Louisville Women's Basketball -- Triumph in Tampa...WBB beats Bulls 66-52. MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN'S 27 LEADS CARDS TO WIN

Louisville women's basketball got 27 points and 12 rebounds out of junior forward Myisha Hines-Allen and the Cards never trailed in an excellent performance in the Sun Dome Sunday...beating the USF Bulls 66-52. 

The Cards never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 19 in picking up their 18th win of the season. #9 Louisville had one of their better defensive performances of the year in holding the #23 Bulls to just 38.5% shooting and leading scorer Kitija Laska to just five points...nearly 15 below her average.

Louisville started the contest fast...jumping to a 7-0 lead in the first ninety seconds. The Bulls withstood the opening salvo, though, and climbed back to within two at 9-7 with six minutes left in the opening period. A Hines-Allen jumper made it 13-9 with 3:10 to play and Asia Durr scored a putback at the buzzer to move the scoreboard to 17-13 UofL. Hines-Allen had six points in the ten minutes, Louisville had a commanding 13-4 rebounding edge but Briahanna Jackson had picked up two early fouls and the Cards were being a bit sloppy in their possessions with five unforced turnovers. 

Hines-Allen went on a 6-0 run to start the second session...scoring inside with 7:30 until to put Louisville up 25-13. A Durr triple had the Cards prevailing 28-16 but Cortnee Walton picked up her third foul at the 4:42 mark. Scores by Mariya Moore and Hines-Allen kept the Cards in control at 36-22 and Sam Fuehring muscled one in from the paint with 40 seconds until half giving UofL a 38-25 advantage after twenty minutes. 

The Cards were shooting a deadly 55% from the floor, Hines-Allen was 7 for 10 from the hardwood for 14 points and USF was an uncharacteristic 1-5 from the charity stripe. 

Hines-Allen keyed a 6-0 start in the third quarter with two buckets but BJ gathered her third foul with 7:11 left. Walton would pick up her fourth foul 90 seconds later...but the Cards held their largest lead of the contest at 44-25 before USF went on a 7-0 run to get within 12. It was time for Hines-Allen to go back to work and two straight scores from her put her at 21 points and two Ciera Johnson free throws had UofL sitting pretty at 50-35. BJ would get her first points of the game with a minute left in the third and Hines-Allen's conversion in the paint with 31 ticks left on the clock gave Louisville a 54-37 edge after 30 minutes of action. 

The final frame started rather slow for both squads. USF drew first blood at the 7:19 mark. It started to a 6-0 run for Jose Fernandez's Bulls and suddenly it was 54-43 with 6:16 remaining. The 2500 in attendance...about 100 Louisville fans...came alive and Louisville needed an answer. 

It came from Myisha with a smooth jumper. USF would get within ten a minute later but a Durr jumper and Hines-Allen putback of a missed Walton shot gave the Cards a 60-47 edge with 3:19 remaining. Durr and BJ would add threes in the final two minutes...BJ's coming as the shot clock was expiring and 18 seconds remaining and the Cards had met the test and emerged triumphant with a 66-52 win. 

Louisville snapped USF's 14-game win streak at home with the victory and had dominated the boards against a strong rebounding Bulls squad 44-23. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Activist Fredrick Douglass

FREE THROWS -- The Cards went to the line only six times in the 40 minutes...a rarity in a Joe Vaszily refereed contest...(USF had 16 free throw attempts) but made the most of their trips...hitting 5 of 6. It was the Ciera Johnson show from the charity stripe...a 4 for 4 performance. Hines-Allen took the other two for UofL. 83.3% scores a capital "F" in the category...the foul differential was a bit disturbing, but USF, normally  a very good free-throw shooting squad was just 9 of 16 for a lackluster 53%. 

REBOUNDS -- Thumbs up for the Cards on the grabs. MHA's 12 led all performers. Walton took six, Moore five, Shook and CJ had four each. A 44-23 advantage says capital "R" to us. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Hines-Allen was All-ACC Sunday and Moore, despite gathering only five points, had a game-high 11 assists. Every time USF seemed to catch fire, someone for Louisville was there to douse the flames. The first quarter turnovers and three starters with four fouls each was a bit trifling...but overall, a 14-point win on the road against a top 25 team will justify a capital "E" in this area. 

