I hate to break it to you, but you'll have to go one more regular-column day without Jared. He'll be back to regale you with tales from his latest escapades on Thursday, but you're stuck with me again today.
Sydney Taylor Earns USA 3x3 Nations League Call-Up
Fresh off of winning gold for the US with her Cardinal teammates at the Globl Jam event in Canada, Sydney Taylor will represent the Stars and Stripes again next week in Rancagua, Chile. Taylor was named to the 3x3 U23 Nations League Team for the Americas Conference play. Taylor will be on her way to Miami Lakes, Florida for training for the remainder of this week before the team heads to Chile for the event scheduled for July 24th through the 30th.
Taylor earned her spot on the team after hitting the game winner over Canada on Sunday evening. Her three gave her 53 points over the four game tournament. The effort saw her named MVP. Taylor twice led the team in scoring and proved herself to Cardinal fans as the prolific scorer those who had watched her before already recognized her to be.
This month's conference play is a qualifier for the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League finals, which will be held September 13th-15th. The winning team from each of the 13 conferences will be invited to Mongolia for the event. The conference tournament is a brutal schedule. The competition consists of six three-game tournaments over a seven-day period. Each team can have only four players active for a game day, so the six players on the team will rotate. Head Coach Christina Batastini (Stanford 1996-2000) will have to decide between Taylor and the five who will join her for each day: Azana Baines (Seton Hall), Dyaisha Fair (Syracuse), Leilani Kapinus (Penn State), Madison Scott (Ole Miss), and Hailey Van Lith (..........LSU).
Van Lith has become a bit of a golden girl for the USA, as she participated in the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in the first week of June, where she won gold, and has also been named to the USA U24 Women's Series Team. That gold medal in June resulted in her being on the header of the league's YouTube channel (which you can find here), where FIBA 3x3 games will be available to stream. We'll make sure to keep this link available as the event comes closer.
LOUISVILLE 3X3 SQUAD FALLS IN USA BASKETBALL 3X3 SEMIFINALS
The joy and excitement of basketball in June that the gang here at Cardinal Couple has been reporting on over the last couple of days continued Sunday. The Cardinals squad of Liz Dixon, Kasa Robinson, Kianna Smith and Payton Verhulst reaching the semifinals of the Red Bull 2021 USA Basketball 3X3 Nationals yesterday.
A trip to the finals, though, was thwarted when the Cards went up against Force 10 on Sunday afternoon and fell 17-13 to the squad composed of four former collegiate and WNBA players in Cierra Burdick (Tennessee/Las Vegas Aces), Linnae Harper (Kentucky/Ohio St./Minnesota Lynx), Alexis Peterson (Syracuse/Seattle Storm) and Megan Huff (Hawaii/Utah/Las Vegas Aces.
The Cardinal contingent had defeated Force 10 on Saturday 16-10 in pool play but the Force squad turned the tables on the Cards Sunday. In the event's "different" scoring structure -- where a "3" is worth two points and a regular basket worth one point -- Liz Dixon and Kianna Smith led the way for the Cards in scoring. Smith finished with six points and Dixon five.
An impressive showing by the four Cardinals, who went 3-2 during the two days of action aat the Naismith Hall of Fame facility. Louisville defeated Maryland, the Midwest MoneyMakers and Force 10, while taking an overtime loss to Oregon and, ultimately the tournament champs...Force 10. .
It's probably way too early to accurately speculate how these Cardinals four will figure in to the 2021-22 UofL women's basketball squad...but one would think Smith and Robinson are prime contenders for starting roles and significant minutes, Dixon being part of a powerful post presence with Olivia Cochran and Verhulst seeing significant time at wing or guard. And Merissah Russell is competing for Canada in the FIBA Women's Americup 2021 -- she's just one of four collegiate players on the Canadian squad.
We'll see...Jeff Walz and the Louisville coaches have a roster of nine returnees from 2020-21 and four newcomers that will definitely compete for court time. The Cards could probably enter two squads in ACC play this next season and both would finish in the top three of the conference standings. Opposing coaches couldn't be blamed if they throw their hands up in the air in frustration when they try to figure out who to stop and key on int the Cardinal lineup.
I can't wait....how about you?
CARDS IN WNBA SUNDAY
Sunday WNBA action featured three former Cardinals in action with their two WNBA squads.
