WBB Opens 2019-20 Campaign with 75-56 win over WKU -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BALOGUN, EVANS LEAD LOUISVILLE IN WIN

It was a wonderful night for the Cards guards Tuesday Night in the KFC YUM! CENTER but rebounding wasn't quite where Walz expected it to be in the 75-56 win for UofL. Junior Dana Evans exploded for 19 points on seven for 14 shooting and sophomore Elizabeth Balogun nailed the first five three-pointers she attempted for her 15 points. This was a game that Louisville was in control of from the start. Worried about three-point shooting? I think "E" has alleviated those fears.  

After allowing an early basket to the Hilltoppers, UofL eventually went on a opening quarter 9-0 run to establish a 17-8 lead on a Bionca Dunham jumper. WKU would get no closer that six points the rest of the way. Four Cardinals ended up in double figures -- Liz Dixon and Bionca Dunham with 10 points each for Louisville.  

Louisville won each quarter and started out with excellent shooting, hitting their first 9 out of 11 shots. Walz played all eleven that were dressed for action, no one played more that 32 minutes and Coach Jeff Walz tried a variety of combinations in the win. The 31-63 shooting checks in at 49.2%, WKU went 19-57 from the floor - 33%. 

Kasa Robinson did not play -- shoulder injury -- and Molly Lockhart remained on the side lines with her foot in a boot, No details yet on whether the two would be ready for Murray State on Friday yet. 

Freshman Norika Konno entered the game for the first time with 3:03 left in the first quarter -- along with Yacine Diop. Ya-Ya scored on a jumper inside the paint less than a minute after entering and Konno got the crowd of 8304 enthused with a winding, driving layup early in the second quarter through the lane that earned her a basket and free throw attempt. 

The first half ended with the Cards comfortably ahead 34-25. 

Louisville push the advantage to 41-25 to start the second half. with a Jazmine Jones layup, Evans three-pointer and a Dunham jumper off a feed from Jones. The Cards had pushed the advantage to 55-43 after three quarters and went on to outscore the school from Bowling Green 20-13 in the final quarter.

Walz was pleased for the most part with the starters and rotation. For Kylee Shook, it was a night to forget, though. The senior forward saw just 12 minutes, went 1-6 from the floor -- missing several wide open chances near the rim and picking up two fouls in just 32 seconds in the first quarter. 

Louisville barely out-rebounded the smaller Toppers 40-37 and the majority of the Cardinal grabs came from Dixon (13) and Jones (8). 

A serviceable win over a WKU squad that is experience, has excellent leadership and looks to be stronger than last year.  It's probably unfair to do a realistic recap and review of either team so early in the season -- and Louisville does have some definite things to work on. A win is a win, though. Evans was steady at the point, Jones almost had a triple-double with eight points, eight rebounds and an incredible 10 assists.

You can't say enough about "J.J." airlines. 

Final individual numbers: 

Evans -- 32 minutes, 19 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists
Balogun -- 29 minutes, 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists
Dixon -- 28 minutes,10 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists
Jones -- 25 minutes, 8 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists
Dunham -- 18 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds and no assists
Konno -- 26 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists
Diop -- 15 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist
Shook -- 12 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds and no assists
Robins -- 8 minutes, no points, 1 rebound and no assists
Duvall -- 5 minutes, no points, no rebounds and no assists
Laemmle -- 2 minutes, no points, no rebounds and no assists.

For WKU, three in double figures (Porter with 15, Givens 12 and Creech 10). 

The potential of the 2019-20 Louisville WBB squad is a work in progress, with so much talent and high-profile players...but I liked what I saw in the opening effort for the most part. The Georgia Tech transfers showed why they were ACC Freshman of the Year last year (Balogun) and All ACC Freshman Firsst team (Dixon). 

It takes time for a roster this huge and relatively new to each other to jell. I do believe the "jelling" will continue to improve as the games go on and I expect we'll see a even better effort in that regard Friday when Murray State comes to town.

Another great recap can be found from our buddy Sam Draut from Sports Illustrated at the link below: 

Sports.Illustrated's. Sam's Synopsis






THE FRED REPORT

If you are new to the site, we do a FRED (Free throws, Rebounds, Effort/Execution and Defensive analysis) after each game. We assign a "capital letter, small case letter on no letter at all". Case Hoskins does his own CASE report when he has the write-up.

