Day Two ACC WBB Tourney Results -- Friday Cardinal Couple

NOT ALL FAVORITES PREVAIL IN DAY TWO OF ACC WBB TOURNAMENT 

Day two of the ACC WBB Tournament. Where the Day One winners advnace to play the #5, #6 and #7 seeded squads and #8 and #9 meet up. Let's see what happened, shall we? 

#8 VIRGINIA 50 VS #9 CLEMSON 63

Clemson broke away from UVA in the fourth quarter to begin the day's action. This one was anyone's contest after three quarters...as Clemson took the first quarter 15-14, the second quarter 13-12 and the third quarter 15-13. 

The Cavs had a 36-33 lesd in the third quarter, but Clemson came back with a 10-3 run to lead 43-39 after three quarters. Mia Moore took over the fourth quarter for the Tigers with 10 points and Clemson advances to face #1 seed Duke today. 

# 5 NOTRE DAME 73 - # 12 MIAMI 64. 

Miami got "Hildagoed" today after advancing to day two of the tournament. She went for 25 points against the Canes and UND advances to day three to play NC State. 

Notre Dame broke out to a 16-10 lead in the first quarter, but the Canes decided to make it a battle and won the second quarter 18-15 to make the tally 31-28 Irish at the half. Notre Dame was able to push that lead to 55-50 after three and got the win with a 18-14 fourth quarter edge.

#7 SYRACUSE 70 - #10 CALIFORNIA 59 

Uche Cootchie Coo..she beat you...Bears...

The Cuse roared out to a 23-7 first quarter lead and never looked back against the Cal Bears in the third game of the ACC Tournament. Uche Izoje led the Orange with 23 points and added 10 rebounds as the Orange advance to face UofL tomorrow.

This one was 37-16 at the half and you had to wonder if Cal used up all their energy in beating Wake Forest . Cal did mount a bit of a rally after halftime and got back within 13 at the end of the third quarter, but Syracuse hugn on and won the final quarter 20-19

#6 VIRGINIA TECH 62 - #11 GEORGIA TECH 54

The host (kinda) of the 2026 ACC WBB Tournament has now been eliminated as Virginia Tech downed Georgia Tech by eight in the final evening session. This one started out all Bees, as they assumed a 17-7 end of first quarter lead The Hokies roared back, though and took the lead 29-23 at halftime.

Virginia Tech was still in control  37-30 in the third quarter but saw GT rally back and get within two in the fourth quarter, The key to the VT win? Maybe that they had a 24-5 advantage in points off turnovers. 

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

Today...four more game await. Clemson takes on #1 seed Duke, Notre Dame faces #4 seed North Carolina State. #2 seed Louisville gets Syracuse and #3 seed UNC gets Va. Tech. ACC Network has the coverage, staring at 11 a.m.  They do a "Nothing But Net" show at 10a.m. that is pretty good about previewing the games and catching you up with previous action..

paulie

Cards WBB "Hildago-ed" by Notre Dame 65-62 -- Monday Cardinal Couple

 CARDS DROP REGULAR SEASON FINALE TO IRISH

There was a lot on the line in this one at the KFC YUM! Center. 

Louisville had a chance to tie for the regular season conference championship after Duke lost to UNC. Notre Dame had a chance to move up to fifth place in the final conferrence standings with a win. Over 11,000 fans packed the downtown arena on Senior Day to honor Laura Ziegler and Reyna Scott, the Cards two seniors. 

Someone forgot to tell Hannah Hildago this was Louisville's day. 

Hildago...Cards killer. 

The sophomore (yes, Cards fans , she'll have two more years to haunt the Cards...) went off for 30 points on the Cards, so the Cards enter the ACC Tournament that starts on Wedneday with a two round bye and will play their first game on Friday. Notre Dame gets a Thursday opening slot and will face the winner of the #12 and #13 seeds in the opener on Wdnesday.  

The Cards got of to a hot start in this one and led UND 9-2 in a low scoring quarter with three minutes left. That lead was 12-4 Cards with a little over a minute left in the quarter, after a Berry basket and free throw..but Notre Dame nailed a three. It was 12-7 Cards after one.  

Notre Dame came out strong in the second quarter and took the lead at 18-16 on a Hildago layup with 5:32 untll halftime. A Hildago three put the Irish up by five..thirty second later. The Irish increased that lead to 29-19 with 3:32 until half and two Hildago free throws set the tally at 31-19 with 2:54 until half. Two more Hildago free throw gave Notre Dame at 36-24 lead which took them into the half. It was a 29-12 Irish dominance in the second quarter and Louisville looked to be in potential serious trouble. 

The Cards weren't ready to roll over yet, though. They scored the first six points of the third quarter...capped by a Elif Istanbulluoglu jumper. Notre Dame was riding the quickness and accuracy of Hildago, though, and her two free throws made it 45-35 Irish with 3:03 left in the third. 

