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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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE -- WBB faces St. John's in BIG EAST Tournament

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( GAME UPDATE -- Louisville wins over St. John's 62-55. Sara Hammond with 22 career-high points in the win. Louisville led big early, trailed at the half but came on strong at the end for the victory.

Bria Smith and Monique Reid finishing well and Louisville awaits the winner of Notre Dame vs. USF. WE'LL have much more on this in the Monday Cardinal Couple edition. Readers, weigh in with your immpresions on the win in the comments section or by e-mail...)

- Louisville starts BIG EAST against the Red Storm

- Softball downs Miami (OH) and Austin Peay

- Lacrosse romps Presbyterian on road

-BIG EAST Tournament Second Round results


Louisville now knows who their opponent will be in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. St. John's held off a pesky Seton Hall squad yesterday in second round action 51-45 to advance to the chance to play Louisville at noon today in Hartford's XL Center.

The Cards (23-7, 11-6) would likely face top-seeded and #2 in the nation Notre Dame on Monday if they win today.

Jeff Walz isn't worried about playing basketball but he is uncertain about what this team can do...and certain that the Cards have to play perfect basketball for three straight days if they have any chance to take the 2013 title.

One-on-one defense and creating turnovers and transition opportunities are keys to the Cards successes from now until Tuesday night.

One could speculate that the Cards, who defeated St John's 57-54 earlier in the regular season in the KFC YUM Center might have an eye-ahead on who they'll face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, that will be played in the KFC YUM! Center next week. Tickets still are on sale for two possible chances to see Louisville play.

A win over a good St John's squad, though would likely help Louisville's seed in the big dance. Louisville scored eight straight unanswered points to beat the Red Storm at the end of the game to win when the two faced up earlier this year.

Win today. Worry about tomorrow then, Cards.

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Louisville softball can hit. Oh, yeah...they got bats. UofL pounded Miami (OH) 9-1 and then took out Austin Peay 12-0 to sweep both games in the Red and Black Classic yesterday at Ulmer Stadium.

CARDS 9 - MIAMI 1

Louisville wasted no time getting on the board in their first game. Alicja Wolny's two run blast woke up the right field berm dwellers and Kayla Soles sent one onto Cardinal Blvd. behind the left field fence to give the Cards a 3-0 lead after one inning.

It was 5-0 after three innings. Maggie Ruckenbrod hit the Cards third "touch 'em all" off the scoreboard in left after Jordan Trimble doubled.

Make it 8-1 after five innings. Katie Keller doubled and after Wolny got walked...both scored when Soles singled. Soles got to the plate when Hannah Kiyohara singled.

Louisville aded a run in the sixth when Taner Fowler scored on a Brittany Sims single.

Rachel Le Coq (8-1) in the circle for Louisville allowing just four hits for the RedHawks and a run.

CARDS 12 - AP 0

Keller was the bomb in game two, going 4-4 with 5 rbi's and a homer.

The Cards struck early in this one, too. Keller crashing a homer off the scoreboard in the first and Trimble doubling and scoring on a Soles single to make it 2-0 UofL after one inning.

Keller's double scored Katelyn Mann and Jennifer Esteban in the second to make it 4-0 Cards. She drove in Mann in the third inning with a double to increase the UofL lead to 5-0.

Louisville capped the scoring in the fourth with seven runs. Eight hits...keyed by a two-run triple by Mann, doubles from Ruckenbrod, Keller and Wolny and singles from Soles and Esteban.

Caralisa Connell (11-2) and LeCoq combined in the circle
...allowing just one Govs hit in five innings.

Louisville's start time today against Illinois State has been moved up to 2 p.m. because of forecasted rain in the Derby City.

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Louisville Lacrosse travelled to Georgia and blasted Presbyterian 23-1 yesterday. The stick-and-net Cards had a 5-0 lead after three minutes...freshman Erica Eipp getting three assists and two goals in the rapid-fire start.

Louisville was up 10-0 with eighteen minutes left in the first half...Nikki Boltja getting three straight scores...and led at the half 14-0...Emily Kolsevich and Jamie Redding getting on the board with scores.

The Cards continued the onslaught to begin the final half. Boltja, Cortnee Daly and Faye Brust with two scores each.

The Blue Hose didn't score until there was 1:11 remaining in the game the Cards had the backups on the field.

