Louisville women's basketball Tops FSU in Tallahassee -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Roll By Seminoles in Tallahassee

Jazmine Jones had a warm return home in front of about 70 friends and family members as the Louisville women's basketball team defeated Florida State 68-49 in Tallahassee.  Asia Durr led all scorers with 29 points.

The #4 Cards improve to 18-1 on the season, including 6-1 in the ACC.  The #22 Seminoles fall to 16-3 and 4-2 in the conference.

Louisville and FSU both had trouble getting shots to drop to begin the game but a layup by Bionca Dunham gave the Cards the lead and they never looked back.  The Cards took the first quarter 20-6, nearly silencing the Seminoles altogether on offense  Six Cards scored during the quarter as the Cards went on a 12-0 run during that 10 minutes.

The Seminoles responded in the second quarter, winning it 17-12.  Florida State, who is known for a solid defense, forced eight Louisville turnovers.  It started ugly as neither side could get the ball to drop for almost four minutes before Dunham broke the drought.

After leading 32-21 at halftime Louisville came out of the half with a strong third quarter, winning it 19-13.  On the Cards first possession, Sam Fuehring drilled a three but it was free throws that seemed to be the theme.  The Cards shot 8-9 from the line in the quarter and FSU went 4-6. After attempting only two in the entire first half, the new-found parity in whistle blowing was a welcome relief.

Louisville had a comfortable lead headed into the final period.  Nonetheless, Walz continued to push hard and the Cards won the quarter 17-13.

Louisville's 12 rebounds made it difficult for FSU to find a rhythm or use second chance points to spark a run.

The Cards only had one fast break bucket, probably due to the limited four steals on the game.  FSU found a little more success with eight.  The Cards did limit the FSU second chance points to nine while recording eight of their own. How about Kylee Shook and her five blocks !

Kiah Gillespie was the top player for the Seminoles after recording 13 points and six rebounds.  She was held to one three-pointer on seven attempts.  Nicki Ekhomu added 11 points and Nausia Woolfolk added eight points with four steals.

The fouls were less common than normal.  Louisville was called for 13 while the Seminoles were called for 19.  This officiating crew has a history of whistle-heavy games.


F-R-E-D Report

Actor Fred Thompson's look here probably
mirrored many Noles fans feelings last night.

Free Throws: Louisville shot 13-19 (68.4%) from the line.  Fuehring and Shook both went 2-4 to drag the average down.  Durr also missed two free throws but her 5-7 doesn't look as bad.  At one point in the third quarter Louisville rebounded a missed free throw and Durr drew a foul to drain two immediately after.  We saw a rebound following a missed free throw a couple times in the fourth quarter too.  Doing the Jeff Walz math you could almost argue that the Cards deserve a capital letter, but I'm only awarding a lowercase "f"  in this case.

Rebounding: Louisville out-rebounded a good rebounding team in FSU.  It wasn't even close as the Cards won the battle 37-25.  Despite only eight offensive rebounds those turned into a handful of second chance points.  Shook finished with nine rebounds and Durr added seven.  No question about a capital "R" here.

Effort/Efficiency: In terms of efficiency Louisville shot extremely well.  They shot 25-45 (55.6%) from the field and 5-11 (45.5%) from the land of three-pointers.  However, of the 25 made field goals only 11 were assisted.  Louisville turned the ball over 17 times, mostly due to sloppy play at the start of nearly every quarter.  Bad passes found their way into the hands of Seminoles players way too many times.  Sloppy play and missed layups (c'mon, seriously? let's make layups, please) keep the letter small- lowercase "e".

Defense: Louisville surrendered a total of 49 points, coincidental, don't ya think?  The best quarter was limiting FSU to 6 points.  Yes, SIX.  By the way, that's four straight Louisville opponents held to under 50 points.  The Seminoles shot 18-56 on the floor (32.1%) and struggled with the deep ball, going 3-18 (16.7%).  Credit the seven blocks for a heavy presence in the paint.  The four steals was probably the only downside for the defense.  You could potentially debate for a lowercase letter but I'm sticking with the capital "D" here.

f-R-e-D ain't too shabby.  Great team victory against a ranked opponent on the road, especially a tough, talented Florida State team.

After seeing almost as many Cardinal band members and cheerleaders at the game as there were Cardinal fans -- it makes me grateful for the fan base Louisville women's basketball has." J.J. Airlines" had a plane full of about 70 in the seats, according to a report.

That's a huge amount for the "player pass list".

Paulie's hope of 5000 or more for the game fell a bit short. 3446 was the official attendance. That's a shame, really, for such a important and rivalry battle between two  top 25 ranked squads, but, not all fans revolve around their WBB squads like Louisville fans do.

Louisville returns home Sunday at 2:00 against a struggling Pittsburgh squad.


Other Games



Let me start by congratulating the men's basketball team for a 84-77 victory over #21 NC State

The #23 Cards are now 14-5 and are tied for first in the ACC at 5-1.

