Walz Presser Today -- Seniors Quiz -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

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         JEFF WALZ TELECONFERENCE PRESSER. 

Hear the entire presser at the link below: 

LINK:  JEFF WALZ PRESSER 4/8/20


https://soundcloud.com/user-748907999/dr0000_1787mp3


Here is the YouTube video/audio link: 

LINK:  JEFF WALZ AUDIO AND VIDEO TELECONFERENCE LINK 4-8-20   




WALZ TELECONFERENCE AT 2 P.M.

During the regular season, Coach Walz held a lot of noon press conference (usually on Wednesdays) down at the WBB facility Kueber Center Planet Fitness first floor media room. 

He's back on the Wednesday schedule today, but the venue won't be on Floyd Street, nor at noon. 

He'll be doing a presser remotely from his home at 2 p.m. We'll cover it and I'll post the audio here at the web site later today. Here's the official UofL announcement: 

Louisville women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz Teleconference Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET

University of Louisville women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz will be available to speak with media representatives via teleconference on Wednesday, April 8 at 2:00 p.m. ET. 

We understand that many sports media are seeking meaningful content.  While we cannot have in-person press conferences during this unprecedented time, we hope this teleconference will aid you in your coverage of UofL women’s basketball.  This teleconferences will be available for replay soon after the event on www.GoCards.com

A QUIZ ON THE SENIORS

It has been a couple of weeks since I've given a quiz to you on Cardinal Sports. So, let's do one today on the five seniors that graduated from the UofL WBB squad.  Answers at the end of today's column. 

1)  Which state was NOT represented as a home state by the five seniors? 

A) Pennsylvania  B) Florida  C) California  D) Kentucky

2)  Which senior red-shirted in 2016-17? 

A) Yacine Diop  B) Bionca Dunham  C) Kylee Shook  D) Jess Laemmle

3) This student-athlete was the tallest of the seniors:

A) Yacine Diop  B) Bionca Dunham  C) Yacine Diop  D) Kylee Shook

4)  I was a gymnast for awhile: 

A) Jess Laemmle  B) Kylee Shook  C) Jazmine Jones  D) Bionca Dunham

5)  I wore #2 after Myisha Hines-Allen graduated

A) Jess Laemmle  B) Bionca Dunham  C) Kylee Shook  D)  Yacine Diop 

6)  My first start came as a freshman against Virginia

A) Kylee Shook  B) Jazmine Jones  C) Bionca Dunham  D) Yacine Diop 

7) I was a 2016 McDonald's High School All-American: 

A) Kylee Shook  B) Jazmine Jones  C) Jess Laemmle  D) Bionca Dunham 

8)  I have two sisters, named Jenna and Julie

A) Jazmine Jones  B) Kylee Shook  C) Jess Laemmle  D) Bionca Dunham 

9)  I scored 26 points twice in my career, against the same team each time

A) Kylee Shook  B) Yacine Diop  C) Jazmine Jones  D) Bionca Dunham

10)  UNC, So.Carolina, Temple, Pitt and Houston recruited me out of high school:

A) Bionca Dunham  B) Yacine Diop  C) Kylee Shook  D) Jazmine Jones

(answers below) 

ANSWERS:  

1)  C

2)  A

3)  D

4)  A

5)  D

6)  B

7)  A

8)  C

9)  B

10)  A

Let us know how you did in the comments section below! 

Have a wonderful Wednesday and listen to "Uncle" Andy's advice, Kentuckians !! 

paulie

xxxxx

Sunday Cardinal Couple

WBB Falls to Florida State

In a testament to the high expectations on UofL Women's Basketball, the loss yesterday to 4th seed Florida State, a top 25 team, can only be considered a disappointment.  FSU advanced to the championship of the ACC tournament after a down-to-the-wire battle against the Cards, with a final score of 62-60.  There they will meet NC State who advanced over Boston College.

The Cards started out with shooting woes, shooting only 23.5% from the field in the 1st quarter, resulting in an 18-10 FSU lead.  The Cards would turn it around in the 2nd quarter, however and come roaring back with 58.3% shooting, including a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc.  The 2nd half would somewhat repeat the pattern, with a not-awful-but-also-not-great 35.7% shooting in the 3rd quarter, a quarter that FSU won 18-13.  The Cards would improve to 50% in the 4th quarter to close down that five point lead to the two point winning margin.