DEFENSE -- Another strong effort from Louisville tonight. Shutting down Laska and limiting the Bulls front line starters to just 22 points was the key to victory and the Cards held USF to just 3-14 from the deep (23%) All that makes it an easy choice for a capital "D" on the defensive effort. 

FINAL FRED COUNT:  F-R-E-D   


THINGS WE LIKED

The Return of Myzilla...Call her Myisha Hines-"All The Time" in this one. The reigning ACC POY gave notice that she's still alive and well and has scored double digits in seven of her last eight games. Even her defense was passable Sunday. Hines-Allen on the court = Cardinal "W". 

More from Moore...Yes, the California junior can do more than just bomb threes. Her 11 assists were impressive, she fought well on the boards and led the Cards with 37 minutes. The shot was a bit off Sunday...but the knockdown three to start the second half was a momentum-starter for the Cards. 

Seeing Ciera...A solid nine minutes in relief for the 6'5" freshman...the four free throws an unexpected pleasure...but she also grabbed four rebounds and scored a basket. On a night where Cortnee played only 16 minutes...Johnson, Shook and Fuehring maintained the post presence very acceptably. 


THINGS TO WORK ON 

Jose points out the turnover he wants. 

Close the Bakery on Sunday.  The Cards had 14 turnovers...that's a few more than we (and Coach Walz) would like to see. Especially in the first ten minutes...when the Cards looked pretty inept. 

Slamming the door. Louisville had a 19 point lead and possession in the third and it would have been a great chance to build on it. Instead, the Bulls run off seven straight points. The lack of productivity to start the fourth (going over four minutes before scoring) won't fly against the Notre Dame's and NC State's ahead. 


SO...

Myzilla confronts a defenseless, falling-back Mariya
 while Paulie looks on
curiously...

Overall, a very good win for Louisville in several aspects. It was the Cards first road win against a top 25 opponent. The bench came in and gave Louisville a lift and that's important, especially on the road, showing opponents that just because starters are sitting...the attack and effort hasn't taken a seat. 

Hines-Allen came through on an afternoon where the Cards weren't getting the kind of outside productivity they usually can depend on. 13 for 17 from the floor is a number she and Walz would take each game....and only two fouls in 35 minutes a stat we'd like to see repeat itself over and over the remainder of the season. 

Briahanna Jackson's homecoming to Tampa was a win...even if her night wasn't the most productive in the history of her career. The three at the end of the game a "feel-good" moment for her and her fan-base in attendance. 

Former UofL head football coach Charlie Strong was in attendance and spoke with Walz before the contest. We're not sure if Strong...now USF head football coach...planted a bug in Walz's ear about going to Jurich and asking for a football series or maybe a chance to have Paulie come down and set him up on some media questions. 

We'll see if Joe Hill chimes in later in the comments section. He was purported to be at the contest with his bride. 



THEY SAID IT:  

Head coach Jose Fernandez on the difference in rebounds:

“This week, we talked a lot about rebounding with our kids.  That is the one thing we have been stressing. How the game ended, is how the entire game went. They beat us to the glass. Here is the thing, we were at home; that shouldn’t happen at home, or anywhere. When a shot goes up, you have got to be individually accountable and we weren’t.”

Head Coach Jeff Walz on the Cardinals bench. 

"I thought our bench really came in and gave us a lift," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "And we're really going to need them as we continue on throughout the season because they just bring a different dimension to us. That's one thing I like about my ball club is, that we've got a lot of different parts that we can throw out there depending on how we're being guarded. 

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Paulie picks

I went 7 for 8 yesterday in Paulie Picks. Syracuse dealing me my only loss in a surprising, huge win over Miami. Sykes with 29 for FSU. 

-- Notre Dame handled UNC without much trouble  in a 77-55 win at Chapel Hill.
Brianna Turner with 24 for the Irish. 