Moving over to women's basketball NC State's undefeated season continues after they survived Clemson 54-51.  The Tigers doubled up the Wolfpack in the final quarter but fell just short.  I think we were all with regular reader/commentor Arthur on this one hoping Clemson would pull off the upset.

Notre Dame handled a struggling Tennessee team easily, winning 77-62.  The Vols' season is in jeopardy.  Notre Dame remains perfect in the conference, alongside NC State. UT has lost six in a row now. Gotta wonder if Holly can hold on as head of this group or the Volz show her the exit.

In the battle of winless in the ACC Duke downed Wake Forest 66-52.  The Demon Deacons join Pittsburgh as the only teams to have a 0 in the wins column in conference play.



Caption This

We've had some fun with the "Caption This" feature during basketball season and here's a photo from last night's action at Tallahassee that caught Jeff Walz during the game.  

The Cards got their first victory over FSU on the road since 2011. 

How many Cardinal WBB players can you remember from that 2010-11 squad? Paulie came up with Becky Burke, Nita Slaughter, Asia Taylor, Shoni Schimmel and Sherrone Vails right off the bat.

Is Walz possibly looking for one of those stalwarts to relieve his girls last night? Has someone just called his name and he's turning around to have a look? 

Leave your caption in the comments section and let's continue the celebration of "knocking off Noles" Day !!




Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville women's basketball -- Knocking Off Noles next mission -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NEW STARTERS BUT SAME RESULTS FOR FSU


The University of Louisville women's basketball squad is in Florida this morning. Tallahassee, to be more specific, to play their seventh game of their ACC slate and 19th game of the season. A top 25 matchup on tap, FSU at 16-2 and 4-1 in the ACC The Cards are #4 in the nation, the Seminoles #22. 

Why, the Noles are even handing out free hot dogs to entice fans to attend the contest! (If Joey Chestnut shows up, they could be in serious trouble). The "Tuck" holds 11,500 people. That's a lot of buns and wieners...but in reality, anything over 5,000 in house tonight would be a surprise, in my humble opinion.  

When one thinks of nemesis schools...those schools that seem to have the Cards WBB squads "number"...obviously Connecticut come to mind, with the 1-17 mark against the Huskies. Maybe you think of Notre Dame, they're 14-6 all time against Louisville. 

Add Florida State to that list. 

In series history, FSU is 16-13 against the Cards. In the Jeff Walz era, they hold a 4-3 edge over Red and Black. They have won three of the last four contest against Louisville...including the 50-49 win at the YUM! that broke up the Cards "perfect" season last year. Prior to the Walz era, the Noles had a 10-game win steak over Louisville, going back to 1988.  

When FSU lost Chatrice White, Shakayla Thomas, Ama Degebon, Imani Wright and A.J Alix to graduation at the end of last year...a season that ended ingloriously and surprisingly for Chief Osceola's bunch with a loss to #13 seed Buffalo in the second round in Tallahassee...the departure of these stalwarts seemed to bode well for the Cards in the 2018-19 season. Sure, the Noles had a few talented reserves coming back, but how seriously can you take a team that has lost all their starters? 

Sue placing an order for a dog or two?

Guess what? Sue "Sem-a-nole" Semrau is back with five new starters and FSU is wreaking havoc on the ACC and other foes again without missing a beat. "Say hello to our little friends" Kiah Gillespie, Nicki Ekhomu, Nausia Wollfolk, Valencia Myers and Kourtney Weber. They are a combination of freshmen, reserves from 2017-18 and transfers. 

Gillespie, the transfer from Maryland and now a red-shirt junior, is the apparent ring leader of this northern Florida mob.  18 points per game and the leading three-point shooter of the tribe.  Ekhomu (14.3 ppg) and Wollfork (11.8 ppg) are juniors who saw plenty of action last year...bookend 5'9" guards who are an integral part of a defense that allows just 57.2 points a night. Myers, a freshman is almost a double digit performer at 9.4 points a contest. Weber is the third guard on the roster and this freshman splits time with Savannah Wilkinson, a sophomore from London England that shot 43.3% from three-point range last year off the bench but hasn't zeroed from the deep yet in 2018-19 with just a 4-29 (14%) accuracy.

It is "homecoming" night for Cardinal junior Jazmine Jones, who played her high school ball in the shadow of the campus at FAMU DRS. Jones will have a contingent in the stands, with up to 60 friends and family, providing she can get tickets for them all. 

Jones chose the Cards over the Noles, Ohio State, Baylor and others and is excited to be playing, most likely for the final time, in front of her homemade cheering section. Let's hope "J.J. Airlines" is in full flight tonight. You would expect Asia Durr will have a contingent in the Donald F. Tucker Center tonight as well...with the drive from the Atlanta area to FSU around just four hours. 

I put up a nice read about the return of Jaz at the link below.

LINK: The Return of J.J.

Rebounding has been kind to FSU in 2018-19. They average 39.8 a night and have a + 7.4 edge in the stat over opponents. The Cards average 36.1 a game and actually hold a +0.8 edge over foes this year. In the ACC, Louisville is last in rebounding offense and ranked eighth in rebounding defense. Florida State checks in at second in rebounding defense and 10th in rebounding offense. 

what's the chances of sneaking
this onto court tonight? 

