Spirit Squad NCA & NCA Results -- WNBA Draft -- Louisville Tragedy -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

What started off as a typical post-spring break, post-Easter Monday for the City of Louisville, things quickly went south as two separate incidents occurred in the heart of downtown. We will come back to that at the bottom of today's post.

Cheer and Ladybirds Find Success at NCA/NDA Championships

The Louisville Cheer and Louisville Ladybirds squads spent the last few days in Daytona competing at the NCA and NDA Championships. The various squads found quite a bit of success in their time there.

Louisville All-Girl Cheer Wins

The Louisville All-Girl Cheer squad took home the crown in the Advanced All-Girl Division 1A, pushing their reign to nine straight titles. They posted a final score of 96.9421.

Louisville Small CoEd Places Second

The Louisville Small CoEd Cheer squad placed second in the Advanced Small CoEd Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 94.8912.

Louisville Large CoEd Places Second

The Louisville Large CoEd Cheer squad also placed second in their respective division, Advanced Large CoEd Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 96.8148, less than one point shy of first place.

Louisville Ladybirds Places Second in Team

The Louisville Ladybirds placed second in the Team Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 95.65, just .05 points shy of first place.

Louisville Ladybirds Finishes Fourth in Hip Hop

The Louisville Ladybirds took fourth in the Hip Hop Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 94.0571.

Louisville Ladybirds Finishes 11th in Jazz

The Louisville Ladybirds finished 11th in the Jazz Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 91.7714. This is the first time in over 15 years that the Ladybirds have competed in the jazz division.

Louisville Cheer Places Three Teams in Stunt Groups

The Louisville Cheer squads had three teams place in the four-person stunt groups. Myah, Taylar, Shekinah, and Kristen placed second with a score of 93.7222. The group of Maddie, Mya, Kaylee, and Ella finished eighth with a score of 90.3333. The group of Aoi, Whitney, Meghan, and Madie finished 11th with a score of 73.25.

All Louisville groups compete at the highest level possible so these results are that much more impressive. Plenty of other Division I athletics programs competed in Division 1 (not 1A) or in the intermediate divisions.

WNBA Draft

The 2023 WNBA Draft was last night and we saw 36 players selected in the WNBA Draft. Alas, we had none of the six graduating Louisville Cardinals selected. 

Picks:

1- Aliyah Boston (South Carolina, Phoenix Mercury)

2- Diamond Miller (Maryland, Minnesota Lynx)

3- Maddy Siegrist (Villanova, Dallas Wings)

4- Stephanie Soares (Iowa State, Washington Mystics, then traded to Dallas Wings)

5- Lou Lopez Sénéchal (UConn, Dallas Wings)

6- Haley Jones (Stanford, Atlanta Dream)

7- Grace Berger (Indiana, Indiana Fever)

8- Laeticia Amihere (South Carolina, Atlanta Dream)

9- Jordan Horston (Tennessee, Seattle Storm)

10- Zia Cooke (South Carolina, Los Angeles Sparks)

11- Abby Meyers (Maryland, Dallas Wings)

12- Maïa Hirsch (France, Minnesota Lynx)

13- Taylor Mikesell (Ohio State, Indiana Fever)

14- Shaneice Swain (Australia, Los Angeles Sparks)

15- Leigha Brown (Michigan, Atlanta Dream)

16- Dorka Juhász (UConn, Minnesota Lynx)

17- LaDazhia Williams (LSU, Atlanta Dream)

18- Madi Williams (Oklahoma, Seattle Storm)

19- Ashley Joens (Iowa State, Dallas Wings)

20- Elena Tsineke (South Florida, Washington Mystics)

21- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (South Florida, Seattle Storm)

22- Alexis Morris (LSU, Connecticut Sun)

23- Kayana Traylor (Virginia Tech, Chicago Sky)

24- Brea Beal (South Carolina, Minnesota Lynx)

25- Victaria Saxton (South Carolina, Indiana Fever)

26- Monika Czinano (Iowa, Los Angeles Sparks)

27- Destiny Harden (Miami, Phoenix Mercury)

28- Taylor Soule (Virginia Tech, Minnesota Lynx)

29- Kadi Sissoko (USC, Phoenix Mercury)

30- Okako Adika (USC, New York Liberty)

31- Paige Robinson (Illinois State, Dallas Wings)

32- Txell Alarcón (Spain, Washington Mystics)

33- Jade Loville (Arizona, Seattle Storm)

34- Ashten Prechtel (Stanford, Connecticut Sun)

35- Kseniya Malashka (Middle Tennessee, Chicago Sky)

36- Brittany Davis (Alabama, Las Vegas Aces)

Monday Tragedy in Louisville

*The thoughts and opinions by Jared Anderson may not reflect that of the entire Cardinal Couple team. This section talks about gun-related deaths in Louisville and may be triggering or upsetting to some.*

While our goal is to cover the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics, sometimes other events occur that we need to address. There were two separate incidents yesterday that happened within a couple hours of each other and just a few blocks from each other.