-- Florida State handed Virginia Tech their third conference loss with a 82-55 shellacking of the Gobblers in Blacksburg. 

-- Pitt held the upper hand over visiting Virginia...getting a 62-54 win and improving their conference mark to 3-3.

-- Louisville taking a road victory 66-52 over USF. Myisha Hines-Allen pouring in 27 for the 18-4 Cards. 

-- Duke prevailing with a 67-44 win at Boston College. They remain tied with the Cards and NC State at 5-2 in conference. 

-- NC State holding strong at home with their 65-53 win over ACC-winless Clemson. 

-- Wake Forest getting an ACC road win at Georgia Tech 70-65. Wake at 3-3 in ACC play. 

Overall, I am 40-9 (81.6%). A sparking 13-1 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday! 

Paulie
xxxxx 

Louisville women's basketball chills South Florida 67-50 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN DOUBLE-DOUBLE DOES IN BULLS

Over the course of the 2015-16 Louisville women's basketball season, we've come to expect great things out of Myisha Hines-Allen and Mariya Moore. Monday night in the KFC YUM! Center was no different, Hines-Allen going for 25 points (on 10-14 shooting) and grabbing 10 rebound and Moore with 19 points and three threes. 

The third factor in Louisville's win was a bit unexpected but definitely welcomed 15 points from sophomore guard Arica Carter. When asked about the effort, Carter was matter-of-fact about her performance:

"When I was open, I took the shots. My teammates have confidence in me all the time and tell me to knock it out...so I knocked it out." 

Louisville battled the Bulls closely in the first period...leading by no more than three. A Hines-Allen layup gave the Cards a 7-4 lead with 7:17 to play and her jumper made it 11-8 Louisville at the five minute mark. Her eight first quarter points led Louisville to a 13-12 edge...a quarter where neither team shot especially well...at 33% each.

The second period was Moore's time to shine...along with Carter. The duo combined for 16 of Louisville 18 points in the second stanza...but the Cards found themselves trailing 22-27 after a Kitija Laksa jumper with two minutes remaining. Carter responded with a jumper, Moore sank two free throws and Carter finished the 9-0 run with a layup and three with three seconds left off an assist from Moore. It was 31-27 and the Cards had taken nine USF turnovers and turned them into 10 points. 

Hines-Allen and Carter combined for 19 of Louisville's 21 third quarter points but Louisville started the second half slowly and the Bulls crept back to within two at 38-36 after a Laksa jumper after 3 1/2 minutes of play. Hines-Allen scored the next seven Cardinal points and a Carter three pushed Louisville to a 48-41 advantage with 2:22 left in the third. Cortnee Walton sank a jumper with less than a minute to play to extend the UofL lead to 52-43 after three periods. 

Neither team shot especially well (or over 30%) in the final ten minutes...but Louisville steadily increased the lead as time wound down. A Moore three made it 64-49 Cards with 4:53 left and Asia Durr's trifecta with 1:49 to play cinched the 67-50 final score. The Cards went 5-9 from the free throw line in the final ten and forced seven South Florida turnovers. 

HOW DID FRED DO? 

FREE THROWS. Louisville was 11-18 from the line (61%) and does not receive a letter here. Only five Cards attempted free throws in the contest...Moore 4-5, Hines-Allen 5-6, Walton 0-2, Carter 1-1 and Jackson 1-4. 

REBOUNDING. South Florida ended with a 39-34 edge in the battle of the boards. Alisha Jenkins nabbed 13 and Courtney Williams pulled down 10. Despite Hines-Allen's 10 and Walton's nine...no "R" gets awarded for grabs. 

EASY SHOTS. Louisville won the points-in-paint battle 22-14 against the taller Bulls and missed just one layup in the first half. Going 6 for 10 in the paint in the final twenty minutes warrants we award a capital "E" in this category. There weren't many of the rim rollers and bounces beneath the backboard tonight for Louisville, and that's encouraging.