Despite Case's suggestion during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday that the culprit would be found to be turnovers, the Cards actually won in that stat 12-15.  To be fair to Case's assessment, the comment came as we had watched the end of the game in the studio and FSU did win the turnover stat in the 2nd half.  Overall, though most of the stats were very similar between the two teams.  The biggest discrepancy is probably found in the rebounding stats, and specifically in offensive rebounds which the Seminoles won 14-11 with the result showing up on the scoreboard in 2nd chance points with a 15-7 advantage to the women from Tallahassee.

For individual contributors, Dana Evans and Jazmine Jones had 16 and 15 respectively, with Kylee Shook and Yacine Diop reach double-digits with 10 apiece.  Bionca Dunham rounds out the significant scorers with 6.  'Kasa Robinson had a bucket, and Liz Dixon went 1 for 2 from the charity stripe to round out the scorers for the Cards.

Overall, I would call this a lackluster game overall, with moments of brilliance within in.

The Cards, of course, will get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, likely as a 2-seed in the Ft. Wayne Regional.  As a top-16 team, which is still all but completely assured, the Cards will host 1st and 2nd round games at the KFC Yum! Center.  There had been hope that UofL could creep back up into a one seed, but this loss almost certainly forecloses on that possibility.

I believe we will be getting a Paulie special report from Greensboro with his thoughts and recap of the game as well as the Boston College vs NC State game.

Softball

The Softball Cards are playing the home opener weekend at Ulmer and picked up a good win over Northwestern yesterday, 3-1.  Coming off of a heartbreaking 1-2 loss in 8 innings against Illinois on Friday, the Cards were eager for a win.

Jordyn Wolfe and Carmyn Greenwood were the scoring heroes of this one.  The scoring came late in the game for the Cards, not getting anything on the scoreboard until the bottom of the 5th.  Wolfe reached with a double, and advanced to 3rd on a Jenna Servi groundout.  Wolfe would be joined on the basepaths when Madison Ciaccio would draw a walk.  Carmyn Greenwood would rip a double to bring Wolfe and Ciaccio home for the 2-1 lead.

The other run for the Cards came in the next inning.  Caitlin Ferguson got hit by a pitch, and would use her basepath speed to make it home on a Wolfe double.

Chardonnay Harris gets the win in the circle for this one, and did so in style, limiting Northwestern to only a pair of hits.

The Red and Black Challenge will wrap up today with 4 games at Ulmer.  Oakland and Northwestern will start off the day at 10am, UofL will get another shot at Illinois at around 12:15 and then will take a break while Evansville gets to have a run at the Illini.  The Cards will wrap up the Challenge with a scheduled 4:45 start against the Purple Aces of Evansville.

The weather today should be glorious for a day out at Ulmer, come out and enjoy the sun and some great softball.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Case and I did pop into the library to put out another edition of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  We might call this one, the distracted edition.

We were on the stream live during the last quarter or so of the WBB game, and for much of the Softball game yesterday, both events that we were trying to stay on top of a little bit while we talked.  We had WBB streaming in the studio, as well.

My apologies for a long blank section at the beginning, I just plain forgot to switch to the live audio on my streaming software.  Audio starts at about 3:30.  I'll look into trimming the no-audio video at the beginning out, but that will be a bit of a learning process to do that, so bear with me while I figure it out.

We had a good discussion, accompanied by some great photos from Jared from 3 different sports this week.  We covered WBB, Lacrosse, and Softball.  Check it out below.

-- 

JMcA

Senior Day Presser -- Clipped Wings -- Cards beat BC 68-48 -- Senior Interviews today -- Softball -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SENIOR DAY PRESSER

These were divided up into two groups this afternoon for the five seniors. Kylee, Yacine and Jess went first. You don't want to miss a minute of them! : 

LINK:  SENIOR DAY PRESSER KYLEE, JESS AND YACINE

Following them was Jaz and Bionca. 

LINK: SENIOR DAY PRESSER JAZ AND BIONCA


You wanna watch and listen?  Well, try the links below:

Kylee, Jess and Yacine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=0pypreComw4&feature=emb_logo

Jaz and Bionca:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Q7XRP83uOaw&feature=emb_logo

SENIORS SHINE IN BEATING OF BOSTON COLLEGE 68-48

No Dana, No "E"? 

No problem.

Louisville WBB got big performances from Kylee Shook, Jazmine Jones and Yacine Diop in the 20-point romp over the visiting Eagles. The three seniors combined for 48 points, 15 rebounds and sank all five of the threes Louisville made on a chilly Thursday night down by the river in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 8514 fans. 