It was a puzzling drubbing administered to Myisha Hines-Allen's Washington Mystics yesterday by the Atlanta Dream. After a close first half, where the Dream held a narrow 51-49 lead, the wheels fell of the train for the DC squad and Atlanta put together a 50-29 second-half thumping of Washington to win 101-78 in "the ATL".
Dream guards Courtney Williams and Odyssey Sims combined for 41 points and the Mystics had a costly 17 turnovers in their worst loss of the season. Myisha led Washington in scoring with 16 points and had six rebounds for the Mystics, who fall to 4-6 with the road loss.
Meanwhile, it was a good start for the New York Liberty's west coast journey, knocking off the Phoenix Mercury 85-83 and the Cardinal greats had a great showing. Jazmine Jones had 16 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes for NYL, and she hit the go-ahead three-pointer with a minute to go to give the Libs the win. Kylee Shook had 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes
The Liberty got the win without Sabrina Ionescu, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury and did not see court time in Phoenix on Sunday. Hopefully she'll recover soon for the east coast squad....but here's hoping Jaz can continue to make the most out of Ionescu's absence.
In addition to our regular summer updates on Cards in the WNBA, we get an additional, frenetic Basketball event to report on today. The Red Bull USA Basketball 3x Nationals.
Red Bull USA Basketball 3x Nationals
If you've never watched International style 3v3 Basketball, you're in for a treat. This is high paced, quick, flashy, and fun basketball with very few stoppages of plays. And four of our favorite Cardinals are participating on a team. Liz Dixon, Kianna Smith, Mykasa Robinson, and newcomer Payton Verhulst.
Yesterday's play in the event was pool play, with the Cards facing off against Force 10, Oregon, and Maryland.
The Cards emerged from pool play with a record of 2-1. No real worries here as all of the teams from the pool play advanced to the tournament bracket today, with the pool results only determining seeding. Where did UofL end up in the seedings? Your guess is as good as mine as three of the four teams in the pool ended up with records of 2-1, and the event uses FIBA tie-breaker formulas to decide.
What we do know is the UofL will be playing against the Midwest Money Makers at 10:05am in the quarterfinal round. Semifinals would be at 12:35pm, or 1pm, with the Finals at 2:15pm.
In yesterday's play, the Cards started out playing Force 10 during the first part of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast livestream. The Cards were able to nearly continuously, but slowly, stretch out a lead against Force 10, winning at the 10 minutes of game play, 16-10.
Next up in the afternoon was Oregon, and this was a battle of two great 3v3 teams. Tied at 12 after regulation, Oregon would go on to win the OT for a final score of 15-12.
The last game for the Cards was against Maryland. I was working on a home project, and didn't tune into the game until about three minutes in with Maryland leading 10-1. I saw a mind-blowing comeback happen in front of my eyes with Louisville winning it in the end, 20-18.
We don't have full stats for these games, and I would pity a stats crew trying to keep up with gameplay. So some subjective impressions.
..
UofL only has two big offensive producers on this team, in Kianna Smith and Payton Verhulst. Liz Dixon will produce if she gets a good possession close in to the basket, but that just doesn't happen all that often in a compact game like 3v3 basketball. Mykasa Robinson did sink some shots, but she is still significantly a defensive player and distributor, but that can work in the 3v3 format.
Much of CardNation is probably interested in seeing Payton Verhulst in anticipation of her appearance on the KFC Yum! Center floor in the fall, and I'm delighted to say that I think you're going to like what you see. She's a good shooter, dropping shots from beyond the arc, but also not afraid to body players up and use contact, a particularly important skill in 3v3. She's quick, but wasn't just blowing past defenders like Kianna Smith was. She did have a tendency to pick up her dribble without having a next step in the action ready, which is particularly problematic in 3v3. In full court, you have four teammates who can work to create an option for you in this situation, in 3v3, you only have two options available so you generally want to have your outlet pass, or shot, lined up and ready to go before you stop your dribble.
If there's a star of the team, it's probably Kianna Smith. She's burying "threes", blitzing past defenders on the drive and just generally doing it all.
And if you are going to tune in today, and you should, let's do a quick rundown of rules for the 3v3 form of the game.
It's played on a "half court", though it's really more like a third of a court. A change of possession requires to the new team to take the ball out past the "three point arc" with no stoppage in play required. A field goal scores a single point, a "three point" shot scores two points (thus the "sarcastic quotes" above), and a free throw still scores a single point.
