Idle Cards Move Up in ACC -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards 1/2 Game Back in ACC

Louie lounges amongst active ACC.

In a bit of a scheduling quirk, Louisville had the weekend off. Because the ACC has an odd number of teams, someone will always be left out, and this time it was Louisville. That's not the odd part, though. Louisville is now the only team that has played only two games, while two teams have played four. I would have expected the ACC to work to equalize the number of games early, but I suppose it all works out in the end. 

Either way, sitting idle allowed the Cards to watch the chaos around them. The first shock came when the final buzzer sounded in Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg. That was when NC State's undefeated season ended with a 63-62 loss to Virginia Tech on a buzzer-beating layup by Elizabeth Kitley. For NC State, it may have been even more shocking, since they scored a driving layup with two seconds remaining to regain a lead they had just given up. VT overcame an 11-point fourth quarter deficit by outscoring the Wolfpack 14-2 over the final 6:29. NC State's only two points were the ones they thought would have them snatch back the victory they'd squandered. Alas, no.

The other upset came in Purcell Pavilion, where a North Carolina team was also involved. This time it was UNC, and the team being upset was Notre Dame. The Irish entered the game at 10-2 and ranked 16th, having recovered slightly from the loss in Syracuse to open their conference season. After beating Pitt 71-66, ND welcomed the Tar Heels for their first ACC home game. UNC gave them a nice housewarming gift: a 61-57 loss. 

Both teams featured in this JDA photo from the
2023 ACC Tourney lost yesterday.

While ND was already behind Louisville in the ACC standings at 1-1 (now 1-2), VT's upset of NC State means Louisville moves to third in the league at 2-0. They sit behind UNC and VT who are tied atop the ACC at 3-0. UNC is likely to move into the top 25 after thumping #25 Syracuse 75-51 on Thursday before yesterday's win. VT will almost certainly break into the top 10. The Cards are technically not alone in third, since FSU (3-1) is also a half game back of the leaders.

There is a ton of season remaining as the Cards have 16 conference games left to play. Louisville, to their benefit, did not draw NC State or Virginia Tech twice this season. The Cards will play both teams in February. They'll have seven games to continue to gel before taking on NC State in Raleigh on February 5th. Louisville brings VT to the Yum! Center on February 18th. Louisville also has the great benefit of playing UNC (1/21) and FSU (Leap Day) only once. The Cards will still have to take care of business against the rest of the schedule, but it's a friendly year to chase an ACC regular season title.

Outside of the ACC, today's rankings should see Louisville move up a couple of spots, as the two teams immediately preceding them both lost yesterday. ND had the aforementioned loss to UNC, and Utah fell in overtime against Arizona. We'll see how it all plays out.

How's Paulie?

Wanted to provide a brief update on Paulie for everyone that may not have been able to get in touch. He has returned home from the hospital and is in pain but in good spirits. He plans to start physical therapy this week. Paulie appreciates everyone's well wishes, and we'll be looking forward to him returning to the site and to the sideline later this season.

Get well soon, Paulie!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

#1 Cardinals dominate TarHeels 79-68 (16-0, 9-0 ACC) -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS PREVAIL OVER UNC 79-68

Happy Friday, folks!

 I am very happy to finally be able to report a matchup with North Carolina is in the books after so many postponements. I was almost SURE the Cards were well on their way to meeting my 2-week, Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast running score prediction for the squad (91-66) against the TarHeels when they put up 55 first half points on the visitors. But, it looks like I can blame Walz for losing that again this week..  good thing i didn't have rent money riding on that prediction.

  

Around the NCAA/ACC

By now you probably have heard that two of the nation's top three ranked squads went down last night.  Neighboring #2 NC State lost to Virginia Tech 71-83 after barely beating them Sunday afternoon.  The Wolfpack was without leader Elissa Cunane in this one, she's no doubt eyeing that Monday matchup with the Cards for her return, if she can get the COVID clear.

 #3 UCONN lost to #19 Arkansas 87-90, the Razorbacks lead by senior guard Chelsea Dungee with 37 points, 13 in a 31 point 3Q for Arkansas.  Wake Forest beat FSU 73-59 and the Cards remain undefeated with a 79-68 win Thursday night, their third win of the week. 

