and one would think it would draw more viewers than cornhole contest or the Monaco Grand Prix Formula One racing...but I'm looking at it through a basketball junkie's viewpoint. 

I'm no network executive, though, so take the rant for what it's worth.

Nevertheless, let's hope Dana has a good game but the Libs continue their winning ways and Kylee and Jaz have big nights !! 

Have a marvelous Monday!

paulie

Cardinals Contributing to Liberty's Hot Start -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

LIBERTY'S SHOOK, JONES OFF TO 3-0 START IN WNBA

It's never "out of season" to talk a little women's basketball and it's time we talk about the NY Liberty in the WNBA. 

They have begun the WNBA 2021 season with a 3-0 record and are atop the WNBA's standings. Last night, the Libs broke open a close first half with the Minnesota Lynx with a nine-point third quarter edge and went on to take a 86-75 win. 

Let's look at our two UofL WBB standouts that are on the Liberty roster -- Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones:

Shook has been starting at center for New York and is averaging 27.3 minutes a contest. She's scored 22 points so far, an average of 7.3 a contest and has 16 rebounds...for 5.3 an outing. Her season high in points came last night against the Lynx with 10. 

Jones is coming off the bench for New York and is seeing 13.6 minutes per game. Jaz has 12 points on the season so far, good for 4.0 a night and had 10 against the Indiana Fever on a Sunday May 16th., 73-65 win in Indianapolis. Jones also has five rebounds in the three games.

The two are an integral part of a NY Liberty team that is outscoring opponents by an average of eight points a contest. 

The big news in Brooklyn is the play of forward Betnijah Laney and guard Sabrina Ionescu in the first three games.

Laney, a former Rutgers standout, is averaging 23.3 points a game and shooting a sizzling 53% from the floor. In her sixth year in the league, Laney is already on her fifth WNBA team, but seems to have found a home with the Liberty. She was named the most improved player in the league has year and has come a long way since being waived by the Chicago Sky in the 2017 season and suffering a torn ACL. 

Ionescu is back for her second year as a Lib player. The Oregon great got off to a excellent start last year in three games before she suffered a severe ankle sprain that sat her down for the season. Sabrina is averaging 21.0 points a contest for the Liberty so far this year. She went for 26 against Minnesota in the Liberty's last outing and also had 10 rebounds and 12 assists -- achieving that rare triple-double. It was the first triple-doible of her career. 

A fun fact about Ionescu is that she is the only player in the WNBA whose last name starts with "I".  Going one step further, how many UofL WBB players can you remember whose last name started with "I" and who was the last one? (Answer at the end of today's article)

One has to wonder how much more greater the Libs could be if Asia Durr was able to perform her magic on the court....

New York has been starting Ionescu, Laney, Shook, Sami Whitcomb and Michaela Onyenwere this season -- giving them a strong PAC 12 look in that starting lineup, since Whitcomb played at Washington and Onyenwere starred at UCLA. 

New York's next three game are against Washington on Friday, Chicago on Sunday and Dallas on Tuesday.  It's possible that Cardinals legend Myisha Hines-Allen might be back from Europe in time to play for Washington against the Liberty. And, Dana Evans awaits her former teammates when the Liberty take on the visiting Dallas Wings next week.  

Let's hope our Cardinals in the WNBA that are playing currently can remain healthy and be contributors to their squads.  And, let's hope we can eventually get Angel and both Asia's back out on the court. 

(here's the answer to my earlier question -- there have been three UofL WBB players whose last name has started with "I". -- Shamika Ingram (1998-2002), Michelle Irwin (1998-1989) and Sandee Itell (1985-87)  

Jeff Walz has never had a player on the Louisville roster whose last name began with "I".  Let's hope Dino Gaudio doesn't try to extort UofL or Coach Walz for this...maybe I need to call Walz and tell him not to take the old adage "There is no 'I' in Team" so literally. Maybe Alyssa Iverson (Liberty) will transfer here next year, or Coach will go after Jennah Isah from Valley Vista H.S. in Surprise, Arizona..this injustice must end !  Cortnee Walton came out of Surprise, AZ and she was pretty good, right?  

Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

paulie

MYSTICS FALL DESPITE MYISHA'S DOUBLE DOUBLE -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CONNECTICUT 76 - WASHINGTON 63

It has been a struggle for the Washington Mystics to grab "W"'s  as we leave August and roll into September. Washington is 1-9 in their last ten games and took another one on the chin yesterday when short-handed Connecticut (they had just seven players available for the game) won every quarter in the 13-point victory.

Myisha Hines-Allen continues to impress, though, and yesterday was another shining example of how she's become a leader on the 2020 Mystics roster. She scored 12 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had six assists in 30 minutes for Washington. 

The "Myisha Mystics" are 4-11, though, and playoff hopes are starting to look pretty dim for her and her teammates. The WNBA takes the top eight teams in the standings for the playoffs and Washington is in 10th place, a game and a half back of eighth-place Dallas (6-10). 

Here hoping the Mystics can recover the winning ways that started the season for them and make a late push to gain playoff eligibility. 

No former Cardinals will be in action tonight (Monday)....as Chicago takes on Indy in the early game and Los Angeles battles Minnesota in the nightcap at the  "wubble". 

SCENARIOS

Current standings have it pretty tight at the top of the league, with Seattle (13-3), Las Vegas (12-3) and Los Angeles (12-3. These three have already clinched playoff berths.

Right behind them are Minnesota (10-5) and Chicago (10-6). The Phoenix Mercury are at 9-7 and on a three-game win streak....so the top six spots have pulled away from the bottom half of the league. 

Connecticut (7-9) holds seventh spot and then Dallas. 

The bottom four in the league (Indiana 5-10), Washington (4-11), Atlanta (3-13) and New York (2-13) have work to do. From a Cardinal player view, right now, only Angel McCoughtry would advance to the playoffs. 

This year, only 22 regular season games per team are being played. Theoretically, if the New York Liberty got "hot" and won out -- they'd be 9-13 and might be eligible for a first round playoff berth. We can only hope. I'd like to see Jaz and Kylee in the playoffs, but, they've been impressive in their rookie seasons regardless of the outcome. 

How do the playoffs work?

The first two rounds are single-elimination games...meaning seeds #1 and #2 receive byes to the semis and #3 and #4 receive byes to the second round. If the playoffs were to start today, the scenario would look like:

FIRST ROUND:  Single elimination game.

#5 Chicago vs #8 Dallas

#6 Phoenix vs #7 Connecticut

(It's interesting to note that six of the top eight from 2019 are still playoff bound)..  

SECOND ROUND:  Single elimination game

Winner of Chicago vs. Dallas plays Minnesota

Winner of Phoenix vs Connecticut plays Los Angeles  

It is, obviously, too early to set the "final eight" in stone and tables could turn dramatically for any or all of the nine teams fighting to automatically qualify. 

Have a meaningful Monday and it's Derby Week (I know, it seems strange to say that as we head into September). Mask up, keep washing and sanitizing if you're "out and about" and be kind. 

paulie

VOLLEYBALL ADDS MORGAN -- WNBA RECAP -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TAYLOR MORGAN JOINS VOLLEYBALL STAFF

Taylor Morgan, who was a key player on the University of Minnesota's Final four team last season, has joined the UofL Volleyball staff as an assistant coach.

"We are thrilled to add Taylor to the staff," Dani Busboom Kelly commented. "Clearly she played at a very high level, but what stood out is her character is on par with her talent. She is a great example for our young women and will make a fantastic coach someday. there is no doubt she will make an immediate difference in our program." 

Morgan was a 6'0" middle blocker for the Gophers and was a second team Big 10 selection and All-Region Honorable Mention he senior year. She had six blocks for the Gophers last season in the match that eliminated Louisville from the NCAA Tournament 3-0 in the "great Eight" NCAA Regional finals in Austin, TX. on Dec. 14th. 2019

She had 514 kills and 283 blocks in her career at Minnesota. Morgan hails from Blaine, MN, a suburb of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. 