The first incident happened at the Old National Bank building on Main Street next to Louisville Slugger Field. A former employee entered the building before the bank began normal operating hours and opened fire, killing four and wounding at least nine others.

The second incident happened just outside one of the JCTC buildings near the corner of Chestnut Street and Market Street. The shooter(s) dispersed before emergency personnel arrived on scene and left one person dead and another injured.

We tend to avoid politically-related topics at all costs here at the site... but when something hits so close to home it cannot be avoided so I am speaking on my own behalf here. While all Louisville students, including all Louisville student-athletes, woke up and began a normal day today, five people in Louisville did not wake up today. Many of us have grown up in this city and have great love for the city and community and now we suffer a tremendous amount of pain. It hits worse when it's close to home.

Change needs to happen to prevent these senseless acts of violence from continuing on in the future. I urge you to get involved in the push for change by contacting lawmakers and making sure to vote better people into office. Doing nothing changes nothing. 

We here at Cardinal Couple mourn and offer our condolences to those affected by yesterday's tragedies.

Have a good Tuesday and Go Cards.

Jared

WNBA Draft -- Softball vs UK -- Two National Champions -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WNBA Draft

Last night was a big night in the world of women's basketball- the 2022 WNBA Draft. We kept a particularly close eye on the draft due to multiple Cardinals who were projected to get drafted.

Rd 1, Pick 4: Emily Engstler, Indiana Fever. Congratulations to Emily Engstler! Louisville knocked one out of the park when she transferred to Louisville to finish her collegiate career for the 2021-2022 season. The Cards' fourth Final Four appearance in program would not have happened without her. Engstler was one of four players taken in the first round by the Indiana Fever. The Fever had seven overall picks.

Rd 2, Pick 16: Kianna Smith, Los Angeles Sparks. Congratulations to Kianna Smith! Smith was on the court the last two seasons for the Cards after sitting out the 2019-2020 season due to the NCAA transfer rules. The California native reached 1000 career points early this past season. She heads back to her home state of California as one of four players selected by the Los Angeles Sparks this draft.

Louisville has had 16 players drafted in the WNBA in program history. The Cards have had at least one player selected in the last four drafts and have had eight total players drafted in that span. 14 of the 16 have come under the Walz era. 

The ACC had eight players taken in the 2022 WNBA Draft: Louisville (Emily Engstler, Kianna Smith), NC State (Elissa Cunane, Kayla Jones), Florida State (Kierstan Bell), Georgia Tech (Lorela Cubaj), Virginia Tech (Aisha Sheppard), and Notre Dame (Maya Dodson).

The SEC had seven players taken in the 2022 WNBA Draft. The Big Ten and Big 12 each had four players drafted. The Pac-12 had two players drafted. Baylor and UConn each had three players drafted.

Softball Hosts Kentucky

After an eventful seven-game weekend revolving around volleyball, softball, and baseball, plus a bomb threat scare, I'm ready to get back to campus for more UofL sports. Louisville softball welcomes rival #8 Kentucky to Ulmer Stadium at 6:00 p.m.

This game is rescheduled from last Wednesday, when weather was not cooperative. The weather appears to be not cooperative again today, but fingers crossed we will get this game in.

The game is marked as a RED out. Admission for chair back seating is $5 while outfield berm seating is free.

Kentucky is 27-9 on the year with an 8-4 conference record. They are 9-6 against ranked opponents, including a sweep over LSU. They boast a .318 team batting average with nearly the entire starting lineup batting over .300.

Erin Coffell has been the top offensive contributor for the Wildcats with a .415 batting average, 11 home runs, and 41 rbis.