"It was excellent. Again, we had all of our subs in for the last 21 minutes of the contest. To have them do it, who haven't been on the field in these big games we've been playing, shows that they are paying attention in practice, they are working hard and they have put their time in. They represented us today. It's really a proud moment for me as a coach."  --Kellie Young, Louisville head lacrosse coach.

Louisville heads to Detroit next for a 2 p.m. contest on Wednesday.

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No major surprises in Day Two of the BIG EAST WBB Tournament yesterday. St John's, as mentioned above, advances to face Louisville. USF, the #8 seed, defeated Rutgers 42-39 in a defensive struggle that was painful to watch. DePaul got a big effort from Anna Martin in taking Marquette out of the dance with a 77-69 win, Villanova bombed Sugar Rodgers and Georgetown 89-58.

So, Day 3 features the top eight seeds.

The Cards and Red Storm start it off at noon. USF and Notre Dame follow at 2 p.m. DePaul tries Connecticut at 6 and Villanova and Syracuse finish the game at 8.

Multiple entries in the Cardinal Couple Pick 'Em Contest are 7-0. Standings after seven games:

7-0  Quentin V, Jenny O'Bryan, Perry S, K. Starks, PDX Phil, Mike D, Sonja Sykes, Curtis F, Allen H, Nick B, Carol W, Andrea S, Sally K, Micha L, Ben S, Andy L.

6-1  Kenny S, Paulie, Andy L, Matthew Mitchell for Governor, Jimmy S, Carlos A, Gene S, Timmy the Intern

5-2  Jeff McA, Joe T, Doug A, Matt D, Bill the Goat, Blue Lou, Connie E, The Source, Janet M.

4-3  Sandy W, Mike F, David W, Joe H, Mark M, Mark T, Aaron F.

3-4  Milton K, Green and Gold

2-5  Ellen G.

1-6  Coco

0-7  Staff Chimps


Tie-breaker is to the earliest entry we received.

Good luck, we're halfway through...



Paulie

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Cards defeat St. John's 57-54

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDIAC CARDS SURVIVE ST.JOHN'S GUARDS 57-54

-Slaughter's 22 lead Louisville past Red Storm

-Volleyball banquet Saturday

St. Margaret Mary first-graders deliver the National Anthem.

Louisville WBB used a 8-0 run over a five minute stretch late in the second half to overcome a three point deficit and go up by five in defeating the St. John's Red Storm Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center before 11543 fans.

Down 52-49 after a Nadirah McKenith layup with 5:46 to go, the Cards held the Red Storm scoreless until Shenneika Smith hit two free throws after Sara Hammond's fifth foul with 42 seconds left to make it 57-54 Louisville. During the run, Sara Hammond connected on four free throws, Nita Slaughter two from the charity stripe and a Bria Smith layup made it 57-52 with 1:45 left on the clock. St. John's missed two three-point attempts in the final nine seconds and the Cards survive by three.

Guards McKenith, Smith and freshman guard Aliyyah  Handford combined for 50 of the 54 St. John's points.

Bonita Spence checks to see if she's holding a basketball or
leftover Halloween pumpkin

Coach Walz started the "S" troops again for Louisville, Bria Smith, Sara Hammond, Shoni Schimmel, Sherrone Vails and Nita Slaughter and the combination battled St. John's closely for the first eight minutes of the first half...the Cards leading 14-12 after two Slaughter free throws at the 12:25 mark. Jude Schimmel, Cortnee Walton and Megan Deines entered the game and the tight battle continued...neither team getting more than a two point edge until back-to-back buckets from Deines and Hammond gave Louisville a 22-17 edge with 6:33 on the clock.

SJU outscored the Cards 7-3 over the next five minutes, though...to draw within one at 25-24 after McKenith hit a layup with 1:26 remaining. A Slaughter free throw with 41 seconds left was the final score of the half and Louisville clung to a perilous 28-26 advantage after twenty minutes.

Slaughter had seven points to lead the Cards in the half, followed by Hammond with six, Deines and Shoni with four each. Bria added three and Vails and Walton contributed two each. Shelby Harper and Jude played but did not score. Redshirt senior Monique Reid, on crutches on the sideline with an injured knee, did not play. 

