Louisville women's basketball -- Seems like old times with Jose back in town...Softball wins finale in Islanders...Monday Cardinal Couple

CARDS AND BULLS ON BIG MONDAY

It's good to see these two back together again...Louisville playing USF. Foes from the days of the Metro Conference...it's always an exciting time when they match up and tonight's Big Monday contest should be no different.


Both squads are in second place in their respective conferences and both could use a signature regular-season win over a quality opponent to bolster RPI rankings and better NCAA Tournament seeding hopes. 

It was in the NCAA Tournament, in fact, the last time these two squared off...the Cards winning 60-52 with a late game flurry. Louisville had trailed with five minute in the second round game in Tampa before going on a 14-5 final run to advance to the Albany Regional. 

Courtney Williams remains the lead Bull in the pack for USF head coach Jose Fernandez...averaging 21.7 ppg and Alisha Jenkins is back as the stronger rebounder and inside threat. Long range specialist Kitija Laksa is USF's three-point specialist and Laura Ferreira averages 10.1 points a contest. 

For Louisville, Mariya Moore and Myisha Hines-Allen had double figure contests against the Bulls last year and are the leading scorers for Louisville with 16.2 and 14.9 points per outing. With Cortnee Walton coming off arguably the best game of her career and Briahanna Jackson appearing to have shaken off her mini-slump...this non-conference match-up simulates NCAA early round action and significance tonight. A good dress rehearsal for "The Big Dance" for Walz's squad. 

It's a "Red-Out" so dress accordingly...ESPN 2 will have the TV for the contest with Rebecca Lobo and Bob Picozzi behind the microphones. AJ and Matt provide the always concise and usually entertaining radio call on 790 Cards Radio

The 9 p.m. start definitely stinks...but it's also been jokingly designated "wear your pajamas and bring a pillow to the YUM!" night...so don your flannels and bring the 'blankie' as warranted. Red, of course...


ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....

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SOFTBALL SLAMS SAM HOUSTON STATE 6-1

Productive hitting found its way back into the Louisville softball dugout for the second day in a row as the Cards ended their stay in Corpus Christi at the Islander Tournament with a 6-1 win over Sam Houston State. 

The third "M" in the Cardinal pitching staff...Madi Norman...got the start yesterday and went two innings before Megan Hensley came in to get the win. 

Hailey Smith's two-RBI double in the third gave the Cards all the run they needed for this one...but the Cards would tack on additional runs in the fourth, fifth and two in the sixth to go 4-1 on the season. 

Smith ended with three RBI's for Louisville, she and Sidney Melton had two hits each and Lillie Goetz scored twice for the Cards.

The Cards fly down to Greensboro next for one of those ACC v Big 10 matchups that'll get underway next weekend. North Carolina weather can be a risky proposition this time of year...but with the long range forecast clenched in her hand...Sandy Pearsall might just get a break with a high of 55 forecast for Friday and 60's for Saturday and Sunday. 

Wisconsin and Nebraska will be the foes.

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RADIO REPLAY

If you missed the Saturday broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...you can catch it on the Crescent Hill Radio Soundcloud. We had a fun-filled broadcast with softball, track, lacrosse and hoops updates and previews plus audio from Jeff Walz, Muffet McGraw, Kellie Young, Brittany Read. Briahanna Jackson and Cortnee Walton. Link below: 

LINK: https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20160213

paulie
xxxxx

Bullying the Bulls...Cards head to Sweet Sixteen -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple

Women's Basketball vs USF

--CARDS 60 - USF 52--

UofL got off to a quick start in the round of 32 game against USF, a very familiar opponent, to say the least.  With a 12-2 run to start the game, it started to look like this game might not be all that competitive.  That's not a good bet to make when your opponent is a Jose Fernandez coached team, though.  And sure enough, a couple of what-were-you-thinking passes by Mariya Moore and some tight officiating by the Dee Kantner led crew, and USF was back into the game down just two, 16-14 at the under-12 timeout.  