FREE THROWS -- Not many chances for Louisville at the charity stripe, with just three Cards attempting then, but 5-9 is just 55.6% and Louisville can certainly do better than that. Konno was 3-4, Evans 2-3 and Jones 0-2. 

NO letter awarded.

REBOUNDS -- Beside Dixon and Jones' big board efforts, not much else to brag about here. Louisville barely won the board battle 40-37. 

NO letter awarded.

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville played all 11 that were dressed and, for the most part, did what they had to do. 16 turnovers isn't too bad for their first game and 40 points in the paint a fairly decent number. Loved Jaz's energy, Evans direction of the offense and Balogun's three-point excellence. 20 fouls are way too many, though, even with the extended rotation. So are 16 turnovers. 

 small case "e" awarded. 

DEFENSE -- Louisville held WKU to 56 points and created seven steals. I was very impressed with the low second-chance numbers allowed WKU...second chance points (16) and points off turnovers (15). The squad looked a little better than I expected on defense and Walz never employed a press, which may be been wise...considering WKU's talented guards Creech and Porter. A definite poor job on the officiating, whistling Louisville for 20 fouls and EKU just 14. You win by 19 and hold the foe to 33% and you get a:  

Large Case "D" awarded.


FINAL FRED TALLY:  -_-_e-D


THEY SAID IT: 

First off, a poor job by UofL staff in checking the microphones for audible accuracy in the media room and getting post-game stats to the media in a timely matter. They also couldn't produce a post-game "full" book. A printer jam was the supposed reason for no post-game "big" book, but we were also told their aare two printers in the production room. If they were in the FRED REPORT, I would award NO letter. Very disappointing.  Rant over, but i expect a better game from them Friday. You're supposed to be providing information. 

LINKS below: 

POST GAME WITH "E" AND DANA

POST GAME WITH COACH WALZ


POST GAME WITH WKU's GREG COLLINS



FINAL THOUGHTS

So...one in the books for #9 ranked UofL WBB and a contest that was a solid one, entertaining but not overly spectacular.

Remember that  WKU is even better than last year, it would appear... and has a very solid guard combo in Porter and Creech, outstanding boards specialist in Raneem Elgedawy, probable CUSA player of the year in Dee Givins and strong bench, who got 16 pf their 56 points.

Louisville needs to toughen up inside. Dunham and Dixon had OK efforts but the Cards need to block out better and "go to" missed shots. One would think free throw shooting would be a lot better after a summer and fall of practice. 

Let's take the "W' over a team that I think will make NCAA Tournament and move on. LOUISVILLE will improve as the season goes on and the players become more comfortable with each other. 

Caption this picture///

We're out of the gates and running with the 2019-20 season. Sit down, buckle up and enjoy the ride. Or..stand up, yell your lungs out and act like a puppy in a room full of treats. This is going to be a fun season. The Cards are deep, talented, have precise shooting and a lot of speed. 

Give them a little time to continue jelling and I think you have a Final Four squad. 

( THANKS TO THE INCREDIBLE JATED ANDERSON FOR THE PHOTO WORK! WE'LL GIVE HIM A CAPITAL "J" FOR HIS EFFORTS !) 


paulie
xxxxx

WBB Opens Season With a Win -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Cards Open Season with Victory at Western Kentucky

How much did the Cards win by? 22.

It's baaack!  After an off-season full of contemplating, asking "what if", and wanting to finish what last year left off the women's basketball season has returned!  Louisville opened up their 2018-19 season on the road at Western Kentucky, downing the Hilltoppers 102-80.

102 seconds.  That's how long it took Asia Durr to reach double-digits.  She scored the first 11 points for the Cards before finishing with a total of 33 points in just 21 minutes played.  The senior finished 12-21 from the field and 7-15 from beyond the arc.


Louisville raced out to an early lead that seemed to give them a false sense of comfort before WKU went on a small run to close out the first quarter, but the Cards still lead 32-21.

The second quarter was one that had Jeff Walz heated on the sideline.  The two teams each scored 22 points during that period.  Louisville committed five turnovers and tied in rebounds at 6-6.  Louisville's defense lacked efficiency, which allowed WKU to stay in the game.  The Cards still carried a 54-43 lead into halftime.