Louisville freshmen Olivia Cochran and Hailey Van Lith combined for 28 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, zero turnovers each on the floor for 31 minutes. UNC's grad transfer guard Petra Holesinska came off the bench and lead all scorers with 26 on 10-17 FG% 5-10 beyond 3.

Don't let the score fool ya, the Tarheels never really had any control in this matchup... Louisville dominated offensively and defensively until Coach Walz made several substitutions for some playing time opportunities for bench players. 

RECAP: Louisville WBB vs UNC TarHeels 

Jeff Walz tinkered with the starting lineup again, putting Liz Dixon and Olivia Cochran out there together with Dana, Hailey and Balogun. It worked quite well.  

Four different players started the scoring for to put the Cards up 12-2 early.  After the Cards' first missed shot... Elizabeth Balogun was there for the offensive rebound and then put it back up and in.  In the next offensive possession, Dana Evans missed, Olivia was there to get rebound and she was able to score. By then it was a 16-7 Cards lead. 

With five min off the clock, Balogun led all scorers with 7 pts, 1 rebound & 2 assists.  After the first quarter ended, HVL had gotten off to a 3-4 start beyond 3 -- for 9 points and 2 assists. The Cards were 12-16 shooting from FG range (75%) before a couple of unsuccessful chucks up at the basket in the final minute of the quarter. 

End of 1Q 30-16 Cards 
FG %
12-18 67% Cards
6-13 46% UNC
Reb. 9-4 Cards 
3-pt %

4-7 57% Cards
2-3 67% UNC

Janelle Bailey managed to pick up 3 fouls in first half; by then she had only secured 4 pts (2-5 FG%) 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers.  The Cards finished the half with three 3-pointers by Evans, Balogun & Cochran in about a minutes time.  Dana fed Cochran the rock with about 6 seconds on the clock and said 'knock it down' and Olivia did just that.  There were four Louisville players scoring in double figures in the first half.. Olivia leading all scorers with 14 points (10 in the 2Q) on 6-6 shooting with 5 rebounds. The team was 5-5 at the FT line, had 2 blocks, 2 steals, and were winning the rebounding battle 20-13. 

End of 2Q 25-14 Cards 
FG % 
9-19 47.4% Cards
5-15 33.3% UNC
Reb. 11-9 Cards
3-pt %

4-7 57.1% Cards
1-6 16.7% UNC

HALFTIME  Cards 55-30

 

Evans started the half with a 3-pointer and the team tied up a couple jump balls and with about 5 min off clock. Elizabeth Dixon joined the others as double digit scorer. Janelle Bailey picked up her 4th foul with 1:36 left in the quarter recording just 8 points, 5 rebounds in 24 min on floor.  This was just about all of the highlights as Walz experimented with the lineup -- getting bench players quality playing minutes.  Louisville largest lead of the contest was 32 points with 2:52 left in the quarter. 

End of 3Q 16-16 
FG %
6-14 42.9% Cards
6-13 46.2% UNC
Reb. 7-9 UNC 
3-pt %

3-9 33.3% Cards
1-2 50% UNC

Ok...this is where things got a little scary for Louisville as they watched the lead start to diminish.

UNC jumped out to an 8-0 run to start the 4Q , UofL was 0-4 on their first attempts and had 3 turnovers, In fact, going back to the third quarter, the TarHeels were on a 17-0 run with 4:28 left in the game.  That's when Dixon got a nice feed from Olivia for a layup and one. The score was 22-5 UNC in the quarter with 1:18 left and the Cards shooting a measly 2-12 for 16.7%.

UNC's Petra Holesínská had 12 points on 5-7 FG% 2-3 from the deep in the final quarter. The Cards were led by Kianna Smith in the 4Q with 5 points which made her the sixth Cardinal in double digit scoring on the night.

End of 4Q 22-8 UNC  
FG % 
3-13 23% Cards
9-17 52.9% UNC
Reb. 7-13 UNC
3-pt %

1-3 33% Cards
2-3 66.7% UNC

FINAL  79-68 CARDS WIN !! 

Coach Walz post game: 

Coach Walz took responsibility for making the substitutions that lead to UNC to cut the lead more than half to get it within single digits with a little more than a minute left in the game. He said he was trying to get some bench players some minutes and it just wasn't the right combo at the right time. It seems like it was more of a teaching moment for Coach Walz than for what he was going for by putting the subs in those moments. 