A game that gave Louisville the outright ACC regular season championship. The Cards will have the #1 seed in Greensboro for the ACC WBB Tournament. Drawing a double bye, UofL will play their first game on Friday in the event that starts Wednesday.


The Louisville starting lineup looked a bit different to what Cardinal fans were used to last night. Available for action but not playing were Dana Evans and Elizabeth Balogun, recovering from ankle sprains. So, it was Bionca Dunham, Yacine Diop, Mykasa Robinson, Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones on the floor for the start. 

The Cards punched the accelerator early last night and blew out to an 8-2 lead in the first four minutes. Boston College had four turnovers and was 1-4 from the floor as the teams hit the first quarter media timeout.  The stop in action benefited UofL more than BC...a 10-4 Cardinal run put the score at 18-6 after Shook nailed a three-ball and it was beginning to look like another "Pittsburgh-type" blowout. 

The Eagles found a bit of something to like from guard Makayla Dickens, though. She bombed in three huge trifectas in the final 2:26 of the opening quarter to draw the visitors back with three points as the quarter ended. Louisville managed just two points in the same stretch and after ten minutes, the board read Louisville 20 - Boston College 17. 

Dickens needed to be shut down (guarding her seemed like a good idea) and the Cards did just that in the second session. And, the Cards ramped up the offensive intensity as well. Two Bionca Dunham buckets to start the quarter and another score from her, plus Shook, Jones and Robinson sent the Cards on a 13-2 run in the first five minutes of the quarter. It was now 33-19 and one set of birds had taken flight, while the other had stayed in the nest. 


The Cards were hot, they shot 12-19 in the second quarter (63.2%) and three players (Shook, Dunham and Jones) has six points each in the 26-7 dominating quarter from UofL. BC eventually found the basket a bit in the remaining part of the second quarter, but, the half ended on a spectacular fast break that concluded with the ball in Kylee's possession. She pulled up outside the paint and sank a jumper right as the buzzer went off to set the halftime tally Louisville 46 - Boston College 24. 

The sequence set the crowd afire and Louisville trotted off the floor to a loud and raucous round of approval from the Cardinal fans

Dickens had been shut down, along with her teammates, and the Cards were proving to be the better of the two types of birds in the YUM! Center.

Shook and Jones already had 13 points each, the Cards had a incredible 23-2 edge in points-off-turnovers while forcing Boston College into 14 miscues. Any threat from  a Eagles team that had come into the game with a five-game winning streak had been quelled and victory number 26, plus the ACC title looked to be a sure thing. 

The halftime discussion with other members of the media evolved around travel to Greensboro, the return of Taja Cole to the YUM! on Sunday and the huge first half effort.

Coach Walz wisely decided to get his starters a bit a rest as well in the remaining 20 minutes of action. Only Jaz and Kylee played the entire 10 minutes of the third quarter and Walz experimented again with the inside duo of Shook and Liz Dixon. Dunham got some rest for her sore knee and Lindsey Duvall saw nearly seven minutes of action in the quarter after halftime. It was a quarter where the scoring dropped off a bit, 13 points for each squad, Jones and Shook had seven of the Cards points in the third and a Robinson free throw closed the third with the Cards still comfortably up 59-37.

Maybe the biggest fan response play of the third was when Duvall grabbed a rebound, did a nifty spin move to the basket and scored inside, plus drawing a foul. It got the bench and the fans pumped and she sank the free throw. 

As the fourth quarter progressed, Walz looked to Diop to head up a lineup that included Jess Laemmle, Dixon, Molly Lockhart and Duvall. She responded with five of the Cards nine fourth quarter points and Dixon controlled the boards with four rebounds. A 5-0 Diop run with about four minutes left created a 66-42 lead. Lockhart added two points off a nice assist from Laemmle with 2:25 left and the Cards were safely home with a 68-48 win. 

After the game, Jaz proudly displayed the ACC Champions placard to an approving crowd,

the team posed for photos with the sign and Kylee and Jaz did TV interviews, while Coach Walz grabbed the microphone, thanked the crowd and urged everyone to show up Sunday against Virginia Tech. Asking them to fill the lower bowl of the KFC YUM! Center. The squad proudly wore ACC Champions t-shirts and a definite feel-good, optimistic aura had encompassed the YUM! Center. 