Walz's locker room speech at halftime seemed  to work as the Cards outscored the Toppers 31-8.  The Cards scored 11 points off turnovers during this time frame and capitalized on offensive rebounds to score six second chance points.  The bench also sparked a run by contributing 11 points.  Louisville went into the final quarter with a 85-51 lead.

With a comfortable lead and a few players facing foul trouble we saw a few different looks on the court while most of the starters were relaxing on the bench.  WKU used this chance to win the final quarter 29-17.  More of Louisville's turnovers came in this quarter as new faces tried to familiarize themselves with the collegiate-style game.

A negative on the night is 19 turnovers by Louisville.  Against teams such as Notre Dame and UConn a 19-turnover performance will send you home with another mark in the loss column.  The turnovers will be one of the first things addressed by the coaching staff at the next practice.

VIDEO OF JEFF WALZ POST GAME REMARKS

#4 Seygan Robbins is one of the freshmen on the team.

Of Louisville's 38 made shots 22 of them were assisted.  It's good to see the ball being passed around to try and find the open player and take a smart shot instead of throwing up a poor-decision shot.

The offense had no problem scoring and 10 of the 12 players scored.  Only Mykasa Robinson and Jessica Laemmle were held to no points.  Durr lead the charge with 33 points while Arica "AC" Carter (19), Yacine Diop (11), and Kylee Shook (10) also were in the double-digits.




F-R-E-D Report

The first "FRED" report of the season is here.  Let's take a look to see how the Cards did:

F - Free Throws: 10-for-11 on the night will earn a solid A+ on the 10-point scale.  Four Cardinals shot free throws last night and four Cardinals made free throws.  Diop was the only miss, going 3-for-4.  Capital "F".

R - Rebounds: Louisville out-rebounded Western Kentucky 40-32.  16 of those 40 were offensive rebounds that lead to 25 second chance points.  However, the Hilltoppers had 17 of their 32 rebounds come on the offensive end and it helped them with 18 second chance points.  Allowing that many offensive rebounds to an opponent knocks them down to a lowercase "r".

E - Effort/Efficiency:  The Cards made 60% of their total shots and 47% of their three-pointers.  The bench contributed 44 points.  The defense forced 15 turnovers.  22 assists were dished out.  Other than the 26 fouls committed the stat sheet actually looks pretty good for the Cards.  They never stopped trying or got lazy even with the lead.  A capital "E" is awarded.

D - Defense: Giving up 80 points to anyone isn't good.  They made up some ground by blocking five shots and forcing 15 turnovers.  WKU also only shot 39% from the field but did make 1/3 of their three's.  If you take away the 26 points from free throws the score doesn't look too terrible.  They did enough to get a lowercase "d".

 It's safe to say another 100+ three-point season is on the way.



F-r-E-d is not the greatest report, but is still a good one nonetheless.  It shows positives, but also means there is work to be done, as is expected early in the season.  As the players get in the flow of things and the new faces adjust to the game things will improve.  As Greg Collins mentioned during the postgame press conference this is probably Jeff Walz's most talented team and the best one he has had in his time at UofL.  Once they start doing things right they should find themselves in the title game.


Good Things Come in 3's

Jeff Walz earned his 300th victory as the head coach of the Louisville women's basketball team.  He downplayed it post-game, giving credit to Paul Sanderford...the first head coach he worked for, Tom Jurich for hiring him and to the great players he has had over the years. He even credited WKU's Greg Collins for recruiting his first group of stars   Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham.

Asia Durr started 3-for-3 from three-point range before finishing 7-for-15 from downtown on the night.  She should have a third straight season of 100+ three-point field goals.

A trio of players committed no turnovers on the night.  Yacine Diop (18 min), Mykasa Robinson (14 min), and Kylee Shook (18 min) all finished the game with zero turnovers.  Two of them scored and all of them hauled in multiple rebounds.

It was nice to make the trip to Bowling Green.  I drove down with my River City Cards companions Mike Gilpatrick and Seth Spalding and was joined by avid UofL fan Jason Wyrick.  I met up with Paulie and Sonya in the media room as we enjoyed the free Pizza Hut.  I ask that our fearless leader also provide his thoughts on last night as he has followed women's basketball longer than I have been alive.

(Paulie addition) 

Asia Durr said "nite-nite" to the WKU players early.