Then, the Cards finally realized they were a pretty good team. The sophomore class led the comegback with a Randolph three and a Roberts three and two Roberts free throws. That capped a 8-0 UofL run that made the score 45-43 Notre Dame. The Irish went on a 5-2 run to end the quarter but Louisville was back in it, trailing just 50-45. It looked like it was going to be 47-45, but "You-know-who" nailed a three at the buzzer. 

Louisville tied it in the fourth 52-52 when Reyna Scott sank a layup...and the Cards went ahead 55-54 on a Istanbulluoglu basket and free throw. Thirty seconds later, Randolph sank a layup and you had to wonder if the Cards were on a game winnng run. Notre Dame was not going to roll over and play dead, though. They tied it at 60-60 with 3:37 left and Hildago had the Irish's final five points..where the Cards could only get two Randolph free throws with 54 seconds left. 

Never a good thing to end the season with a loss, but the Cards now have five days to get ready for ACC Tournament play..facing either Syracuse, California or Wake Forest in opening day action. 

We'll look at the ACC WBB tournament bracket tomorrow. 

paulie

Cards win the battle with the Irish 79-66 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning readers,  I'm ready for the temperatures to start warming back up.  The Cards are heating up on the hardwood.

Louisville is on a 10 game win streak with a big road win against the rival #22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish last night, lets get into a recap.  

WBB

Louisville moves to 17-3, 7-0 in the ACC.

Reyna Scott came off the bench for a career high 20 points against the Irish when she went 9-13 from the field with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists to boot.  Tajianna Roberts also poured it on with 19 of her own when she saw 4 of 5 of her three point attempts go through the hoop. 

Hannah Hidalgo had herself a night when she scored 24 points and 8 assists but HH and Notre Dame's short bench would not be enough to topple the Cards on this night.  After the first quarter, the Cardinals took command of the lead and never relinquished it.  The Irish would run out of gas in the 4th quarter as UofL would hold ND to just 23% shooting and 10 total points. Roberts and Scott combined for 14 in the quarter.  

UP NEXT 

Louisville at NC STATE 

Sunday 1pm 

FRED REPORT

Fred Chopin

FREE THROWS -- Louisville was 12-16 at the line good for 75%. Compared to ND's 7-10 which were only attempted by Hidalgo, it was a solid night for the Cards. CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals outrebounded ND 38-36 but considering the Irish only had 6 players available and Scott mentioned in the post game interview that it was an emphasis for the team this week, I'd say there's much to be improved in this category. lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Once UofL secured the lead, they did not let it go. There was no doubt in this one and the Cards got a much needed offensive effort and output from Roberts and Scott in hostile territory. CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- The Cards held Hidalgo to 1-4 from three point range. She was held to just 2 points in the first and 4th quarter each. CAPITAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY: F_r_E_D





As Always
Go Cards

~Daryl

WBB comeback over BC 58-55 -- SB opens ACC play at Ulmer -- VB opens Spring schedule -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL



Good Friday morning readers. All I can say is WHEW, I hope Paulie turned off the Cards game in the final minutes of the WBB game because it was a stressful one!!   

But luckily for me, I get to cover another Cardinal victory over Boston College!  

Photo: Jared Anderson

WBB

Nyla Harris led the team with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting and tied the team lead with nine rebounds. Kiki Jefferson had nine points and tied Harris with a team-best nine rebounds. Sydney Taylor also had nine points and four assists. Olivia Cochran also had nine points, seven rebounds and tied a season high with a team-best three steals.

End of 1Q 20-18 Cards
FG %
8-16 50% Cards
7-16 43.8 % BC
Reb. 8-9 BC
3-pt %
4-7 57.1% Cards
1-3 33.3% BC


Both teams came out on a mission with BC winning the jump ball and hitting a second chance 3 pointer to open the game in their favor. The Cards responded by Olivia hitting the jumper and Kiki hitting her first 3 point attempt to make it 5-3.   The Cards finally found some offense from 3 point land as they hit 4 from distance in the quarter.   


End of 2Q 13-11 Cards

FG %
4-11 36.4% Cards
5-18 0% BC
Reb. 13-7 Cards
3-pt %
1-4 25% Cards
1-4 25% BC

Photo: Jared Anderson

HALF 33-29 Cards



End of 3Q 15-9 BC

FG %
4-10 40% Cards
5-15 33.3% BC
Reb. 8-6 BC
3-pt %
1-5 20% Cards
0-5 0% BC


Jayda Curry hits a wild 3 pointer as the clock was winding down to make it 42-33 Cards with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter. BC finished the quarter on an 11-0 run.  The Cards dropped the quarter where they had 7 turnovers.  


End of 4Q 16-11 Cards

FG %
5-17 29.4% Cards
5-12 41.7% BC
Reb. 12-8 Cards
3-pt %
0-4 0% Cards
1-4 25% BC


Cards go on another cold streak, going scoreless for over 2 minutes allowing BC to take the lead.
Cards take the 56-55 lead with 31.5 seconds left. Olivia Cochran with the huge steal to get the possession and put the Cards at the line and Sydney Taylor on the line and finish the game on a 6-0 run with under two minutes left on the clock.   BC had 7 of their 14 turnovers in the 4th quarter.   