Handford led the Red Storm with 15 points, mostly on easy drives past the Louisville defense. Only three St. John's players scored in the first twenty, McKenith adding seven and Smith four. The Cards shot 35.7% (10-28) but did make 8-10 free throws and forced seven SJU turnovers. Each team took four trifecta attempts, St. John getting one from McKenith to drop. Louisville was 0 for Shoni and Bria.

The Cards needed to find a way to keep the speedy Handford from scoring inside in the final twenty and they did a excellent job, limiting her to just one point...but Shenneika Smith picked up the slack and totaled 19 of the Red Storm's 28 second half points.

The Cards started the final half by getting buckets from Hammond and Slaughter, but Walz substituted Jude in for Shoni after just two minutes when Smith got back to back layups for SJU to make it 32-30 Cards. Louisville lost the lead when Amber Thompson hit her only jumper of the game a minute later. The teams went back and forth for the next eight minutes, neither able to gain more than a two point advantage...and when Shoni returned with 9:04 to go, it was 45-43 Red Storm.

The back and forth trend continued...Slaughter providing the Louisville offense and Smith doing the same for St. John's With 6:15 left, Slaughter cut the Red Storm lead to 50-49 with a layup...but McKenith returned the favor to set up the Cards frantic finish and win. SJU committed two unforced turnovers in the final 2:48 and hit only one of four shots. Had to groan a bit when Shoni took to the lane and tried a questionable running, off-balance layup that
SJU's Smith swatted away. Why not just hold the ball with a three point lead and 30 seconds left?

Still...it's a win, though, and the Cards go to 17-4 and 5-2 in the BIG EAST.

Slaughter led the Cards with 22 points and five rebounds, going 10 of11 from the free throw line. Hammond ended up with 14 and eight grabs. Bria Smith finished with seven, Deines six, Shoni four and Vails and Walton two each. Jude and Shelby did not score. For Slaughter, it was her second-highest point total since her arrival on campus...getting 23 against Gardner-Webb last year.

Referee Al Titus decides he wants in my picture. I cut his head off.

Shenneika Smith led the Red Storm with 23, Handford had 16, McKenith 11 and Brianna Brown and Thompson added two each.

Louisville shot 37.5% (18-48), St John's 44.9% (22-49). The Cards narrowly outrebounded SJU 32-31 and went 21-25 from the line. The Cards committed a low nine turnovers but scored only one point off them. In a closely contested affair, there were 13 lead changes and 11 ties. Only 19 threes in the 40 minutes, St. John hitting three of their twelve, the Cards 0-7.

THINGS WE LIKED

1) How much sweeter could Nita have been? Consistency has been her name the last six or so games and she shone far above the rest today. With Mo out indefinitely, she's the co-force at the "four" with Hammond and no longer just a three point shooter.

Bonita comes over to see if I want to play catch during a
timeout. I passed on the offer. She'd probably call a "T" on me.

2) Inside denied. The SJU front line scored just two points all night. The Red Storm guards did pick up the slack with their slashing drives and barely outscored the Cards in the paint 26-24. Still, 66 minutes out of 200 possible played by the opponents' front line and 1-6 shooting? We'll take it.

3) Battling back. The 8-0 run late showed a lot of character. No turnovers, clutch free-throw shooting (which we also loved at 21-25) and defense.

THINGS TO WORK ON

1) Threes. 0-7. Can't remember the last time Louisville didn't hit a three in a game. Threes weren't the priority today, especially with SJU's quick guards bottling up the shooters, but an "0-fer" always looks bad, bad, bad.

2) Stopping the easy, inside score. It was almost like a looping reel. See a SJU guard drive, see Louisville fail to stop her, see SJU score. Granted...SJU has three great guards...but interior stoppage must occur.

3) Rebounding. Out-rebounding the worst rebounding team in the BIG EAST by just one on your home court isn't going to get you any trophies. The Cards front line grabbed 19 of the 32..but only six offensive ones.

SUMMARY

We have to admit when we saw Bonita Spence on the court to referee the game, we almost turned and went for the East exit. But, despite a few obvious missed calls and an interesting end-of-first half exchange between her and Walz...the crew didn't stink as badly as feared. Only 30 fouls total in the game and 17 of them on the Red Storm. Hated to see Hammond foul out, especially when two of her five were "phantom" calls...but no other Card had more than two.

Louie's mascot friends help celebrate his birthday!