It was game day and she had that "uh-oh-somebody-is-in-trouble" look in her eyes way before the contest started. As the Cards ran off the court for their final pre-game instructions, I happened to be headed to Media Row when she was headed to the locker room. I held out my hand and said "Nite-nite". She slapped the hand and said something...which I think was "that's right!".

And, so it came to pass. Greg Collins, previous assistant coach and now first year WKU head coach was asked about her after the contest. Two WKU players (Dee Givens and Alexis Brewer) were asked about her in the post game. Words such as: 'if she's not the best player in the country, I don't know who is'.  Statements like:  'it's hard to stop what you can't find or catch'.  "She buried us early and we couldn't stop her."  Between her and Arica Carter, they buried 11 threes. In 35 total minutes between the two. In 22 attempts. 

If you're an opposing coach reading this, you have every right to be scared and worried. 

Yes, Cards fans....#25 is back and be there no doubt about it...she's on a mission. 

I've traveled to WKU several times over the course of the years to watch WBB. Every time, it seems, they've changed or re-configured something inside Diddle Arena. As media, they used to put us in the end zone with the student section directly behind us. That's changed...this year we sat on the side-court row with the visiting play-by-play guy and gal (Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson) and I like that. (Then, again, nothing could ever be worse than was Georgia Tech puts visiting media through.) 

They've reconfigured the media room, too, at WKU Now, the podium faces the east instead of the north. They've upgraded the food from cold Qdoba strips and cheese to warm pizza and dessert. It ain't Louisville media buffet, but it was appreciated. 

I've added Walz's full post game remarks, Coach Greg Collins post-game remarks and post-game remarks from WKU's Dee Givens and Alexis Brewer below. The media did not receive any UofL WBB players for post-game comments. 

Dee Givens and Alexis Brewer WKU WBB 11/6/18

Jeff Walz post-game media remarks after WKU game 11/6/18

WKU head coach Greg Collins post game remarks after 102-80 loss to Louisville WBB on 11/6/19




Coach Walz was "typical Jeff" lamenting a bit, handing out some praise and lauding the opposing coach. The Walz snark, a well-defined and endearing feature, was present last night early, when he told us. "When we can learn to throw the ball to our girls instead of theirs, we'll have a great opportunity to get some things accomplished." 

Game one done. And won.

The Cards went to the city where they make Corvettes and drove off early like they were piloting one.  I'll get more detailed in the Tuesday column. 
The 26-2 run during a six-minute stretch of the third quarter was vintage Cardinals. And they did it all with no player getting more than 26 minutes (Jazzy Jones). 

A special "thank you" to Jared for today's recap and the great pictures you see here. Diddle Arena isn't the best place for a photographer, according to him and Seth. These look great, though.                                 

 Paulie 
xxxxxx


Donation Month

Can you believe we're a week into November already?  If you haven't already sent all your money to UofL to help with a certain contract buyout we would graciously accept anything you send our way.

Trips such as the one last night that can provide such insightful, first-hand experiences that include pictures and audio are just one part of what the donations can do.

Whether you can
give a dollar or one hundred dollars we appreciate it and will love you forever.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville WBB -- Losing early not a new thing for WBB Cards...Wednesday Cardinal Couple

EARLY SEASON LOSSES NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING

There has been conversation and discussion on Louisville WBB's opening season loss to California on Sunday at the KFC YUM! Center. It's nothing new to the program under Jeff Walz and certainly isn't a foreboding sign of a traumatic season ahead. In fact, there have been some pretty decent Walz-coached teams that dropped early games and turned out to be outstanding by the end of the season. 

We'll go back to Walz's first team...back in the 2007-08 season. The Cards took a 1-0 record on the road to the Subway Classic in Minneapolis, MN and fell to Western Carolina and Minnesota. This team, featuring juniors Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham, was going through a learning curve on Walz's game philosophies and strategies but ran off 10 wins in a row after the Minnesota miscues and ended up in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in New Orleans...bowing out in a hard-fought 78-74 battle against #2 UNC. 

The 2010-11 season had the Cards opening against #4 Tennessee to open the KFC YUM! Center in front of 22,124 fans. The Cards ran into an on-fire Meghan Simmons and dropped a 63-50 contest. It was the beginning of the Shoni Schimmel era at Louisville and the Cards would march to another NCAA Sweet Sixteen after upsetting #5 Xavier on their home court before falling to Courtney Vandersloot and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane. 

