Women's Basketball Season! -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Basketball Season is Here!

The time is upon us- women's basketball season has arrived!  It comes as no surprise that women's basketball season is our most popular sport and we try to bring the best and latest in coverage of Louisville women's basketball.

Louisville opens up the 2019-2020 season with the same team they led off with last year- Western Kentucky.  The Cards won that game 102-80 in Bowling Green.  The Hilltoppers still hold the series with a 20-17 advantage, although Louisville is is 9-5 at home in the series.


Scouting WKU

Western Kentucky returns over 85% of its offense from last year and over 80% of its rebounding. The top five scorers from last year's squad are back on the roster this year.

Second year head coach Greg Collins has plenty of ties to Louisville.  He holds a bachelors degree and masters degree from UofL and was an assistant coach from 2002-2007.  He led WKU to a 20-15 record last year and an appearance in the WNIT.

Dee Givens has already joined the 1000-point club.  Givens is a threat from anywhere on the floor and is near-automatic at the free throw line.

At 6'4, Raneem Elgedway is a strong rebounder.  Last season, she averaged 7.7 rebounds per game and was the second leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game.

The Lady Toppers (like many schools, WKU's women's basketball team still carries the "Lady" in front of their name) were picked to finish 3rd in Conference USA.  WKU has finished in the top two in C-USA the last two years.  They're 35-11 all-time in season openers.



The Cards and What They'll Do

Louisville has three starters to replace from last year's team- Asia Durr, Arica Carter, and Sam Fuehring.  The trio played a major part in the Final Four run two years ago and the Elite Eight run last year.

Dana Evans returns as a junior and is expected to become the primary point guard, captaining the
Cards down the court.  Yacine "Yaya" Diop is back to healthy and will play her final season.  Diop can be a big scorer and rebounder, possibly picking up a scoring role for the void in the offense.  Mykasa Robinson will also be in the frontcourt.  Robinson was more of a one-on-one defensive threat this year but has worked on her shooting in the off-season. She is a game-time decision for Tuesday, though -- with a shoulder issue.

Bionca Dunham and Kylee Shook will have some help down low this year, but carry senior leadership.  Molly Lockhart comes in as a redshirt freshman and Georgia Tech transfer Elizabeth Dixon will fight for playing time as well.  Dixon was a major force on offense and defense for the Yellow Jackets and has the potential for a breakout season. She'll start Tuesday night, per Coach Walz.

Elizabeth Balogun also transferred in from Georgia Tech.  She was named ACC Freshman of the Year and has Asia Durr-like scoring abilities.  Although I don't think she can match what Louisville's second leading scorer all-time did I do think Balogun can be "the spark" on offense this year. She's another starter for Tuesday night.

Kianna Smith is another transfer in.  Smith is a three-point threat and does an excellent job of finding players for an open shot. She'll sit this season, along with Green and Parker, as red-shirts.




Other returnees include seniors Jazmine Jones and Jess Laemmle and sophomores Lindsey Duvall and Seygan Robins.  Jones is probably one of the most-athletic and most-electric players you'll see in all the NCAA this year.  Laemmle has been a crowd favorite and has proven to be a major leader.  Duvall continues to be an exterior shooter and Robins will look to make a bigger impact in her second season.

Norika Konno joins Diop as the only international players on this year's squad.  The Japanese native is a do-it-all player, finding ways to fill up the stat sheet in all categories. You can expect her to see significant minutes at the wing Tuesday night.

Here is Walz's presser from Monday. It's a good listen:

LINK: WALZ PRESSER 11/4/19

Prediction

The Cards should win this one by double-digits.  They won't break 100 like last year but will get into the 80's.  Louisville will try to settle into new roles and adjust with a much different looking roster from last year.

WKU will keep the game close for the first half, giving fans a way-too-early panic feel before the Cards wear them down in the second half.

Attendance won't break 10,000.  Between opening night being on a weekday and the men's basketball team playing at Miami (FL) at the exact same time circumstances are not good for a great crowd.

Paulie and I will be on the floor to give you in-depth coverage as well as a juicy recap, a (hopefully) fun postgame, and some fresh pictures for you.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared



PS: It's Election Day here in Kentucky so make sure to go vote!  Kentucky has had notoriously low voter turnouts lately so it's time to change that.  Here at Cardinal Couple, we do not directly endorse or oppose any of the candidates and our thoughts and views on our personal social media pages do not directly reflect the views of Cardinal Couple.