HOWIE LINDSEY CAPTURES ME, SONJA, TREZ
AND PAUL BUNYAN ENJOYING THE GAME.

DEFENSE. South Florida finished at 39.3% (22-56) for the game and only 3-14 from three point range. Williams did get 25 points...but it took her 25 shots to get there. With 20 turnovers forced and no other Bulls in double figures...we'll award the capital "D". The Bulls were averaging 75.8 points per game and ended up with 50.

WHAT WE LIKED

Putting them away. When the fourth quarter rolled around the Cards closed the door on a top 25 opponent. They did it with defense and playing smart basketball. Louisville had no turnovers in the final 10 minutes.

Hines-Allen hierarchy. Another strong game for the Louisville sophomore. Her foul-line jumper has become almost automatic and she kept the fouls to just three tonight. You can see it in her face, she's having fun out there...

Welcome back, Carter! It's only fitting on Presidents Day that a Carter won in a landslide. Aggressive and confident, Arica impressed us by her effort Monday. Even Sonja remarked that she looked like a new player last night. Four more games! Four more games! The people's choice! 

WHAT NEEDS WORK

MY EXCLUSIVE SHOT OF THE BACK OF TREZ
AND PAUL BUNYON's HEADS

More Jackson Satisfaction. The ball wasn't dropping for B.J. tonight (0-10) but she did have four steals. The answer, I suppose is just keeping shooting...the shots will come around but it was a rough night against her hometown school for #23. Keep plugging away, B.J. Shooters gonna shoot. 

Asia's influence. The talented freshman has only scored 11 points in her last three games. Nearly a season low with just 12 minutes tonight...she's in a bit of a slump offensively.

SYNOPSIS

Referee Bryan Enterline turns his back on me. I guess
he found the LadyBirds slightly more interesting...

South Florida is a very good team and Williams and Jenkins could start just about anywhere in the country. For Louisville to take a 17-point win over them on national TV is a boost for the Cards as they roll toward the post-season. 

There were a few rough patches in Monday night's win...but the continued excellence in performance from the M&M girls and the resurgence of Carter were positives to build on as the Cards reach their 20th win of the season.


The momentum needs to carry over to Thursday night...when Virginia comes to town. Louisville wants...Louisville needs that top four ACC finish in the regular season and a two game road trip faces Walz's bunch next week. Performances in the final four regualr season games like the one turned in against USF would pretty much ensure the Cards would finish 15-1 in conference...and establish Louisville as a reckoning force in the post season.

Two successfully completed from the six pack. Time for the Cards to crack another one wide open, hopefully, when the Wahoos wander in.

paulie
xxxxx 

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE . GAME FINAL -- CARDS 60-56 over Bulls

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Shoni's jumper, Jude's steal give Cards four-point win over USF.

-Softball swings away at OSU and OU

Never underestimate the power of Schimmels. In a semifinal game that looked like at times neither team wanted to win, Shoni nails a triple-teamed, driving jumper with six seconds remaining and sister Jude gets a key steal, gets fouled and seals the win with two free throws.

Louisville advances to the title game of the AAC Conference Tournament to face UConn Monday night at 7 p.m. with a 60-56 escape against the Bulls of USF.

For awhile, one had to wonder if Louisville would survive Sunday. Credit USF for coming out strong and taking the early lead against the Cards. A slow UofL start and Inga Orekhova's three-point marksmanship had Louisville trailing 20-10 halfway through the first half.

Shoni saw some uncharacteristic bench time...the Cards seemed a step slow and out of sync against the Bulls driving offense and unable to get any kind of inside offense generated. 

Finally, #23 returned to the game and things began to happen.

Led by Shoni and Jude...the Cards rallied with a 16-4 run which included three Shoni threes to take the lead 26-24 on a Jude layup.

The Cards took a nervous 33-29 lead to the locker room, Shoni nailing her fourth trifecta of the half.

USF was not intimidated and started the second half hot again to regain the lead. Courtney Williams picked up the slack for USF and they had the Cards in serious trouble...up 51-46 with a little over eight minutes left in the game.