THE FRED REPORT

Just like Fred Astaire, Cards dance
to the ACC title. 

FREE THROWS -- It wasn't the best of nights for either squad at the charity stripe. 29 total fouls were called. Louisville went 7-11 (63.6%). BC was even worse (6-13). The starters for Louisville did their part, going 6 for 7 from the line, but the below 70% mark indicates that we award no letter for this aspect of the game.

REBOUNDS -- A BC win on the boards, 40-33. They were strong on the offensive glass with a 15-9 edge. Of course, when you shoot 35% for the game, you're going to get some second chances. Kylee was big again, with 10 grabs, and I liked Dixon's hard work in a season-high 25 minutes with six rebounds, all on the defensive end. Still, you lose the boards battle and you don't get a letter. 

EFFICIENCY/EXECUTION -- Louisville shone in points-in-the paint (34-24) and points-off-turnovers (29-10). They also swept the 2nd chance and fast break categories. Although shooting dropped off the the second half (8 for 26), the Cards almost went 50% from the floor for the game. Kasa did a great job distributing the "rock" and the Cards did what they had to do, limit turnovers (14) and control the pace. No problem with awarding a Capital "E" here for the intensity and forcing the issue. 

DEFENSE -- Once again, the Cards hold a foe to under fifty points, under 40% shooting and force 23 turnovers. When you keep the opponent from putting the ball in the basket as well as Louisville did last night, your chances of winning increase exponentially. It's a no-brainer, the CAPITAL "D" is the designation here. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:   _-_-E-D


THEY SAID IT: 

Jared Anderson got to the Media Room in plenty of time to catch the three post-game press conference segments. Between that feat and his excellent photos of the game, maybe we should award him a CAPITAL "J" for the night? 


LINK:  BOSTON COLLEGE HEAD COACH JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE


LINK:
JEFF WALZ


LINK:
JAZMINE JONES AND KYLEE SHOOK


SOOOO...

The Cards did what they had to do last night and met the objectives of clinching the sole possession of the ACC regular season title, stopping a streaking Boston College squad and getting a very good performance from his squad with key players Dana Evans and Elizabeth Balogun sitting their second-in-a row out. . 

The second half was a bit of an after-thought -- following the Cards domination of the first 20 minutes -- but valuable playing time was available for the non-starters to show their skills and work on game-time decisions and performance. 

This is a Cardinal squad that has lived up to expectations and looked fantastic while doing it. Pre-season pick to win the ACC.

Done. 

Team most likely to hit the NCAA Top Five from the conference.

Done. 

Showing that the team concept could withstand, prosper and flourish without Asia, Sam and Arica. 

Done. 

Gaining the #1 seed for the ACC Tournament. 

Yep.

All in all, a season that has been quite enjoyable as we head into the regular-season finale against a dangerous VT squad on Senior Day. One small "blip" in the radar, but, other than that...the Cards have soared high in the sky and arguably have the ACC M.O.P. on the squad in Dana Evans and the prohibitive favorite for ACC Defensive Player of the Year in Kylee Shook. That's pretty spectacular stuff. 


(thanks to Jared Anderson for the photo and audio/video work today. yeah, we'll keep him.)


SENIOR INTERVIEWS

The five UofL WBB seniors will be at a press conference today, starting at noon, in the Media Room of the Planet Fitness Koeber Center to discuss their "almost-over" careers here and field questions from the media. 

I'll be there to record the words, ask a few questions and I'll post the results at the top of today's column later today.  Be sure to check back here at the Couple for that. 

Looking forward to what Jaz, Bionca, Yacine, Kylee and Jess have to say! 


SOFTBALL

The Softball Cards are in Oklahoma for the weekend. They'll have five games in three day at two different venues in the Oklahoma State/Tulsa Invitational. 

Today, the action begins at 1 p.m. in Stillwater, where Louisville will face UIC. Then,  at 6 p.m., it's Okla St. 

ESPN + has the feed if you want to watch the Cards play. It'll a pay-per-play deal, so if you don't have the "plus" subscription, you'll have to register and pay up. 

Louisville goes into the weekend after a 3-2 stay at the 'Bama Bash. 

Good luck to Holly Aprile and the 5-9 Cards! 


Have a fantastic Friday! 

paulie
xxxxx

WBB Cards departin' Martin with 71-63 double overtime win -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

10-0 FINAL RUN PULLS CARDS TO WIN

10-0 runs. They can be either a bonus or breaker for a team. Louisville women's basketball experienced two of them last night in a wild 71-63 win in from of 1156 fans last night in Martin, TN. in double overtime.