In 2011-12 Louisville traveled to face a talented #6 Texas A&M squad in their second game of the season. A&M had won the national championship the year before and took Louisville down 76-58. The Cards would win 13 of their next 14 after that. Maryland ended Louisville's season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

So, as you can see, an early loss is hardly a predication of a team's potential and overall success. Opportunity out of defeat is a powerful teaching tool and motivation to improve. 

With six days to prepare for WKU...we fully expect to see a much improved UofL squad that will end the month of November in the Gulf Coast showcase and open December at Michigan State. 

Louisville dropped to #16 in the latest NCAA polls and, to no one's surprise...California entered at #21.

Cardinal fans have no claim on being the only highly-ranked team to suffer an opening loss this season. Florida State fell from #7 to #14 after losing to Florida and Arizona State dropped from #15 to #18 after losing to UK.

Arizona State has a candidate for Worldwide's women's basketball 'best name team' in Peace Amukamara

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HITTING THE ROAD

PAULIE ON THE ROAD IN CHARLOTTE

Something we've never attempted before this Saturday for THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIOHOUR...Worldwide and I will both be out of the studio and are hitting the road to do a live show from Bowling Green before the Louisville WBB contest against WKU. 

We'll be inside Diddle Arena for the broadcast that starts at 11 AM. The WKU men play at 1 PM and the WKU women face Louisville at 3:30 PM.

We hope to also be joined on the broadcast by SB Nation's Swish Appeal writer Paige Sherrard who also doubles with those wild and crazy Cardinal Sports Zone guys
as their "first lady of sports". 

 You can see her write up of the Louisville/Cal game at the link below and follow her on Twitter @PaigeS_502

http://www.swishappeal.com/2015/11/15/9740446/no-8-louisville-cant-bear-brunt-of-cal

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Golf second after Day 2...Bingham hired by WKU

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville women's golf one stroke from lead

-Candyce Bingham hired as assistant at WKU

The University of Louisville women's golf team remains in the hunt for the BIG EAST Championship at Reunion Resort in Orlando, FL...one stroke behind Notre Dame after 36 holes in the three day meet. Sophomore Emily Haas leads all golfers with a two round total of 140...which included a sizzling 68 on Monday.

The Cards led by five after Sunday's action but Notre Dame turned in a impressive team score of 285 on Monday to take the lead by one stroke. Two round totals have the Irish at 579 and Louisville at 580.

Besides Haas' 140, Katie Petrino is in fifth with a 145...firing a 74 Monday. Laura Restrepo and Tara Lyons are in the top ten...Restrepo (147) is tied for seventh and Lyons tied for tenth (148). Senior Candice Wiley is tied for 37th. at 160.

Behind the Irish and Cards are Cincinnati (602), Seton Hall (603), St. John's (605), South Florida (612), Georgetown (614) and Rutgers (622).

After today's action, the Cards will await regional assignment in the NCAA Tournament. Based on their late season successes, they are a squad to be respected and feared.

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Candyce Bingham, a member of Louisville's 2009 National Finalist team as a player and 2013 squad as a staff member, has joined the Western Kentucky University women's basketball staff as an assistant coach.

Bingham joins head coach Michelle Clark-Heard and assistants Greg Collins and Margaret Richards. Collins was a former assistant at UofL under Tom Collen. Richards worked on the Cardinal staff.


After playing pro ball overseas, Bingham took the head coaching job at Fern Creek High School in 2011. She won eight games for the Creekers despite having a inexperienced squad with only one player having major varsity experience. Bingham reunited with Coach Walz in the 2012-13 season as a graduate assistant.

Bingham was a fixture at UofL practices, press conferences and other functions at UofL this past season. While she was performing her duties here, former Lady Card Laura Terry had the same role for Clark-Heard in Bowling Green last season.

After garnering All-State honors at Louisville Manual High School, Bingham played her first two years of college ball for Kevin McGuff (now Ohio State head coach) at Xavier. She transferred to Louisville and played two years for Walz.

The 2008-09 Lady Cards, led by her and Angel McCoughtry, posted a 34-5 record...Bingham averaging 12.5 ppg and 7.3 rebounds. Collectively, they were known as "Mom" (Bingham) and "The Crazy Aunt" (McCoughtry).