Louisville Volleyball is scheduled to start the 2020 season Sept. 16th against Kentucky.

CARDS WSOC CALLIE MCKINNEY TO BELLARMINE

Callie McKinney was an excellent mid-fielder for the Louisville women's soccer squad during her four years as a Cardinal. Callie was a starter all four years at Louisville. She's taken those skills and parlayed them into a coaching career. 

The Knights announced last night that McKinney has joined the staff as a graduate assistant. 

Bellarmine will compete (sooner or later) in Division I women's soccer and is in the A Sun Conference. Glad to see that Callie will still be around "the Ville" - and hope she can do wonderful things as a part of head coach Chris Tinius' staff! 

WNBA SCORES

Three out of the four UofL WBB Cardinals in "the wubble" were in action last night.

CHICAGO SKY 84 -- LAS VEGAS 82

A heart-breaking loss for Angel and the Aces last night. With 13 seconds to go, Chicago ran a nifty out-of-bounds double screen that eventually got Azura Stevens wide open under the basket and she sank the layup to sink Las Vegas. 

Angel McCoughtry led the Aces with 17 points. She was one of five double-digit scorer for the Aces, who are now 8-3. McCoughtry added five rebounds in 21 minutes of play. 

Las Vegas led 25-15 after one quarter but Chicago (8-4) roared back in the second half and grabbed a nine-point lead. Vegas was able to tie it late, but the Sky managed to get their second win in a row.

SEATTLE 105 - NEW YORK 64

A tough night for the New York Liberty against league-leading Seattle last night. The Storm jumped out to a 10-0 lead and had things well in control by the half, leading 61-28.

For New York (1-10) Jazmine Jones had 10 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes.  Kylee Shook saw 18 minutes and had four points and six rebounds. 

The struggling Liberty have lost their last five games in a row.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, mask up, keep your distance and sanitize and wash.

paulie 

WINS AND LOSSES IN THE WUBBLE -- WALZ TELECONFERENCE TODAY AT 1:30 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ACES WIN, LIBERTY LOSE IN WNBA ACTION

An up and down Sunday for fans of the University of Louisville women's basketball players participating in WNBA action Sunday. 

Action started with the winless New York Liberty facing Phoenix. A tough start for New York, with the shots not falling early and the Liberty digging a hole for themselves in the first half -- trailing by as many as 16 and ending first half action on the short end of a 41-27 contest. 

New York came out determined to make a contest of it, though, to start the second half and went on a 18-3 third quarter run to cut the Phoenix lead to two at 55-53 after an Amanda Zahui B three with about three minutes left in the quarter. 

Phoenix, however was able to regroup and rolled off 17 0f the next 19 points to build a 72-55 lead. In the fourth quarter, maybe the fatigue factor and most certainly poor shooting for New York proved disastrous. Phoenix dominated the final quarter 34-11 and took the contest 96-67. 

Cardinal Jazmine Jones came off the bench to log 21 minutes for the Liberty and scored three points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and dished pout four assists. Kylee Shook saw 14 minutes in a reserve role and produced seven points, five rebounds and had an assist. 

Shooting woes for New York, playing their first full game without Sabrina Ionescu were a key culprit in the loss -- the Liberty went just 18-73 from the floor (24.7%) and 5-35 from three-point range (14.3%) and those numbers aren't going to win a team any games. 

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In the nightcap, Angel McCoughtry and the Las Vegas Aces had strong 1st and 3rd quarters and that was enough to get by the Dallas Wings 79-70. 

A relatively quiet night for Angel, she played just 15 minutes as a starter and was good for four points, four rebounds and three assists. Her teammates had five in double figures, though, with A'ja Wilson leading the way with 19 points. 

Las Vegas jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and never trailed in the contest. 

A showdown awaits Wednesday for the Aces (2-2) on Wednesday when they take on Washington (3-1) at 5 p.m. 

WALZ TELECONFERENCE TODAY AT 1:30

Jeff Walz will update the media today at 1:30 with news on the 2020-21 University of Louisville women's basketball squad and their summer workouts. 