We do think that everyone who is registered to vote, though, should get out Tuesday and exercise that right. And do your research, as our buddy Paige Sherrard so eloquently put it on the Saturday broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR  If you don't vote, then you have no right to complain.

Paulie has inserted two of his favorite "election" songs at the bottom. Joe Walsh's "Vote For ME" and Alice Cooper's "ELECTED". 

LINK: WALSH'S "VOTE FOR ME"

LINK: COOPER'S "ELECTED"

WBB faces WKU tonight -- WSOC in NCAA Tournament -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GOES TO BOWLING GREEN TONIGHT

It's here!

The 2018-19 Louisville women's basketball season gets underway this evening when the Cards travel to Bowling Green to face the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers tonight at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. Louisville time) in E.A. Diddle Arena. 

They'll face a team that was 24-9 last season and 11-1 in C-USA play (remember that conference, Cardinal fans?). It is a WKU team that has undergone some big changes, though.

Gone is former head coach (and former Jeff Walz assistant) Michelle Clark Heard. She's north of Louisville now, watching the Cincinnati Bearcats bounce basketballs. Gone are their top two scorers from last year...Tashia Brown and Ivy Brown...who accounted for almost 40 of the Hilltoppers 75 points per game last year. 

Greg Collins is the head coach up on "the Hill" these days. He's no stranger to Tops basketball, having served as an assistant on the staff for six years before being named head skipper. You might also remember Greg from his time at Louisville. He was former assistant to Tom Collen for the Cards and followed Collen to Arkansas when he took that head coaching gig. Collins basically held the program together during the transition time from Martin Clapp to Tom Collen back in 2003. 

WKU's Greg Collins

Western Kentucky does return some significant talent from last year's squad that won the CUSA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament...falling to Oregon State in the first round. Raneem Elgedany, a 6'4" forward, was the third-leading scorer for WKU last year. A couple of girls who competed in Kentucky High School basketball are back as well -- 5'8" guard Whitney Creech and 6'1" forward Dee Givens. 

For Louisville, the major question confronting Cardinal fans is who and how will Walz fill departed graduate Myisha Hines-Allen's minutes with?  We've heard conversation about a variety of players picking up and improving small pieces of their games to cover the gap. 

My guess, and it is purely a guess, is that Walz will go "big" to counter-attack the taller front line possibilities that WKU can employ...and have Durr, Carter, Fuehring, Shook and Jones out there on the hardwood for tipoff. And, that's purely a guess. I have no "inside scoop" or advance copy of the starters. Coach himself even said a few days ago that there were a whole roster-full of players that could start for this team. Or more importantly, who will be out there at crunch time?  

(Watch him counter with Durr, Diop, Dunham, Fuehring and Evans, right? This is the "three D's, an E and F" -- or Paulie's semester report card option.)

One thing you can count on. Jeff will play just about everyone who is eligible and not injured tonight. He has mentioned the freshmen might see first quarter action. This game is a chance to see who will step up and lay claim to minutes. We wonder how Sam's "stinger" on her neck is doing and will she be able to contribute significant minutes if needed? 

In any event, it should be fun and we'll have full CARDINAL COUPLE coverage on site with Paulie, Sonya and Jared on hand...plus rumors that Worldwide Jeff might come out of his map-building room of secrecy and Daryl Foust, frequent CARDINAL COUPLE radio guest, all bouncing into Bowling Green for basketball. 

Look for Louisville to try and force the pace early against WKU and possibly press after made baskets. Asia Durr will have the "green-light" to create and it'll be interesting to see how the Cards front line will do against a WKU squad that has a 6'4", two 6'3" and a 6'2" players available for action.  

Video coverage is allegedly on ESPN +...so you'll have to pay for that. You can do what Paulie does when the Cards are on the road and he can't get there. Tune into 790 WKRD AM -- Cards Radio -- for Nick and AJ's call. We'll have the recap of "Big Red" vs. "Louie" tomorrow in Jared Anderson's article. 

The start of what promises to be a very-exciting, challenging and enjoyable journey for this 2018-19 WBB squad gets underway this evening. Don't you miss it! 


WSOC SELECTED FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT

Karen Ferguson Dayes and the kickin' Cards are headed to the Big Dance! Louisville received a #15 seed in what looks to be the "west" or the Palo Alto region and will face #2 seed Tennessee in Knoxville at 5 p.m. Friday this weekend for first round action. 

The teams have met once before, when UT took a 6-0 win back in 1998. They played that one in Nashville, oddly enough. 