Maranda Stoddard is their top pitcher with a 5-3 record, a 3.30 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Alexia Lacatena and Sloan Gayan have each had strong seasons with sub-3.00 ERAs. As a whole, UK's pitching corps has a 3.00 ERA with 159 strikeouts to 90 walks.

You can catch this game on ESPNU.

Cheer and Dance Have High Success at NCA/NDA Championships

Louisville Cheer brought back two national championships from their All-Girl and Small Coed squads and a third place finish from the Large Coed squad. The four-person stunt groups finished third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and ninth.

The Louisville Ladybirds finished fourth in the team/pom division and second in the hip-hop division.

Between a pair of national championships and several other top-tier finishes, we would like to congratulate the unofficial athletics teams at UofL, especially since neither championship could've have been accomplished without women student-athletes.

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

Circling back around to the bomb threat at Jim Patterson Stadium (baseball) on Sunday that I mentioned, I want to take a moment to praise the Louisville game day and operations staff for acting quickly and clearing out a 2000+ crowd out of the stadium in under 10 minutes. They were able to act a professional manner while keeping everyone calm. We never want to see an emergency situation at a game, but it is comforting to know that the staff and volunteers are all well-trained to handle a situation if it were to arise.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball to Sweet 16 -- Dana Evans to Dallas -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning!

Sometimes it feels like yesterday since I've checked in with you all, other times it feels like ages.  This time it feels like forever since I've checked in.  It could be that the softball Cards have been on the road for a while or had a game postponed.  Could be that I have started back at the Louisville Bats with button pushing duties.  I know I haven't been on radio for a while too and it could totally be why as well.  I am going to try my best to hop on from the studio Saturday morning.  

Into the news and notes and joys of Louisville women's athletics... 


Volleyball CARDS beat San Diego 3-1

The Cardinals opened the NCAA tournament Thursday afternoon against the San Diego Toreros in Omaha, NE.  After a very slow start for UofL and losing the first set 25-14, the Cards stormed back to win the following three sets and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. Coach Dani Busboom Kelly referenced the bubble being a reason the team came out flat-footed.  UofL hit a frigid -.077 and had scored the first six points for the Toreros on hitting errors.

"For sure we had some nerves in the first set. I think one of the things about being in the bubble is it is tough," said Busboom Kelly. "We had 30 minutes to practice on that court at 7 a.m. yesterday and that is the only 30 minutes we got. At 7 a.m. in general you wouldn't get much out of it and when you are in a whole new arena on a new court with weird backdrop, it is just a lot of different things going on that are out of the norm. I wasn't surprised we started out slowly but it went poorly in a hurry. I didn't think necessarily that we would be bad for the whole set but I knew we couldn't play much worse than that after game one. That is kind of to be expected. San Diego got to play before. (they played Wednesday to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi 3-0) While it is great to be seeded and get a bye and it is an advantage in some ways but I think it was a disadvantage as a set up because you didn't get the experience in the environment because it is so unique."

Overall, UofL hit .227 with 15 blocks and five aces, surviving 12 service errors. ACC and AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year Anna DeBeer had 11 kills and five blocks. Amaya Tillman rejected USD nine times, adding four kills. Tori Dilfer ran the offense with 41 assists and an ace, helping out with four blocks. Chaussee filled up the stat box notching a career-high in kills as she threw down 21, adding two aces and a team-high 10 digs.

In the second set, San Diego maintained momentum early, using a 6-0 run to go up 14-10 early. Busboom Kelly inserted Chausee into the lineup and she responded with seven kills, hitting .875 and scored five of the final 10 points of the set. UofL did not regain the lead until 22-21 on a miss by Fayad. A kill by Chaussee gave the Cards set point at 24-23 and a ball-handling error charged to the Toreros gave the Cards the 25-23 win and evened the set score going into the break.

In the third set, a deflated San Diego squad let the Cardinals jump out to an 8-5 lead early but tied at ten on a UofL miscue. UofL responded immediately with a 5-0 run to go up 15-10 at the media timeout. The Cards commanded the lead down the stretch to a 25-17 win. Chaussee paced the Cards with five kills and two aces in the set. 

The fourth set was a thriller. Louisville went through eight ties and four lead changes and we got bonus Volleyball, before Louisville got a block by Amaya Tillman and Aiko Jones to win set and match 29-27.  

The Cards advance to play the Washington Huskies on Sunday.  Time is TBD.  The Huskies are 18-3 after beating Dayton Thursday afternoon 3-2.