FRED REPORT

F- Free Throws Only three Cardinals went to the line for the night.. where they were sharply 7-8 which is good for 88%, more than our 70% requirement for a CAPITAL F performance

.

R- Rebounding After winning the rebounding battle 20-13 in the first half, the Cards ended up on the losing side 35-34 on the evening.  They did win the battle for second chance points 11-7, however.  It was a strong performance overall warranting a Capital R in my eyes. 

E- Effort/Efficiency First half: Olivia was 6-6 from the field, Balogun was 3-4, Dana was 4-7 and HVL was 3-5 beyond 3.  The team had 11 assists on 21 made shots.  The second half was a different story... Second half: Dana was 1-6, HVL was 0-4, Balogun was 0-2, Olivia was 1-4.  Five of the Cards six turnovers were in the second half. 

It was a strong enough first half decimation to put the Cards ahead by 25 and UofL was never really in jeopardy of losing.  The first half was a whole lot of fun to watch, and, since Coach Walz took the blame for the second half stall,  I give the squad a CAPITAL E on the evening. 

D- Defense Cards finished with four blocks and four steals and able to hold UNC to 11-28 (39.3%) shooting and 3-9 from beyond three-point range (33.3%) in the first half. The second half was a diffeerent story, the Cards allowing 15-30 (50%) from the floor, and 3-5 beyond the arc (60%) in the second half.  They were able to keep Janelle Bailey off the floor after she racked up 3 fouls in the first half -- Bailey eventually fouling out of the game with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers.  The Cards held the UNC starting lineup to just 35 total points.   The second half defensive effort knocks this total effort down just a bit, I still give Louisville a  Capital D

FINAL FRED REPORT : F-R-E-D 

                                             ***********

FUN WITH PICTURES: 

"See if you can find out where she got those shoes for me" 

"You like these shoes, Jeff?" 

 

"Excuse me, but it's clear that I have the best shoes on the court, y'all" 

                             *********

Spring Field Hockey Schedule released 

On Louisville Field Hockey:

The Cardinals finished the fall portion of the 2020-21 season with an 8-2 overall record with a program-best 5-1 mark in ACC play, securing the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament for the first time in program history. Louisville posted a runner-up in the tournament after falling 4-2 to defending champion North Carolina in the finals.

"The fall 2020 season certainly presented many challenges," said Sowry. "Our team adapted, adjusted and we made the most of an incredibly difficult situation. We will continue to remain positive, flexible, and to make the most of the opportunities we are presented." 

I'm sure Paul and Jared will have a couple thoughts on this for us on Saturday's show... 

  

Spring Softball Predicted finish announced:

2021 ACC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll

Florida State (141 points, nine first-place votes)
Virginia Tech (136 points, four first-place votes)
Notre Dame (114 points)
Duke (99 points)
North Carolina (96 points)
Clemson (88 points)
Louisville (81 points)
NC State (78 points)
Georgia Tech (61 points)
Syracuse (39 points)
Pitt (31 points)
Virginia (28 points)
Boston College (22 points)

The Cardinals finished the COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 10-13 overall record on the eve of their ACC-opening series against Boston College. Louisville's early season slate featured 10 games against teams in the top 25 and the Cardinals were on a three-game winning streak at the end of the season.

Middle of the pack seems like a reasonable prediction for this Louisville squad.  That'll make it that much sweeter when the Cards give us a couple upsets.

I imagine this squad will be offense heavy with Cassady Greenwood leading the team with a .386 batting average, followed by her sister, Carmyn at .373. Jordyn Wolfe rounds out the Cardinals' top three hitters with a .324 batting average. Taylor Roby led the team with seven home runs and 16 RBIs, while Celene Funke was 13-for-13 in stolen bases with 12 runs.

IN SUMMATION:

Its been great having wins to report on...and a "shoutout" to Jared and Paul for making it to the Yum again late Thursday evening to cover this squad.  (Jared's been getting such quality photos they had to hose him down to keep the wolves at bay.)

