UofL Names New President -- WBB run out of gas vs Buckeyes -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good Thursday morning readers and Happy first of December !! 

Daryl checking in a day early this week. It worked out for Jared and I to switch since we would both be out at the Yum! Center Wednesday night for the ACC/Big 10 matchup for WBB.

I'm still getting acclimated in my new role with UofL and actually passed Payton Verhulst, Kasa Robinson and Josie Williams on Monday in the SAC (student activities center) and wished them good luck in the contest. It was probably 11 or so in the morning and they had probably fit in a morning workout and or practice as well as attending class.

I'm just thrilled and inspired to be back on campus!  Speaking of campus....

UofL names its new President!

In some OTHER administrative news, the University announced Wednesday that it has found its new leader to serve as President of the University. There was some buzz around campus that it could be coming this week..

Dr. Kim Schatzel has been named the 19th president of the University of Louisville. The current president of Towson University will officially assume the UofL presidency on Feb. 1, 2023. Schatzel, 66, has served as president of Towson since 2016. She is also a professor of marketing.

In some reports of the hire, it was indicated that when the hiring search was on, the board was looking for someone to fill the role for at least 7 years. If my math is correct, Schatzel will have served Towson for 7 years before being hired at UofL. The first knucklehead with the microphone in the press conference decided to comment on Kim’s age if she does happen to stick around that long. I found her response to be amusing as she clapped back with the fact that she signed up for the KY Derby half marathon next spring and continues to move around just fine these days. What Shatzel probably meant was that 66 is the new 45 and don’t ask stupid questions. She also said this….

“The University of Louisville is a historic university with rich traditions that provides leadership to Kentucky as the premier metropolitan research university for the Commonwealth,” Schatzel said. “I am incredibly honored to be chosen to lead such a remarkable institution and look forward to working together with our campus and community partners to advance UofL’s reputation as a preeminent institution nationally recognized for its excellence in research and scholarly work, education, inclusive student success, innovation, the arts and athletics – all aimed to establish the University of Louisville and the City of Louisville as a nexus for transformative solutions that advance the public good.

“My husband Trevor and I are thrilled to be joining the UofL community and look forward to embracing the university community, the City of Louisville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky as our new home. And we look forward to joining the more than 169,000 UofL alumni from around the globe in cheering on our Cardinals.”

Welcome to Louisville and UofL, Madame President! This marks the second female President in the university’s history! Good Luck and Go Cards!!

Schatzel was introduced to the Louisville WBB crowd on Wednesday night. 

 

WBB

Cards 77 - OSU 96

I wish I had good news to report and a signature win on the Cards resume, alas... it was not meant to be against the Buckeyes on Wednesday night. The second half "scaries" came to haunt the Cards and would not go away. Louisville took an 8 point lead into the half and watched it diminshed quickly after the break as Ohio State outscored UofL 59-32 in the second half. HVL lead in scoring for the Cards with 20 points, 5 coming from the free throw line. OSU had 3 players score more than 20 lead by Taylor Mikesell with 26 points going 10-16 from the field, 4 from beyond 3. Louisville moves to 5-3 on the season with only 3 matchups scheduled in Louisville for 2022.


End of 1Q 25-18 CARDS

FG %
9-17 52.9% Cards
8-14 57.1% OSU
Reb. 10-5 Cards
3-pt %
1-7 14.3% Cards
1-3 33.3% OSU

Starters for the Cardinals against the Buckeyes were Chrislyn Carr, Mykasa Robinson, Hailey Van Lith, Morgan Jones and Olivia Cochran. Louisville committed two turnovers to start the game while Ohio State drew a foul and showed 1 point for it the first couple minutes. UofL proceeded to go on 6-0 run over the next 2 minutes while the defense began to turn up the heat. The Buckeyes committed 5 turnovers of their own with just 3:45 off the clock & the Cards extended their lead 11-3.. 6 of the points came off turnovers. HVL somewhat struggled with the ball in her return to the court. She committed 3 turnovers just 5 minutes into the game.

OSU turned up the pressure and went on a run of their own going 7-0 over 1:06 to make it 12-10. UofL continued to struggled to hold onto the ball and turned it over on another couple of possessions allowing the Buckeyes to tie it up 12-12. Walz calls in the big guns as Payton Verhulst drains a three to puts cards back up 15-12. Hailey decided to take it to the Buckeyes and drive the basket and see if anyone would stop her... they did not stop her that time. OSU began to rack up the fouls as the Cards found themselves in the bonus with more than 2 min left in the first quarter - HVL got to the line a handful of times and went 5-5.