Coming out of the timeout, USF got another bucket to tie the game up at 16, and set up a defensive battle for the ages.  Approximately four minutes later, at the under-8 timeout, the score had barely advanced, with The Cards having gotten the only score of the stretch for an 18-16 lead.

A collision between USF's star guard Courtney Williams and another Bull sent Williams and Bria Smith to the floor, with Bria landing on top of Williams leg.  Williams came up limping and concern started to set in for the Bulls.  The Bulls guard continued to play and with the exception of some grimacing and occasional hint of a limp, seemed no worse for wear.

UofL finally got some offense going again, and in what may be the highlight of the season, Shawnta' Dyer drained her first-ever-attempted 3-point shot taking UofL to 24-19 at the under-4 timeout.

At the half, The Cards were hanging on to a 28-23 lead.  At the half, Bria Smith had been credited with two steals, but it seemed like more, Mariya Moore also had two steals on the stat sheet, but quietly.

Starting the second half, Sara Hammond finally got on the scoresheet, then stripped USF and fed a nice passing in to Myisha Hines-Allen to swing the momentum to Louisville.  That triggered a USF timeout with the scoreboard showing 34-26.

USF started a stretch where they were reeling UofL back in with a bit of a curious call.  After Jesperson committed an over-the-back foul on Mariya Moore, the flailing Moore made contact with Jesperson as Moore went to the ground.  The over-the-back was called, and a huddle at the monitors resulted in a dead-ball technical being issued to Moore.  I'm a little mystified as to how that was a technical foul.  I could have understood a flagrant 1 as there was arguably contact by Moore's elbow to Jesperson's face, but a technical seems a bit over-the-top to me.

After the technical, USF made a bit of a run with a few calls that could've gone either way going in favor of the Bulls, but UofL didn't let it fluster them.  UofL continued to dominate the offensive glass giving them two, three, and sometimes even four attempts at getting shots.

With Bria on the bench with four fouls, Sara also collected her fourth and took some time on the sidelines.  With a cold shooting stretch by Louisville, USF was finally able to fully reel in The Cards at the under-4 timeout and take their first lead of the game at 47-46.

The Cards did not quit, however.  Louisville kept calm and continued to play their game, confident that some shots would start falling, and they did.  UofL started to pull back out to a small lead, but it wasn't comfortable until Jude sank some clutch free throws with under a minute left to put The Cards up 7.

With the foul-to-stop-the-clock game on in full force, Mariya Moore pulled down a rebound, was fouled, and landed awkwardly on her left knee perhaps, based on my armchair remote diagnosis, slightly hyperextending it.  In a gutsy display, Moore walked up to the free throw line and sank both of her free throws to put the game away for sure.

The Cards advance in a predictably tough game against USF to the Albany regional Saturday night to face Dayton after their upset over UK. Game time is set for approx. 2 p.m.

Kelsi Jones Gets ACC Nod

Kelsi Jones, in her fourth conference in four years, just got the ACC Player of the Week nod.  In a busy week of six games where The Cards went 5-1, Jones had a home run and a double, scored 9 runs, and got 6 RBIs.  She also picked up three stolen bases and was walked eight times, three of which were intentional.

On a barely related topic, on the @CardCoupleRadio twitter account this week, I explored the phenomenon of some Softball teams wearing hair bows while others don't.  Louisville has traditionally been a very non-hair-bow-wearing team.  Kelsi shook up the status quo last season by being the first UofL player that I'm aware of to wear a hair-bow while playing.

Hair bows: the hard hitting sports journalism you've come to expect from Cardinal Couple.

In all seriousness, though, Kelsi Jones has had a fantastic couple of weeks of Softball, helping Louisville sit atop the leaderboard in the ACC conference standings and is well deserving of ACC Player of the Week honors.