Shoni and Tia Gibbs responded with back to back threes to put Louisville back on top.

With the score tied at 54-54, two Tia free throws gave Louisville the lead. The Cards got a break when Inga got fouled but missed the front end of a one-and-the-bonus. USF missed a shot inside which could have tied it, but Williams went strong to the paint for the rebound and putback to even it up at 56-56.

It came down to the final ten seconds. Williams went for a three but missed. Schimmel went coast-to-coast for the go-ahead bucket and on the USF inbounds after the score, Jude stole a pass from Williams and was fouled. The junior calmly sank both free throws and USF's final possession resulted in no points.

Shoni's 17 points led Louisville. Williams and Orekhova had 19 each for USF (19-12).

Huskies again. #1 seed possibilities almost flickered out...but re-kindled with Schimmel magic. Pretty? No, not at all...but it's survive and advance this time of year.

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Louisville Softball unloaded the heavy artillery Sunday afternoon in Ulmer Stadium...trouncing Ohio State University 11-4 and setting a new runs scored record in the beating of Ohio University 22-4. Here's the recaps...

Louisville 22-Ohio University 4

18 hits led to 22 runs for Louisville against the Bobcats in the five inning affair. The Cards got three innings from Rachel LeCoq as the starter and an appearance from freshman Tirra Sanabria in relief...who allowed just one run on three hits in two innings.

OU actually led 2-0 when the Cards came up to bat in the botton of the first, but that quickly changed. Kelsi Jones' three-run blast to center, and two-RBI doubles from Hannah Kiyohara and Marissa Becker were key components in the nine-run first inning.

Kiyohara would plate the Cards two runs in the second inning with a single to increase the Cardinal margin to 11-3.

The third inning features 11 Cardinals touching home plate. A three-run blast to right center by Brittany Duncan, four walks an two Bobcat errors all contributed to a 22-3 score after three frames.

Louisville 11-Ohio State 4


Although the Cards could only manage half the runs of the first game, it was still an impressive show of power and pitching for UofL (12-6). Maryssa Becker got the win in relief...Caralisa Connell started and Tiarra Sanabria closed in the circle for the Cards.

UofL made it 4-0 after one inning. A bases-loaded double from Becker scored two and singles from Taner Fowler and Maggie Ruckenbrod got Becker and Duncan home.

The Cards added three more in the second...Kelsi Jones' two-run fence clearer to center the key blow.

The Buckeyes countered with four runs in the top of the third to draw within three...but Louisville added two more runs in the fifth on three singles, a walk and sacrifice fly to build the score to 9-4.

The Ville finished the scoring frenzy in the sixth...Keller's double the key blow against Buckeye pitching.

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Did you miss the latest CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO BROADCAST?  It's archived and available for listening now at Crescent Hill Radio. Jeff and Paulie talk plenty of hoops and toss in a little softball and lacrosse as well:

LINK: RADIO UNLEASHED UPON THE INTERNET!!!

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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- WBB trounces Coog in quarterfinals of AAC Tourney

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville 88 - Houston 43

- Softball outslugs Ohio U 11-4

- Tough loss for lacrosse in South Bend

- Pick 'em contest standings

LOUISVILLE CRUISES TO SEMIS WITH WIN OVER COOGS

Louisville WBB jumped out to a 26-4 lead and was never seriously challenged by Houston in their opening game of the AAC Tournament Saturday evening. The 45 point win could have been even larger...Louisville had both Sara Hammond and Emmonnie Henderson foul out of the contest and played non-starters for most of the second half.

Sara did get off to a great start for the Cards...all of her 11 points came in the first eight minutes of the game...and the Cards advanced a 7-0 start into a 30-6 advantage halfway into the first segment. Houston couldn't score and Louisville couldn't miss...the Cards up 45-19 at half.

Mindful of the three games in three days ahead, Walz substituted freely in the final twenty minutes. Houston got 'chippy' about the blowout...committing cheap fouls with intent to harm...mostly out of frustration. It gave the Cards a rare five-point sequence when Nita Slaughter drained a three and a technical was called on Houston's Destini Texada. Schimmel canned both free throws to complete the "cinco de ballgame" and Louisville led 53-23.