UT went 13-2-3 this year and was ranked in the top 25 most of the season, getting a #12 ranking in the last poll. Their RPI is #9. 

Louisville earns the bid after a 12-6 regular season, finishing tied for 5th. in the ACC and got an "at-large" bid. They would face the winner between Arizona and Denver if they vanquish the Vols. 

All told, ten ACC schools got selected for the 64-team tournament. Joining the Cards are  Clemson, Boston College, Virginia, Duke, Wake Forest, FSU, Virginia Tech, NC State and North Carolina...who received a #2 seed in their region. 

A well-deserved honor for seniors Gabby Vincent and Kennadi Carbin.  Emina Ekic was named first team ALL-ACC and Vincent to the third-team. 

Always a tough task when a #15 faces a #2 seed but Louisville has employed a very strong and low-goals-allowed defense this season and has several scoring options when they are on the attack.

This is the fifth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for the Cards in the history of the program...last visiting in 2013, when the Cards lost a first-round match against Illinois State in the old Cardinal Park 2-1, after the teams went from a 1-1 tie to a shootout-status that I.S.U won. Louisville finished 12-5-1 that season. 


Good luck to the Lynn Stadium Louisville girls in Knoxville on Friday! 


DONATION MONTH

November is Donation Month at CARDINAL COUPLE. If you like Cards WBB coverage, we like to think we do it as well, if not better, than any other site on the Internet. We "do" the away games, we get you the interviews, we go "beyond the play-by-play" to provide in-depth and comprehensive coverage of Jeff Walz and his student-athletes. 

And, we do it daily.

For WBB and all women's sports at UofL, you know you can come here and find it. Plus, we are on the radio weekly with THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR on WCHQ 100.9 FM. Saturdays at 11 a.m.

One thing we never forget is that YOU are Cardinal Couple and we appreciate it! 

SEND CHECKS TO: 

Cardinal Couple
PO BOX 91521
Louisville, KY   40291

or you can donate via Pay Pal here: DONATE TO CARDINAL COUPLE

Also, via Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/donate/251317425546724/?fundraiser_source=external_url

Thank you!


paulie
xxxxx



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Louisville Women's Basketball -- Frenzied finish foils Toppers in 68-61 Cards win -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN, DURR AND ZAMBROTTA LEAD LOUISVILLE OVER WKU.

Louisville women's basketball went on a 11-2 run to start the fourth quarter... regaining the lead over Western Kentucky and pulled away at the end to defeat the Bowling Green school 68-61 in front of 9861 fans at the KFC YUM! Center Sunday afternoon. 

Leading the charge was junior forward Myisha-Hines Allen...who had six of her 16 points in the four minute stretch that saw Louisville erase an eight-point deficit after three periods and go ahead 55-54 with 6:10 left in the contest. Two Asia Durr threes sandwiched a Mariya Moore layup to give UofL some breathing room at 63-59 with 3:33 left in the contest. After a Walton jumper set the score at 65-51, the Cards introduced the latest Walzian Theorum to the crowd in the final 13 seconds. 

1 for 2, followed by 2 for 2 is better than 2 for 2. Briahanna Jackson sank a free throw to give the Cards a 66-61 lead. She missed the second attempt but Hines-Allen was there to corral the rebound and got fouled by WKU's Kendall Noble. Hines-Allen sank her two free throws to set the final score. If Jackson hadn't missed hers, Hines-Allen wouldn't have had the chance to complete the theory's presumption. If B.J. had made both, it would have been 67-61 and Western would have needed two three-pointers or three-point plays in 13 second to tie the game. 

The 23-9 fourth quarter for Louisville was unlike most of the game. Louisville looked sloppy and unfocused the the first quarter, trailing 10-6 until a couple of freshmen in Kylee Shook and Sydney Zambrotta came in and  got the crowd and the team fired up. Shook's jumper drew the Cards to within two. Zambrotta's two threes in the final 1:42 of play cut the Topper's lead to 16-14.

Why Zambrotta so early? Coach Walz mentioned that she had a great week of practice and that he had told her she would get a chance to show if she could continue that with some early playing time. The North Babylon, NY sharp-shooter responded with three more trifectas in the second period...making up half the Cards first half scoring offense...but WKU turned Ivy Brown loose on the Cards and her nine points led the visitors to a 38-32 halftime lead. 

Louisville was 8-9 from three point range after 20 minutes. Normally, you'd think that would be associated with a 14-20 point lead...but the Cards were not getting the job defensively and already had 10 turnovers in the books. 