Maybe too much focus is being placed on rebounding. After all, at 17-1, rebounding hasn't plunged the Cards into the depths of the icy Ohio River yet. Coach Walz will tell you that he and the coaches have been working with the squad in terms of "going to get the basketball". Some of the things that the team will want to work on tonight is slowing down the defensive transition of the Noles, an area where they are very effective. Keeping FSU off the free throw line will be an objective -- they shoot 73% from the charity stripe.

The Cards need a better start for Asia and Sam than we saw against Wake Forest and if the "Ville" can keep the turnovers low and win the "second chance" stat, it'll increase UofL's chance of winning dramatically. These two school are very similar in players, FSU seems to be more comfortable with a lower scoring game but maybe not the kind the Cards are capable of producing, Louisville's last three opponents have failed to reach 50 points. Louisville held FSU to 50 last year but that was two points short of gaining the win. 

The contest is on the Raycom Sports Network, which means in our area Fox Sports South will most likely be showing the event. Cards Radio 790 WKRD is always a good choice for the game, with Nick and AJ, and you can avoid the probable home-team bias of the screen talking heads.

Will Coach Sam P. get a chance to practice his new
"get back" role tonight? 

It's rare that the Louisville men's team plays on the same night as WBB, but Chris Mack's guys are hosting the N.C. State Wolf Pack tonight down at the YUM! At least the start times are different (the men tipping off at 8 p.m.). For those attending, I hope the KFC YUM! Center provides some screens showing the contest between Noles and Cards. 

So, it's payback time for Walz and company tonight. FSU's two losses have come at home (Clemson and LSU) The 'Noles have played one top 25 team this season prior to tonight, defeating then #12 Iowa 71-67 about two months ago. 

Normally, this would be a chance for Louisville WBB to shine in the Sunshine State tonight. The weather refuses to cooperate, though, with a high of 55 expected today in Tallahassee and temps hovering around the mid-40's at game time. We're hoping the chilling climate extends to FSU shooting tonight and the Cards can thaw out to put the Seminoles in the deep freezer. Hey, the temps in Tallahassee are a heat wave for Cardinal players, compared to what they've been experiencing in the Derby City. 

We'll have the full recap here tomorrow. Jared Anderson will bring the goods. His g/f Katy is a student at FSU. Purported attempts to dress her in Red and Black for tonight contest have been a fail.

He can't even get her in Red and Black when she visits the 'Ville. 

I wish we had the budget to send our intrepid photographer down for the game, but, knowing Katie...she'd find a way to get him in Garnet and Gold for the ensuing battle. As Huey Lewis and the News sang..."The Power of Love is a curious thing. Make one man weep and another man sing." Remember that epic song? It's linked up below: 


LINK: HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS -- THE POWER OF LOVE

Have a terrific Thursday and let's hope the Cards get some "love" down at FSU tonight...

paulie
xxxxx

The streak ends...FSU out-muscles Cards 50-49 - MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LATE LAPSE LEADS TO LOUISVILLE LOSS

"It" is no more. After 20 games, nine cities, three months plus and crowds that ranged from 441 to 14,248...there is finally another digit beside "zero" on the right-side of the hyphen where Louisville WBB's record is listed. 

The "It" is the Louisville win streak and the number now reads 20-1 for the Cards. In a day of college basketball giveaways and Girl Scouts, Louisville drops from the undefeated ranks with a 50-49 loss to #11 FSU Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center. The largest crowd of the season and lowest point total for the Cards. 

This game wasn't pretty. Not by any stretch. Not even when Louisville jumped out to a 20-5 lead with less than a minute in the first quarter. (O.K., maybe that was a little pretty). The shots were dropping and DOOO-BLAY was well on her way toward amassing the digits desired for a double-double but, unlike the majority of opponents before...Florida State hadn't curled up into the fetal position and started sucking their thumbs. They tried something different.

 Revolutionary.

They came up with the idea that if Asia Durr doesn't get the ball, or has a hard time moving when she does...there just might be a way to cut into that double-digit lead and (dare we say it?) maybe even win the game?

It was "one of multiple plans we had to stop Durr" according to FSU head coach Sue Semerau, and this one was showing signs of working. That and controlling the boards. Louisville ended losing the rebounding battle 52-42 and Chatrice White (16), Shakayla Thomas (11) and that doggone (Ama) Degbeon (10) had over 70% of the grab.

Five FSU seniors, that play significant minutes and that had a purpose, came into the KFC YUM! Center, eventually gained control of the contest and held on to win. 

The Noles shot horribly (19-68 for 27.9%) but forced 16 Louisville turnovers and managed 16 points off them. If you need a stat in addition to rebounds to point to, use that one. 