Lacrosse Rankings

There are times when I think I have some of these sport rankings polls figured out, and then we have situations like the last couple of weeks in Lacrosse that leave me scratching my head.

Last week, after a week of two loses to Boston College and Duke...Louisville Lacrosse moved up two spots in the IWLCA (Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association) coaches poll.  To be fair, the loses were very competitive, with the loss to BC being only by a single point in overtime, and the Duke game being a loss by only two points.  BC is 2nd, and Duke is 6th in the IWLCA poll, so apparently there was recognition that playing so competitively against two very good teams was worthy of a bump.

In the meantime, the Cardinals win against a couple of good, but unranked teams this week in Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech, and the reward?  Still sitting in 10th place.

I guess there are just some things that I'll never really understand.

CARDINAL COUPLE PICK 'EM CONTEST

Hard to believe, but 48 of the 63 games in this year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament have been played. The leaderboard for our contestants: 

40-8 Curtis Franklin. A previous winner of this event, CF has surged to a narrow lead over the field.

39-9 Charlie MC, Blue Lou and Kenny S. stand waiting in the wings...ready to pounce

38-10 Two CARDINAL COUPLE staffers...Jeff MC and Sonja are two games back...along with K. Starks.

We're in the stretch, headed for home. Who will hit the wire first? 



jmca

Taking the Bulls by the horns -- Monday Cardinal Couple

CARDS LOOK TO ADVANCE TO SWEET SIXTEEN WITH TUSSLE IN TAMPA TONIGHT

If there's one thing that can be predicted about Louisville's NCAA Women's Tournament basketball game tonight in the Sun Dome against USF...it is that the two squad know a lot about each other. They met 30 times...Louisville with a 26-4 edge

The squads met twice last year...Louisville winning by 20 in the KFC YUM! Center and again in the AAC Tournament in Uncasville, CT. by four. 

Louisville knows all about guard Courtney Williams. She leads USF with 20.1 ppg a game, in steals (56) and assists. She was All AAC first team and will be tough to stop. Same goes for paint powerhouse Alisia Jenkins, who averages a double-double with 13.0 ppg and 11.5 grabs. 

The Cards may have the advantage in youth. Head coach Jose Fernandez has seen his fill of Sara, Jude, Bria, Shawnta', Sherrone, Megan, and "E" over the last several years. What may catch him unaware is the freshman powerhouse duo of Mariya Moore and Myisha Hines-Allen. 

At this stage, though...you go out and play your game and hope that it's better than the opponents. The Cards had little trouble in ousting BYU. USF had a slightly tougher time caging the LSU Tigers...winning 73-64. Any guesses who led USF in that one? 

It'll tip at 9 p.m. EDT. Expect Bulls fans to show up with a strong contingent in the SunDome. Hope that they leave disappointed that their season is over. And pray that youth is served tonight as the Cards look to punch their dance card to Albany.

A trip to play Kentucky Dayton...who beat Mattie's bunch in the most exciting game of the tournament so far 99-94. One wonders if Azia Bishop might have made a defensive difference...Matthew Mitchell benching the senior center for shrugging off curfew. Policy is one thing...respect for rules another. In any event, Mattie will have a long time to think about it. So will Azia.

Enjoy the spring, MM.  


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CARDS DEFEAT UNC TO STAY ATOP ACC


Louisville Softball improved to 8-1 in the ACC with a 6-4 win over UNC yesterday at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards...trailing 3-2... turned the game around in the fourth inning with five hits producing four runs. Big for UofL in the inning was a two-RBI single by Kelsi Jones and the same for Maryssa Becker. 

Becker came on in relief of Shelby McCombs and pitched five innings to get the win...keeping the Cards on top of the ACC standings. 

paulie
xxxxx



 (112)

Monday Cardinal Couple -- Cards defeat St. John

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(Game report...Louisville lost to Notre Dame 83-59 in the BIG EAST women's tournament semi-finals tonight. Shoni Schimmel had 20 in a losing effort for the Cards. Louisville trailed by six at the half, but Notre Dame blew out to a 31-point lead in the second half. Louisville did draw within 18 late against the Irish reserves. Jenny will have much more in the TUESDAY edition of CARDINAL COUPLE.)