Whatever Walz said at halftime worked for a few minutes. Cortnee Walton started the second half on a 4-0 run and UofL finished their 10-0 start-of-the-half run with a Hines-Allen jumper to give the home squad a 42-38 advantage halfway through the third. The Toppers refused to yield, however and responded with a 14-2 to finish the quarter...a space of time where Topper sophomore Jaycee Coe did her Sydney Zambrotta imitation and sank three three-point bombs during a stretch where the Cards went 1 for 6 and committed five turnovers. It was 52-44 WKU after 30 minutes and Cardinal fans were feeling slightly nervous in the KFC YUM! Center about Louisville's less-than-Heisman-Award winning-performance. 

Credit the Cards for buckling down and playing solid defense in the final ten minutes...holding WKU to 4 for 14 (28.6%) shooting in the period. And capitalizing on those misses with a 14-4 rebounding edge...Hines-Allen controlling seven of them. Credit Asia Durr for ice-water in her veins and nailing two big threes when Louisville absolutely needed them. 

On an afternoon where cloudy skies and rain threatened, Louisville broke through with a little sunshine late in the afternoon and the ACC Player of the Year turned in a finishing performance that showed why she got the award last season. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Legendary Louisville sportscaster and my
buddy Fred Cowgill. 

-- Free Throws -- Another "El Stinko" performance at the charity stripe for Louisville. 4-9 is very *meh* and maybe we should change the "F" in the "Fred" sequence to something else...like fouls or field goals...because we don't give an "f" for 44.4% shooting from the stripe. No letter, the mailman ain't here.

-- Rebounding --  Louisville did out-grab the smaller foe by 16 which is an encouraging stat. The starting Louisville front line (Hines-Allen, Moore and Walton) had 28 of the 41, which we like to see and...besides Ivy Brown...who had nine for WKU and had to missed 13 minutes because of a smash to the face and jersey-change...Louisville did a good enough job keeping the foe off the boards and controlling them (especially in the final stanza) to give the capital "R" out

-- Effort/Execution -- Quite honestly...and except for the five-star performance of Zambrotta in the the first half, we thought the Cards looked as flat as a three-day-old-opened soda for most of the first 30 minutes. Still, the Cards rose to the occasion when it mattered and for that, we'll give out a small "e" 

-- Defense -- Once again, there were stretches when the Cards played "efense" (No "D") but effectively shut down the foe in crunch time. Maybe the tired legs caught up with WKU in the final ten...we'll still offer a small "d" here 

THE FRED TOTAL:  -_R-e-d


WHAT WE LIKED

Wham, bam, thank ya Zam! -- Sydney Zambrotta's first half performance was incredible, to say the least. Coach Walz mentioned after the Kentucky win that he was still looking for a third three point-scorer. 

Mr. Walz...may I introduce you to Ms. Zambrotta? 

Get outta the way for MHA -- Myisha took over the fourth stanza, with a lot of help from Asia. 3 for 3 shooting, two free throws and seven rebounds say "YES!" to us and if you need a definition of the term "refuse to lose" look no further than the Montclair, NJ junior. 

Sealing the deal -- Winning the fourth quarter has been a bit of a tricky procedure for Louisville women's basketball this season but the Cards dominated in the final ten minutes yesterday. If it is "all about the heart", the Cards showed that theirs was beating pretty strongly at the end of Sunday's game. 

THINGS TO WORK ON

Consistency -- We don't like beating this horse as much as we have been lately, but this was two separate games yesterday. 30 minutes of playing below the level of their competition and 10 minutes of looking like a top-10 team. 19 turnovers are a few too many against Western.

Defense -- We'll plead for about the same thing here. A constant effort. Yes, WKU knew what Louisville was going to try to stop them with, thanks to Michelle Clark-Heard's long association with the program and very few expected Coe's barrage in the third...but you have to recognize the shooters on the court and WKU was getting a lot of easy looks in the paint early on. 


SO...

Always good to see my "lil sis" 

In the final analysis, it was a win over a squad that we most certainly feel with be a part of March Madness. Adding Kyvin Goodin-Rogers is only going to help WKU and "The Browns" and Noble make WKU a very formidable foe. Louisville saved the day with their fourth-quarter blitz and it's two very good games in a row for Hines-Allen. The effort by UofL yesterday would not gather wins over most of the ACC, though, and that is a bit distressing. 