The teams play for 10 minutes, or until a team reaches 21 points, whichever comes first. Overtime is decided by the first team to score two points. In the case of rare stoppages from foul shots or out of bounds, play is started, playground-ball-like, with the defensive player "checking" the ball at the top of the key to the offensive player.
There are, as the name implies, three players playing per side, with a roster of four, allowing for a substitute. Teams will almost always cycle the substitute in for one of the players on the floor at every stoppage of play.
This form of basketball is loads of fun and I can't recommend that you tune in to this strongly enough. The games in this event are available via Twitch at https://twitch.tv/nba. Again, the Cards start play today at 10:05am against the Midwest Money Makers that went 0-3 in pool play vs Legacy, Kansas State, and NC State.
WNBA
The Chicago Sky with Dana Evans were in action yesterday in Indianapolis against the Fever. We think Cardinal Couple Writer Daryl Foust was in attendance, but never got confirmation of that.
Dana played just under 10 minutes of this game, got a three pointer and a pair of free throws for five points. Also chalk up a pair of assists for a good contribution for a rookie.
I wasn't able to catch this one live, so no real subjective observations other than from the highlight clips, but the Sky look like a lot of fun to follow. Candace Parker is back on the court and got a casual double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Stef Dolson is also back from helping the US National Team qualify in the Olympics for 3v3 Basketball, and let's face it, "Big Momma Stef" is a always a joy to watch, on or off the court. Add in the Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot, "How did she do that?" style of play, and how can you not love the Sky?
The rest of the Cards in the WNBA will be in action today. Myisha Hines-Allen and the Washington Mystics will tip it off at 3:30pm against the Atlanta Dream. This one is on NBA TV, Bally Sports South, or TSN2.
Kylee Shook, Jasmine Jones, and the New York Liberty will tip (with Shook almost certainly doing the actual tip) at 6pm with the Phoenix Mercury. Catch this one on Bally Sports AZ+, Yes, or TSN2.
Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast
The prodigal son has returned! Case was back with the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast (which means it also got published to the usual podcast directories and feeds, which Case takes care of), along with myself, Jared, and Paulie.
Basketball was the subject of a lot of discussion with the 3x3 Nationals getting underway during the show. We recapped the end of the WCWS which the Cardinal Couple crew all enjoyed in general, even without a great deal of UofL connection. We did touch a bit on the iniquities between the WCWS and the CWS, because, well, the NCAA is still being the NCAA. And another challenging Cardinal Couple quiz....Jared extended his win streak to three weeks in a row, barely edging out "Yours Truly" by a mere 10 points. Check it out!
With 3x3 Basketball now a part of the 2020 Olympics, this fast-paced and exciting style of basketball is one that is fun to watch and Louisville has fielded a roster to go compete for the 2019 gold medal in Las Vegas Friday and Saturday. It can be played indoor or outdoor, the Vegas tourney will be outdoor and Louisville's roster of Bionca Dunham, Jazmine Jones, Mykasa Robinson and Seygan Robins will test their skills against representatives from Miami, NC State, Oregon St. and other players from across the United States. The rules are slightly different for 3x3. It is played on half court. You go to "21" or whoever has the most points after 10 minutes of play. There is a 12-second shot clock and just one substitute available. The players also have the chance to be added to the 2019 USA women's USA Pan American squad. Some pretty big names out in Vegas beside the Louisville contingent. Ruthy Hebard Janelle Bailey, Destiny Slocum, Michaela Onyenwere, Rhyne Howard, Beatrice Mompremier, Megan Walker and Elissa Cunane -- just to name a few. Action starts Friday and ultimately ends Saturday night with the finals at 10 p.m. on usabtv.com Live stats will be available for all the games at the usab.com website as well. The Cardinal roster has shooting, rebounding, ball-handling skills and should be a contender in Vegas. Good luck to the "Louisville Four!" SOFTBALL ENDS REGULAR SEASON AT N.C. STATE
Louisville Softball ends the regular season with a three-game series in Raleigh N.C., against the Wolfpack. Louisville goes into the series at 33-17 and 12-9 in the ACC. N.C. State is 25-26 on the season and 6-15 in the conference. Both schools participate in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Louisville looks to finish third in the division -- with 16-5 FSU and 15-6 Notre Dame ahead of them. The Irish face Georgia Tech in South Bend to end their regular season and FSU will head to Syracuse for their final three. First pitch is Friday, 6 p.m. and all the action can be seen on the ACCNE network. The Cards then travel to Tallahassee for the ACC Championships, which start May 8th. Louisville is currently the overall 5th seed in the conference, which would put them up against #4 seed Notre Dame on Thursday in Game 4, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and on the RSN Network. We'll have more details for you here at Cardinal Couple over the next few days. Have a terrific Thursday! paulie xxxxx
UofL WBB Sends Four to USA 3x3 National Championship
Bionca Dunham, Jazmine Jones, Mykasa Robinson, and Seygan Robins have been selected to represent Louisville's team in the USA 3x3 National Championship. The quartet will go up against representatives from other schools with hopes of claiming a national title.