We'll monitor the teleconference and Jared Anderson will have a full report on it, plus a listening link, in his Tuesday column. 

Have a meaningful Monday,

paulie

xxxxx

Mystics, Hines-Allen go to 2-0 in win over Sun -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN GOES FOR 16 IN D.C. WIN

Positive stories in 2020 haven't been very plentiful lately, but Myisha Hines-Allen is rapidly becoming one. 

She scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Washington Mystics 94-89 win over the Connecticut Sun last night in the "wubble" in Bradenton, FL. 

Things started well for Hines-Allen and DC, jumping out to an early 26-20 first quarter lead. The Mystics were hustling, Hines-Allen one of three Mystics who had a steal in the first ten minutes. F

Fifth-year player Aerial Powers was having a big night for the defending WNBA champs also. Powers ended up leading the Mystics with 27 points.

Connecticut, however, wasn't ready to head back to their bus and leave the sound-stage this early. The Sun got hot and, aided by nine DC turnovers and 13 fouls, gained a 52-48 lead as the teams reached halftime.  

The Mystics needed a big start to the third quarter and they got it. Back-to-back threes from Powers and Hines-Allen early in the quarter pushed Washington to a 59-56 lead and DC still was up 76-71 as the third quarter ended. 

Using the "if it worked once - let's try it again" philosophy, Washington came out hot again to start the fourth quarter and built the lead to 15. The Sun was not ready to go down yet, though and behind DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas battled back to get within two with 30 seconds to play. DC got a bit of luck when Thomas missed a layup to tie it and the Sun was slow to foul Washington's Leilani Mitchell who came up with the loose ball. She eventually hit a free throw and a late bucket gave Washington the five-point victory. 

Hines-Allen was a force from the opening tip....taking the defenders off the dribble, working the inside-out game well, getting steals, nailing threes and leading the Mystics in rebounding. Back in her Louisville playing days, we used to tease Myisha that she was really a guard trapped in a power forward's body. Maybe we had something there...

Washington is now 2-0 and returns to action Thursday night when they'll face Seattle in a 6 p.m. match. ESPN will have the contest. 


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Wednesday Night WNBA actions features three more Cardinals in back-to-back games.

Action starts at 7 p.m. when Phoenix and Indiana both try to get their first win of the young season. At 8 p.m., the New York Liberty (Kylee Shook, Jazmine Jones) take on the Dallas Wings on CBS Sports Network. Closing out Wednesday action, Las Vegas (Angel McCoughtry) faces the 1-0 Atlanta Dream.  

Angel goes against her old teammates in the 10 p.m. showdown and this one will be on the CBS Sports Network as well. You may want to catch a nap this afternoon so you can stay up for both these televised games that feature Louisville WBB Cardinal greats. 

Have a wonderful WNBA Wednesday!


paulie
xxxxx

ACC Network Takeover -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ACC Network Takeover

(Case was unavailable for the write today so I gladly stepped in to help out).

We still have no idea on when or if we will see live UofL sports, but we did hear good news if you want to see some of the best UofL games played again.

Mark your calendars down for August 1.  The Cards are taking over for the day.

The ACC Network will air six different Louisville games over the past decade beginning at 10:00 a.m.


Here is the entire lineup:


10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Men's Soccer vs Georgetown (Sept. 24, 2019)
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Baseball vs Indiana (May 14, 2019)
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Softball vs Florida State (April 8, 2019)
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: Women's Basketball vs Notre Dame (Jan. 11, 2018)
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.: Men's Basketball vs Pitt (Jan. 17, 2009)
9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.: Football vs Mississippi State (Dec. 30, 2019)

We see a split of men's sports and women's sports, but we will focus on the two women's games.

Softball vs Florida State

Most of us still remember the Monday night walk-off against the #3 Seminoles to claim the series.  It
was Florida State's first conference series loss since 2012.

The Cards trailed 9-7 as they headed to the bottom of the seventh inning.  Rebecca Chung's three-run double with two outs led the Cards to a victory on ESPN and a full house at Ulmer Stadium.