UP NEXT

Photo: Jared Anderson

Louisville vs Notre Dame (Part 3)

Friday 3/8 at 11am

FRED REPORT

Right Said Fred

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 10-16 at the FT line, missing their 6 chances in the final quarter. After making the 4 chances she had at the line in the second quarter, Olivia went 1-6 at the charity stripe in the 4th quarter. The shot attempt just looked too strong each time. This could’ve been the difference maker, luckily this time around, it wasn’t and the Cards survive. 62.5% means... no letter

REBOUNDING – The Cards outrebounded BC 39-32. Dontavia Waggoner fouled out for BC with about a minute and a half left in the game. This helped Nyla Harris get second chance opportunities for the Cards and none bigger than the put back layup by Nyla to put the Cards ahead for good at 56-55 with 32 seconds left. Lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  The Eagles came out with the energy against Louisville, despite playing less than 24 hour prior.  Both squads took the same number of shots in the first quarter where the Cards managed a 2 point lead, both went 1-4 from 3 point land in the 2nd quarter and made 5 shots in the 4th.  There were 7 lead changes and it was tied 10 times with the Cards leading 24 minutes and at the end.  Louisville committed 20 turnovers.  yikes.   survive and advance indeed.  lower case e 

DEFENSE --  UofL held BC to 19% from 3 point range which was obviously huge in a 3 point win.   It felt like any distance was a big one against the roaring Eagles who held the 55-52 advantage with 3:41 to go.  Teya Sidberry had 22 points on 8-17 shooting from the field and Waggoner fouled out with under 2 minutes left whch helped the Cards get a few big stops and extra rebounds in those final moments.  lower case d

FINAL FRED TALLY:      _r_e_d

So, the Cards advance to Friday action and will open today's play at 11 a.m. against Notre Dame. LET'S HOPE THE CARDS PLAY LIKE THE TEAM THAT BEAT ND BACK ON FEB 8TH, and not the quad that fell to them to end the regular season. Case will have the write up and we'll cover it tomorrow on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast.  We have bracket standings below,  Nick O leads the charge with a 6-1 record. 


6-1: Nick
O 5-2: Jared, Katy, Jason, Vivian
4-3: Blue Lou, Paul, Daryl, Thomas, Karen, Emily, Arthur, Bea, Jeff, Kenneth Stark Sr, Mike D, Chimps
3-4: Sonya, Kenny Schneider, Case, Cindy
2-5: Clemson Cuz, Joe Hill


Picks to win title Virginia Tech 6
NC State 5
Notre Dame 4
Louisville 3
Syracuse 2
Florida State 1
Duke 1
North Carolina 1

POST GAME JEFF WALZ HERE

Softball

**** Update as of 7am 3/8****

Fridays Softball match has been moved to a 2pm start due to the forecast in the area **********

Softball opens ACC play by welcoming Virginia Tech to town for a 3 game series. 6pm Friday, 1 pm Saturday will be on the ACCN Extra and a 4:30pm Sunday on the ACC... barring no weather changes to the scheduling.

  

The Cards are coming off a big win over a ranked opponent while the Hokies are coming off a series sweep over Notre Dame last weekend and a canceled midweek matchup against EKU.    

Louisville is 15-5 while VT is 15-3-1.

VT leads the all-time series against the Cards 15-8 and have also won the last five matchups.   The Hokies and Cardinals last met in the ACC tournament last season, where Tech won 10-8.   

Louisville is hitting .304 as a team with five players carrying an average of .300 or better.
The Cards have outscored opponents 120--57 with 13 home runs on the season. Paige Geraghty is on a seven-game hitting streak and leads the team with seven multi-hit games

Volleyball

Spring Schedule kicks off when the VolleyCards welcome Dayton to L&N Arena at 5pm.   Its the first of 4 this season.  You can bet Jeff will be out there to cheer on the squad while Jared may pop in between L&N and Ulmer Stadium for softball.  

 
Louisville is coming off a 27-5 season in which the Cards reached their third straight Elite Eight.

Louisville is returning the majority of their production from last season, including outside hitters Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper, setter Elle Glock, libero Elena Scott, middle blockers Cara Cresse and Phekran Kong.  Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly is headed into her eighth season leading the Cardinals.

Dayton is coming off another impressive season going 32-3 last year, finishing as Atlantic 10 champions and getting knocked out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Washington State. 

Dayton is one of those squads that the Cards usually battle a full 5 sets with.  That was the case last year when the two met in Ohio and the Cards coming home with the victory.   The Flyers are led by head coach Tim Horsmon in his second stint and 16th season at the helm, and outside hitters Brooke Smith and Lexie Almodovar are set to lead Dayton on the court in their senior seasons. Additionally, Abbie Cresse, Cara Cresse's sister, is joining the Flyers this upcoming fall.

The Cardinals' other three matches this spring are at Purdue on March 29, at Kentucky on April 5, and vs. Tennessee on April 13.


I might pop over to Ulmer as well to catch the Cardinals in ACC action at some point this weekend!!!  I heard the local ice cream shops are opening back up :D

As always
Go Cards!

~Daryl