End of 2Q 20-19 CARDS


FG %
9-19 47.4% Cards
7-15 46.7% OSU
Reb. 9 All
3-pt %
2-4 50% Cards
3-7 42.9% OSU

'The Carr' got started (as Paulie so poetically put it) with a 3 to make it 32-23 with 7:50 on the clock. Louisville went on a 10-0 run over 2 minute period. Mikulasikova for OSU exits at about the 7 minute mark due to cramps that began in the quarter break. UofL goes on another run, 12-2 run over 2:30 minutes followed by a 2:30 minute scoring drought where OSU put 6 quick points on the board to make it 39-31 Cards. Once again, Verhulst cleans it up underneath for Louisville to put Cards back up by 10 but OSU responds with another 3 pointer 41-34. The Buckeyes were 3-7 from 3 point land in the quarter. UofL won the quarter by just 1 point.


HALF 45-37 CARDS

End of 3Q 28-18 OSU

FG %
6-12 50% Cards
11-18 61.1% OSU
Reb. 6-11 OSU
3-pt %
1-2 50% Cards
2-2 100% OSU

Carr drains two buckets to open the second half to put cards up 50-37 but then things start to dwindle for Louisville.. With Mikulasikova back in the game the Buckeyes went on 11-0 run over a 1:28 period while the Cards continue to turn the ball over 4 more times. If you ask "Coach Paul", a not-soon-enough Nyla Harris sighting with 6:46 on clock is a positive sign for UofL as she ends the scoring drought making the only two buckets in next 2 minutes-ish. Ohio St would take the lead into the fourth quarter.

End of 4Q  31-14

FG %
6-21 28.6% Cards
11-15 73.3% OSU
Reb. 12-9 Cards
3-pt %
2-8 25% Cards
2-3 66.7% OSU

There's not much more I can say on behalf of Louisville's offense or defense for this quarter.   They were able to tie it at 65 with 9 minutes to go but as you can see in the stat report above, OSU won the 4Q 31-14.  OSU Jacy Sheldon went 4-4 for from the field and had 11 points, leading the quarter.  An 18-3 run by OSU over several minutes confirmed what we didn't want to believe we were seeing, the Cards ran out of gas.   The Buckeyes shot 67% in the second half.  They had 33 points off 24 Louisville turnovers in the game. 

He Said It:  POST GAME WALZ

UP NEXT

Louisville at Middle Tennessee

Sunday 5 PM

FRED REPORT

(It was "nightmare on Main Street" in the fourth quarter)

FREE THROWS --  Louisville went 11-13 at the free throw line good enough for 84.6% as a team.  HVL went 5-5.   The Cards were successful when they got to the line, it just wasn't enough.  Capital F for a basic evening at the charity stripe.  

REBOUNDING --  UofL somehow managed to out-rebound the Buckeyes 37-34 lead by HVL with 10.  She again spent the most amount of minutes on the floor.  This was a game where Walz went with a small lineup to defend the perimeters and admitted he didn't see an opportunity to get Josie Williams or Liz Dixon on the floor more.  Capital R 

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  The Cards struggled to hold onto the ball against the Buckeyes.   They opened the game with several turnovers and had a few other stints of mishandlings throughout the contest but it was mostly bone-head mistakes that lead to more and more chances for OSU to score like travels, passes that go out of bounds and missed open layups.  Walz also mentioned that he could tell the mistakes lead to frustration for the team and they could not recover.  Also, the squad had just 13 assists on 30 made buckets lead by Robinson with 4.  no letter 

DEFENSE --  This one is obvious as the team had an epic second half meltdown on defense.  The Cards scored 77 points which is good enough to win games but not if you cannot stop the other team from scoring.   On brand, Kasa's efforts do not tend to show on the stat sheet but she fought hard.  She took a claw to the face with no foul called on her behalf.  She's got the marks to prove it too.  But unfortunately no letter for defense today



FINAL FRED TALLY: F-R-_- _ 

Coach Walz believes these mistakes are coachable and the team itself is coachable.   He mentioned in the post game press conference that it is not time to panic with this squad or season and that it is a tough schedule so far.  

With the likes of Kentucky and ACC conference play on our horizon, this team will have to stop tripping over their own feet pretty quickly.  But I believe!  