The two-day event is set to be held in Las Vegas from May 3-4.
Preliminary rounds will be May 3 from 3:00-10:30 p.m., and May 4 from 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The elimination round will start at 6:00 p.m., on May 4 with the final set to tip-off at 10:00 p.m.
Every contestant in the event will be eligible for consideration for the 2019 USA Women's Basketball Pan American Games 3x3 team.
Admission is free to the event. Only the championship game is set to be aired for viewing and can be seen online at usab.com/live.
Sweet Summertime
Finals wrapped up yesterday on campus, freeing the students until the fall semester begins in late August. Minus a few spring sports still playing student-athletes also get a short while of freedom before reporting back to their respective facilities before the fall semester begins.
Balancing school, sports, and life can be quite a strenuous task. The student-athletes will have a chance to enjoy well-deserved time off.
For us at Cardinal Couple, we will continue to cover the sports that are ongoing and will scramble to find summertime topics to discuss each day and on the show.
Paulie gave us a taste of what the Worldwide Cardinal Couple Radio Hour quizzes will look like. How did you do? There is plenty of time to study up on the sports, players, records, and stats!
While many of you will be involved in Derby activities around here and the like (including us, we'll be off the air this Saturday), the UofL WBB staff will be out looking for the next great class of players to come to Louisville. They leave Friday to hit the gyms in the first live recruiting period of the off-season.
Don't be surprised to see Cardinal coaches at event across the nation. The Boo Williams Invitational in Virginia is a huge one. The Adidas Gauntlet in Dallas another. Milwaukee has the Windy City Classic, The Clash will be held in Cincinnati and Under Armour has an event going on in Manheim, PA.
Tough weekend so far for the Softball Cards...falling 8-0 to Florida State yesterday in Tallahassee. The Cards were held scoreless with just two hits by FSU pitcher Meghan King in the run-rule, five inning affair. Coupled with Saturday's 4-0 loss, it's the first time that Louisville Softball has gone two games without a run since 2015 against Virginia Tech. Danielle Watson went the distance for UofL, giving up six hits and eight walks, to drop to 14-8 on the season. Maddie Newman and Sidney Melton produced the only two Cardinal hits. Down 4-0 after two innings, the Cards did manage to hold the Noles scoreless in the third but a two-run homer in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth gave FSU the win. They'll try it again tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. LACROSSE ENDS REGULAR SEASON WITH 19-8 LOSS AT SYRACUSE. A familiar story line for Louisville Lacrosse yesterday in the Carrier Dome against the Orange in lacrosse. The Cards hung tough with Syracuse for 36 minutes....tied at 8-8....before the Orange put up a 11-0 run to win on Senior Day. With a smaller than normal roster, Louisville Lacrosse experienced a bit of late-game fatigue against the Orange in the final 24 minutes...head coach Scott Teeter's squad has basically improved each outing this season but in the ultra competitive, talented and experienced ACC...you need a squad that has experience, tons of talent and depth. All things Teeter is developing at UofL -- but the process doesn't happen overnight and, after a 5-1 start to the season, the Cards went 1-9 to end the year...mostly against the powerhouse and nationally ranked ACC gauntlet of seven foes...all who will mostly likely make the NCAA Tournament. Seven Cards scored in the loss, Sarah Blalock finding the net twice for Louisville (6-10, 0-7). The Cards draw undefeated Boston College in the ACC Tournament, which begins Thursday in Durham, NC on the Duke campus. N.A.A.K. ELIMINATED IN SEMIS OF USA 3X3 TOURNEY Asia Durr's USA 3x3 experience comes to an end with a 21-19 semifinal loss to the Bye Felicia foursome in the Colorado Springs Tournament.