The first 10-0 run came at the start of the contest. Louisville failed to score in the first three minutes of the game and created a deep hole that the Cards eventually dug their way out of by managing the last 10-0 of the contest to get the win.

A win that was ugly, frustrating and inexplicable at times. Nevertheless, a win and one that pushed the Cards to 11-1 on the season. A win that looked like it might be a colossal upset for 47 minutes of the battle between the SkyHawks and the Cards. 

Louisville never led until late in the fourth quarter, when Kylee Shook scored inside to put UofL up 49-47. UT Martin would counter with two free throws, though, to force the first of two extra sessions. 

Jaz Jones found an opportune time to score seven of her nine points in the first, extra five minute session. A session the Cards led 58-56 with five seconds remaining, but managed to foul a shooter (Kyannah Grant) that had missed her last three attempts. Naturally, she sank both of these attempts to force the second overtime.


Dana Evans gave the Cards a lead they would not relinquish with 1:33 left in the final overtime when her jumper connected to make it 65-63 Cards. Louisville got a Yacine Diop jumper and four Evans free throws in the final 53 seconds to finally pull away for what has to be the ugliest win of the season for Jeff Walz's squad.

If you could shoot your foot in this one, Louisville managed to find a way to do it. The Cards had 22 turnovers and UTM found a way to score 25 points off them. 

Sophomore Damiah Griffin, who I managed to pretty much ignore in yesterday's scout of the SkyHawks, blistered the Cards for 25 points on 8 for 13 shooting. She knew what she was doing out there in terms of attack and battling the sometimes slow-to-react Cards defense. 

If there was one main factor that prevented UTM from getting the upset, it came from the free throw line. They went 15-28 from the charity stripe (53.6%) and that was probably a main topic of conversation in the SkyHawks locker room after the game. 

We'll look for a few sunny and bright, rainbow type-of-things now that the storm has past in this scary one and the first one has to be the off-the-bench play of Diop. in 28 minutes she scored 15 points, her second big effort in a row. Dana also gets a warm ray of sunshine her way, with a team high 22 points. Those two combined for five points to save the Cards chances in the fourth quarter. Down 47-42 with under three minutes to play, Evans nails a three and finds Diop for a jumper to tie it at 47-47 at the 2:47 mark. 

Louisville played to the level of their foe last night, a foe that does extremely well on the Pat Summit Court in the Elam Center. They were 4-0 this season coming into Thursday night's game. Jeff Walz and the Cards probably didn't help make UTM's home any more of a desirable spot for non-conference opponents to visit after last night either. 

Doesn't start but brings it when she gets in. Ace in the hole Diop

The Cards did find a way to scramble back after the inglorious start.  A Diop jumper drew UofL to within four at 14-10 with 1:59 remaining in the first quarter. They trailed 16-12 after one.

The second quarter wasn't pretty at all, unless you were a UTM fan. A 13-6 run by the SkyHawks put them up by eight at 29-21 with three minutes until halftime. By them, Louisville already had 10 turnovers. Fortunately, a 5-1 run, spurred by Shook and Dunham closed it to 29-26 before UTM got the final bucket of the half. 

UofL climbed within one of the lead with 4:11 left in the third on two Evans made free throws and at 37-36 after Jones only bucket in regulation with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Jeff Walz spoke in terms of what he could depend on each night during the post-game words and, right now, it is solely Dana Evans. She played all 50 minutes of the contest. She was 10-10 from the free throw line. She handed out eight assists. Cardinal teams over the last couple of years have had multiple players who could be counted on each game. Hines-Allen, Carter, Fuehring and Durr. This year, Evans is the only one walking away from the carnival balloon toss each time with a prize. 

Give the Cards credit for managing to ride a tired horse that was shortening stride and hugging the rail to the wire for what was eventually a pull-away win. 

Call it "dreams of home" before getting there, as UofL now goes on a 10-day Christmas break before returning home to face dangerous Syracuse on Dec 29th. Call it a comedy of errors and missed shots but still finding a way to throw one huge and final knockout punch. Or, call it a come-from-behind win. I'm not going to call it much of anything. I'm just glad they survived the bumpy flight and turbulence. 