(Photos by Jared Anderson)

As Always 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

WBB falls to Ohio State 67-60 -- Vollleyball wins in three sets. --FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#2 UofL WBB DROPS 67-60 TO OHIO STATE

It was more of a boxing match between two heavyweights that a basketball game last in the Value City Arena in Columbus, but Ohio State get the 67-60 decision over the Cards. Louisville shot 36.9% for the game, missed nine of their ten final shots and saw four OSU players reach double figures against them on a night against a powerful, aggressive Big 10 squad.

No one really started to gain an advantage in this game until late in the third quarter. The Buckeyes broke open a 45-45 contest with 2:10 left in the third when Kirsten Bell scored on a OSU layup, got fouled by Molly Lockhart and sank the following free throw. After a missed Dana Evans jumper, Janai Crooms took a Bell rebound and bullied her way past the Cardinal defense to give OSU the 50-45 edge. 

The quarter ended that way and, although Evans nailed a three to start the fourth quarter, OSU pushed back to a six point lead and held that advantage pretty much the rest of the way. 

Louisville ended the match going 1 for 10 from the floor to end the contest. OSU held a 62-57 lead after Norika Konno made a layup with 3:47 left in the contest. The Cards would not connect on a basket again until Konno made a layup with 17 seconds left to cut the Buckeye's lead to 65-60.

 In the pivot-able fourth quarter, Louisville went 5-18 (27.8%). Ohio State countered with 4-9 shooting. Seven Cardinal turnovers in the fourth, also, certainly didn't help their cause. This contest stayed at 62-57 for over three minutes late in the fourth and Louisville missed all seven of their shots in that time frame, negating any possible comeback 

This one is one I'll wager a lot of Cardinal fans will prefer to forget. Louisville trailed by two after the first quarter but had a nice second period from Evans, who got six of her team-high 18 points in those 10 minutes and the Cards held a 33-31 edge at the break.

Bionca Dunham finished with 10 for the Cards, all in the first half. For some reason, the Cards quit going inside to her, Kylee Shook (6 points) and Elizabeth Dixon (8 points) as the game wore on. And, Jazmine Jones, saddled with foul trouble early, never made much of an impact on the contest in 20 minutes, fouling out after 1-8 shooting and one rebound. 

As we've seen so many times before...what gets accomplished by those who are on the court at the end in a close game either make it or break it for a squad. Based on last night, applications may be available for a couple of those five, end-of-game spots. 

When you are playing a rough-and-tumble BIG 10 opponent, sometimes you have to rumble right back on them instead of trying to outrun them. 

Jeff Walz said after the Oregon game that this UofL squad wouldn't go through the season undefeated. Probably he, and definitely I expected a "L" to enter the squad's record so early after knocking off Oregon, though. 

(PHOTO CREDIT TO SHELBY FRIEZELL)


THE FRED REPORT

Using Freddy Kreuger for
"Nightmare in Value City Arena"

FREE THROWS -- Louisville attempted 12 and made seven. That's 58.3% and doesn't impress much at all. Consider only four Cards attempted them and three were successful in hitting them. Someone needs to get Bionca on the stripe and get more practice, practice, practice in. No letter awarded here for the effort. Meanwhile, Ohio State went 19-23. Ouch.

REBOUNDS -- The Cards held their own with the big "Bucks" and won the boards battle 34-32. Bionca was the boards battlers, with 11, completing her double-double. Kylee grabbed five in 23 minutes. A small case "r" is the assignment here. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville did lead for most of this one, but failed to finish. Costly turnovers, not sufficiently guarding the three-point threats and that dismal fourth quarter showed this team couldn't close out in an "away" environment with a small (3600) but enthused home team fan base. No letter to award here. 

DEFENSE -- The Cards lost the second half 36-27 and, although they kept the scoring relatively low, Buckeye posts Rebeka Mikulasikova and Dorka Juhasz played typical hard-nosed and aggressive Big 10 hoops and that combo (26 points) plus the steady play of guard Kirsten Bell (14 points) proved to be too much for the Cards to handle and contain. We end the Fred report with no letter here either.  

FINAL FRED TALLY:  -_-_e-_

So, in their first true away game, on another school's court, it was less than the desired result. The hope is Louisville learns from the debacle, works hard on the shortcomings and proves a bit better against another team Sunday that plays a similar style in NKU. 

Learning what works. Playing every game with energy and passion. Objectives for this "still jelling" Cardinal WBB squad.

Lessons learned on a chilly night in Columbus. 