-HAMMONDS 22 points, 11 boards lead Cards to semis

-Softball crushes Illinois State on final day of Classic

-DAY 3 Big East Tournament recap.

If you listened to the Saturday broadcast of CARDINAL COUPLE radio, we laid it out for you. Paulie predicted  that Sara Hammond would step up big for Louisville against St. John's.

www.crescenthillradio.com


Sara, if you were listening...thanks for making me look like a "stinkin' genius". The 6'2" sophomore from Mt. Vernon, KY had her highest point total of her career and recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Louisville seven-point win 62-55.

A win that should have been a double-digit win...why Bria Smith fouls on a three-point attempt with Louisville up by ten is subject to federal investigation...and a game that early on looked like Louisville was playing St. Matthews' Community Center, not St. John's.

The Cards, behind the efforts of "The Hammer" hit five of their first six shots and led early 15-2. Then, just as inexplicably portrayed against Syracuse last week, the ball went out of the air for Louisville and Shenneika Smith and the Red Storm went from a cold front to a tornado warning...outscoring Louisville 22-6 to lead at halftime 24-21.

Louisville missed a glaring 24 of 27 shots after the streaking start and a head-scratching 0-11 from beyond three point range.

The Cards kept it loose and light in the locker room at halftime, though...according to post-game comments by associate coach Stephanie Norman. Louisville regained the lead in the final twenty minutes when Shoni Schimmel (scoreless in the first half) drained a three to make it 32-30 Cards. Right after that Hammond converted on a hoop and free throw and Louisville was on its way to the win.

Bonita was not the ref for the game. Dennis DeMayo
did just as inadequate job, though.

St. John's didn't go away, staying within anywhere from 2-5 points and it was 54-50 after a pair of Nadirah McKenith free throws and 3:11 to go. Louisville got the next four points, though...and the Red Storm never threatened the rest of the way.

McKenith basically took herself out of the game with 54 seconds to go...slamming her head into Sara Hammond during a defensive double-team by the Cards. She remained on the court, in obvious pain and also probably caught up in the emotions of the loss to Louisville and had to be helped to the locker room. She had injured a leg the night before against Seton Hall and was noticeably hobbling at times in the Louisville game. Tough way for the sparkling St. John's senior to go out.

Whether St. John's (18-12) has done enough to earn an NCAA bid remains to be seen. They did win seven out of eight down the stretch and they are hosting NCAA First and Second round action like Louisville.

Big efforts by senior Monique Reid inside and Bria Smith defensively down the stretch as the Cards go to 24-7 and will face Notre Dame tonight.

We wish the Cards the best of luck in this very tough matchup. Hopefully, the Bulls gored the Irish enough to soften them up for Louisville.

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Cardinal Softball continues to hit everything in sight, romping Illinois State 9-3 Sunday to go 20-3 on the season.

Alicja Wolny opened the scoring for Louisville with her sixth round-tripper of the season...off that poor, battered scoreboard in left that's become a favorite punching bag for Louisville batters...and the Cards led 1-0 after an inning.

After a ISU score, Louisville made it 3-1 in the third when Katire Keller tripled and scored on a throwing error. Wolny drew a walk and reached home on a Maggie Ruckenbrod double.

ISU got a run in the fifth to make it 3-2 but Louisville countered in the bottom half of the inning when Wolny was walked again, Chrisanna Roberts came in to run for her and scored on another Ruckenbrod double. Ruck came to the place also when Hannah Kiyohara singled and it was 5-2 Cards.

UofL produced four more runs in the sixth. Keller led off with a walk, Jordan Trimble doubled and Wolny got another base on balls to load the bases. That set the stage for another Ruckenbrod double to clear the bags and make it 8-2. Kiyohara singled home Ruckenbrod and it was 9-2 Louisville.