Cardinal Couple writer Jeff McAdams is in Tulsa and we hope he'll chime in via the comments section with his observations on the win. He will join us for a recap on the Saturday Cardinal Couole Radio Hour Podcast. 

Dana Evans on WNBA Draft night

Dana Evans heard her name called Thursday night by the Dallas Wings. She was the first pick in the second round -- 13th overall in the WNBA draft.. Dana fell in the selection process from what many expected, going in the second round, on draft night, but she kept her head held high.. going 13th overall, Dallas had 3 of the first 5 picks. 

Evans is the 14th Louisville player selected in the history of the WNBA Draft. Of the 14 WNBA Draft picks, 12 have played under head coach Jeff Walz.

"It's a blessing, I'm just really excited to finally hear my name," said Evans to Holly Rowe during ESPN's coverage of the WNBA Draft. "But, I'll use it as motivation because I didn't expect to be this far (down...in the draft). I'm ready to take on whatever I have to do and I'm excited."

It marks the third straight season that Louisville has had at least one player selected in the WNBA Draft.

Last season, Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook went 12th and 13th overall to the New York Liberty. In 2019, three Cardinals were selected as Asia Durr went second overall to the New York Liberty, Arica Carter went 32nd to the Phoenix Mercury and Sam Fuehring went 34th to the Washington Mystics.

It was a shock to us all here at CC to see Dana on the board so long.  But we wish her nothing but the best as she embarks on the next step in her basketball journey.   I know Louisville fans will continue to follow the career of Dana Evans.   A heads up... The Dallas Wings visit the Indiana Fever on June 24th.  Mark your calendars. 

Louisville Softball opens series with #21 Duke

Friday at 7 p.m.  

Saturday (DH) at 12 p.m.

Sunday at 12 p.m.

Watch on ACCNX

The Cards are back at Ulmer for a four game series with the Blue Devils (27-9, 15-9 ACC).   Its the first trip to Louisville for Duke.  Friday's game will be the first of 9 games against top 25 ranked foes. 

Louisville leads the all time series 2-1.  This weekend's series will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2018 when Louisville claimed the series, 2-1. Duke picked up a 1-0 victory in game three to avoid the sweep. Duke is currently on a 3-game losing streak as well as a cancellation falling to league leader and #9 Florida State last weekend.

UofL is led by junior Camryn Greenwood with a .447 clip (2nd in ACC) on an ACC-leading 46 hits and a team-high eight stolen bases. Taylor Roby holds the team’s second highest batting average at .409 and leads the pitching staff with eight victories. At the plate, she’s registered 36 hits, including a team-high 11 home runs, and racked up 32 RBIs. In the circle, she’s put together a 2.79 ERA through 95.1 innings in 24 appearances. 

The Blue Devils are led by Deja Davis who averages a .400 batting percentage and tallies 23 runs, 42 hits, five homeruns, 21 RBIs and is 8-11 with stolen bases. Kristina Foreman adds 28 runs, 24 hits, five homeruns, 22 RBIs and is 10-for-11 in stolen bases.The Blue Devils lead the league with 56 doubles, Duke ranks ninth nationally and 40th with 1.56 doubles per game. 

In the circle, Peyton St. George posts a 2.01 ERA for the Blue Devils with four shutouts, 119 strikeouts and 11 win on the season. Shelby Walters carries a 1.08 ERA with two shutouts, 47 strikeouts and 11 wins.

 DID YOU KNOW? 

Fun fact: Blue Devils' Josh Bloomer joined the Duke softball staff as an assistant coach in July 2019. Bloomer comes to Durham from Louisville, Ky., where he served as the head coach at Louisville Male High School for seven seasons.  Bloomer joined after a successful campaign at Louisville Male High School, guiding his squad to NFCA and Kentucky state titles this past spring. 

His 2019 team put together a 39-0 ledger for only the second unbeaten season in program history and became the first team from the state of Kentucky to finish first in the country.  

As a Louisville Male HS Softball Alum ('09 & Pre-Bloomer) I am very excited to welcome Coach Bloomer back to town.  He has been spotted at Ulmer before supporting local players/teams and I had the opportunity to have him on my previous radio show.  He is a very talented coach! 

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

It's a very busy weekend, #15 Louisville Lacrosse is also in action, bringing in Syracuse for two games, the first today at 3:00 p.m. at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.  ACC Network Extra will have this match for you if you can't make it out. 