Personally, I'm just glad I found my way out of the basement maze where the media room and press interview was conducted. Hanzel, meet Gretel. Hiking a half-mile to hear coach speak after a loss wasn't exactly on my bucket list.


WALZ SPEAKS

Coach Walz addressed a small group of media (me and Sonya made up 1/2 of the contingent) after the game. Hear his words at the video below. 

WALZ POST GAME OSU 12/5/19

paulie
xxxxx



Now, for some brighter news...

Volleyball Sweeps Samford

The volleyballers got it done in fairly easy fashion last night in Bowling Green as they swept the Samford Bulldogs, 25-21, 25-12, 25-22.

The opening set was a bit of a nail biter. The opening set of NCAA plays always seems to be as teams (and fans!) aren't sure of the new, higher pressure setting of "Win or go home."  The Cards felt a bit tentative and out of sorts.  They fell back to their training and planning and got it done, though.  Out of the gate, Anna Stevenson showed early that she was going to have a great match with 4 kills on 5 attempts in the first set.  She would go on to a ridiculous .857 hitting percentage after missing a shot near the end of the match to bring it down to that from the .917.  The total was 11 kills on 13 attempts, with no errors.

The second set was a Cardinal romp, with the Cards firing on all cylinders and Samford seemingly unable to do anything to slow the roll.  The Bulldogs would take their first timeout with the Cards leading 5-0.  Samford did show a little bit of spark, though, keeping the lead from growing significantly through the middle part of the set, but then the Cards would put together a couple of big runs to finish it out with ease.

The last set started out as another barn-burner, with the Cards jumping out to a big lead, but Samford would fight back.  The teams traded runs and sometimes just points, but that's not what you want if you start out the set behind 10-3, and Samford would never close that lead for good.  The Cards reached a 24-18 set point and the Cards fans in attendance, only a fraction of the red-clad attendees with Western Kentucky being the host team, were feeling jubilant.  Samford would put a slight damper on that, however, reeling off four straight.  The Cards did get the final point and exited Diddle Arena on a high note.

The Cards second round match will be tonight, against at Diddle Arena, against host WKU, who dispatched Kennesaw State in a sweep of the nightcap.  Let's give KSU some props, however, for keeping all three sets close, the Hilltoppers won it 25-23, 25-20, 25-23.  The match will be at 7pm local time, 8pm EST.

The Cards beat WKU early in the season, the second weekend of the season, in fact, in four sets 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-15.  This was the only match WKU lost all season and in C-USA post-season play.

-- 

JMcA

WBB Prepare for Ohio State -- VBall Begins NCAA Tournament -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Prepares to Face Ohio State

#2 Louisville WBB is set to face Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge tonight in Columbus.  Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m., on the Big Ten Network.

The Buckeyes enter the game with a 4-3 record. Recently, they went 1-1 in the Southpoint Shootout in Las Vegas.  They took down Northern Iowa 64-46.  Their loss came to a tough South Dakota team, 68-53.  The Coyotes made the NCAA Tournament last year.

Ohio State also played UConn this year at home.  The Huskies came out on top 73-62 in a contested match-up.  The other loss came to Ohio.

Ohio State's three other wins outside of Northern Iowa included Kent State, Valparaiso, and an overtime over Cincinnati.

The Buckeyes are averaging 69.9 points per game.  They have shot .438 from the floor on the year with a .307 mark from three-point range.  Free throws have been a weakness for Ohio State, shooting just .565 from the line- something the Cards would be smart to take advantage of that.

Another weakness of Ohio State is ball control.  The Buckeyes have turned the ball over 119 times this year for an average of 17 per game.  They have dominated down low, out-blocking opponents 35-13. A young team for head coach Kevin McGuff, 10 of his 13 players are freshmen or sophomores. According to some sources, Ohio State has had the toughest schedule in the country through their first seven game, and bringing in the #2 Cards only augments that difficulty of opponents.

The OSU defense holds opponents to .346 from the field and a sub-.300 mark from deep.  Their free throw defense has been atrocious as opposing teams knock down roughly 73% of their free throws.  Ohio State's defense is allowing 62.4 points per game, a mark UofL's offense has been way above.

Dorka Juhasz. Not only does she rebound and score
but she takes a pretty nice photo as well.  

Dorka Juhasz (10.2 ppg) and Kierstan Bell (10.0 ppg) are the sole players averaging scoring in double-figures.  Juhasz has also led the team in rebounds through their first seven games, averaging 8.5 per game.  Janai Crooms and Braxtin Miller have carried the team in assists with 38 and 22, respectively.