Best wishes and good luck to "C.B." in Bowling Green! With so many Louisville connections on the staff, we may just have to start calling the Lady Toppers "Louisville-South" or the University of Louisville at Bowling Green!

-Paulie

--

Monday Cardinal Couple -- Marion County pair headed to WKU?

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- WKU a new player in the hunt for Epps, Goodin-Rogers? 

We don't normally engage in a lot of speculation and rumor-mongering here at CARDINAL COUPLE. This one may have some teeth to it, though.

Zach Greenwell, a sports reporter for the Bowling Green Daily News, is reporting that Kyvin Goodin-Rogers has talked with WKU head women's basketball coach Michelle Clark-Heard. 

According to Trent Milby, head coach of the Marion Country girls' basketball team..where Epps and Goodin-Rogers will play their senior season...Epps has not had contact with Clark-Heard, but the two have re-confirmed their interest to play basketball together in college. 

They've also had contact with Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio State University, according to Milby. 

The puzzling world of recruiting...

Nothing wrong with the five schools mentioned above. UK has become a force in the SEC and Matthew Mitchell has opened another spot on the roster with the dismissal of seldom-used guard Bre-shay Ali. MTSU recently got a verbal from China Dow from Christian Academy in Louisville.

They love their women's basketball in Murfreesboro. They have success, too.

 Indiana is looking to rebuild with new head coach Curt Miller after a rough 6-24 season last year. Ohio State went 24-7 last season before bowing out to Florida in the first round of the NCAA. 

Big Ten women's hoops isn't quite at the level of the SEC or BIG EAST, but not a bad place to spend four years.

The WKU angle is intriguing. Michelle Clark-Heard was heavily involved in the recruiting of Epps and Goodin-Rogers while an assistant at Louisville. WKU hoops is looking for a re-birth of sorts after a 9-21 campaign in 2011-12. Chances are the playing time would come early and frequently for both. You can't blame Clark-Heard for trying to get the best talent available for her squad. She's added one of our favorite assistant coaches in Greg Collins. WKU was a women's basketball power back back in the seventies.

Paul Sanderford led them to the Final Four in the nineties. NCAA runner-up to Stanford in 1992. The Hilltoppers beat Louisville ten straight times from 1984-2002. 

It's 2012. Can Clark-Heard, a WKU grad and player who made four straight NCAA appearances, right the ship on "the Hill"? And, would Epps and Goodin-Rogers give credibility to a program struggling to get back on it's feet? 

Epps and Goodin-Rogers have been highly publicized as the one-two punch that has led Marion County to several Sweet Sixteen appearances in Ky Girls High School Basketball but no state titles. Sold on the Louisville program following the Cards march through the NCAA Tournament in 2009, the duo verballed at the end of their sophomore year.

What a difference a year makes. 

WKU participates in the Sun Belt Conference, a far cry from the elite BIG EAST, SEC or BIG TEN conferences as far as fan base and NCAA successes go. Do Epps and Goodin-Rogers really want to take their talents to a school that plays Troy, Louisiana-Monroe, North Texas and South Alabama each year? Or is it a case of seeing who was at Louisville, who might be coming and figuring out that playing time may be hard to come by. 

Maybe I'm dense here...but if you've got a spot waiting on a team that plays in front of the second-largest crowds in NCAA women's basketball, a program basking in the sunlight of an alumni who's the leading scorer in the WNBA and tearing up the Olympics and a squad who has perhaps the brightest young coach in NCAA women's basketball...why do you suddenly decide you want to set that aside and check out schools that are an after-thought on their campuses and in their cities?  

Gotta a feeling that this is just the first "epps" isode in the tale of the two who passed on the "Ville" to see if the grass is greener on the other side of the hill...

Let's hope they don't end up like Jack and Jill...

Hmmm...playing in front of a packed house in South Bend on Sunday afternoon against the Irish or a Tuesday night road trip to Lafayette, LA to hook up against the Ragin' Cajuns? Tough call.

Link to Greenwell's article below:

Goodin-Rogers, Epps

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Tough weekend for Hansen and Shackleford in stakes races this weekend. What did we learn? Hansen needs to stay at a mile and one-sixteenth or shorter races and Shackleford doesn't like the mud. 

The blue tail on Hansen...ok, it's cute. Dye that tail Cardinal Red and he wins for fun. In wild and wonderful West Virginia, he ran fourth in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Race Track and Casino. Maybe he stopped to play roulette? Maybe the last two furlongs he was running through West Virginia football fans...  