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

Have a great start to your weekend Louisville fans! I made the trip over to Cardinal Stadium this week to get the first vaccine and you should too! Lets get back to big GAMEDAYS! Be sure to catch us on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast Saturday Morning at 11 a.m. ! 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

Vball Faces San Diego -- WNBA Draft -- HVL -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Volleyball Faces San Diego in NCAA Tournament

11th-seed Louisville gears up to face #21 ranked San Diego tonight in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cards earned a first round bye after being named one of the top 16 teams so a win will guarantee their sixth Sweet 16 appearance in program history.

The Toreros swept A&M-Corpus Christi 25-13, 25-15, 25-18 yesterday. It was San Diego's 13th win of the year after they went 12-4 in the regular season, all matches being played within the West Coast Conference.

San Diego went 1-3 against ranked opponents this year with the lone win coming against Pepperdine on Senior Day. It was enough to earn them an 11th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Averaging 13.1 kills per set, 12.2 assists per set, and a .268 kill percentage, San Diego ranked near the top in nearly every offensive category in the WCC. With 10 players at 6'0 or taller, the Toreros had a strong showing with 2.3 blocks per set.

First serve is set for noon ET, which would be 11:00 local time in Omaha. UofL did provide a link to watch this game live. Our very own Worldwide will be in attendance cheering on the Cards so look for him and his hair. We're sure to hear from him during our Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

Link to watch UofL Volleyball: https://uofl.me/3wTeV3S

WNBA Draft

Tonight's primetime show on tv is the WNBA Draft. This year's draft, which will be held virtually, will air at 7:00 p.m., and will be shown on ESPN.

Dana Evans is one of the top prospects in the draft and some expertsbelieve she will be taken sixth overall to the New York Liberty, joining Asia Durr, Jazmine Jones, and Kylee Shook. Evans is without a doubt one of the best players in Louisville history. There is some speculation she might be headed to Chicago, as well, which would put her closer to her hometown of Gary, IN. 

Charli Collier from Texas is the heavy favorite to go first to the Dallas Wings. After that, there is debate on how the next few picks will go.

Van Lith Invited to 2021 USA Women's AmeriCup Team Trials

Rising sophomore Hailey Van Lith was invited to the 2021 USA Women's AmeriCup Team Trials. The event will be held at the University of South Carolina from April 18-21. Dawn Staley will be the head coach for the team.

Van Lith is joined by 19 other notable women's basketball players listed below:

-Grace Berger (Indiana University, Sacred Heart Academy of Louisville)

-Aaliyah Boston (South Carolina)

-Jakia Brown-Turner (NC State)

-Rae Burrell (Tennessee)

-Veronica Burton (Northwestern)

-Zia Cooke (South Carolina)

-Elissa Cunane (NC State)

-Destanni Henderson (South Carolina)

-Naz Hillmon (Michigan)

-Rhyne Howard (Kentucky)

-Ashley Joens (Iowa State)

-Haley Jones (Stanford)

-Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech)

-Diamond Miller (Maryland)

-Ashley Owusu (Maryland)

-Khayla Pointer (LSU)

-Sedona Prince (Oregon)

-NaLyssa Smith (Baylor)

-Jenna Staiti (Georgia)

We send best wishes to Hailey and hope that she makes the final cut. 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Welcome to week 6 -- Eight ACC WBB Players to WNBA -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S ATHLETICS LAST EVENT WAS MARCH 9th. 

Welcome to week six of our nation's shutdown of college athletics. A sobering thought indeed.

On Monday, March 9th., Louisville Lacrosse took the field at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium to face Niagara. Eight different players scored for the LaxCards in a 17-7 win. Louisville jumped out to a 7-4 halftime lead, scoring four unanswered goals in less than three minutes and holding a first half 11-1 lead in draw controls. 

Ally Hall started things off for UofL in the second half with a goal just 14 seconds into play. An opening 8-2 run in that final half, scoring six straight goals and  Rachel Florek held the Purple Eagles scoreless for a 20-minute stretch. Hall and Hannah Morris had thrre goals each for the Cards, who improved to 5-4 on the season. 

It was a contest I missed. I was returning from the ACC WBB Tournament in Greensboro, NC that Monday. I had stayed to watch the championship game on Sunday, despite the WBB Cards getting knocked out of the Tournament in the semifinals on Saturday by FSU 62-60. 