In the end...the final two minutes...when it really mattered and when the game was decided, the teams combined for two three-pointers, a meaningless jumper for two and one out of two free throws. Nicki Ekhomu, another senior, scored the winner after clanging her first free throw off the rim but sinking her second with 7.6 left to give Florida State a three point lead. A Durr three pointer ensues that misses the mark and pointless Hines-Allen follow up two as time expires has White screaming in elation from mid-court and Thomas double fist-pumping while five Cardinals slowly and forlornly leave the court. 

FSU led in points scored in three of the quarters. They cut Louisville's lead in half to start the third quarter with a "three" and had the contest tied before the final quarter.  No one had an answer for White on the boards...and Louisville attempted just six free throws, compared to the more aggressive 'Noles taking 14. There's a story in that somewhere...not one Walz was willing to elaborate on...but "Silly" Joe Vaszily, the head of the officiating crew, made a few calls that only he saw, judging by the crowd response. 

Free throws, however, did not lose this game for Louisville. Neither did 2-15 three-point shooting nor 2-12 marksmanship in the third quarter. This game was won by effort, and the Cards seemed a step slow, a bit disjointed and out-hustled and muscled at the end.

A team that has had a couple of close escapes on the road can't cheat the hangman in front of maybe the loudest crowd of the season on Sunday. They'll move on, the season is certainly not over and 10 more conference games and a ACC Tournament appearance awaits Louisville...beginning with the "Did I read that right?" 11 a.m. start Thursday at Miami. The key is....how will the Cards respond?


THE FRED REPORT

FRED THOMPSON. His expression mirrors
my Monday Morning attitude. 

F - Free Throws. I think they still let both teams and multiple players shoot them in games, don't they? Maybe there is a Sunday limitation on them. They got got six chances in forty minutes, Myisha Hines-Allen with five of them and three going through the net. 60% doesn't get it done and we have to withhold a letter here. 

R - Rebounds. In short, Louisville got their "a$$" kicked on the glass. MHA and JJ did give it a go, getting 15 and 11 respectively...but the final numbers were 52-52 in favor of Chief Osceola's bunch. The 20-11 FSU advantage on the offensive end was largely due to White's yeoman effort of nine. The Shelby, Nebraska native and Illinois transfer tied her season high of 16 total in the game (against Sacred Heart...and we're pretty sure that wasn't the Lexington, Rd high school).  No letter here. 

E- Effort/Execution. Overall, the Cards turned in 10 great minutes and 30 minutes of getting outplayed. What was up with Durr's 5-21 shooting and the six-point third quarter. Still, it wasn't a blow out and UofL had a chance to send it into overtime with less than ten seconds to play against a top 15, two-loss team. We'll release a lower-case "e" here. 

D- Defense. The Cards didn't have many answers for keeping Thomas and White, the two main Seminole shooters, at bay but held FSU to less than 30%. Those two were 10-33 and the other seven FSU players were 9-35. You'd usually expect a "W" for Louisville after a defensive effort like that and it was the fourth lowest opponent total of the year. I just can't award a letter for a loss, no matter how stellar the stat was. No letter. 

FINAL FRED REPORT:  -_-_-e-_

Points off turnovers (won by FSU 16-5) and 2nd chance points (also FSU 18-13) were key factors in FSU going to 18-2...but this game was lost by one team wanting it just a little more than the other and doing the things necessary to win it for the duration. Coming back to life after having one foot in the grave and down by 15. Fighting just a little harder for loose balls and missed shots. Preventing Durr an open look on the final play. You earned this one FSU. Enjoy it. Notre Dame awaits next one week from now. 

You play for all 40 minutes. The sooner Louisville understands that, the better. There were no last minute heroics, senior moments (unless you include FSU's) or magical plays to pull the Cards out of this one yesterday. Just a wistful glance at what was and what might have been. 20-1 isn't the end of the world. It's a damn fine season so far. But, to 14,248...it was a rotten way to end a Sunday. 

I went back and looked at my pre-season prediction. I had the Cards at 18-3 to this point of the season (with losses to FSU, Notre Dame and Ohio State) and two more to come before ACC Tourney Play starts (to UConn and Syracuse). So, I'm ahead of what I predicted, but disappointed in the loss. 

Drop the hot potato and move on to the next entree. The time to eat is always so short...

paulie
xxxxx 

Cardinal women's soccer schedule released...Some WBB news and transfers - THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS WSOC FEATURES 10 HOME MATCHES

It's schedule-releasing time for the women's fall sports at UofL and women's soccer has put out theirs for the 2017 season. 18 regular season games, two exhibitions and 10 chances to see the Cards at Lynn Stadium. Just in the ACC alone...the Cards will have a total of six matches against NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last season. . 


Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes recognizes the tests ahead: 

"Once again, our schedule proves to be very challenging and competitive. We're committed to playing a rigorous non-conference schedule to help us prepare for the ACC portion. The ACC is arguably the top conference in the country and we're thrilled to host FSU, Miami, Duke, Pitt and Wake Forest at Lynn this fall. We have a very experienced senior class, who have invested immensely in the success and development of our program. I am very excited for their senior year." 