Chalk it up as a "W" and Louisville is 8-2 now. A tip of the cap to the starters for finishing strong and to Syd for creating some memorable moments. Louisville narrowly avoided a train wreck Sunday, though, and that should be something for them to keep in mind when they face a very talented  (8-2) South Dakota State squad Wednesday that is looking for a signature win. 


SIDE BARS

Coach may be air surfing here...we're just not sure...

One of my favorite refs in Dennis DeMayo had the call in the game yesterday, which tickled me..since I thought he was going to retire after last year. Nice to see him out there. I did hold up a cookie for him to see at the end of halftime, like I do with most of the refs...and offered it to him. His response was classic..."I'd rather have a beer." Keep calling them like you see them, "Dub D". I was pretty much ready for one starting the second half myself. 

Also in attendance was another great guy in Paul Sanderford. I got to chat with the long-time coach and color commentator legend in the Media Room before the contest and he's still as fun, gracious and entertaining as he's always been. 

A great story about a new and "wordy" play-by-play guy he once worked with. Paul couldn't get a word in edgewise in the first half of a game, so when they went to commercial break, he informed the gabby guy...

"i'm going to go take a pee, get a coke a hot dog and enjoy the rest of this one...because it's obvious you don't need me." (Guess who got all the time he wanted in the second half and rest of the season?) 

CLASSIC Paul...keeping it real. Keep 'em coming, Coach! 

CONVERSATIONS

Post game was pretty much The Paulie Show again...especially with the players and Walz. Coach Walz did explain his latest two theorum to me and there were no quacking ducks in the background. 

I probably didn't do as good of a job with the players as I SHOULD HAVE...that's on me...but I was in there pitching with no one in the bullpen to back me up and runners in scoring position. Nice practice for the comedy routine Coach and I are taking to the road after the season ends. 


Your post-game links: 

LINK: MYISHA HINES-ALLEN AND SYDNEY ZAMBROTTA DISCUSS THE WIN OVER WKU

LINK: JEFF WALZ POSTGAME REMARKS


LINK: POST GAME MICHELLE CLARK HEARD


paulie
xxxxx

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Worldwide Roundup

It has been a few weeks since I've written an article here at Cardinal Couple.  Life gets in the way sometimes, you know.  Thanks to Paulie for affording me the ability to step away for a bit to put a little more attention on some other events in my life (generally positive, no need to worry for me, just busy).  It's also been great to hear the great writing voice of Case and just get to enjoy that.

So, returning, I have several topics to cover today.

Heisman Hero

Unsurprisingly, Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy last night.  The most prestigious award in college football.  This, of course, is the first Heiman winner at UofL, and he also has the distinction of being the youngest player to have been awarded the trophy.

Good news for Cards fan is that he still has at least one more year with us as he doesn't become NFL draft eligible until after next year's season.  He has also hinted at wanting to stay for both of his remaining years of eligibility.  I won't be holding my breath for that, but wouldn't it be exciting to see a senior year Lamar Jackson at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium?

If you'd like to be among the first to see Jackson and the Heisman Trophy...well, I have no inside information on this...but I would wager that attending today's Women's Basketball Game would be a wise plan.  Also, maybe you might want to stay in your seats at halftime, if I had to make a guess.

Women's Basketball vs WKU

WBB SALUTES LAMAR WITH "THE POSE".

Speaking of Women's Basketball, the team will be looking for another "Oh, buddy!" moment against those ballers down I-65 south of here -
WKU, after losing the game to them at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green last year.  OK, there's not quite the same level of angst and pressure in this matchup as there was against UK, but it still stings to lose to an in-state team like that.

Michelle Clark-Heard will always have a threatening team.  They are 5-3 on the year, with loses to George Washington, UT Arlington, and DePaul.  A lose to Doug Bruno's DePaul team is never one to hang your head over.  The only win of any real consequence is over IU, so at this point it's a bit difficult to judge the quality of this team without having watched them play (which I have not had the opportunity to do so, yet).

The game starts at 2pm at the KFC Yum! Center and will be streamed on The ACC Network Extra if you can't make it to the arena. You can always catch the great call of Nick Curran and A.J. on Cards Radio 790 as well. 

Volleyball Final Four is Set

I wouldn't normally talk about volleyball much after UofL has been eliminated, but I did want to take a moment to bring attention to the continuing success of the Nebraska squad.  Of course, their assistant coach Dani Busboom Kelly, will be coming to Louisville to take over as the skipper of our squad after her duties at Nebraska are completed.