Coach Walz says the team has the day off Friday, to relax before they get back to work to prepare for a battle with conference foe, NC State, on Monday night.  The matchup is likely not going to be a #1 vs #2 now that the WolfPack went down Thursday evening.  We will find out their new ranking Monday afternoon.  We will talk about this and more on Saturday's show! 

Have a great start to your weekend, Louisville fans! 

GO CARDS ! 

~ Daryl 

Reliving Past UNC and FSU Games -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Reliving Past UNC and FSU Games

With no games for a few days because of positive COVID-19 cases within the Louisville program we sit back and patiently wait to see our Cards in action again.

The North Carolina and Florida State games have been postponed with a slight chance of cancellation. So, instead we will revisit recent games between the Cards and these foes.

North Carolina, who Louisville was scheduled to play this past Sunday, has not been to the KFC Yum! Center since Jan. 3, 2019. The Cards and Heels played in Chapel Hill on Jan. 19 last season with Louisville hanging on down the stretch for a 74-67 win. The prior season, which I will highlight, was just as close with a 73-66 score.

Here are some photos from that 73-66 win in 2019:

The Cards and Seminoles have played a little more often with those last two games ending in Florida State's favor. FSU topped the Cards by two in the ACC semifinals last season. During the regular season, the Cards lost at home by eight. That will be the game I highlight below. The two foes have split the prior two meetings before that.

Here are photos from the Feb. 6, 2020 loss:

UofL and FSU will get a chance to play in Tallahassee on Jan. 10, 2021 so I won't feel as bad about their first game getting cancelled if that ends up being the case..

On a side note, it's crazy the difference a year makes in terms of photography. The UNC game photos are from January 2019 and the FSU game photos are from February 2020. I am certainly glad my photos have gotten better over time as I continue to grow and develop as a photographer.

I'm sure the rest of the crew here at Cardinal Couple is equally as grateful that they have better quality photos to post. We'll call it part of Paulie's magic he works most days for us.

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

There has not been an announcement made yet about the home game against Miami as Louisville, Miami, and the ACC continue to figure that out and if the game will be possible  Miami looked pretty good in holding on to knock off UNC yesterday 67-63. North Carolina might be lamenting they are in ACC part of their schedule already, they went 5-0 in non-conference action but are 0-2 in the league now. 

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

San Antonio for a "bubble" NCAA Tournament?  The Texas city has emerged as a potential site for ALL of the NCAA Tournament games this spring. The 2021 NCAA Final Four was scheduled there already. Trying to work out the logistics, venues, scheduling and hotel stays for over 60 teams for an extended time is a challenge, make no mistake about it. The city is "in talks" with the NCAA about hosting the entire event. I'd be interested in your thoughts about this. Leave them in the comments section.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

ASIA DURR NAMED TO AP FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN -- SOFTBALL TODAY -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR FOR 'NITE-NITE' ON AP SQUAD


She's the first player in the Cards program history to get the back-to-n=back accolades.

Asia Durr returns to the Associated Press All-American first team...joining some talent seniors and a junior on the squad. Out of the 28 "voters", Durr received first team votes from 25 of them. Her season ended with her averaging 21.2 ppg, which was the fourth highest scoring average in program history. Only she and Angel McCoughtry have received this esteemed honor among UofL WBB players.


  The other First Team selections: 

-- Napheesa Collier (UConn) 6'1 senior . 27/28 first team votes, 138 points. --

-- Megan Gustafson (Iowa)  6'3" senior.  26/28 first team votes, 136 points. -- 

-- Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon)  5'11" junior  26/28 first team votes,  136 points -- 

-- Teaira McCowan, (Mississippi St.)  6'7" senior  20/28 first team votes, 124 points --


The sportswriters who get these votes (and I ain't one of them, sadly) name second and third teams, as well, and an honorable mention list.

One has to wonder why Sam Fuehring didn't make any of these teams or even the honorable mention list. One has to wonder who (if anyone) from our fair city gets the ballot(s) and if they know much about WBB?  You can't convince me that Sam Fuehring is not one of the best 33 players in DI WBB this year. Three Mississippi State players were selected in the top 33. How's your season going, Vic Schaefer?

Give me a break. 

The other two teams are: 

2nd team: Ogunbowale (ND), Brown (Baylor), Anigwe (Cal), Smith (Stanford), Carleton (Iowa State). 