Louisville led by 48 later before settling for the 45 point win. Shoni led the Cards with 15 points, Nita aded 14. All Cards played but Monny Niamke and all Cards scored. Jude Schimmel directed the Cards offense for long stretches in the final half and looked good in doing so...also getting inside and hitting some improbable penetrations amongst the trees.

Louisville gets USF today at 3 p.m. The Bulls blasted Temple in the nightcap. Earlier AAC action saw Rutgers knock off the SMU and UConn scamper past Cincy.

USF has weapons. Inga Orekhova found her three-point range last night in the Bulls romp. Jenkins is a great rebounds and Williams another prolific scorer. The Cards beat USF by eight in Tampa and 20 at the YUM! in the regular season.

This one is on ESPNU. Should be a good one...USF on the bubble for an NCAA bid by most accounts, so the Bulls will be looking to solidify a bid with a strong effort against the Cards. Rutgers and UConn begin the semifinal card @ 1 p.m.


*            *           *           *            *            *            *         *


SOFTBALL OUTSLUGS OHIO SATURDAY IN RED AND BLACK


The Louisville softball bats were in full force during Saturday action in the Red and Black Classic in Ulmer Stadium. Maggie Ruckenbrod was 3 for 4 with three RBI's in the 11-4 Louisville win. The Cards (10-6) also got steady pitching from freshman Maryssa Becker and Rachel Le Coq after a rocky start for the Cards.

Ohio U pounded Becker for three runs in the first. The Cards were in great shape to tie it in the bottom of the inning...bases loaded and no outs...but a double play and pop out killed the threat.

The fourth inning was beneficial for Louisville. Katie Keller drew a walk and scored on a Whitney Arion double. A Kelsi Jones single and Brittany Duncan walk loaded the bags for Becker...who singled home Arion. Maggie then produced a two-RBI double to give the Cards a 4-3 lead.

Ohio U would tie the game but the Cards would respond with five runs in the fifth. Singles by Duncan, Ruckenbrod, Sims and Hannah Kiyohara ignited the charge that made it 10-4 Louisville.

The Cards swing back into action today with Ohio State at 3 p.m. and Ohio U again at 5:30 p.m.

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LACROSSE LOSES EARLY LEAD, FALLS TO IRISH

Louisville Lacrosse jumped out to an early 4-1 lead over Notre Dame yesterday and held a 7-4 advantage at halftime...but could not stop the Irish in the final 30 minutes...falling 12-9 in South Bend.

It's become somewhat of a recurring theme for this team in the early season...blowing out to early advantages and then losing in the final half.

Colleen O'Malley, Faye Brust and Nikki Boltja had the Cards up 4-1 before the Irish netted three straight to tie it up. The Cards answered with three scores...Boltja and then back-to-back from Kaylin Morissette to lead by three.

The Irish responded with four straight scores to open the final half before Boltja could tie it at 8-8. Unfortunately, ND went on another foul goals run and in was 12-8. Boltja tacked on her fourth score of the contest for the final 12-9 margin.

The Cards (4-3) travel to Buffalo, NY to face Canisius on Wednesday.


*            *            *             *              *             *             *

With six games played in the AAC Conference Tournament, only one contestant remains undefeated...and that is Sonja.

She did list her picks earlier in the week in a column here at CARDINAL COUPLE...and they have proven to be perfect.

Nipping at her heels are seven contestants with one loss each ( David Watson, Jenny O'Bryan, Mike D., Bulls Fan, Kenny S., Joe Hill and Keith.) We also have seven participants with only two losses.

Three games to go. In case you want to know...her final three picks are UConn over Rutgers, UofL over USF and UConn winning it all...with a point total of 112 in the final game.

paulie
...
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Cards ranked #3? Sounds good to me...