It gets underway with an exhibition at Ohio State on Aug 9th. DePaul comes to Lynn for an exhibition on Aug. 12th. and the Cards open the regular season at home against Boston University on Aug. 18th. and Miami, (OH) on Aug. 20th.

Louisville takes to the road to face IU and returns home to finish August with a Aug. 27th. match against Marquette. 

September starts in Lexington against the Wildcats and a trip to Cape Girardeau, MO to go against SEMO. The kickin' Cards return home to close out the non-conference schedule with battles against Purdue and Gardner-Webb.

The Cards start the 10-game conference slate on the road at Boston College and comes home for a crucial and early three-game home stand against defending NCAA Tournament participants Florida State and Duke..plus Miami. 

October begins at Clemson and Virginia before returning to Lynn and ending the home slate with Pitt and Wake Forest. UofL ends the season on the road at UNC and NC State before ACC Tournament play starts on Oct. 29th. The top eight teams play for the ACC title. 

Louisville will not face conference members Notre Dame, Syracuse or Virginia Tech in 2017. 14 teams consist of the ACC women's soccer group...Georgia Tech does not participate in the sport. 

The Cards (7-7-4 in 2016) return top scorers Brooklyn Rivers, Gabrielle Vincent, Sarah Feola, Allison Whitfield, Kaela Dickerman and Alison Price. Key defender Inger Katrine Bjerke is back to direct the defense and the goal keeping battle should be interesting between Tori Gabor and Gabrielle Kouzelos. 

Transfer Kennedi Carbin, from Mississippi State, should add offensive punch to the lineup as well. She played her high school soccer locally at Waggener High School before going to MSU for two years. She also has extensive experience with Javanon and the Bahamian National team. 


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


TRANSFERS AND DE-COMMITMENTS 

Interesting news out of Harrodsburg, KY...where rising senior twins for the Mercer County girls basketball team Faith and Lexy Lake have backed of their verbal to SEMO and re-opened their recruitment. They were part of the nucleus that led Mercer County to the Kentucky State Girls Championship a few months ago and key components in Coach Chris Souder's squad for the 2017-18 season. 

No official word on why the duo have decided to switch directions. Pure speculation on my part here is that maybe the two would like to play closer to home or possibly saw that head coach Rehka Patterson at SEMO has four transfers on the roster for next year. Two key assistants that were influential in recruiting the Lake sisters and Emma Davis are gone now, as well . Emma Davis being another Mercer Co. player who verballed to SEMO, but backed out of her commitment earlier this month to the Cape Girardeau, MO school. 

The two would be a nice addition for quite a few 2018-19 college rosters. Along with Davis, Louisville commit Seygan Robins and NKU future baller Emmy Souder...MCHS looks perfectly capable of a repeat as state champs. 

Kiah Gillespie @Kiah15Gillespie

Next Chapter: Florida State University #BuiltForIt 

7:57 PM - 22 May 2017

 
•  5757 Retweets
 
•  188188 likes
• 
  

In the ACC WBB world, it looks like FSU has brought in yet another top-flight transfer with the announcement that Kiah Gillespie has left Maryland to be a 'Nole. Head coach Sue Semrau continues to attract transfer talent to Tallahassee...Imani Wright, Chatrice White, AJ Alix and Leticia Romero all headed south to the Sunshine State to don FSU jerseys. 

Gillespie played two years for Brenda Frese at UofM. She averaged 4.1 ppg her sophomore year. The 6'2" forward will sit a season before having two years of eligibility for FSU. 



paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Women's Basketball -- Cards face FSU tonight in Tallahassee...THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TOP 10 MATCH-UP IN TALLAHASSEE TONIGHT

JAZMINE JONES RETURNS HOME TONIGHT

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad is in Tallahassee, FL for a top-10 match-up against the Florida State Seminoles. The opening tip is at 7 p.m. in the Donald L. Tucker Arena and features two squads that are a combined 30-5 on the season. 

#7 FSU (15-2, 3-1) comes into the contest on a two-game win streak...taking out UNC and Duke most recently. They opened the conference slate with a win over Miami before stumbling to visiting NC State 70-61. 

When you look at the Seminoles...there is a lot to digest. 

Leticia Romero, a senior guard from Spain via Kansas St., leads the 'Noles in scoring with 14.5 ppg. She's played in 15 of FSU's 17 contests...sitting out early with a hamstring injury. She began her career at Kansas State and was "Ms Everything" for the Wildcats...landing on the Big 12 All-Freshman team and Big 12 All-Conference second team. She's one of three transfers that sees considerable action for Sue Semrau. Deadly from behind the arc (32-57 for 56%) and hits the pull-up jumper with accuracy. 

We wouldn't mind seeing Thomas grabbing some bench tonight

Shakayla Thomas is a junior forward averaging 13.3 points per contest. She was with Coach Walz and Mariya Moore on the USA World Games squad in Russia and put up 22 points in Florida State's last win..over Duke. She's fared well against the Cards in her two previous encounters against them...getting a double-double as a freshman and scoring 15 points last year. Explosive, can take over a game and will be a tough defensive assignment for the Cards tonight. 