Louisville is 2-0 all-time against Ohio State.  Both meetings came in Columbus.  The most recent was in November of 2017 when the Cards prevailed 95-90 in overtime.  Asia Durr set a school record with 47 points and tied a school record with nine three-pointers in the game.

Paulie and Sonya will be in attendance as well as a photographer friend of mine, who will take my place for the game.  You'll get plenty of live coverage from our women's basketball guru and he'll have some postgame footage to add to it.

If you can't attend, the Big Ten Network will be televising the event. It is available on most cable providers in our Metro Louisville area and ll you who have "cut the cord" can probably figure out a way to watch on-line. And, you can always go to the dependable Nick Curran and A.J. for the radio feed, on 790 WKRD AM

Matt Andrews, radio voice for Buckeye women's basketball, held the same position for Louisville before he left for Columbus. Like Nick, who also calls Louisville Bats games during their season, he also does minor league baseball broadcast for the Columbus Clippers. Reports are he's already gotten word to Paulie via sources that the media buffet in the Value City Arena doesn't rival the one in the KFC YUM! Center.

On a side women's basketball note, you can check out Paulie's interviews with Jeff Walz and Dana Evans at the top of yesterday's post.  Just click on the link and it'll redirect you right to an audio recording or follow the two interviews at these audio/video links below.

JEFF WALZ 12-4-19

DANA EVANS 12-4-19



Volleyball Faces Samford in NCAA First Round

Just down the road from Louisville in Bowling Green, KY will be another Cardinal team in action.

UofL Volleyball prepares for a first round match-up against Samford today at 6:00 p.m. ET.  Make note that Bowling Green is an hour behind so the game will be 5:00 p.m., their time.

Louisville, who is 19-9 on the year, is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.  The Cards earned an at-large bid and are one of four ACC teams to make the tournament.

Samford is in its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after going 24-5 on the year, finishing 15-1 in the Southern Conference, and winning the SoCon Tournament 3-2 over ETSU.  This is the Bulldogs' fifth tournament appearance, all coming in the last eight years.

Kelsi Hobbs has been the leader for Samford this year.  She was recently named the Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week.  She was also named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.

The Cards, who were 14-3 to start the year, finished 5-6 after Melanie McHenry went down with an injury.  They did, however, go 4-2 to close out the year.  As they continue to adjust without their senior leader the Cards will have their hands full.

Host Western Kentucky will face Kennesaw State in the second match of the day.  The two winners will square off on Friday. The second round is schedule for 8 p.m. Louisville time.

A unique viewing opportunity for those unable to attend. Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network - HSSN on Facebook will stream the match. Link for that is:  

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GOHSSN/videos/

"Mr. Worldwide" Jeff McAdams will be present for the game, and I think it's safe to assume his mom, Ms. Vivian will accompany him.  I cannot guarantee you'll see a lot of  tweets out of  his @CardCoupleRadio Twitter account, but Jeff will split the writing duties with Paulie tomorrow.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB Cards Jump to #2 -- Dana Evans Awards -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Cards Jump to #2 in Polls

After a three-game sweep in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, including a major victory over #1 Oregon, Louisville women's basketball moved up in the rankings.  In fact, they jumped all the way from #8 to #2.  Not too shabby for a team that had three starters graduate last year, huh?

The Cards are now 8-0 on the year after a red hot start to the year.  They have four road games before they return home to the KFC Yum! enter to start conference play.

Louisville seemed to turn heads with their win.  The Cards had some preseason doubters, especially with the loss of Asia Durr.  But those doubters didn't seem to know just how talented this year's roster is.  And with the incredible coaching staff we have it was an easy turnaround.

This year's squad has learned fast.  The defense has continuously improved and shut down some major offensive threats.  On offense, the pace and ball movement has quickened and starting to reflect that of Jeff Walz teams from the past. Kylee Shook has begun to make her presence known in the paint and the Cards are grasping the idea of team play.

Here's the Top 10 (plus a few teams of local interest):

1 Stanford
2 Louisville
3 Oregon
4 UConn
5 Oregon State
6 South Carolina
7 Baylor
8 Florida State
9 Maryland
10 Mississippi State
---
13 NC State
---
15 Kentucky
---
21 Miami

Four ACC teams are currently ranked.  The Cards also face Kentucky soon, who sits at 15th in the country.