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- DAVID WATSON weighs in on UofL WBB


( OUR COLUMNIST EMERITUS AND ALL-AROUND GOOD GUY DAVID WATSON CHECKS IN TODAY WITH OBSERVATIONS ON UOFL WOMENS' BASKETBALL AND OTHER THINGS ON HIS MIND. IT'S DAVID...PREPARE YOUR REBUTTALS...)

First off, let's get something quite clear --UConn and Notre Dame are the best two teams in the country in college women's basketball. Muffet McGraw and Geno Auriemma are the two best coaches in women's college basketball. I'm starting to see a trend here and it has nothing to do with conference alignments, strength of scheduling or the moon waxing over Neptune. Them that gots, gets. Them two got.

I think DePaul has a pretty good squad as well this season. They've got to be relieved they don't have to play Connecticut and Louisville this year. Even Syracuse is gone. They did face Notre Dame and UK in the non-conference slate. Two of their four defeats and understandably so. Doug Bruno's grin has probably never been wider. Bruno has been at DePaul since the disco era. He's dancing this year.

And, what is going on with UK WBB these days? It might be time to send Dr. Phil (or Dr. Seuss or Dr. Spock) to Lessington for some counselling and group hug therapy.

Louisville ranked #3? Yeah, sure. Why not?

They held their own against UConn. They haven't flubbed against an un-ranked like the Dookies or Stanford and Son have. Way too much is put into strength of schedule. Charlie Creme needs to add some sugar or set the mug down. This UofL team can flat out ball and with a sore-shin on Shoni (say that fast five times), Asia throwing up all day Saturday and Bria still probably riding a bike in Cardinal Arena (I've wondered about that -- if your knees hurt, what are you doing on a stationary bike pedalling?) the Cards didn't do bad in Storrs. Mind you, I'm no physical therapist. And I'll spend 5-6 hours walking on grass trying to find a little white ball, just to whack it again and try to re-find it with tendinitis issues. The world isn't fair. 

The Cards weren't great either in Storrs. The mad scientist is working on it. Whoever can figure out how to get Shoni in double-figures against anything wearing a Connecticut shirt please call Louisville Women's Basketball immediately.

The key here, as many have mentioned, is not tripping up in the five games before facing Gennecticut again. Temple will be looking for revenge for beating them in from of Bill Cosby (OK, I doubt he was there, but it sounds good). Playing Memphis in Memphis is always dangerous, no matter what the sport. Those folks have a definite hatred for anything in red or with birds on it.

Those Rutgals are the one that worry me the most. They definitely want to avoid being the #4 seed in the Geno Classic (oops, AAC Tournament) and wins can prevent that. They'll come into the YUM! for the last time in the foreseeable future ready to put a third loss on the Cardinals schedule.

Louisville says goodbye to Cincy after that and that one can't be overlooked either. Jamelle Elliott is a Geno disciple and and I wouldn't put it past him to sneak a few of his All-Americans down there and disguise them in blonde wigs and ponytails to spice things up.

Whaddya mean you let UofL in the ACC?

So the plan is nicely laid out. A lot can happen, of course, in the 20 days before Geno lets the dogs out in the fried chicken arena.

Maybe someone, dare I say it -- knocks off UConn before the Cards get a second shot at it?

Where's Doug Bruno, Quentin Hillsman and Muffet McGraw when you need them?

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Finally -- would someone PLEASE draw up a set of six or seven rules of universal officiating, distribute them to all women's college officials and make them memorize them and repeat them before they get paid to call a game? The last time I was this confused about procedure was when I little boy and the doctor told me to take the pill he showed me three times a day. No matter how hard I tried, once I took the pill the first time, it was gone and I couldn't take it again.

The NCAA tries experimental rules enforcement tactics

Make them get tattoos on their arms with the rules. Flash them on the jumbotron in the arenas ( OK, that won't work in most arenas) or have an annoying little man running around on the court spouting them out continuously. Woody Allen is available.

Just be consistent. If something is a foul in the first half, or on Tuesday night -- make it a foul in the second half or on Sunday afternoon. This isn't the pizza buffet.