Caralisa Connell got the win to go to 12-2 on the year...pitching four innings. Rachel LeCoq got her second save of the year with three innings of relief.

Louisville hosts WKU on Tuesday with a 5:30 start time.

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DAY 3 of the BIG EAST Tournament saw the top seeds advance to the semifinals.

-Notre Dame prevailed in a 75-66 win over USF. The Irish put four players in double figures in a closer than expected win of the never-say-die Bulls.

-Connecticut demolished DePaul 94-61 to advance to tonight's action. Breanna Stewart's 21 was one of five Huskies in double figures.

-Syracuse held off Villanova 61-56 to earn the right to face UConn. Kayla Alexander went off for 34 points for "Q" and company. Nova leading scorer Laura Sweeney did not play...concussion suffered against Georgetown kept her out.

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CARDINAL COUPLE Pick 'Em Contest still has...eight entries that are "perfect" or 11-0. CARDINAL COUPLE staffers consists of three of the eight in Jenny, Quentin Voigt and Sonja! Those left with a fighting chance below:

11-0  Quentin Voigt, Jenny O, Sonja, PDX Phil, Curtis F, Allen H, Nick B and Andrea S.

10-1 Perry S, K. Starks, Carol W, Sally K, Micha L, Andy L and Matthew Mitchell for Governor.

Other Cardinal Couple staffers...not so good. Jeff McAdams and Paulie are 9-2, Sandy Walker, Timmy the Intern & Bill The Goat 8-3, David Watson 7-4, CoCo 2-9 and the Staff Chimps 1-10.

Three games left. Good luck!

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Speaking of tournaments, have you purchased your NCAA Round 1 and 2 tickets forLouisville's apperance at the KFC YUM! Center? If not, what are you waiting for? Go to www.gocards.com and get in on the action!

Louisville is also a game watch party for the Selection Show March 18th. Admission is free that Monday night at the KFC YUM! Center to join the Lady Cards as they find out who their opponents will be. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m.

BE there!

Paulie

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Bulls avenge January loss, Cards fall

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(Jenny O'Bryan with the post-game report on Louisville WBB loss to USF Wednesday Night in the KFC YUM! Center.)

Cards give a home win away in a tough defensive battle.
 

To hear Coach Walz talk in the post game interview with Matt Andrews, the Cards did not follow the scouting report tonight.  While that may have been true, even following the scouting report on a night with such poor shooting, it was going to be hard to win this battle. 

The Cards started the game sloppy.  The first 5 drives down the court there were missed shots or turnovers.  It looked like it was going to be a long night, and it was.  The first 6-8 minutes of the half was tough basketball to watch.  The Cards looked slow and uninspired.   

With 7:41 seconds left to play in the first half, the score was 22-12, USF.  The remainder of the half, the Cards held the Bulls to just 2 points with a strong defensive effort sparked by a Bria Smith steal and a coast to coast easy lay in.  Hammond took a charge next defensive set down court, and the Cards mounted what would turn out to be the best 8 minutes of basketball for the night.  The Cards took a 2 point deficit into halftime, down 24-22.  Hard to believe with the offensive woes and the slow start, the Cards were down just two at the half. 

The second half started much as the first, with the Cards just seemingly not present.  USF started the half on a 6-0 run and the Cards were never really in it the remainder of the way.  Sure, there were stretches of the game that the Cards looked good defensively, but it was not consistent. 

It was a brutal, physical game.  Had to be a tough game to play, physically.  The Cards had little offensive firepower tonight, shooting a season low 30% on the night.  They did shoot well from the free throw line, going 82% from the line.  It kept this from being a blowout.  It was still a big loss, in conference play, at home.  Those are especially hard losses. 