3rd team: Samuelson (UConn), Shepard (ND), Cox (Baylor), Cunningham (Missouri), Young (Notre Dame).

In case you stopped following the NCAA WBB tournament after the Cards got knocked out...the Final Four consists of Baylor vs. Oregon and Notre Dame vs. UConn. The semifinals are Friday night with the Championship game on Sunday, April 7th. 

I have all four finalists in my bracket challenge picks, how about you? The Cardinal Couple Bracket Challenge tournament Director Jared "I'll get around to those totals, I promise" Anderson says he'll have updated standings in tomorrow's article. I think I'm 46-14 going into the Final Four.  Sonya at 43-16, but, after a while looking at circled correct picks and scratched out wrong picks, I get dizzy.

Miami was my worst selection, along with NC State. Sonya had the Cards facing Mississippi State in the final game. 

(I've already had an individual e-mail me their starting lineup for the Cards in the 2019-2020 season. No, it wasn't Coach Walz. I think this person must be related to Nostradamus or Charlie Creme). 


SOFTBALL FACES LIPSCOMB TODAY

Louisville Softball (22-12) is having a pretty good season and you get the chance to see the "Funky" Cards in action today if you head down to Ulmer Stadium for the 5 p.m. first pitch against Lipscomb.

The Lady Bisons are 23-12-1 on the season and participate in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They took two out of three over the weekend against visiting North Florida. At the plate, Cardinal pitchers will need to be wary of Jordan Fortel, who is batting .411 and has five fence-clearers and Hannah Devault, who has sent six softballs out of the ballpark. 

Terrific Taylor

The Cards are led by red-shirt freshman Taylor Roby at the plate, she's batting .351. Celene Funke has nine triples on the season, tied for first in DI softball. Sidney Melton has pilfered 18 bases this year for the Cards and Megan Hensley is the ace of the Cardinal pitching staff so far with a 9-2 record. 

Surprisingly, Lipscomb leads the overall series with the Cards 3-1 and downed Louisville 3-1 last year at Draper Diamond in Nashville.

I was having a bit of fun formulating my "all-Taylor" team for UofL women's athletics last night. My top five are: 

 Taylor Bucklin (soccer), Taylor Stone (Field Hockey), Taylor Johnson (WBB), Missy Taylor (WBB) and Taylor Roby. 

Got one or two to challenge these? Add 'em in the comments section.  


TARHEEL TROUBLE? 

Interesting news out of Chapel Hill, NC yesterday. 

It seems the entire coaching staff of the University of North Carolina women's basketball program, including Hall-of-Fame head coach Sylvia Hatchell, have been placed on paid administrative leave by the University while a review of the program's culture takes place. 

Unspecified issues (for now) from student-athletes and others are the reason for the review. The law firm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe...oops! Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein out of Charlotte, NC will conduct and assess the program. No time frame for this has been provided, but the review will be "thorough and prompt", according to UNC officials. 

Surprise and shock seem to be the most common reaction to this self-mandated review. Several players currently on the squad say they have no idea why this is being done and who is prompting it. 

Yeah, sure, we all know Janelle Bailey -- UNC freshman forward -- is a temperamental sort and her suspension for going after Duke forward Jade Williams during the last game this season between the two rivals was a situation that was pretty messy and uncalled for. Fortunately, cooler heads stepped in before it got too-out-of-control.

But, this is not about Janelle directly. It is about the coaches of the program. This could turn out to be pretty interesting, we'll keep an eye on it and report further on it as it progresses. As for culture? That's a slippery slope to ever try and define and assess. This might take awhile. Things always seem to, when it comes to UNC athletics.

UNC has had their share of controversies in women's basketball over the years. The highly recruited 2013 UNC class, led by Diamond DeShields and featuring Stephanie Mavunga, Allisha Gray and Jessica Washington was gone by 2015. DeShields ended up at Rocky Top, with Mercedes Russell...another one that was highly linked with that class but waved off the invite to join them. 

So....what say you, Sylvia?

“I’ve had the privilege of coaching more than 200 young women during my 44 years in basketball,” her statement read. “My goal has always been to help them become the very best people they can be, on the basketball court and in life.

“I love each and every one of the players I’ve coached and would do anything to encourage and support them. They are like family to me. I love them all.