Top seed Nebraska won easily over Washington to punch their ticket to the Volleyball Final Four (technically the name Final Four is specific to NCAA basketball, but no one has come up with a clever name like that for volleyball.  Soccer has "The College Cup", baseball and softball have "The College World Series" and "The Women's College World Series" respectively, Ice Hockey even has "The Frozen Four", which I think is particularly clever.  Suggestions for volleyball are welcome.).  They will face 4-seed Texas on Thursday in Columbus OH after Texas swept the Cinderella team of the tournament, Creighton, without a great deal of difficulty.  The other side of the bracket features 2-seed Minnesota, who swept 10-seed UCLA, and the only upset of the quarter-finals, 6-seed Stanford, who eked out a barnburner of a win over 3-seed Wisconsin in 5 sets to advance.  The Championship match will be Saturday at 9pm.


Hello, Radio! 

Another episode of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO SHOW aired yesterday and Paulie, Case
and Worldwide discussed Lamar, WBB, MBB, and gift cards. It's always an adventure at Crescent Hill Radio and yesterday was no exception...with technical glitches and us not realizing we were actually on the air until we noticed the frantic motioning of our studio engineer.

The rebroadcast is available at the WCHQ website....It didn't get lost and the gremlins or Lamar Jackson didn't steal it or receive it in a ceremony.

LINK: CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO 12-10-16


JMcA

Louisville women's basketball falls late at WKU 71-69...Volleyball today -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TOPPERS HANG ON TO SEND CARDS TO DEFEAT

Despite 24 points from Briahanna Jackson...Louisville takes their second loss of the basketball season in Bowling Green to WKU 71-69 Saturday afternoon.

The Cards had reclaimed the lead at 68-67 with 42 seconds to go in a topsy-turvy 4th period after Jackson connected on a layup, got fouled and made the free throw. Jeff Walz switched to a zone defense on the ensuing WKU possession to try and confuse the Hilltoppers but WKU guard Kendall Noble found a wide open Kayla Smith under the basket to put WKU ahead with 34 ticks remaining. 

The Cards looked to have a good chance to regain the lead when they advanced the ball but misses by Arica Carter and Cortnee Walton on jumpers and then a highly questionable travelling call on Walton with 15 seconds left got the ball back in Western's possession. A quick foul sent Noble to the line and her two conversions made it 71-68 WKU. 

Walz got a 30 second timeout and most of us on press row expected the Cards to try a potentially tying three on the ensuing play. Instead, Taja Cole went to the basket for a layup and was fouled on the missed attempt. After Cole sank the first and missed the second, Jackson came up with the rebound with eight seconds remaining but the Cards could not get off a final shot.

Louisville started the game slowly and trailed 12-3 with 2:43 left in the first period after Noble drained a three. Baskets by Sam Fuehring, Myisha Hines-Allen and Asia Durr got the Cards finally rolling and back to within seven and the first ten minutes ended with WKU holding a 16-9 lead.

UofL steadily chipped away at the WKU lead in the second period and a Jackson three got the Cards within two at 22-20 with 5:13 until the intermission. Jackson would tie the contest at 26-26 with another three at the 2:42 mark and the Cards would go in at the half trailing 33-32 after Hines-Allen connected inside with six seconds left to play.

Louisville took their first lead of the contest since the 8:07 mark of the first period when they created a steal and Hines-Allen would bank in a layup to make it 34-33 Louisville just 25 second into the third period. The Cards would not relinquish that lead over the next 10 minutes and Cole's driving layup with 1:16 remaining in the third gave UofL a 49-46 lead after 30 minutes of play. 

Then came the fireworks. Moore inside made it 51-46 Cards at the 9:17 mark and one wondered if the Cards might be on the verge of putting the Toppers away. 

Quite the opposite happened.

It was WKU getting the hot hand and a 10-0 run over the next three minutes put them in a 56-51 lead. The Cards battled back. Carter tied the contest at 60-60 with 3:04 left and Durr put Louisville ahead with a free throw. It was WKU's turn to catch on fire and they went on a 7-1 run over the next two minutes to lead 67-62. A Moore three cut that margin to two and led to the frantic final 42 seconds. 

WKU mascot Big Red shows Paulie his...OK, nevermind...

Questions, questions...were the Cards over-ranked to start this season when they only were returning two starters from last years squad?

And did Walz get a little over-zealous with some tough early match-ups for such a young squad?

A quiet night scoring for Moore and Hines-Allen (21 total points and a combined 7 for 25 shooting) which leads to the question... are the two stepping up to the level so far that fans expected them to be at?