This game was won by Slaughter and Hammond late (they had 15 of Louisville's 29 second half points) and free throw excellence by the Cards today. A gut-check win over a team that has the best guard trio Louisville will face all season. It saddens us that Monique Reid is yet again hobbled...you could take injured Cards Shawnta Dyer, Tia Gibbs, Asia Taylor, Reid and add any other Card on the roster and have a heck of a starting lineup. A part of the game, though...and the (for now) nine remaining healthy players will need to bond together and carry on.

Coach's post-game comments below. This week, Bob Domine helped J.J. and I carry the question load. Once again, I baffle Jeff on the opening question. It's a tradition.

POST GAME WALZ


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The University of Louisville Volleyball banquet will be held Saturday, Feb 2nd. at the PNC Plaza @ Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the festivities are scheuled to kick-off at 6:30 p.m.

Unlike the spring sports banquets that preview the upcoming season, the Volleyball banquet is a celebration of the completed season.

Unfortunately, last we heard...seniors Gwen Rucker, Lola Arslanbeckova and Kaitlynn James will not be in attendance. They are out playing professionally and (according to CARDINAL COUPLE Volleyball guru Jeff McAdams) doing quite well.

The rest of the team and coaching staff will be there, though...so it's a great time to mix and mingle with the stars of tomorrow and the Cardinal Volleyball fans.

Tickets are $40 and we know Jeff will be there. CARDINAL COUPLE Co-Owners Paul and Sonja have made contact about media coverage...no reply yet, so we'll see if the response is a quick kill or a prolonged volley.

If you are interested in attending, here's the contact info:

Christy Waltrip
Special Events, Louisville Athletics
chirsty@gocards.com
502.852.0706

Louisville WBB plays Georgetown at 2 p.m. that day in the KFC YUM! Center...so why not make it a women's sports day and attend BOTH events?

Banquets are a great way to meet other UofL fans and also learn a lot about the programs. And, you usually get to sit at the table with one of the players, who are always eager to tell you about the squad and share stories with you. We'll never forget our first Softball banquet when we met this skinny, freshman California high school player who was brimming with confidence and hopes for her career at UofL.

That was Chelsea Bemis and she turned out to be one of the best to ever step to the plate at UofL.

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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Softball Dinner and Hoops

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball Dinner features Danielle Lawrie

- WBB faces St John's today

The 2013 University of Louisville Bullpen Softball dinner was held Saturday night at the Hyatt in downtown Louisville and featured Olympian and NCAA Championship pitcher Danielle Lawrie from the University of Washington. A capacity crowd packed into the Hyatt Ballroom to hear the evening's events that were emceed by Cardinal public address announcer and all-around good guy Sean Moth.

The evening began with a cocktail hour and silent auction that featured everything from Cardinal softball gear to bean bag boards and Charlie Strong Makers' Mark bottles.
 
Unfortunately, CARDINAL COUPLE's bid on a UofL Softball windbreaker and visor fell short of winning...but it was good to stand around and talk with the people in attendance...including Shoni Schimmel, Becky Burke and hundreds of Cardinal Softball fans.

Shortly before the crowd moved from the hospitality area to the ballroom tables, we caught up with freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett and got a quick Q &A in.

She's thrilled to be at Louisville and really loves the city and her teammates. At first, she was a little overwhelmed by the speed and quickness of the college game but has adjusted nicely. She's willing to do anything for the team and mentioned that when Coach Pearsall was looking for left-handed hitters to do the slap hit and beat out throws to first, she jumped right and showed coach her ability to perform the maneuver. Her biggest smile came when we talked about the road trip coming up to Vegas and the chance for her family to come in from California and see her play.

Before we knew it, we were at our table and got to see several great videos about the team's preparation for the upcoming season and hear several players talk about their dedication and commitment to the team. Coach Carol Bruggerman then took over the podium and awards were presented to Tori (Collins) Heyman, Chelsea Leonard (who led the nation in saves) and Taner Fowler (All-American).

Next it was Coach Pearsall to the podium and she was effusive in her praise for her support staff, coaches and players. She recalled the great moments of last season and could hardly contain her enthusiasm when speaking about the current group of Softball Cards and the challenges they lay ahead for them.

"It's tough competition, but the girls that are back are a year older and that means quite a lot in softball" Pearsall informed the crowd.

At the end of her remarks, Coach was presented with an autographed bat from the players who helped her acheive her 500th. win last season.