Imani Wright is in her first season at FSU after transferring from Kim Mulkey's Baylor program. She's good for 11.9 a game, one of four double figure scorers for the 'Noles and is the top 3-point maker on the squad with 36 trifectas and a 40% accuracy rate. The 5'9" guard sat out last season, due to transfer rules, but has returned with a vengeance...averaging 11.9 a outing. 

Ivey Slaughter, it seems, has been at FSU forever. The 6'1" senior forward puts in 10.7 a contest and is the Seminoles leading rebounder. She's probably their best defender in the paint and is no stranger to the Cardinals...getting nine points and nine rebounds as a freshman and 17 points as a sophomore against the 'Ville. She was limited to three points in 27 minutes last year because of foul trouble. Louisville probably wouldn't mind seeing her take an extended seat tonight...

Brittany Brown is the fifth starter for FSU and averages 8.8 a night. A senior guard, she's the assist leader for the 'Noles and is adept at perimeter defense and steals. She had nine points and seven assists against UofL last year. Brown is also one of the best offensive rebounding guards in the conference. It'll be interesting to see who Sue Semrau assigns her to defensively if the 'Noles play man-to-man against the Cards. 

One that Myshia might have trouble sending to the floor...

Chatrice White transferred to FSU after two years at Illinois...where she was primarily the offensive force for the Fighting Illini. She was granted immediate eligibility this season and the junior center is usually first off the bench and puts in 9.0 points a game. White is another player that was with Walz and Moore in Russia and t 6'3" will be another one that the Cards will have to worry about keeping off the boards. 

FSU doesn't go very deeply into their bench after White. We expect to see guards Maria Conde and Nicole Ekhomu plus center Kai James get a little action for the home team. 

The 'Noles can come at you a lot of different ways, as you might have surmised after reading the above. How do the Cards stop them and get a win tonight? I'll offer five things the Cards need to do well in order to take leave of Tallahassee with a "W" in the luggage. 

1) Score, baby..score.  The Cards will need to put out a much better effort offensively than Duke did against FSU.  The Ble Devils shot just 25% and had a mere 15 first half points. Creating the open looks, recognizing who is hot and make crisp passes and cutting back on dribbling are all keys to get the offense working. I'm sure both teams have looked at the fast start Louisville got last year (19-6 after one) and if Louisville can find a way to duplicate that on the road...all the better. Taking and making good shots adds up the points. 

2) Let's have a threesome! The trio of Mariya Moore, Myisha Hines-Allen and  Asia Durr need to have a big night tonight. The Cards can usually get a good performance out of two of the three...but against these talented Seminoles..it is imperative that the trilogy takes off in unison. Moore posted 20 against them last year and sank four 3's. Hines-Allen added 13 and Durr got nine in just 11 minutes. Tonight...Hines-Allen needs to be on the court instead of watching with foul trouble, Moore must continue her recent hot streak and Durr's long-range bombing has to be accurate. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST YEARS 79-69 UofL WIN

3) Hit the boards! Despite last year's win, the Cards were out-rebounded 41-30. Tonight, we would like to see Cortnee establish herself as a miss-grabber on both ends of the court and Myisha get at least double figures in rebounding. Any other efforts on tracking down misses from Moore, Briahanna Jackson and the reserves need to be positive ones.  

4) Control the pace. Louisville probably doesn't want to get in a track meet with FSU...the 'Noles are atop the conference in scoring offense with 82.8 points a game in 17 contests. The Cards are fifth in the ACC with 78.3 ppg. Controlling the pace, avoiding the run-outs and solid defense are essential if Louisville is going to go 4-1 in conference play. The Cards could throw a variety of defenses at Florida State tonight to keep them guessing...but avoiding unforced turnovers while running the offense effectively and not putting up hurried shots are things that are self-controllable and prime factors in tonight's battle.

5) Bench participation. If this one is a frantic pace...the Cards will need Jazmine Jones (who is returning home and should have a sizable fan-base in the stands), Kylee Shook, Taylor Johnson, Sam Fuehring and Ciera Johnson to contribute productive minutes when they see the court. The Cards appear to be a little deeper squad than FSU..but if that deepness isn't efficient...it really doesn't add up to much of an edge. Make the most of your minutes. Earn your court time. 

It should be a fun one to watch (or listen to) tonight. The ACC Network Extra will have the feed...Tom Block and Melissa Bruner, who are both associated with the FSU program as sports announcer and director of basketball operations have the call. I'm sure it will be completely unbiased, neutral and objective...right?


I've been going to our radio feed with Nick and A.J. more and more lately. They do a fantastic job with "the accounts and descriptions" of the action and, despite the time lapse between TV and radio in action...I will most likely stay on that course tonight. 

The last time I visited Tallahassee, I spent a wonderful day on the Wakulla River...just south of the city. Here's to that great time "down by the River" at the link below...courtesy of The Dave Matthews Band and Warren Haynes. 