Durr still looks to be less than full strength...the explosion with the ball just isn't there yet....and the Cards overall defense in the post still needs a lot of work. 

Missed layups. Crucial free throw misses. A great night on the offensive boards with 31 grabs but only 16 second chance points. That speaks volumes. 33% from three-point range is passable (8 for 24) but Moore, Durr and Cole were a combined 4 for 16. In the post, Hines-Allen and Walton were 4 for 16 (25%). That has to improve. 

The transition from being the "all-everything" in high school to team play in college can be a slow one for a freshmen. The individual talent is there, no one can question that...but working as a unit is a much different aspect and the Cards could definitely use some improvement on this part of their game. 

The slow start tonight was particularly distressing. Such a lackadaisical approach to the first few minutes of yesterday's game needed Walz's immediate attention and he probably should have substituted more than he did or gotten a timeout and blistered a few ears.

A work in progress...this team is. The question is...how long will it take to get the construction finished? That slight but growing fan base murmur of discontentment you're hearing in the background and the e--mails we're getting could get much more audible if the Cards head south and fall to Marist and two more opponents in the Gulf Coast Showcase.

I realize that today's write-up doesn't exactly embody the "joy and excitement" of UofL women's sports that is our mission statement...but...sometimes it's hard to put lipstick on a pig and pass it off as a beauty contestant. Two games in and Louisville is 0-2 and had chances to win both. 

It's early, plenty of games yet to play but this 2015-16 team sorely needs a few more positive signs besides Action Jackson and Arica Carter. 

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VOLLEYBALL HOSTS GA.TECH 

Louisville Volleyball looks to maintain their lead in the ACC when Georgia Tech comes to call today for a 2 p.m. match in the KFC YUM! Center. 

What could be more fun than attending a action-packed, hard-hitting contest in a warm, spacious arena? 

Head down to the river and give the VolleyCards your support! 


CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 

Our latest radio show is available now at the link below. We were live from the Paul Just Media Center inside E.A. Diddle arena and we think our first remote ever with both of us out of the studio went well. 

LINK:

https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-112115-remote-from-wku

Paige Sherrard wasn't able to join us on the broadcast (time mix-up) but we hope to have her on for broadcasts in the future. She wrote a nice piece for Swish Appeal about Saturday's game. Be sure to get over there to check it out.

LINK:

http://www.swishappeal.com/2015/11/21/9776600/16-louisville-wake-up-call-wku-upset-kendall-noble-unstoppable



paulie
xxxxx 

Louisville Volleyball cages Clemson....WKU and Louisville today in WBB -- Saturday Cardinal Couple

CARDS STAY ATOP ACC WITH 3-0 SWEEP OF CLEMSON

Anne Kordes' Louisville Volleyball team improved to 16-1 in the ACC with a straight set sweep of the Clemson Tigers
25-20, 25-24, 25-19 Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center. Erin Fairs had 16 kills for the Cards...who are at 24-5 overall and ranked #17 in the nation.

Anything less than a dominating, straight-set sweep probably would have been disappointing against the cellar-dwellers of the ACC...a team the Cards handled in similar fashion down at Clemson earlier in the season. 

With the win, Louisville holds a one game lead over North Carolina and is two games ahead of Florida State with three games remaining in the regular season. 

Louiasville will face Georgia Tech Sunday at 2 p.m. and it will be senior day ceremonies for the VolleyCards.  Katie George, Roxanne McVey and Erin Fairs will go through pre-game recognition for their contributions to the team.

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CARDS VS. TOPPERS TODAY IN BOWLING GREEN

Louisville women's basketball (0-1) looks to get their first win of the season on the road at Western Kentucky this afternoon. The game is scheduled to tip at 3:30 p.m. and is part of a double-header that also features the Western Kentucky men's team facing Stony Brook in the opener. 

The Cards look to improve after an opening season loss in the KFC YUM! Center to California 75-71 last Sunday. The Cards got good efforts out of junior transfer Briahanna Jackson (21 points, six steals) and sophomore Mariya Moore (20 points, six threes) but were outrebounded by the Bears 50-27. 

WKU held a 15-point second period lead over Ball State on the road but couldn't sustain the momentum in the final half...falling 74-70 to those northern Cardinals. Freshman Kayla Smith had 14 points in her debut as a Hilltopper but Nathalie's Fontaine's 30 points led Ball State to the victory. The Toppers were outscored 31-18 in the final 10 minutes.

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AND NOW...LIVE FROM BOWLING GREEN...