Her squad (with Napheesa Collier, Arike Ogunbowale and Kristen Angiwe) won the play-in games to the final four convincingly with 21-8 consecutive victories to face the veteran Bye Felicia squad, which had (3) players aged 28 and (1) aged 27. Danika Dale (Liberty), Kristen McCarthy, Shaqweda Wallace (both from Temple) and Vershaundra Young (Martin Methodist) engaged N.A.A.K. in a thriller that came down to the final play of the contest. The Championship went to the Oregon Ducks in a 21-5 blowout of Bye Felicia. Hodgenville, KY standout Erin Boley teamed with Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard and Otiona Gildon for the win. Boley was impressive, getting all eight of her points from beyond the arc. The scoring is a bit different in 3x3...with free throws and shots inside the arc counting for one point...while "trey" makes count for two points. Ionescu, who was named MVP of the tournament, had six points in the final game...where the Ducks jumped out to a 7-0 lead en route to the 16-point victory. Good experience for Durr...who has plenty of basketball ahead for her this spring and summer. Jeff Walz was in attendance for the shootout weekend (like he needs an excuse to go to Colorado). Durr's N.A.A.K. sqaud went into the semifinals with a 4-1 record in preliminary action, losing only to the eventual champions 21-17 on opening day. There was good representation from players around the local area and state with Lakin Roland (Princeton) from Jeffersonville, IN and Alexis Robinson (Colorado) out of Ashland, KY also participating for two of the 12 teams in the tournament. Alexis is Cardinal signee Mykasa Robinson's older sister and averaged 12.1 points for the Buffs as a junior, despite sitting out the entire summer of conditioning recovering from an ACL injury and surgery. Have a great Monday, I'll either be back on these pages tomorrow or we may get some commentary from our buddy David Watson...you never really know around the topsy-turvy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants protocol and lineup here at the C.C. (Softball photo courtesy of Jared Anderson) paulie xxxxx
I may not be Paulie, but today is still Thursday. Due to some traveling I was unable to write Friday's article so the boss man and I changed days. In fact, I am writing this article Wednesday night with it set to publish Thursday morning. By the time this article appears on our wonderful Cardinal Couple site I should be on a plane bound for Tallahassee.
Softball Ignites in Seventh Inning to Defeat Indiana
Louisville softball posted their fourth double-digit run total in six games as they took down Indiana 11-7. Led by Sidney Melton's three RBIs the Cards capitalized on 14 hits and a whopping five errors by the Hoosiers.
Louisville got on top in the third when Nicole Pufahl's bases loaded sac fly drove in Sidney Melton. They loaded the bases again the next inning and found more success, adding a trio of runs. A passed ball scored Riley Schindler. Melton's single drove in Blaire Bass and Celene Funke.
Indiana answered in the fifth when Maddie Westmoreland's two-run single cut the lead in half. An RBI bunt added a run in the sixth for the Hoosiers.
The flood gates opened up in the seventh and the runs came pouring in for the Cards. Nine hits and two errors resulted in a seven-run inning and a lead that extended to eight. Because the eight-run mercy rule does not take effect until after a complete inning Indiana had one last chance.
A pair of walks and three hits helped Indiana put up four runs in the seventh, but their rally fell short as Louisville walked out of Andy Mohr Field with a victory.
Danielle Watson, back in the lineup after a mid-season injury, took the win to improve to 14-7. Megan Hensley closed out the game for her third save this season. Melton added another successful steal to her name while Funke did not register a stolen base attempt.
The Cards travel to Florida State for a Saturday-Sunday-Monday series. You can catch my beautiful girlfriend and I in the crowd for the first two games.
Caroline Blalock Earns National Rookie of the Week Honors
After a solid outing against Virginia last weekend Caroline Blalock received forty percent of the votes on route to claim ILWomen National Rookie of the Week. The freshman leads the Cards with 41 goals and nine hat tricks, as well as leading in seven other categories.
Blalock is one of "the sisters" on the UofL Campus for Louisville Lacrosse. Sarah, also a freshman, plays for the Cards and also starts.
Katie Walsh and Erin McCrudden Travel to Chile
Two of field hockey's biggest stars, junior Katie Walsh and recent alumna Erin McCrudden, were named to the USA Field Hockey National Development Squad. They will compete in four games in Santiago, Chile in late May.
Louisville is near the end of their spring Field Hockey exhibitions and participated Saturday in the Michigan Hockeypalooza with matches against the UofM and Northwestern.