Fortunately, our Jeff McAdams was able to cover the Lacrosse match for Cardinal Couple and also hold the post game presser with head coach Scott Teeter and student-athletes Paige Richbourg and Hannah Morris. 

I left Greensboro midway through Monday morning and returned to the 'Ville" via I-40 and the West Virginia Turnpike to I-64. I tried to follow the Lacrosse action as best I could via my smart phone and Tweets.  I remember stopping at "Tamarack" -- the cultural center on the West Virginia Turnpike for a "necessary" stop, to get some food and gasoline. It was strangely quiet that Monday.

I went through the cafeteria food line, discovering that my lunch had been prepared by culinary students and chatted a bit with the cashier. I chose meatloaf and two vegetable sides. I sat at a table in the dining room. No masks, gloves nor social distancing was being employed at that stage of the eventual shutdown. An elderly couple from Ashland, KY was seated near me and we struck up a conversation. They were returning home after visiting a daughter who lived in Raleigh, NC... who had just had a birthday. They weren't big sports fans but listened with interest as I retold the tale of the Tournament to them. 

They hadn't heard of Cardinal guard Kasa Robinson, who is from Ashland. They spoke at length about how road travel wore them out. We chatted a bit about the $4 a pop the West Virginia Turnpike charges you (3) times while you are on it and about the outbreak of this "illness in China". Neither seemed to think it was much more than a type of "flu" and weren't worried about it.

They liked my black UofL windbreaker and confessed that they had a son who was a huge UK fan. I wonder how they are today. I hope they are Covid-19 free and getting help with things. I didn't "I.D" them, but I guess they were maybe mid-70's in age and he had a persistent cough. 

I looked forward to returning home and pondered, as I drove and listened to NPR on the radio and one of my favorite CD...The Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East. (Yes, I still have a CD player in my car and CD's). i wondered how the WBB Cards would do in the NCAA draw and where they would end up being seeded. I thought about how softball would do in their next series at Ulmer against Boston College and if Teeter could keep the Lacrosse Cards on their win streak against a very good Delaware squad. Those events never took place, Lax travelling to their destinations, only to discover the game had been cancelled as they prepared for it. Boston College never taking the field against Holly's squad. 

Six weeks in, readers.

Our social unrest is starting to rise. Just yesterday, I saw a gathering of about 10 cars, 20+ people at my local high school football field. They had slipped in through a loose gate and were actually playing football in pads while kids and mothers were playing on an adjacent playground.

My wife, Sonja, and I were working in the garden in front of the elementary school. Weeding and trimming. The softball coach from the high school had been on his riding lawn mower, cutting in and around the softball field. We know him, he drove over to us and wondered if he should call the police or the school's athletic director. A call to the athletic director resulted in him and a patrol car showing up and breaking up the gathering. I'm pretty sure other events like this are happening at other places, but, why chance it? This Covid-19 isn't playing around, y'all. 

I know. It's tough. We are social beings, but, please....for my health and yours...listen to our elected officials. Stay at home, away from crowds and gatherings

EIGHT ACC PLAYERS SELECTED IN WNBA DRAFT. 

Just how good was ACC women's basketball this season? Eight players were selected in the 36-player draft on Friday night. That's 22% of the total. 

All eight seemed to be "locks" for the draft, in my opinion, as I watched ACC action. I was surprised that Bea Mompremier and Kiah Gillespie were the #20 and #32 picks, I figured they would go earlier.  

In the first round:  

Jocelyn Willoughby (VA) #10
Jazmine Jones (LOU)  #12

In the second round: 

Kylee Shook (LOU)  #13
Leaonna Odom (DUKE)  #15
Beatrice Mompremier (MIA)  #20

In the third round: 

Kobi Thornton (CLEM)  #27
Haley Gorecki (DUKE)  #31
Kiah Gillespie  (FSU)   #32 

That's an impressive number, no doubt...but remember the 2019 WNBA Draft? 13 players of the 36 selected were ACC student-athletes. How many can you remember, right off the top of your head? Give it a whirl and see who you can recall before you check out the list below. I came up with 10...