Andrea Smith, for the Bulls, could not be contained this evening.  Matching her career high of 35 points.  Unfortunately, it was not in the Cards tonight, in more ways than one. 

The Cards are playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament.  These last games of the season matter.   It could be the difference between a 3 seed and a 6-7 seed. 

As a parent of a high school athlete, who also plays club volleyball, I find myself continuously amazed at the lack of consistency from the team (and individual players), from game to game.  I found myself thinking that tonight, except with these college kids.  How does a team play such great ball this past Sunday, and then not today?  It takes a greater mind than mine to figure that out.   Good luck with that, coaching staff...

I commend this team for all of the success it has had this year, despite all the injuries.  Losses like these are hard, because they could have been won.  21-6 is not a bad record, especially when you look at the personnel issues.  It is just hard to see such a tough loss on one’s home court. 

(Editor's Note: A flat effort from a team with so much to gain with a win tonight. Discretion being the better part of valor, I'm not going to editorialize on this very disappointing loss. Expected much more out of this Louisville squad this evening.)

Post game Walz below

COACH DISCUSSES LOSS TO USF
  

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One of the most intriguing things on the night was the newest player on the bench tonight!  Not sure how many of the Cardinal faithful caught this, but freshman volleyball middle blocker 6-3 Davionna Holmes was suited up and sat the bench tonight.   Her bio on the University of Louisville website indicates she was a dual sport athlete in high school and an “excellent basketball player”.  LINK BELOW:
 

Davionna Holmes

Not sure what we will see of Holmes on the hardwood the rest of the season.  Coach Walz had another middle blocker volleyball player on his team before, and we all know how well that worked out.  Gwen Rucker, while she opted to just focus on volleyball after her sophomore year, is stated to be one of the highest IQ basketball players Coach Walz has ever coached. 

I look forward to seeing what Holmes brings to the hardwood.  We all know that another body banging in the paint or shooting the long ball (which she is said to have led her high school conference in) can only be a good thing.    Welcome to Walz’s world, Ms. Holmes.  We hope you like it, and get the chance to contribute.
 

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It was asked earlier in the week what recruits were at the game this past weekend vs. DePaul.  Please keep in mind, just because a recruit was there is no indication of how hard they are, or are not, being recruited by the Coaching staff.  Any recruit can call the Athletic office and indicate they would like to attend the game.   With that caveat, the recruits that were known to be at the game were:

Janelle Cannon- 2013 signee

Sydney Brackemyre- Verbally committed in the class of 2014

Ashanti Thomas, 2015 out of Lexington, has been to several games this season and I believe was at Walz’s summer camp last year.

Dominique McBryde, 2015, out of Bedford, Indiana.

Celina King, 2016 out of Cincinnati, OH.  This kid was intriguing to me because she has her own youtube channel(or whatever you call it) and her own website!!  She has 22 videos posted.    

Tyuana Robinson, 2016

There is plenty of information on these kids if you google their names “and basketball”.  Until, or if, we know how hard the kids are being recruited, I will not bore you with lots of websites.  Google those you want to know more about, and we will keep you abreast of accomplishments of specific players as we know the extent they are being recruited. 
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- USF visits Lady Cards tonight

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(Game report...Louisville loses to USF 73-62. Cards down by two at half after a horrible start, but could get no closer. Jenny will have the full report in the Thursday Edition of CARDINAL COUPLE)


-South Florida 'Bulls' their way into KFC YUM! Center

(Quentin Voigt with the pregame look at Louisville WBB opponent tonight -- the South Florida Bulls.  Paulie follows with some garbled non-sequiters and nebulous rambling.)

Layin' a "Bullish" beat down

The South Florida Bulls (17-7, 6-5) are visiting the KFC YUM! Center on Wednesday, Feb 20th. at 7 p.m. with one thing on their mind. How do they manage four more points or allow Louisville four fewer points than were put up the last time they met. The score January 20th. in Tampa at the Sun Dome was 78-75 in favor of the Cards.