When you wear the target on your back, you can expect to be shot at. Either you avoid the incoming shots and return the fire or take the bullets and fall down. Louisville survived an all-out attack from a talented mid-major last night but looked like they were going to lose the gunfight for 47 minutes of a 50 minute showdown. 

I watched this one, alone... on the laptop, in a hotel room after a sad funeral earlier in the day for a beloved relative. For quite some time last night, it seemed I was attending another dirge for a befallen. Whether the Cards will take advantage of their "rising from the dead" last night as they now march toward the second half of the season remains to be seen.   


THEY SAID IT

Post game comments from Walz and UTM head coach are available at the link below: 

http://thecrunchzone.com/video-post-wbb-utmartin-20191219/

(The link leads you to another site. Credit to TCZ's Tom Farmer for the footage. We're all about promoting the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports and applaud all efforts to join us in that mission.)



THE FRED REPORT

"What's the matter, Fred?"
"I just watched the Cards play UTM on-line"

FREE THROWS -- Louisville continues to impress from the link and went 18-20 last night. We mentioned Dana knocking down all ten of hers, but Diop went 4-4 and we continue to like what we see out of Ya-Ya. I can easily award a capital "F" for foul line excellence. 

REBOUNDS -- Louisville held sway here 49-42 and should have, holding a huge height advantage. Kylee's 11 grabs, part of her double-double (15 points) were fine but just one of her collections of misses were on the offensive glass. An OK job overall, but not deserving of a capital letter, I go with the small-case "r"

EFFORT/EFFICIENCY/EXECUTION -- For what lack of it there was, Louisville did manage to win the fast break points 26-2. This hardly looked like a #6 in the nation squad, though, and there were way too few second chance points (4) and way too many fouls on made UTM baskets, creating the "and 1" scenario more than anyone except UTM fans wanted to see. No letter here for a lackluster effort. 22 turnovers and 15 UTM steals speak volumes.

DEFENSE -- UTM shot just 36.5% for the game but, perhaps the Cards best defense came from Kylee Shook, with six blocks, and Yacine Diop, who had three steals. The defense finally rose late, holding UTM scoreless in the final two minutes of the second overtime. It wasn't pretty for the most part, though, and I withhold any letter award. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-r-_-_


SO...

A "W" that Louisville eventually got, maybe because UTM was too tired to make much of an impact in the final three minutes. Maybe the Cards worst performance in a win of the season. Consistency, hustle, and playing smart took a step back Thursday night on the road. 

Sometimes. you just have to look at something for what it is and "let it go".  This wasn't pretty. effective or something to gain from and grow on, unless the coaches use it as a teaching tool on how not to play DI WBB Hoops... but it was a win. Time to move on. 

If you're looking for a positive aspect, rejoice that Kylee set a new record at UofL for career blocked shots. Anytime you can pass Angel McCoughtry in a stat, that's a huge accomplishment. 

Better things await down the road. 

For those who inquired, Norika Konno did not play because she wasn't there, heading back to Japan a couple of days earlier that the rest of the squad's departure for Christmas break. What impact she might have had, we'll never know, but one thing is quite obvious.

You earn what you receive.

Louisville finally put in the work, albeit late, to get the win. It was, in a sense, earned...but game play like this against the ACC opponents ahead are going to earn the Cards more than a few "L's" down on the remainder of the schedule. 

Hopefully, the time off will give the student-athletes of the WBB hoops team a chance to reflect and recommit while they refresh and renew. There's a lot to evaluate. 


paulie
xxxxx 

L's UP in Rupp -- UofL WBB 67 - UK 66 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS PREVAIL IN ONE-POINT SUNDAY THRILLER

"Hey, ref

Head Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz will tell you that the objective is to win games in the coaching world. Mission accomplished yesterday in  a packed, noisy Rupp Arena where 11,256 predominately blue-clad fans witnessed the exciting 67-66 UofL win. 

Matthew Mitchell, skipper of UKWBB, described it as finishing one play short of the objective. He was correct as well, UK with a chance to take the lead on the final possession and falling just short of the goal. You can't blame one player for a loss...ever...but either the shot goes in or it doesn't. Thankfully, it missed. 

A great view of Matty's bald spot in the coaches pre game chat. 

If this game didn't thrill you, have you on the edge of your seat and raise the pulse and emotional level in you yesterday...head to the doctor and see if you are human or cyborg. The annual UK vs. UofL yearly rivalry game felt like a regional final or, dare I say it, a Final Four type of contest instead of a pre-conference tilt between two top 15 squads who had one loss between them prior to the contest. The pre-game aura was electric, an anticipation (correctly so) of a contest that all wanted and thought might be exciting.