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR show will be broadcast live from E.A. Diddle Arena on the WKU campus this morning at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM and at www.crescenthillradio.com

Worldwide and Pauie will be joined on the broadcast by Paige Sherrard...writer for SB Nation and Swish Appeal and the first lady of CARDINAL SPORTS ZONE. 

We'll discuss the upcoming game against WKU, loss to Cal and review and preview volleyball action. We also have audio from Anne Kordes and post-game Cal comments from Mariya Moore, Briahanna Jackson, Lindsey Gottlieb and Jeff Walz.  

It should be another stellar event in FM radio history, you can listen at the link below:

WE'RE IN BOWLING GREEN BUT NOT BOWLING OR WEARING GREEN

paulie 

Get to know the foes...WBB faces WKU on Saturday...Volleyball hosts Clemson tonight -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB to face WKU Saturday in Bowling Green

In what has to be a welcome relief to head coach Jeff Walz after Sunday, Michelle Clark-Heard has no one taller than 6'2" on her WKU squad. The Toppers have only five players back from last season and four of them start for the team on the Hill. 

Micah Jones, Tasha Brown, Ivy Brown (no relation) and Kendall Noble drew the introductions Thursday night in a 74-60 loss at Ball State that was the opening regular season game for Western Kentucky. The other returnee Jalynn McClain sees time off the bench...as does Dee Givens, Ima Akpan and Taylor Brown (once again...no relation to the other two Browns). 

A game where WKU led by 15 midway through the second period but some hot shooting by the Cardinals Nathalie Fontaine in the final 20 allowed them to blow by the Toppers in a decisive 4th. quarter where they out-scored their guests 31-18. Fontaine ended up with 30 points...the vast majority of them inside the paint.

WKU's best overall player may actually be their fifth starter freshman Kayla Smith...a 6'1"guard/forward who hit for 13 points to lead WKU in scoring and showed a nice range of shot-making ability, including the three ball. 

The Toppers do love to put it up from behind the arc...bombing away for 31 trifectas against BSU. They are shooters but weren't great at being makers from the deep...hitting only eight. Watching them last night revealed several things. They run a very patient side-to-side offense...working for the open look. They'll use the entire shot clock. They also go to the offensive boards fairly well for a small team but had a hard time stopping BSU inside when the Cardinals had the ball. 

Micah Jones is the primary ball handler...the point guard has a nice touch from the deep also and distributes well. Noble is the best defensive stopper and will probably draw Louisville's Briahanna Jackson...WKU plays a lot of man-to-man defense. Tasha and Ivy Brown, along with McClain are the major post scoring, interior defense and rebounding threats, but Ball State was scoring pretty easily against them in the paint and the Toppers do not work the ball into the paint very often in their offensive sets. 

WKU doesn't employ a fast break transition game very often and there were lapses where they didn't get back quickly on defense. Ball State must have missed a dozen wide open layup or inside attempts...especially in the early going when WKU jumped out to the sizable lead.

If Louisville can utilize their quickness and find some semblance of an inside game, the Cards should find plenty of opportunities to score on WKU. The dribble-drive could be quite effective against the sometimes step-slow Toppers defense and Louisville's height advantage could make a difference as well, if that part of the offense has improved. Jackson, Moore and the other guards would be well-advised to push the tempo as often as possible against the foe. WKU looked pretty worn out most of the the final period. 

That being said, teams tend to improve after their first game of the season...and Louisville and WKU will both play their second game of the year Saturday.

It should be a fun one in E.A. Diddle Arena Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is 3:30...part of a doubleheader that will start with the WKU men's squad playing Stony Brook in the opener.

We'll be doing our CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR live on-site in the facility beginning at 11 a.m. EST so be sure to tune us in on WCHQ 100.9 FM or on the Internet at www.crescenthillradio.com

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VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO REMAIN ATOP THE ACC AGAINST CLEMSON.


The VolleyCards will host Clemson tonight at 7 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center in exciting ACC action. Louisville romped the Tigers earlier this season in South Carolina in three sets 25-14, 25-15 25-19.

It's been that kind of season for the Tigers who are tied for last place in the ACC with a 1-15 conference record. Louisville, on the other hand, is 15-1 and holds a one-half game edge over North Carolina for first place in the conference.

Hopefully, a chance for Anne Kordes to get deep into the bench tonight (although the Volleyball players never actually sit on the bench) and a straight set sweep for the Cards would be a great way to start a weekend of Cardinal sports. 

paulie
xxxxx