"I really wasn't that aware of it when number 500 happened, but shortly after the game...my phone started exploding with texts congratualating me on the acheivement, mostly my players....they're a special group of ladies." Pearsall reflected.
 
Featured keynote speaker Danielle Lawrie has had an amazing journey in her young life and kept the crowd captive and hanging on each word as she recounted it. Chosen to play on the Canadian National Team at the age of eighteen...she was the pitcher that recorded Canada's first win ever over Team USA.

As she recalled her collegiate years at the University of Washington, Lawrie made note of the challenges she faced and her drive and desire to conquer them. From a extremely competitive family that includes a brother in Major League Baseball who plays for the Toronto Blue Jays, she recalled how her father would never keep (and toss in the trash) any second place trophy that someone in the family had been awarded and that her brother wouldn't talk to her for three months after she beat him in a game of bean bag toss.

Lawrie was a wonderfully entertaining and inspirational speaker as she took us through her collegiate years and Olympic experience. Her message to the crowd and players was clear...set your goals and stay dedicated to acheiving them. After fielding a few questions from Sean Moth, Lawrie's time on the stage and the evening was over. It hardly seemed that it had started...

A excellent time with a very special group of college athletes, coaches and Cardinal fans last night. We appreciate the opportunity provided to us to cover the event and can tell you that Cardinal Softball is rip-roaring ready to go this year and the players and staff would love to see you support them even more than last year (if that's possible) at Ulmer Stadium.

We'll be there. We hope you join us! You DON'T want to miss it...

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( Quentin Voigt brings us the scout on Louisville WBB's next hardwood opponent today...the St John's Red Storm.)

ROCKIN' WITH THE RED STORM

St. John rolls into the KFC YUM! Center for a 1:30 p.m. match up against the Cards today. If you go, go early...because it's Louie the Cardinal Bird's birthday and free pizza, ice cream and cake will be provided pre-game for the fans. We think you should go. 

Joe Tartanella has been a coach at St John's for nine years but this is his first as the head coach. He took over for Kim Barnes Arico, who accepted the head coaching job at Michigan. She's currently 3-0 in the BIG TEN for the Wolverines. Tartanella is an excellent recruiter and has two players currently on the roster that he pulled away from ACC schools and will play next season. Danaejah Grant is a 5'9" guard who began her career at Clemson and will have three years remaining as a Red Storm. Selena Archer is a 6'4" post who originally signed with Miami and will have two years of eligibility for SJU.

St.John's averages 59.8 ppg and shoots 39% from the floor. They're 27.2% from beyond the arc. They hit 64.7% from the free throw line and average 40.8 rebounds a contest. The Johnnies dish out 11.5 assists a game, commit 14.1 turnovers and create 8.4 steals a game.

SJU is 9-8 on the year and 3-2 in the BIG EAST. Conference wins have come against Rutgers by four, Seton Hall by 28 and Pitt by 29. Losses occurred to Notre Dame by 24 and to Syracuse by three.

Shenneika Smith leads the SJU attack with 16.1 ppg . Nadriah McKenith adds 12.7, Amber Thompson is good for strong offensive and rebounding as well.

I don't see a lot of Red Storm rain dropping on Louie's birthday festivities today and the Lady Cards give him a 10-point birthday gift.

-Quentin Voigt


Smith and McKenith are better guards than any two Coach Walz can put out there and they proved it twice last year in sweeping the Cards. Does that mean they'll win again today? Not necessarily.

Tartanella is a good coach, but he doesn't have the ability that KBA had when she was there to get over 100% out of the Red Storm players.

Sho and Mo show has a command performance at the matinee today and the ever-steady "Need a" Slaughter?" (Of course, we need a Slaughter!) helps the Cards bring this one home in true Cardiac fashion. Louisville by 3 and it may take five extra minutes to do it in...

Quinnipiac beat you? Serioulsy?

Good guards will only get you so far. Rebounding, coaching and hitting free throws wins you games and I expect the Cards to do all three well today....at least well enough to handle the BIG EAST'S 11th. best rebounding defense team, worst free throw shooting team and a rookie coach. They're 9-8. The talent level suggests they could be 14-3. Losses to Qunnipiac and Boston U are puzzling...and they come to the YUM! on a two-game losing streak.