USF hit nearly half of their shots that night, including long range attempts, and 12 out of 13 freebies. When they went ahead by nine points in the second half, thanks to some timely scoring by freshman Alisa Jenkins, I'm sure their collective confidence began to soar. The tide seemed to be turning against the visiting Cardinals.

Coach Walz got a timeout. A 30-second variety..where he spoke animatedly to his squad. What he said, I can't tell you, but determination was what I read on those faces as they resume the frey.

The margin began to dissipate...seven points...down to four points...another two-pointer dropped in...then another. The score was finally tied. The intensity scaled upward, bodies were flying to the ball, trying to secure positions on the floor to block the progress of an opponent or take a charge. At the final buzzer, all of the Sun Dome crowd exhaled at once as they seemed to release the pent-up tension.

The players in the drama remain for the re-engagement. For the Bulls are twins Andrea and Andrell Smith. The 5'8" seniors average 16.3 and 14.5 ppg, 5.2 and 5.0 boards and are fast, lithe and athletic. Inga Orekhova, the 6'2" 'Soviet assassin' from Sevastopol in the Crimea, brings her special skill set and accuracy with the three-ball. Coach Jose Fernandez also brings a collection of role players...6'1" Jenkins, 5'8" Courtney Williams, 6'4" Akila McDonald and 6'4" Caitlin Rowe. All are good rebounders, good free-throws shooters and are quick on their feet.

Both teams have shown their mettle and their desire to win. Who will prevail?

At home, I think the Lady Cards do...and are good for an additional four points. Make it 79-72 UofL. Go Cards!

-Quentin Voigt


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The thing that strikes me most about this deep, talented and aggressive USF is their record. Put this squad in any other conference in college basketball and they are already at 20+ wins and have only one or two conference losses. 

Yet, they toil in the BIG EAST and are part of the zombie apocalypse mid pack clawing at the top four above them...Louisville, Cuse, UConn and Notre Dame.

The Smiths are game-changers. The Russian Rocket Inga could stand on the Second Street Bridge and drain threes into the rims on Denny Crum Court. All mentioned above in Quentin's scout above are capable of throwing double-digits at an opponent.

They'll give the Cards a tussle tonight. Road wins in the BIG EAST are as difficult to find, though...as a honest politician on Capitol Hill...and the Cards prevail here.

If...

Bria Smith's new found, endless love with the free-throw line and driving the lane (and actually scoring) continues. You're a year older now, Bria dear...show some responsibility.

If...

If you look closely, you can see Sonja's head
where the "I" is on the Louisville table front.!

Sara Hammond's decision to become "Hammer...Queen of the Boards" continues. 13 grabs against DePaul is impressive. 12 grabs against the Bulls should get her an Oscar for Best Supporting Paint Player in a Conference Game.

If..

Der Schimmel can create an offensive attack similar to Patton's march through the Rhineland in WW II. Attack and score, Shoni. The fans love it when you do. I'll take a 50% shooting night anytime from the juggernaut junior.

(I don't ask for much, do I?)

Toss in a little Nita consistency...a few minutes of Vails paint presence...Mo going strong for 15 and the bench contributing....simmer slightly till ready and serve piping hot to 10,000+ patrons.

Cards by 13. More if Louisville can hit 70% or better from the stripe.

Need this one to keep pace with third-place Syracuse who defended their turf with a 58-45 win over hard-luck Rutgers last night. C-Viv still stuck on 899 career wins. Won't be any easier for her Saturday...going against St. John's in Queens, NY.

The Bulls won't make it easy. As of 2/16/13, they were the leading rebounding team in the BIG EAST with an average of 45.6 secures a game. They hold a +6.2 advantage over opponents in rebounds a game. Louisville needs a hot shooting night to limit the number of grabs available for USF.

Be the ball, Danny....be the ball...