Dana Evans Earns Awards

Dana Evans earned espnW National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week honors after an impressive performance at the Paradise Jam.

The junior guard averaged 21.3 points per game while shooting 47%.  She shot .524 from three-point range and was a near perfect 17-18 at the free throw line while at the "Jam".

Evans has stepped up as a leader on the team and starting to show her colors as a true point guard.

Louisville travels to Columbus for a match-up against Ohio State this Thursday. The Buckeyes are at 4-3 so far this season and head coach Kevin McGuff has quite a young roster, with 10 of his 13 players either freshmen or sophomores.

OSU has lost to UConn 62-73, South Dakota 53-68 and Ohio 68-74.

A Great Read

Want to know more about 2022 Louisville verbal commit Alexia Mobley? We're happy to provide the link below about the Reynoldsburg, OH student-athlete. 

This read is well worth the time ! 

/////////// LINK:   ALEXIA MOBLEY  \\\\\\\\\\

Her announcement Tweet : 

Alexia Mobley@AlexiaMobley23

Beyond excited to announce my commitment to @UofLWBB ! Thank you @CoachJeffWalz @villehoopcoach @CoachJPineda24 @SamPurcellCards for this opportunity.. L’s uuuuuup! #GoCards #whenyouknowyouknow @AngelsBballClub @CoachDante

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville women's basketball releases non-conference schedule -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FACE SIX FOES WITH OVER 20 WINS LAST YEAR

We now know the non-conference slate of the University of Louisville women's basketball schedule. Highlighted by appearances against Ohio State and UConn plus a trip to Bloomington to face IU...the Cards will play in 15 non-conference contests. The UConn contest will fall in the middle of the ACC schedule on February 12th. in Storrs, CT and UofL travels to Lexington this year to match up against the Cats on Sunday, Dec 17th. 

Things get underway officially in the WNIT preseason tournament with a matching against Southeast Missouri State on Friday Nov. 10th. at the KFC YUM! Center. Louisville could play as many as three more game in the Bucket in the tournament on the 14th, 16th and 19th of November...some of the participant in the WNIT this year are Michigan, Oregon and Texas A&M. The Cards started out well in the preseason tournament last year...winning their first three games before South Carolina dealt them their first loss of the season. 

The first road trip for Walz and crew is a doozy...Louisville goes to Columbus, OH and faces Ohio State in the Countdown to Columbus tournament on Sunday Nov. 12th. That's where the Final Four will be staged to end the season and Walz and Durr will run into fellow teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Linnae Harper from the USA U23 squad in that battle. OSU also has former ACC nemesis's Stephanie Mavunga (UNC) and Sierra Calhoun (Duke) on their roster.  

Walz ball returns home for a visit from Murray St. on Nov. 24th. before they take to the road again. They'll participate in the ACC/BIG10 Challenge against the Hoosiers on Nov. 30th. and then head out to that major metropolis Brookings, SD to chase the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State on Dec. 3rd. 

The "Tennessee" part of the non-conference schedule ensues when the Cards come home to entertain UT Martin (12/5), Vandy (12/7), Middle Tennessee (12/9) and Tennessee State (12/12). 

After the UK game on 12/17...Myisha and the gals go off into the wild blue yonder and visit Air Force on 12/20. It'll be conference time after that...with the UConn ball game the final non-conference contest a couple of months later.  

Definitely six and as many as nine home game all before Christmas. A schedule that presents some big tests. Coach Walz was matter-of-fact in his discussion of the non-conference slate: 

"Once again, we have a tough non-conference schedule, but that's what it is all about. We want to play the best because it helps us get better throughout the year and prepares us for conference play."    

It is a schedule that will present some challenges. Ohio State looks very strong and the Cards have to tangle with them up there. IU had a 20 win season last year. Teri Moren has turned the Hoosiers around and will have home court advantage against the Cards. South Dakota State went 23-9 last season and advanced to the second round of the WNIT before losing to Colorado in overtime. Vandy and MTSU should be improved over last year and...of course...there's Matty Mitchell and the Cats....probably in Memorial Barnyard again. 

We all know what UConn is capable of...

Would I rank it as difficult as last year's non-conference slate? Probably not...you're not facing the eventual National Champions South Carolina nor Maryland...the two squads that dealt the Cards losses in non-conference play. Also gone from last year are WKU (and I do hope they resurface next year) plus Belmont and Chattanooga...a couple more Tennessee schools that held their own with the Cards in 2016-17. With Cam Newbauer gone to Florida, Belmont will have challenges but they do return a strong team. 