Women's Basketball vs Notre Dame

Ah, one of my favorite women's basketball games.  The #3 Cards smoked the #2 Irish at the KFC Yum! Center, 100-67.

Like the softball game previously mentioned, this game was aired on ESPN.  What most people remember is Asia Durr's three-point buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter.

That was one of the biggest jaw-dropping moments in Louisville sports history.

These are some games that you do not want to miss so set your DVR or have an alarm set to tune in.

Cardinal Couple Podcast Hour

After a fortunate series of several weeks off I'm back to banking this Saturday.  Case is occupied with
his exams and will be also out this week.

That leaves Paulie and Worldwide to hold down the fort this week.  Tune in to see what they'll talk about, although by default, we already have a winner for the quiz this week, if Paulie chooses to go that route.

My guess is it'll be a shorter-than-normal show, with the New York Liberty starting at noon on ESPN. You don't want to miss Jaz and Kylee's WNBA debut !!

Check it out on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on You Tube.

Happy Saturday and Go Cards!

Jared

WNBA Begins Saturday -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FOUR CARDINAL WBB STARS TAKE TO THE COURT THIS WEEKEND

For those of us who enjoy and follow the WNBA pursuits, the wait is almost over. Opening weekend begins tomorrow for the WNBA -- with three games on Saturday and three on Sunday. 


Kicking off the action are the New York Liberty vs. the Seattle Storm. This match-up included two Cardinal WBB greats in Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones. They'll be a part of a Liberty squad that tries to get an opening game win against 2018 WNBA MVP Brenna Stewart and her Seattle Storm teammates. The contest is slated to be shown on ESPN and a noon start time (ET). The Liberty are without Asia Durr but have #1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu.


Next up, at 3 p.m. on ABC a west-coast battle in the IMG Academy "dome" between the L.A. Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury. You want All-Star talent on the court? How about Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner on the court. 

The final Saturday contest will put the Indiana Fever up against the defending champion Washington Mystics. Cardinal Myisha Hines-Allen plays for the Mystics. Game coverage switches to CBS Sports Network and a 5 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.


The remaining six teams in the WNBA get it started on Sunday. 

The noon game puts 2019 WNBA runner-ups Connecticut against the Minnesota Lynx. This one is an ESPN game.

Our Angel McCoughtry is up after that, as she and the Las Vegas Aces face the Chicago Sky. You can follow the Aces and Angel on ABC. 3 p.m. is the schedule start time for this one.

Closing out weekend action is the Dallas Wings vs. Atlanta Dream. We go back to CBS Sports Network for the finale and 5 p.m. is the scheduled start.  

Certainly, the WNBA appreciates the televised coverage, but one has to slightly shake one's head at the "cover-all" bingo approach with bouncing back and forth between the various networks and channels. Advertising revenues are certainly appreciated  by the league, though, since the fan base isn't a factor in the season yet...so I guess we should be happy that there is coverage. Just getting to watch some exciting basketball far outweighs having to have the remote handy. 

Best of luck to our Cardinals and their squads in the games and we'll certainly miss seeing Asia Durr perform for the Liberty. We wish Asia the best as she recoups, recovers and readies herself for a return to the hardwood after contracting COVID-19. 

Here's hoping all goes well in this new experiment for the league.  WNBA Tip-Off 2020 is one we'll probably remember for a long time because of the nature, circumstances, situation and precautions -- at least the league isn't cancelled or being put off until winter. 2020 has been weird. 

Like you, I'll miss the fan bases at the games. But, with the way things are these days, it's just something we have to get used to until things get better. 

Here's a fun thought to ponder. 

If you could build a WNBA team of former Cardinal WBB players, who would be on it? 11 UofL players you'd want on that roster? 

 I'll offer Asia Taylor, Asia Durr, Arica Carter, Angel McCoughtry, Kylee Shook, Sam Fuehring, Myisha Hines-Allen, Jazmine Jones, Jazz Covington, Monique Reid and Candyce Bingham. Your thoughts? 



Leave your roster in the comments section. 

Have a fantastic Friday!


paulie
xxxxx