“Of course, I will cooperate fully in this review. I look forward to a prompt conclusion of this matter and the continuation of our very successful women’s basketball program.”

Whoever prepared the statement for her (and she has lawyered up) is/are the master(s) of non-sequiturs. Remember the Sylvia comment from back in 2015?

“There has been a lot of speculation surrounding our program in recent weeks and that’s all that it is – speculation,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said in a statement. “Our players are working every day to get better and I appreciate their efforts. A number of former players have reached out to me with their support. We have a strong and loyal Tar Heel family.”



Have a tremendous Tuesday!

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Women's Basketball faces Clemson today---Other ACC WBB games...THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS GET CLEMSON TO OPEN ACC PLAY

The University of Louisville women's basketball team will face the Clemson Tigers to open their run in the ACC WBB Tournament here in Conway, SC. 

Your intrepid senior columnist braved the storms and 10 hour drive to get here in time to see the opening tip-off yesterday between Clemson and Virginia Tech. And, it was an exciting opener, no doubt! Clemson's Danielle Edwards was fouled by VT's Regan Magarity with 3.4 second to play while driving to the basket with the score tied at 66-66. The shot didn't go...and neither did the first free throw. Were we going to get five minutes of bonus ball in the opener? 

What was going through Edwards' mind as she got ready to try the second attempt? 

" Oh, gosh. I wasn't really trying to think. I was just trying to relax. My teammates were telling me to relax. I shot the first one kind of quick and that one kind of went in and out. I turned and I looked at Nelly [Perry] and she was telling me just relax, like's she's smiling and telling me to knock this one down...my teammates were keeping me really calm." 

The second did go, to give the Tigers the 67-66 lead. Virginia Tech's Chanette Hicks drove the length of the court to try to hit a game-winner for the Hokies...but the shot after the buzzer and no good. 

What does Edwards think about today's matchup against the Cards? 

"You can take things out of today out of today's game that we need to do well, like defense. Louisville is a really good offensive team, and in order to stay with them, you've going to have to defend them. So, you can take definitely our defense from them, and our competitive spirit that we have...that we didn't give up. They were number one in the conference when we played them and we were able to hang with them and that shows that as long as we're playing hard that we can play with anybody." 

Two things Clemson will need to change if they are to have any shot at all against the Cards are turnovers and opponent points-off-turnovers. The Clemson bakery was open for business yesterday with 16 turnovers and VT capitalized with a 20-3 advantage in points-off-turnovers. 

The Cards, who practiced in an Air Force Base gym yesterday...will look to do what they do well. Finding the "Big Three"...playing the stellar defense they've shown the last several outings and controlling the boards. With Briahanna Jackson out for the tournament, Louisville will face some extra pressure from the Clemson three-guard set that includes Edwards...and Nelly Perry, who had sixteen points to go with Edwards 17 yesterday. 

It should be a good one at 11 a.m. this morning against the Cards and a fun day of hoops is ahead. 

In yesterday's other action:

-- Georgia Tech held off a pesky Boston College bunch to win 71-67. Kaylan Pugh was one of four Ramblin' Wreckers in double figures for the winners, who get Miami in the 6 p.m. game tonight. Stat of note: GT got 28 bench points...Pugh's 20 huge in the #10 seed advancing over the #15 Boston College crew. A shame to see Kelly Hughes' career come to an end for the Eagles. a class act and wonderful young lady. She had 12 points and a couple of huge shots late to try and get B.C. back into it. 23 turnovers killed the Chestnut Hill bunch, though....and Georgia Tech got 25 points off them. 

-- North Carolina got a huge effort out of Jamie Cherry...with 32 points and the Tar Heels dance on with a 72-60 win over Pitt. Freshman Paris Kea had 21 for Sylvia Hatchell's team...who trailed Pitt 41-37 at the half. A 10-0 run by UNC to start the second half took care of that...UNC gets Syracuse in tonight's final. The Tar Heels played only seven players against Pitt...due to injuries. When asked how she an beat Syracuse...who beat them by 31 earlier in the season...Hatchell quipped that she'd be doing a lot of praying. 

The other game today will put #8 Virginia and #9 Wake Forest at each other. That one is scheduled to go at 2 p.m....after the Louisville game. 