Dear college womens' basketball referees: You're giving a lot of coaches ulcers. We assume you don't drive on both sides of the street or brush your teeth with both ends of your toothbrush. Could a confused fan get a little congruence here?

Have a great Wednesday CARDINAL COUPLE readers. Go watch your excellent WBB squad in a bird battle tonight in downtown Louisville. Enjoy $2 beers, get out of the cold for a few hours and make some noise.

These days are fleeting and before you know it you'll be filling out NCAA brackets and arguing about seeding, locations and game times. Less than three weeks until the madness of March arrives. I may just have to leave the balmy warmth of southwest Florida and purchase a ticket for 3/3/14.

Jose points out to Geno where I normally sit
for USF games. Geno checks Jose for weapons..

Nah.

I've got Jose and the Bulls in case my withdrawl from live WBB gets too overpowering. It may be methadone for my heroin-type addiction for live college basketball, but the fairways in Muncie and Louisville probably don't have much roll currently.

GO CARDS!

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-DAVID WATSON-

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Monday Cardinal Couple -- Cards bombard Bulls 79-59

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Four in double figures in 20-point WBB win


Louisville used a 13-0 close to the first half to gain control and led by as many as 26 before defeating USF Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center.

Tia Gibbs sank (4) second half threes and finished with 19 points to lead all scorers. Shoni Schimmel added 14 and Sara Hammond and Nita Slaughter finished with 12 points each for Louisville. Asia Taylor's eight points and 10 rebounds helped Louisville improve to 22-1.

It took the Cards awhile to pull away from USF. A slow start, where Louisville was 1-10 to begin the game, had the scoreboard showing 10-7 Louisville after Taylor sank two free throws with 13:31 left in the first half. USF wasn't going away quietly...Sara Hammond's free throw with 9:34 in the game gave the Cards a 18-14 edge.

Shoni gathered her first score of the game after a jumper put Louisville up 22-16 and Tia Gibbs first trifecta of the contest had Louisville leading 28-18 with 6:24 on the clock.
A technical on the Louisville bench seemed to spur USF with 5:10 to go and the Bulls down 32-22. They scored six points in the next minute and Inga Orekhova's "3" made it 32-28 with four minutes to play.

USF would get no closer the rest of the way. Threes from Shoni and Nita pushed the lead back to ten. Three Shoni free throws increased the Cardinal lead to 41-28 and two free throws each from Nita and Tia gave the Cards a 45-28 margin with 10 seconds left in the half.

The Cards had capitalized on 12 USF turnovers to score 21 points and Nita was leading the way with 12 points on 4-7 shooting.

Shoni's third three got the second half off to a great start and then it was Tia time. Her second three of the game set the tally at 51-35 with 17:20 remaining. She connected from beyond the arc again with 15:40 showing to push UofL ahead 54-37. She connected again from the deep to give Louisville a 59-39 cushion with 13:16 to play and her fourth three of the half gave the Cards a 62-39 margin.

Emmonnie Henderson inside provided Louisville a 66-43 gap with 9:46 showing. The Bulls would outscore the Cards 16-13 the rest of the way...narrowing the gap to 18 before a Megan Denies long-ball set the score to 79-58 with 33 seconds left in the game.

THE FINAL WORD

Louisville drained 11 threes in the contest and shot 72% from the charity stripe. The slow start is almost something we've come to expect out of UofL as of late...but 20 assists on 25 made baskets is something to point to with a little pride.

The Cards (22-1) forced USF into 20 turnovers while committing only 11. No Card saw more than 32 minutes in the game (Shoni) and the UofL bench outscored the Bulls 23-9. USF did outrebound the Cards 42-39.

It was a usable win, if a bit uneven at times...against a squad that has much more potential than their 11-10 record would indicate. Orekhova nailed four threes against the Cards and Akila McDonald grabbed 11 rebounds against the Louisville front line.

Jose Fernandez, USF head coach, did not make the trip to Louisville...hospitalized with intestinal trouble after the Houston game earlier this week.

The Cards return to action Tuesday night in Orlando against UCF.

paulie
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