Also missing in action is South Florida...which is another game I hope will resurface next year. WE will miss not seeing our pal Jose Fernandez (pictured above). 

One could argue that you're replacing MD and SC with Ohio St. and UConn...I don't go much for those types of comparisons. I will say that if the Cards do get the 15 non-conference games possible here...they have a good shot at going 13-2. I'll prognosticate that Ohio St. and UConn get wins over the Cards. And that Louisville beats IU and UK on their home hardwood. 

I hope I'm wrong about the projected defeats. 

All in all, though, it's a schedule that should be fun to watch as the Cards kick off the 2017-18 campaign. Since we haven't had any exhibitions added yet...I'll go with this: 

78 days until Louisville women's basketball starts. 


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


SPEAKING OF WOMEN...

These are your women's coaches at UofL. Can you name them all? 

Let's give a shout out to Mike Rutherford for his excellent article on Women Leaders Of Louisville Athletics in the Voice-Tribune. 

Here a link to it: https://voice-tribune.com/featured-posts/women-leaders-louisville-athletics/

There is a lot of discussion on Tom Jurich's role in Louisville women's athletics and also the athletic administrators for the women's programs.  I think you will find the article quite an interesting read and we'll talk it over on our Saturday morning radio show THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. 





paulie
xxxxx

Mavunga chooses Buckeyes -- Monday Cardinal Couple

STEPHANIE MAVUNGA HEADED TO OSU

Mavunga was the innovator of synchronized falling with
your hands up in the air while at North Carolina.  

The speculation is over on where ex-UNC center Stephanie Mavunga will finish her career as a student-athlete. 

Hello, Columbus...goodbye Chapel Hill. 

OSU head coach Kevin McGuff will have the Brownsburg, IN native for two years competing in BIG 10 action. She'll sit out the 2015-16 season and suit up for the Buckeyes after that. McGuff will have a powerhouse trio starting 2016 with transfer from Duke Sierra Calhoun, 2015 Co-Player of the year Kelsey Mitchell and Mavunga.


Mavunga spent the summer playing for TEAM USA at the Pan American games in Toronto. She was first team All-ACC last season at UNC and had 27 points and 14 rebounds in a win over the Buckeyes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

And thus endth the distribution of the highly-heralded 2013 freshman class that arrived at Chapel Hill for Sylvia Hatchell. Allisha Gray is now a Gamecock. Diamond DeShields a Volunteer and Jessica Washington a Jayhawk.

Kevin McGuff is one of the "young guns" coaches...along with Jeff Walz, Matthew Mitchell and Quentin Hillsman that are in and around their second decade of head coaching. McGuff's successes at Xavier and Washington got him to OSU...where he replaced the veteran Jim Foster. 


The "old guard" of Geno Auriemma, C. Vivian Stringer, Kim Mulkey and Tara Vanderveer couldn't be blamed if they occasionally look over their shoulder to see who might be gaining on them. With Walz's stellar 2014 and 2015 classes and two NCAA Championship game trips, Hillsman's transformation of the "Cuse" into a powerhouse and Mitchell turning UK into a SEC contender year-in and year-out...this could be a very interesting 2015-16 season.

paulie
xxxxx 

Softball sweeps UConn in softball...Walz staying put.

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball slugs past UConn 3-2 and 8-0

-Lady Cards WBB at Spring Game

-Walz offered OSU job

-Lacrosse at UConn today

The University of Louisville softball squad swept the double header Saturday against UConn at Ulmer Stadium...winning the first game 3-2 in eight innings and needing just six innings to take the second game 8-0.


CARDS 3 - HUSKIES 2

Louisville's bats made a late appearance yesterday in the first game...kept silent and scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning. Trailing 2-0 at their final at bat, Louisville got a double from Jordy Trimble and scored on a single from Kayla Soles to draw within a run. Soles was lifted for pinch runner Katelyn Mann and she tied the contest on a wild pitch by UConn.

Caralisa Connell held the Huskies scoreless in the top of the eighth and Alicja Wolny singled in the home half of the inning to give the Cards the potential game-winning run on base. She won it for UofL when Taner Fowler singled.

"Carl" went all eight innings for the Red and Black, giving up two runs, six hits and striking out seven. She improves to 22-2 on the season.