Sometimes dumb luck is better than no luck at all. A last minute decision to wager a 1 thru 5 $1 exacta box and 1 thru 5 .50 cent trifecta box at Saratoga turned $50 into $569.35. You just never know on a muddy track and Shackleford was 0 for 3 in previous attempts on a "off" track. Still figured he might "hit the board" but the payout increased dramatically when he finished dead last. Especially with a 36-1 shot winning. 

Not bad work for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
..
... 

Two Cardinal homers produce seven runs in win over USF.

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Softball Cards sweep USF 4-1, 9-0 to take 1st place in BIG EAST.


-Pat Summitt retiring


-Greg Collins headed to WKU WBB


The University of Louisville softball team beat the University of South Florida twice in softball Wednesday at Ulmer Field to go to 40-2 on the season and a league leading 11-2 in BIG EAST play. The Cards rocked USF standout pitcher Sara Nevins for eight runs in the two games and Jordan Trimble and Taner Fowler each had home runs for the Cardinals in the second game.


A crowd of nearly 800 fans enjoyed the picture-perfect, sunny mid 60's weather. 


GAME ONE

Tori Collins is now 19-1.

It was Tori Collins on the mound against Nevins in the first game, two of the best pitchers in the BIG EAST facing off and early on it was a pitchers' duel. 


South Florida loaded the bases on Collins in the top of the second on two singles and a batter hit by a Collins pitch with just one out, but Collins got out of the jam by striking out the next two Bulls batters. 

Alicia Wolny drew
three walks from
Bulls pitching today.

Louisville broke up the scoreless contest in the bottom of the second when Alicja Wolny drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a Fowler fielders choice grounder. Jordan Trimble walked to give Louisville runners on first and second and after a Kayla Soles ground out...Maggie Ruckenbrod drove home both Wolny and Trimble to give Louisville a 2-0 lead.

That proved to be all Collins would need to get her 19th win of the season but Louisville added a run in the third when Kristin Austin safely bunted with one out and came home on Wolny's sharp shot down the 3rd base line. 


Sam Greiner replaced Nevins to face the Cards in the fourth inning. 


The Bulls scored their only run of the game and the day in the top of the fifth, an unearned run when Janine Richardson reached on a infield bobble and scored on Jessica Mouse's infield single with two outs. 

Maggie Ruckenbrod drove
in the Cards first two runs.

Louisville added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Katie Keller reached on an error and Katelyn Mann came in to pinch run. Mann scored on a Fowler single to center but Bulls relief pitcher Lindsey Richardson retired Trimble, Soles and Ruckenbrod to end the threat. 


Collins shut down the Bulls in order in the top of the seventh, striking out Richardson, getting Kalafas to ground out to her and Mouse to pop up to Kristin Austin to end the game. 


Collins gave up six hits and struck out eight Bulls in the complete game. 


GAME TWO


Nevins returned to the mound to start the second game and Caralisa Connell drew the start for the Cards. Nevins had no trouble with Louisville in the first three innings, retiring the side in order each inning. 

Caralisa Connell started
the second game for UofL

Connell loaded the bases with Bulls in the top of the second after giving up a walk, a single and hitting a batter with two outs. She struck out Ashii Goff, though, to get out of the inning unscathed. 


Chelsea Leonard took the mound to replace Leonard and face to Bulls in the top of the third. She retired the side 3 up, 3 down.


The Cards needed to fire up the bats against Nevins and went into the bottom of the fourth with the top of the order in Jennifer Esteban leading off.


It was quite an inning for Louisville. 

Trimble's grand slam was
the second of the
year for Louisville.

Esteban started the fireworks off with the first Cardinal hit of the game, a single to center. Kristin Austin followed with a walk from Nevins. After Keller went down swinging, Wolny lofted a deep fly to the right center fence that fell for a hit, scoring Esteban. Kirsten Straley came in to run for Wolny and USF decided to intentionally walk Fowler, loading the bags full of Cardinals.


That idea backfired...setting the stage for Trimble's grand slam homer -- the first of her career -- a bomb to right center that just cleared the fence. Suddenly, it was 5-0 Louisville and the Ulmer Stadium crowd was going nuts.