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2019 WNBA DRAFT

Round	Pick	Name	Team	School	Position
1	1	Jackie Young	Las Vegas Aces	Notre Dame	Guard
1	2	Asia Durr	New York Liberty	Louisville	Guard
1	5	Arike Ogunbowale	Dallas Wings	Notre Dame	Guard
1	10	Kiara Leslie	Washington Mystics	NC State	Guard
1	11	Brianna Turner	Atlanta Dream	Notre Dame	Center
2	16	Jessica Shepard	Minnesota Lynx	Notre Dame	Forward
2	19	Marina Mabrey	Los Angeles Sparks	Notre Dame	Guard
3	25	Paris Kea	Indiana Fever	North Carolina	Guard
3	27	María Conde	Chicago Sky	Florida State	Forward
3	31	Ángela Salvadores	Los Angeles Sparks	Duke	Guard
3	32	Arica Carter	Phoenix Mercury	Louisville	Guard
3	33	Regan Magarity	Connecticut Sun	Virginia Tech	Forward
3	34	Sam Fuehring	Washington Mystics	Louisville	Forward

Have a marvelous Monday and remember we're all in this and we're all in this together. 


paulie
xxxxx

WNBA Draft Sees Surprises -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

New York Cardinals or Louisville Liberty?

The New York Liberty started off draft week by trading star center Tina Charles to the Washington Mystics. They ended the week by selecting 1/6 of the players drafted on Friday night, including five players in the first 15 picks. When all was said and done, they ended up with six players from the first 15 picks after trading Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to the Phoenix Mercury for the newly drafted Jocelyn Willoughby and trading their newly drafted Erika Ogwumike to the Minnesota Lynx for Stephanie Talbot. 

There was some late dissent about whether NY should take Sabrina Ionescu first overall as she may be exposed defensively in the W, but I think it was mostly people that would rather draft someone else for the surprise factor. Ionescu went first, followed by teammate Satou Sabally, Lauren Cox from Baylor, Chennedy Carter from A&M, and Bella Alarie from Princeton to round out the top-five. Alarie, as it happens, is Jay Bilas's god-daughter. She averaged 16-9-2 as a guard/forward for the Tigers this year.

So Asia Durr was joined in New York by Ionescu. It was expected, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. What may excite Asia even more is the what came next. A junior that left early was the next pick for NY, when they took Megan Walker, a forward out of UCONN with the ninth pick. Replacing Tina Charles will hardly be a simple task, but having talent in the front court will be quite useful. The Liberty would add more of that shortly.

While it was prognosticated by many that Jaz Jones would end up being a third-round pick, it did not come to pass. That's not because she went undrafted, of course; it's because she was drafted in the first round. With the 12th pick, the final of the first round, Jaz was selected by, you guessed it, the New York Liberty. A few minutes later, the Liberty made the first pick of the second round: Kylee Shook. Shook was also expected to go in the third, so this was a big leap for her as well. Two picks later, the Liberty added another forward to the mix when selecting Leaonna Odom out of Duke. 

After their big draft night, the Liberty roster now sits at 17. Assuming they don't add any more players via trade or free agency, that means they'll have to find five players to send back home prior to the final roster deadline, as the maximum roster limit in the WNBA is 12. It would be stunning to see Asia Durr exit New York at this stage, as she was a high pick and averaged 10 ppg in 26 minutes last season. However, I would say that none of the draft picks after Megan Walker are safe. Were this a more normal draft for a team and Jaz Jones was the Liberty's second pick at 12, I'd say she was in a good spot. However, the team added three players before her. It's a very crowded rookie class and there will be some tough decisions to be made.

Were either Jones or Shook to be cut prior to the season, I would not expect that to be the end of the road. Despite Jones already having a gig elsewhere, I'd say she would still pursue the W, as would Kylee Shook. We saw the same thing happen to Arica Carter last year when she was cut prior to the season but still managed to find her way back to a team before the season was out. Jeff Walz has a certain brand of player he likes to recruit, and it includes a certain tenacity. No player that comes through Louisville is going to just give up if they get cut once.