CARDS 8 - HUSKIES 0

After a scoreless first inning, the Louisville softball team put up four runs in the bottom of the second. Whitney Arion began the attack with a double and scored when Trimble reached on a UConn fielding error. Taner Fowler got Trimble to the plate with a single and Jasmine Smithson-Willett cleared the bases with a double to make it 4-0

Louisville increased the lead to 6-0 in the third with doubles form Maggie Ruckenbrod, Trimble and Fowler.

The Cards ended the contest in the sixth...JSW pummelled her second homer of the year to left to give the Cards a seven-run advantage. After a Wolny walk, Chrisanna Roberts came in to run, advanced on a Ruckenbrod single and made it home on a wild pitch.

Rachel LeCoq pitched six innings of scoreless ball, allowing six hits.

The teams go again today at noon at Ulmer.

The top of the BIG EAST standings have four teams with just one loss each. USF is 12-1, DePaul 10-1, Louisville 9-1 and Notre Dame 8-1. After them, Georgetown follows at 6-5.

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The University of Louisville women's basketball team made an appearance at the Football Spring Game yesterday...signing items for a long, long line of fans prior to the game and then taking the field at halftime for recognition with the men's team.

Camera hogs? Yeah, you bet...as the Lady Cards mugged and postured for the PJCS camera while Sean Moth tried to interview a giggling and happy Bria Smith. It was also Sara Hammond's birthday and after interviewing the buoyant and smiling Hammond...Sean Moth led the 35,000 fans in attendance in a rousing version of Happy Birthday.

"Seeing the girls like that really makes you so happy and proud of them. All that they have accomplished and I think the best may be yet to come!" Tony Wilson told Paulie, as the proceedings took place.

Louisville is already being mentioned as one of the top four teams in next years' NCAA womens' basketball wars...along with UConn, Notre Dame and Stanford.

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When rumors started surfacing a week or so about Ohio State University being interested in Jeff Walz...including a $1 million dollar a year contract, a rumor ( from a VERY reliable source) let us know about a contact with Walz to ask about the alleged offer.

Walz said he knew nothing about 1 mil, but added that the amount sure would be nice. Didn't exactly confirm or deny the rumor. Just the dollar figure.

1 large would buy a lot of checkered, tablecloth style shirts. It would keep the man in Cool Ranch Doritios for a pretty long time. He could even work part-time at Geno's restaurant.

Ohio State apparently did make contact with the Louisville womens' basketball head coach but was turned down in their attempt to sway him away from Belknap Campus.

Terms of the offer have not been released and Walz has come out publicly with comments that he is staying at Louisville.

And, that makes sense. Ohio State is in the B1G Ten, a conference that is mid-level and the Buckeyes were a mid-level team in the 2012-13 season. Their 18-13 record got coach Jim Foster fired. A second round BIG 10 Tournament loss to Penn State probably was the deciding factor in the Buckeyes not getting an NCAA bid, despite the fact that 1st and 2nd round NCAA Womens' Tournament games were being played at their St. John's Arena.

Getting fired for going 18-13? Those are some hardcore folks up there in Columbus...

Why would Walz want to pull up anchor and leave the National Runners Up and a squad that has all but two players returning...plus several talented recruits.

Except for money. (Not Monny...)

The prevailing opinion is that more offers will be sent Jeff's way. And, Tom Jurich will simply open up the Cardinal financial vault and toss whatever it takes to keep Walz in place.

Trading Columbus's arena for the YUM!? Trading the rabid Louisville WBB fan base for the Buckeyes? The Cards will serve a 12 month sentence in the AAC before getting parole and leaving for the ACC. A conference that will be just as strong as the current BIG EAST, maybe stronger. Would Walz consider leaving all that to go to a place where they pack in 100,000 for football but barely 1000 for women's basketball?

Not gonna happen.

Maybe OSU could look 80 miles east of Louisville and throw cash at a certain Matthew Mitchell's doorstep. Wouldn't hurt our feelings one bit...

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Lacrosse swings into Storrs, Connecticut today to face the Huskies in a noon match. At 8-5, Louisville is having a resurgence under the auspices of a talented mix of freshmen and veteran players and Kellie Young's instructions.

Against UConn, they'll face one of those dreaded "east coast" schools that Jeff, Jenny and I talk about when it comes to lacrosse hot beds.

UConn has lost once in BIG EAST play...to Syracuse, who dispatched a 19-7 thumping on Louisville Friday. 

Maybe the Cards can deliver a second one today.

-Paulie

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