Time to return the favor to a squad that beat UofL twice last year. Time to get out a little "southern in-hosptiality" as we face the Red Storm maybe for the last time. Think about it, do you really want to schedule a non-conference home and away with a school that struggles to get 500 to watch them when they're at home? Beat 'em and wave good-bye as your showing them the door.

Paulie
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Thursday Cardinal Couple

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Featured columnist Jeff McAdams looks at WBB Hoops, Lacrosse and softball today. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that he is out on the recruiting trails helping Coach Walz find a 6'7" center or in the secret CARDINAL COUPLE laboratories assisting Anne Kordes in engineering a Lola Arslanbeckova clone...)

 

A Quick Look at the Standings

Things are starting to look...well...normal...in the Big East standings.

Notre Dame still undefeated in conference putting them on top.  UConn, Syracuse and Villanova tied for second at 4-1...ok, we're not really used to seeing 'Nova that far up the rankings.  Louisville and DePaul tied for fifth at 4-2.  St. Johns seventh at 3-2.  USF, Rutgers, and Marquette all vying for eighth with a 2-3 record.  Georgetown and Seton Hall checking in at 2-4 for the eleventh spot.  Providence has the 13th spot at 1-4.  Pitt and Cincinnati still in the basement at 0-5.

Lacrosse Preseason Conference picks

We're starting to see some spring sports news.  Preseason conference picks for Lacrosse were released, and Louisville was picked in a tie for sixth with UConn.  There are 9 teams that compete in Big East Lacrosse, including Loyola Maryland, who competes in the Big East only in Lacrosse. Syracuse was essentially the consensus pick for the number one position with 8 of the 9 first place votes.  The voting is done by the coaches of the teams, and coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team, so essentially this is a unanimous pick for the first place spot.  The rest of the preseason rankings are Loyola (MD) in second, followed by Notre Dame, and Georgetown in very close voting. Rutgers came in fifth.  Louisville and UConn tied in the voting for the sixth place position.  Villanova and Cincinnati had very close vote totals for eighth and ninth place.

Louisville's Nikki Boltja, out of Medina, OH, was selected for the Preseason All Big-East team.  Her position is listed as "M"...and I think that stands for "Midfield".  We here at Cardinal Couple are just starting to crack the Lacrosse study guides, and hope to have more insightful commentary as the season progresses.

The first game is Feb. 10th at noon, versus Canisius at the Louisville Lacrosse field, which is next door to the Yum! Center, on campus...not the basketball arena downtown.  If you're not familiar with this location, its on Floyd St. north of Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium, just across the railroad tracks towards campus.

Softball Preseason Rankings

The USA Today/NFCA (National Fast-pitch Coaches Association) preseason rankings were released and Louisville is in the 18th spot, after coming off of a great season last year.  The other ranking, the ESPN/USA Softball has not (yet?) released a preseason poll.

The Softball team kicks off their season with five games in Las Vegas from Feb. 8th through 10th. They then have five more in Jacksonville FL the next week.  The first home games are four games Feb. 22nd through 24th.

I think my biggest disappointment is that Chelsea Leonard is not returning. She was my favorite pitcher to watch but bad knees have put an end to her career.

The Louisville Softball Preseason Banquet is this Saturday at the Hyatt Downtown. This gala event will showcase the 2013 team, there is a cash bar and silent auction that features many collectibles and items from all the UofL sports teams. .

I enjoy attending softball games at Ulmer Stadium and hope you will join me this season to watch the defending BIG EAST champs do battle.

We'll provide you the most coverage you will find on the internet on Cardinal Softball this season.

Rumor is that Timmy the Intern has called Coach Pearsall on her yacht (pictured above) to try and commit Sonja to pre-season training in an effort to replace Torrid Tori Collins as one of the pitchers. There are also rumors that she's supervising the construction of the domed stadium that Softball hopes to have someday. The SonjaDome.

Believe it and you can achieve it.

 

LADY CARDS TO FACE ST. JOHN'S IN WBB SHOWDOWN

Calling all fans, calling all fans! The 16-4 Louisville Cardinal womens' basketball team will host St John's Sunday, 1:30 p.m. at the KFC YUM! Center. This promises to be a very tough and exciting matchup in BIG EAST play. SJU returns Cardinal nemeses Shenneika Smith, Nadirah McKenith, Mary Nwachukwu, Briana Brown and a very talented freshman in Aliyyah Handford.

Former SJU Coach Kim Barnes Arico may be gone to Michigan...but the Red Storm doesn't seem to be faltering as a result of it.