LINK: DOWN BY THE RIVER

Good luck Louisville tonight! We'll recap it here tomorrow...

😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😂😂😂😂😂😂


LOUISVILLE MBB HOLDS ON AGAINST PITT


Rick Pitino's Cards saw their 59-35 lead halfway through the second half plummet but held on at the end to hold off the Pitt Panthers 85-80 in the KFC YUM! Center last night. The Cards are now 14-3 on the season and 2-2 in ACC play. 

Quentin Snider put in 22 for UofL. He was joined in double figures by Deng Adel (15), Donovan Mitchell (15) and Ray Spalding. Nice job by "Q", Deng, Mitch and "ding". 

The "missing layups" disease has spread, unfortunately, from the WBB squad to the guys. Just dunk the ball. Be the mean dog. Flush the orb. 

Our Case Hoskins was at the event and will join us via phone Saturday on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR for a Duke preview. I do know he's still not enamored with the "Yell Leaders" and promised a rant on them for Saturday radio. We have suggested Case try to "dress out" and join the team for warmups. Yeah, that'll happen...


😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎


PAULIE'S PICKS

I got a nice start to the Weds-Thurs picks when I picked Miami and they held home-court advantage and knocked off previously undefeated Virginia Tech last night 82-75. This one was close for three quarters...eight ties and 13 lead changes before the Canes put together a 25-17 fourth-quarter to get the "W". Hicks and Hill combined for 43 points for the Gobblers.

Here's how I see tonight's games: 

Boston College hosts Georgia Tech and I think the Eagles will eke out a narrow win over the visiting Ramblin' Wreck. B.C. will need to shut down Ga.Tech's two-time Freshman of the Week Francesca Pan. 

Duke brings in UNC in The battle of Tobacco Road. Greenwell and Brown should rebound from their loss to FSU. I see the Blue Devils sticiking it to the TarHeels. 

Pitt has the misfortune of travelling to Notre Dame. The Irish should cage these Panthers pretty easily...if they're not looking too much in advance to a battle at Tennessee on Monday. 

NC State goes to Syracuse in what I see as the toughest outcome to predict tonight. Which Syracuse squad will show up? I'm going with the Wolfpack here eating the Orange but N.C. State probably won't win this one by much. 

Clemson at Wake Forest. This is the *meh* game of the night. Neither has won an ACC contest yet. When in doubt...go with the home squad theorem works here for me...so we'll say Demon Deacons over the Tigers. Maybe. Toss a coin. 

Louisville vs. Florida State. If I could take a "pass" here, I surely would. I just don't have a good feeling, though, about the Cards chances in Tallahassee tonight. I sincerely hope I'm wrong...but I'll call it 'Noles over Cards. Let the hate e-mails begin...

Whistling in the dark and headed for a haircut...have a thankful Thursday and take a minute today to tell someone how much you appreciate them. You never know when you might get that opportunity again to do so...


happy birthday, Sarge. I miss ya, buddy...
Paulie
xxxxx

Tough Thursday ACC test for Louisville WBB -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

WBB CARDS TO FACE FSU IN TALLAHASSEE 

You knew the assortment of cupcakes and pastries the UofL WBB squad had been feeding on in ACC play had to end eventually. Only one of the Cards five wins has come against that is over .500 in conference play.  #4 Louisville faces Florida State tonight in the Donald L. Tucker arena in a game that will be televised on ESPN3 at 7 p.m. An arena that holds slightly over 12,000 will host two of the hottest teams in NCAA WBB. 

The 'Noles are averaging about 2700 per game for home contest...a number that will most likely swell with the advent of bringing in #4 in the nation. FSU happens to be a perfect 8-0 at home this season...owning quality wins over Florida and Duke in the "DLT". 


Sue Semrau's squad is also on a four game win streak and have won 13 out of their last 14. Sue's been there 18 years and has complied a 332-216 record. Sitting at 17-2 overall and 4-1 in ACC play...FSU is a team that averages 76.6 points per game while allowing just 55.6 to their opponents. They also hold a 44.2 to 30.6 rebounding edge per game. Very impressive stats for a squad that hasn't had an ACC Player of the Week or Freshman of the Week this season.

Losses have come to Washington (68-80) in Cancun and at Notre Dame (68-74). 

The 'Noles are a well-balanced squad that has nine players that average over 14 minutes a game. They've also been aided by two key transfers...Maegan Conwright (from UK) and Leticia Romero (from Kansas State). Romero, you might remember, showed an interest in and visited Louisville after leaving K-State. FSU has five players who average over 10 points per game. 


Adut Bulgak, a 6'4" junior center, leads the squad with 14.0 ppg and 10.3 rpg a game. Conwright, a 5'9" redshirt senior guard is good for 11.5 ppg a contest. Romero has been eligible for the last six games and has made an immediate impact at point guard...the 5'8" sophomore guard brings 11.2 ppg. Ivey Slaughter ( no relation to Nita) is a 6'1" sophomore forward with 11.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg numbers. 5'11" freshman forward Shakayla Thomas averages 10.5 ppg.
Brittany Brown, a 5'8" sophomore guard is a starter that also sees significant minutes. 