All that said, there is still a big question regarding the WNBA season. The MLB has floated random ideas of returning to action at some point but none of those have come to pass. The NBA has no schedule. MLS has pushed their return out to July. The Indy 500 on Memorial Day Weekend has been postponed, as has Derby, and the Madison Regatta (July 4th) and Forecastle Festival (July 17-19) have already been canceled. Any summer events are in jeopardy, so we'll see if this season even comes to pass. Here's hoping all of our Cardinals in the league get the opportunity to show their stuff this year or next if it comes to it. Links to the post game teleconferences below:

LINK:  JAZMINE JONES POST-DRAFT TELECONFERENCE

LINK:  KYLEE SHOOK POST-DRAFT TELECONFERENCE

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It's Saturday, which means it's time for another episode of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. We've come to get fairly used to this version of the show, and hope that you all are enjoying it as well. The WNBA draft will probably give us a lot to keep on basketball this week, but we're sure to dabble in the other randomness that has come across our feeds this week. Be sure to tune in to our YouTube Live stream at 11AM or catch the rebroadcast any time. Also, subscribe to the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel so that you can keep up to date when new interviews are posted as well as when the show goes up.

Until next time, Go Cards! (and Liberty!)

-CH-

WNBA Draft Tonight -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WHERE WILL JAZ AND KYLEE END UP?

The 2020 WNBA Draft takes place tonight at 7 p.m. Three rounds, 36 picks, all to be done without the usual attendees, sports broadcasters and analysts in one spot. 

Instead, ESPN will do it remotely, the players watching via laptop and PC...watching on their couches, with a cadre of fans, friends and relatives around them The same goes for the ESPN sports personalities, making the comments, analysis and guesses from their own "homemade studios". It could be interesting. 

If anything is uncertain, it is who will be selected after the first five picks. Neither Louisville's Jones nor Shook are listed by the four sources I have studied for their projections and analysis. I studied what ESPN, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports and BBall Index had to say in their projections. 

The "four" are solid in their top four picks. All four think Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon point guard, will be taken by the New York Liberty. 

Oregon strong forward Satou Sabally is a consensus second pick by all four sources also, and projected to go to Dallas. 

Lauren Cox, Baylor power forward, is the projected third choice from these sources and will join the Indiana Fever. 

All four sources agree that Chennedy Carter, a shooting guard out of Texas A&M will go fourth and be selected by the Atlanta Dream. 

We heard from Payton Verhulst, 2021 Louisville commit, earlier in the week and she mentioned to us that Carter was a player she played against early in her career, before all the hype developed around Carter, and thought that she might turn out to be someone very special back then.

Payton was correct.

For the fifth pick, ESPN and Bleacher Report agree on South Carolina PG Tyasha Harris. BBall Index indicates that they think Princeton guard Bella Alarie is the one...they have Harris as sixth. CBS Sports touts UConn forward Megan Walker, followed by Harris and Alaire.  

Where are the "experts" thinking Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook will end up? For their thoughts, only ESPN, College Sports Madness and B Ball Index offered anything after the first round. 

Kylee's projections: 

ESPN -- Kylee is the 19th pick and goes to Seattle
College Sports Madness --  Kylee is the 24th pick and headed to Washington
B Ball Index -- Kylee is the 32nd pick and goes to Chicago.

Two second round and one third round projections for Kylee.

I'll agree with B Ball Index. Chicago looks like a good fit for Kylee.  Their 2020 projected roster shows just four players 6'4" or taller -- Stefanie Dolson, Azura Stevens, Jantel Lavender and Cheyenne Parker. I'm thinking Kylee could beat out one of these for a roster spot. 

Jaz's projections: 

ESPN -- Jones is the 22nd pick and goes to the LA Sparks
B Ball Index -- Jones is the 29th pick and goes to Phoenix
College Sports Madness -- this website only pick the top 24 (first two rounds) and Jaz Jones wasn't in their top 24 picks. 

So, one second round, one third round and one "don't know" here.

I like Jones's chances with Phoenix. After "sure-fire" starters Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins Smith, the Mercury list Sophie Cunningham, Olivia Epoupa, Bria Hartley and Yvonne Turner as guards. It's not hard to see Jaz beating out one of the "other four" for a roster spot. 

Will we get Deb on TV tonight, from her
'women cave'? 

Jaz indicates she's been in touch with five different WNBA programs.

We don't have any information on who Kylee has been contacted by. Cardinal Couple has put in a request to talk with Kylee, but, we understand she hasn't been feeling well lately and we haven't made that contact yet. 

Let's not forget that trades are always a part of the WNBA Draft. so, even the best projections are merely that -- guesses. Only the 12 WNBA GM's and their coaches know for sure who they are going after, and they all have "contingency" plans in place, if a selection isn't around when their time comes to pick. 

We wish both Kylee and Jaz the best of fortunes in the WNBA Draft. 

We'll know late tonight.   



paulie
xxxxx