-- It may be Conway instead of Greensboro, but the folks are still just as friendly and helpful and the food plentiful for us media types. Special thanks to the ACC staff for guiding Paulie around and getting me to the places I needed to be. The first round of post-game interviews was pretty much "The Paulie Show"...like it is in Louisville...until the final game when the UNC media jumped in and asked a few questions. I love it.  

-- The Louisville official scorers crew is down here and worked the games yesterday. It's nice to see a few familiar faces in the arena...which drew 2475 for first round action. 

-- Finding the campus is easy. Getting to the gym is a jungle maze, though, that takes you down four streets, through three parking lots and hordes of students and fans before you get to media parking. It's a maze.

-- Good luck to the 21 of you entered in the ACC Pick 'Em! After Day One...eight of you are a perfect 3-0 in your picks. Not this guy....was hoping Pitt might knock off UNC. 

paulie
xxxxx

The Fallout continues in Chapel Hill -- Monday Cardinal Couple

MAVUNGA LATEST TO SEEK AND RECEIVE RELEASE FROM UNC

The latest joke going around about the UNC women's basketball program is an oldie but goodie. 

Will the last transfer from the program please turn out the lights in Carmichael Arena? 

Sylvia Hatchell...how life has changed in your locker room since 2013. It began with Diamond DeShields deciding to defect to Volunteerland last year. In May of 2015, Jessica Washington asked for her tab. A few days ago, Allishia Gray informed the desk clerk not to hold her room. Now it's Stephanie Mavunga's turn to apply for an address change. 

The heralded UNC Class of 2013? Vanished like Tommy Tutone after their 1981 pop/rock classic "Jenny, Jenny".

Mavunga is an interesting development in the continued fallout over UNC questionable academics. The returning starting center and first team All-ACC selection. 14.4 ppg and 9.8 grabs. 

The wording is interesting:

"It's with a heavy heart that I have asked for and been granted permission to talk to other teams and explore transfer opportunities...I have decided to look at transfer opportunities for personal reasons. As we all know, once a Tar Heel, always a Tar Heel."

She's got a future in politics with concession statements like that. 

The question arises if Louisville will be in the mad-scramble melee to have the Brownsburg, IN. native tour the campus?

After all, she was on Walz's list in the recruiting wars of 2012. 

She's played in and seemed to be impressed with the KFC YUM! Center. It's less than a 90 minute drive from her hometown. She would still be in the ACC and -- after sitting a year -- would have two years of playing time at a school that could be looking for a strong paint player to compliment the wealth of guards, wings and forwards that Jeff Walz is adding to his arsenal. 

The Louisville roster currently stands at 11 if you add in the five freshmen. 

After hearing Stephanie speak to the media after a tough UNC loss to Louisville in the KFC YUM! Center last season, I was impressed with her dedication towards the game, her intelligent, matter-of-fact straight forward approach in answering questions and how happy she was to have "around 40 or so" friends and family getting a chance to see her play in Louisville.

Hey, Steph...how about 35-40 more chances for them to do that beginning in 2016? 

Sure...it's speculation. We went down that road a few fortnights back when Cardinal killer Lexie Brown left the Turtles and checked out the Belknap Campus. We know of no plans or nothing concerning any possible Mavunga motives to matriculate with Mariya or Myisha.

Just wondering aloud here on the potential and possibilities. 

We'll keep an eye open and ear to the keyhole. Personally, we think she'd look great in Cardinal Red and Black. 

And, in Chapel Hill, Sylvia Hatchell...who overcame a awe-inspiring battle against leukemia a couple of years ago now faces a new challenge. 

Filling three jerseys and 37 points from the #9 team in the nation last year. 

The life of a college basketball coach. Easiest job on the planet, right? 

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Our weekly radio show was not on WCHQ 100.9 FM Saturday because the station had been knocked off the air due to the recent storms in the area. It was broadcast on the Internet, though, at CrescentHillRadio.com and is available for listening on the SoundCloud. 

Worldwide Jeff and Sam the Dry Weather Intern joined me in the studio to discuss women's sports and the boys fared well on the weekly quiz. Can you beat them? 

LINK BELOW:

WOMEN'S SPORTS ON THE AIR!  


paulie
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