That did it for Nevins and Greiner came in to pitch. She retired two of the next three Cards to end the inning but the damage had been done and the Cards were celebrating in the third base dugout. UofL had sent nine batters to the plate in the inning.


Leonard allowed a bunt single to start the top of the fifth but retired the next two Bulls before allowing another single. She quelled the USF rally, though, by fanning D'Anna Devine for her fourth strike out of the game.

Fowler's three run blast
ended the game

Esteban walked to begin the bottom of the fifth. Austin followed with a infield single and Keller singled to left but Esteban was thrown out at home on the play. USF elected to intentionally walk Wolny but a wild pitch allowed Austin to score to make it 6-0 Louisville.


 After the walk, USF brought Lindsey Richardson in to face Fowler but the strategy failed when Fowler lifted a deep shot to left field that easily cleared the fence to make it 9-0 Louisville and end the game via the eight-run rule. 


Leonard got the win to go 8-0 on the season. Nevins was tagged with her second loss of the day... dropping her record to 23-4. 


Maybe two of the biggest wins in Cardinal softball history on Wednesday. The Cards scored eight runs on Nevins...who had a 0.70 ERA coming into the games.


Louisville pitchers allowed just one run and ten hits...all singles...in 44 at-bats to a USF squad that was batting .284 as a team going into today's games. 
The combination of Collins, Leonard and Connell struck out 14 Bulls batters in 12 innings.


Louisville had ten hits as well but four were either doubles or home runs. The Cards also drew seven bases on balls against the Bulls pitching -- a couple of them intentional. Fowler's home run was her sixth of the year, Trimble's blast her second of the season. Louisville's nine runs in the second game are the most scored on USF this year and it was the first time the Bulls have lost by the eight-run rule this season. 


No Cardinal had more than one hit in either of the two games but the hits they got were key...Louisville left only four runners on base in both games, South Florida stranded a total of 14.


The Cards take first place in the BIG EAST with the wins today and will face Seton Hall next...in South Orange, NJ...beginning with a noon Saturday start.


Cardinal fans were thrilled with the victories. WE caught up with a few after the game. 


"Those home runs in the second game just made this place go crazy. It's rare you get to see a grand slam and the one tonight was just thrilling." - Ben Donnelly


"It was a great night for softball and the Louisville pitchers were the difference tonight. I'm so proud of this team!" - Connie Smith.


"This was our first time ever catching Louisville softball games but we'll be back. The kids loved it, and so did I. We even went to the playground before the game" - Tiffany Peters.


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


Pat Summitt will announce she is retiring as the Lady Vols skipper after 38 years as a head coach in a news conference today at 1:30 p.m. in Knoxville. 

Summitt says she has no sadness about the decision and will remain close to the program in her new role as head coach emeritus.   


Long time Tennessee assistant Holly Warlick will become the new head coach. 


WE can only wish Pat the best as she battles early onset dementia and extend our appreciation and love to the greatest coach to ever patrol the sidelines for women's college basketball.


Her announcement comes on the same day that her son Tyler will be announced as the newest assistant on the Marquette women's basketball team. An interesting revelation, given Tyler's close vigil over his mom over the last few months.


We had the chance to see Pat in person at the beginning of the 2010-11 season when she brought her Lady Vols to the KFC YUM! Center to play Louisville. Summit was gracious, affable and even a bit cantankerous in the post game media interviews...complaining, tongue-in-cheek, about having to climb to the step-less podium to address the media. She raved glowingly about the KFC YUM! facilities and expressed her admiration for then-freshman Shoni Schimmel and her play that evening. 


Sally Jenkins, of the Washington Post, has a great read on Pat. Link below.


Pat still much more able than disabled

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


Congratulations to Greg Collins, who has been named as assistant coach for the WKU women's basketball team. Collins leaves Arkansas and Tom Collen to join Michelle Clark-Heard's staff. Collins was an assistant at Louisville from 2002-2007 prior to going with Collen to the Razorbacks. He also coached at Louisville Manual High School before joining UofL in Martin Clapp's final season as head coach.

Greg is one of the good guys. His recruiting skills and teaching techniques are among the best in the women's college game. He was essential in holding the 2002-2003 UofL squad together after Clapp's departure until Tom Collen arrived on campus. 


Getting a little closer back to Louisville, Greg. Good luck to you and do well with Michelle ! 
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