No easy task tonight for Jeff Walz's crew. Louisville will need to get off to a good start and try to go toe-to-toe with the strong rebounding Seminole paint dwellers. FSU in second in the ACC in rebounding offense and tops in ly rebounding defense. They trail only Duke in total rebounds on the season. They also average over six "threes" made per game. 

Walz has had since Sunday night to develop a game plan to win this one in Gatorland and four days of strategy for the mad scientist is like free gas at the pump...beneficial, never wasted,  always appreciated and "a win-win". 


Whether the strategy will be adhered to by the sometimes attention deficit disordered Cards remains to be seen. In any event, it should be a whale of a game to watch and would be arguably UofL's biggest win of the season on the road since defeating California in Berkeley.

Louisville has won the last two meetings with the Seminoles in a series that is tied at 12 games apiece. Last time the teams squared off, Louisville recorded a 69-59 overtime victory in the KFC Yum! Center. Jude Schimmel forced the extra session following a steal and uncontested layup with less than 30 seconds in regulation. Her sister Shoni had a game-high 21 points, and the Cardinals scored 29 points off of Florida State’s 26 turnovers.

We'll have a full recap of the action in the Friday edition of Cardinal Couple. 

paulie  

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- ACC women's sports preview: FSU

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Our ACC preview continues: Florida State


We've been previewing the women's sports programs in the ACC over the last several weeks and today we look at Florida State. 

Florida State was founded in 1851 and joined the ACC in 1991. They have an enrollment of 41,000 students and the university is located in Tallahassee, FL. 

The school nickname and mascot is the Seminoles and makes quite an appearance before football games...riding in on a horse and brandishing a spear.

(We hope he doesn't try that in PJCS or the KFC YUM! Center) 

'Noles and Free Shoes University are other terms of endearment for program. Whenever they faced Notre Dame in any event...the popular moniker for a stretch of time was "Convicts vs. Catholics". 

The FSU colors are garnet and gold. 

Burt Reynolds attended there and played football. Other alumni of note include Faye Dunaway, Jim Morrison (The Doors) and Hunter S. Thompson. 

They did not play football with Burt. That could have been real interesting if they had...though.

FSU participates in ten women's college sports: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swim/Dive, Tennis, Track/Field, Volleyball and Sand Volleyball. 

Let's take a look and see how they did in some of these last season...

Basketball:   Sue Semrau, in her 18th season, lead FSU to a 21-12 record. They were 7-9 in the ACC. Making the 'Big Dance' ...they were shuffled off to Iowa State for the first round and promptly upset them. They were not so lucky against Stanford two nights later. Louisville defeated them 69-59 in the regular season. The all-time series is tied at 12-12.

Cross Country:  The 'Noles won the women's ACC Championship and the NCAA South Regional. They finished eighth in the NCAA Championships. Training with live gators on the course probably increases your stamina. (just kidding...)

Golf:  The Seminole chip and putters finished 7th in the ACC Tournament. They did qualify for the NCAA East regionals, carding a 11th place finish. Freshman sensation Matilda Castren is one of six returning players. 

Soccer:  FSU was 23-2-3 on the season and 10-1-2. They won the ACC. They also ran off five wins in the NCAA Tournament before losing 1-0 to UCLA in overtime in the NCAA Soccer Championship Final. 

Softball:  An impressive regular season, going 55-9 and 24-3 in ACC play. They took the ACC Tournament. They also won their regional and Super regional brackets. They didn't fare so well in the WCWS...losing twice and getting eliminated by Baylor.

Tennis:  Florida State complied a 16-13 record and was 6-8 in the ACC. They advance to the second round of the ACC Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Championships...losing to Georgia in the second round. They were ranked #31st in the NCAA.

Volleyball:  A successful 26-8 season for the Noles

and a second place regular season finish in the ACC with a 16-3 mark. They made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Wisconsin. The ACC did not have a Conference Tournament in 2013. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Florida State has lost to Louisville the last two times the schools have met in women's basketball. We see Walz winning again, now that Natasha Howard and Maegan Conwright have graduated. Soccer, softball and cross-country are a different matter...the Cards aren't quite at FSU's skill set yet. Volleyball could go either way. Tennis and golf look pretty evenly matched as well. 

PAULIE'S Favorite FSU memory:

On a rain-drenched evening in the fall of 2002, Henry Miller ran 25 yards for a touchdown in sudden death overtime as the Cards upset FSU 26-20 in football at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. 

It is the wettest I have ever been at a sporting event. The rains started early in the day and continued throughout the whole game. We had rivers running through our tailgate area. Kids were swimming in the ditch by the Green Lot at Papa John's Stadium. 

The Louisville fans stormed the field after the win and tore down the goalposts. I sloshed back to my car, glad to be out of the rain. I still hadn't dried out after the 25 minute drive home. Two rain-gear suits and I was still soaked to the bone. 

But...oh, what a sweet win it was...


paulie!