Jeff Walz and his team want you there. Please honor this request.



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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Whatever happen to?

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Whatever happened to...Kim Barnes Arico?

-He's back...

With no UofL women's sporting events on the horizon until Friday night...when the WBB squad takes on Colorado in Boulder...we thought we'd catch you up with a former Cardinal coaching foe who has changed directions and is having success in her new surroundings.

Kim Barnes Arico, formerly the head women's basketball coach at St. John's, is now at the University of Michigan and has the Wolverines off to a 8-2 start in her first season in Ann Arbor. The UM squad defeated Eastern Michigan 55-43 last night and has wins over Florida, Illinois State, and Xavier this year.

Losses have come to Utah and #4 Duke. Arico, who was 4-6 lifetime against UofL while at St. John's, defeated the Cards twice last season. The second win knocked Louisville out of the BIG EAST Tournament...a 68-61 win in overtime that saw her Red Storm squad hold the Cards to 1-12 shooting in the final five minutes.

Many were surprised when Arico made the switch to join Michigan and the BIG 10 after resuscitating the Red Storm WBB program. In her introductory press conference, she stressed the desire for her and her husband to raise their three children in an environment like Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus. We suspect the Arico checking account got a nice, little bump as well.

Leaving a squad that had starters Shenneika Smith, Eugeneia McPherson and Nadirah McKenith returning couldn't have been easy. She was the head coach at St. John's for 10 years and compiled a 176-133 record there.

Arico knows a thing or two about rebuilding. She took over a Red Storm team that was 3-24 and 0-16 the year before she got there. Last year they were 24-10 and 13-3 in the BIG EAST.

The Red Storm finished third last year in the highly competitive BIG EAST and put an end to UConn's 99 game home-winning streak during the regular season. The Red Storm is 4-3 this season under new head coach Joe Tartamella.  

Although we'll miss seeing Barnes Arico prowling the sidelines when the Cards play the Red Storm, sometimes it's "family first" when it comes to difficult decisions and if anyone can help Michigan return to prominence in BIG 10 hoops...it'll be her.

A bigger arena. And, getting out from under the shadow of Geno, Walz, Muffett, and C. Viv (although that reunion with Rutgers will resume since the Scarlet Knights will join the BIG 10). Good career move? You bet. From city lady to country girl...Kim Barnes Arico has made the transistion and, so far, it's a hayride...

( Sonja adds...When you first see her, you think she might be better suited to be sitting in front of a store on Bardstown Road, playing a beat-up accoustic guitar and smiling trippingly at the passer-bys while she sings Joni Mitchell. Flower child. Then, you watch her coach a game, see her in action. Thinking she picked the right career path.)

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...Also in the "Whatever happened to?" category...

He's back...

Will Big Red fit on the back of a Harley?

How about the news that WKU has hired Bobby Petrino as the new head football coach of the Hilltoppers? Just when we figured it was safe to go back to Bowling Green...
 
As the kids are fond of saying these days...it is what it is.

"I love red towels and I'm anxious to own a few more..."

Temporary stop on climbing the ladder back up the coaching profession? Probably. Wise move for WKU? Definitely. The loss of Willie Taggert had to hurt. Nabbing Bobby Offense has to be a marketing staff's dream. Job security for all in the WKU ticket office, plus maybe a new hire or two. The football S.I.D. at WKU is probably sending out resumes, though..."the Bobster" can be a bear when it comes to the boys with laptops.

With no further adieu, here's our Top 10 reasons why Bobby's back in Kentucky.

10. Always had a "thing" for the 'Topper' mascot Big Red...
 9.  Switching from motorcycles to Corvettes, Bowling Green has the National Corvette Museum.
 8. Lost a bar bet to John L. Smith. Loser had to apply for the WKU job.
 7. Wants to continue personal win streak over UK.
 6. Loves the song "Bowling Green" by the Everly Brothers!
 5. The voices in his head told him to.
 4.  Is Facebook friends with DaMarcus Smith and Ace Wales...taking the relationship one step further.
 3. Has always wanted to try the lunch special at Smokey Pig BBQ.
 2. Will only coach at places who have red in their color scheme ( Louisville, Atlanta Falcons, Arkansas...)
 1. Bowling Green has 12 letters. Bobby Petrino has 12 letters. Coincidence? Or fate?
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