-Paulie


--

Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Boogie with Bulls

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GAME REPORT

Louisville breaks a 66-66 tie with back-to-back threes from Shoni Schimmel and Nita Slaughter and hangs on to win 78-75. Shoni with a career high 38 in the game and career high eight three-pointers. Jenny will have more on this "Cardiac" win later...

-Boogie With the Bulls tonight

(Quentin Voigt provides the scout on the University of Louisville women's basketball team's next opponent...a visit to Tampa and game against the South Florida Bulls.)

Wednesday, January 30th. 7 p.m. brings the next test for Jeff Walz's Lady Cards...a showdown in the Sun Dome in Tampa against Jose Fernandez's USF Bulls.

These Bulls are 14-5 on the season and 3-3 in BIG EAST play. Conference losses have come against Notre Dame in Tampa, a four point win by UND in overtime. USF has also fallen on the road to DePaul by 16 and at Villanova by three.

USF's Andrell Smith

Players to watch for USF included the Smith sisters Andrea and Andrell. Andrea averages 17.7 ppg and Andrell contributes 15.9 ppg. Inga Orekhova is good for 11.6 for the team and all three are deadly from long range. The front line features Caitlin Rowe and Akita MacDonald, both 6'4" and they and freshman Alisha Jenkins are the major rebounders for Fernandez's squad.

The Smiths and Rowe came from Gulf Coast Community College, where they won the National Junior Community College title in the 2009-10 season.

Last time out, USF handled Marquette 58-48 in the SunDome on Saturday. Freshman guard Courtney Williams had 10 points in the win and Jenkins grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Russian Rocket - Inga Orekhova

Like Louisville, when USF gets on a run, they're hard to handle. I look at this one as a very close contest and predict the Cards win by three.

-Quentin Voigt

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USF is a dangerous, dangerous team. The Russian rocket Orekhova can bury you from deep. The Smith's are hard-nosed, aggressive ballers that can score from anywhere. Louisville trailed USF last year at halftime and was fortunate to go on a late run in the YUM! to win 63-57. Sheronne Vails and Cierra Warren combined for 24 points last year against them. Warren, of course...is gone. There's still an APB out on Vails, according to some, too.

UofL's Andrell Smith

Louisville is headed into an arena that holds 10,000 but has only managed to get an average of 1100 in for games. Wouldn't surprise us if that isn't doubled tonight...Louisville does have a sizable fan base in the area and opponents do love to come  out and cheer against the Cards when they come to town.

Just in case any football fans have wandered over here and are confused...the Andrell Smith USF guard and Andrell Smith UofL wide receiver aren't related. They're both excellent at their respective sports, though

How does Louisville pull off the win in hostile territory? Honestly, I don't think they do tonight. The Bulls came darn close to knocking off Notre Dame in the Sun Dome.

But, if they do win on the road, they'll need super efforts out of Bria and Shoni, along with a return of the Vails from last year and a strong Sara effort. We know we can count on Nita for a big game. I do hope it's a big enough effort to get the Cards a win. Really, I do.

I hate to say it, hope I'm dead wrong...but I'm calling "Bull" on this one. USF by 6. Prove me wrong, please.

You might be able to watch this one on BullsVision for a fee. It's unclear whether the video or just the audio is being offered over there. Sign up at the official USF sports site. We'll probably just give AJ and Matt a listen on WKJK 1080 or gocards.com.

I may switch over and give USF Bulls women's basketball play-by-play guy Alex Perlman a listen. He's one of the best young announcers in the business. Even if he attended Syracuse and looks like attorney Cary Agos on "The Good Wife". (Which has Sonja enamored with him...)

Coach Walz talks about stealing wins on the road in the BIG EAST. If the Cards can pull this heist off, the team's picture should be posted in all the post offices...because it will be the theft of the century. Let's hope Al Capone, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson are sitting on the Cardinal bench. "Theft in Tampa". Let's hope so.

Jenny will be by to do the recap later tonight or tomorrow.

-Paulie
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