Asia Durr in the 3x3 Championships
As if she could ever get tired of basketball Asia Durr has found a way to stay busy this off-season. Louisville's leading scorer will be competing in the 2018 USA Basketball Women's 3x3 National Championships.
Some of the event's other participants are Kristine Anigwe (California), Napheesa Collier (Connecticut), and Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame). They will compete April 21-22 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado....they're a part of 18 college atudent-athletes that will look to represent the USA .
Cardinal fans may remember a few years back when Sara Hammond did the same for the USA 3x3 squad.
Good luck "Nite-nite" and if you get teamed up with Arike, be sure to introduce yourself to her.
Happy National Humor Day! I got hit with a can of Coke the other day, but don't worry, it was a soft drink.
SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE - Sara and squad sail to Finals win - Baseball going to World Series ********* UPDATE: USA defeats Russia 15-8 in final ********* Sara Hammond scored the first two baskets and USA used a 5-0 run to break a 2-2 tie and win going away 15-8 over Russia in the finals of the 3X3 World Championship in Moscow. Jewel Loyd and Cierra Burdick took over the scoring for USA...who was up 14-5 with three minutes to go. Loyd had two three-pointers (worth two points in the 3X3 format) in the 12-3 run. Hammond's first two scores were her only points...but the USA defense, led by Hammond, shut down the taller Russian squad inside and created double-digit turnovers by the Russians...who couldn't hit free throws, layups or putbacks. In the ten-minute game, USA did not commit a foul during the first 7:12 of play. USA! Congratulations Sara!!!
In semifinal action early Sunday morning, The USA Women's 3X3 World Championship team has made it to the finals of the Championships by defeating Belgium 18-14. They'll play the winner of the Czech Republic vs. Russia semifinal game. The finals will be played at 11 a.m. today EDT. You can watch live (and free) on You Tube. The link leis below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMWtsok0GB4 Sara, Jewel Loyd, Cierra Burdick and Tiffany Mitchell looked good in the semifinal game. Hammond was faced with containing the 6'6" Belgian post and held her own...spending a lot of time on the floor. Loyd's drives to the hoop and Burdick's strong inside shots helped the USA pull away from a 13-13 tie to take the game. The USA team also hit their final four free throws to secure the win.
Louisville Baseball is headed to the College World Series for the second year in a row with their 7-4 win over the Kennesaw State Owls last night at Jim Patterson Stadium. Another great crowd on hand to watch the Cards rally again and win the Super Regional. GO CARDS!
WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE - LA cuts Nita - Sara to play in FIBA 3 on 3 You had to hope it would work out for her.
When we looked at the number of players invited to the Los Angeles Sparks tryout camp...though, it became obvious that the three-point specialist for the Cards would have an uphill battle to make the WNBA squad.
Uphill battles are nothing new to the Louisville native. She overcame a life-threatening situation that played out in front of 10,000 hushed fans back in November.
Nita is headed back home, though. The Sparks cut her, Cierra Warren, Keena Mays and Jamie Nared on May 5th.
Cinco de Mayo wasn't a celebration day for her. What's next for the smiling, long range assassin?
There is the very remote possibility, we suppose, that another WNBA team could invite her in. With all the overstocked tryout rosters that exist in the league currently, we see the chances of that slim.
International hoops could be a venue as well. Candyce Bingham did that successfully for a few seasons and other ex-Cards have graced the Euroleagues and other foreign basketball rosters over the years. Monique Reid did well in her stint over the past few months as an international player.
Whatever path the Christian Academy crusader chooses, we're sure it'll be one that will be successful. She's been a winner in our books for a long, long time already.
Meanwhile, up in Minnesota....A-Tayy survived yesterday's Minnesota Lynx roster lessening. Asya Bussie and Theairra Taylor were waived from the squad. Keep battling #31 !!!!
* * * * * * * * Sara Hammond will compete in the USA 3x3 women's basketball tournament for a chance to go to Russia in June and play for the world title. Looks like she's got some pretty impressive teammates:
Takeover
Sara Hammond
6-2
194
2015
Louisville / Mt. Vernon, Ky.
Jewell Loyd
5-11
150
2016
Notre Dame / Lincolnwood, Ill.
Cierra Burdick
6-2
160
2015
Tennessee / Charlotte, N.C.
Tiffany Mitchell
5-10
154
2016
South Carolina / Charlotte, N.C.
They'll face seven other squads May 9-11 in Colorado Springs, CO.