The battle of the Bluegrass, hoops style, began with the Cards jumping out to an early 8-3 lead after four minutes of action. Three different Cardinals scoring and Louisville avoiding what most Cardinal fans hoped they would -- a slow start. UK devised their own "comeback Cats" strategy, though, and it was centered around two players -- powerful Rhyne Howard scoring from everywhere and KeKe McKinney dropping threes on the Cardinal defense. The Cats grabbed a 16-15 lead with 2:10 left in the first but Louisville went on a 6-0 run to finish the quarter, Liz Dixon and Dana Evans leading the charge to give Louisville a 21-16 lead after one. 

UK was not backing off, though. Howard went on a second quarter, seven-point opening run to tie the contest at 25-25. Sabrina Haynes buried a deep three and drew a foul from Jazmine Jones to give the Cats a four-point edge halfway through the second quarter, and the media timeout couldn't have come at a better time for the Cards -- UK was on a 13-4 run in the quarter and led 29-25. The Cards managed to stay just four points behind until the final 106 seconds. Then, a half closing, Howard-led, 7-2 run changed a 33-29 score into a nine-point UK jaunt that had Louisville on their heels 40-31 at the intermission. 

A 24-10 quarter for Big Blue, Howard had 15 of the second quarter points and 20 overall in the game on 7-15 shooting. Dana led Louisville with 11 points but the Cards, simply put, had to find a way to shut down the superb sophomore 

They accomplished the task.

Howard was held to two made free throws in the third quarter, Louisville went on a 13-0 run that spanned the final three minutes of the third and turned a 55-45 deficit into a 58-55 lead. Yacine Diop exploded for six crucial points in the run. Louisville shot 64.7% in the session after halftime. Howard got just one look and missed it. Kylee Shook nailed two threes in the quarter and Dana added seven points to turn this one around in Lexington and the elated UK crowd had been partially silenced. The Cards led by three with ten minutes to go. Diop, Dunham, Jones and Shook had silenced the threat. Could they hang on, though? 

The fourth started and three minutes passed before either team could add to their point total. UK reserve Jaida Roper was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank two of her three free throw attempts to draw the Cats within one. A huge blocked shot by Kylee Shook (she had five in the game) got the ball to Louisville and Diop scored her final bucket to push the lead back to three. 45 seconds later, Jaz pulled up for a jumper and sent Cardinal fans and the UofL bench into a frenzy when it went through the net. 

Here came UK again, though. KeKe drained another three and suddenly it was 62-60 Cards and 4:52 showing on the clock. The Cards were trying to hang on and over a minute and a half of frantic hoops passed before the next points -- Howard bullying her way into the paint for two and a potential lead-changing free throw. The "gimmie" wouldn't drop, however and with 2:37 remaining, Diop found Shook for a jumper that put the Cards up 64-62. After a Howard bucket to tie it again , the possible play of the game occurred when Evans spotted Kylee alone past the three-point line, rlfled a pass to her and she played string music to set the score to 67-64 Cards. 

1:51 remained. 

Another costly UofL blunder had them fouling Haines on a three point attempt. She tanked the first but connected on the other two and it was 67-66 Cards. It stayed that way the rest of the way, a couple of turnovers and missed shots filling the time and leading up to final 11 seconds. 

Tatyana Wyatt corralled a missed, potential Dana dagger from beyond the arc three. Wyatt advanced the ball to Howard and she drove down the right side of the court. She decided to launch a three instead of driving to the hoop. Three seconds on the clock. Howard soared to take the shot over the defending Bionca Dunham, my heart skipped a beat as the shot approached the rim and...it drew iron but did not go in. Jaz corralled the miss, the buzzer went off and a joyous UofL bench stormed the court to celebrate and congratulate their victorious teammates on the floor. 

A nail-biting thriller had ended in Lexington. Louisville 67- UK 66. Four straight in a row for the Cards over UK. Yes, the joy and excitement of Louisville women's basketball came to fruition. I watched with pride and admiration as the Cards made their way off the court to the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. 

Breathe, Cardinal fans. It's over. The epic battle had ended and pandemonium reigned for the Louisville contingent. A game I'll remember for quite some time. Two heavyweights standing toe-to-toe slugging it out. Louisville getting the decision.


THE FRED REPORT

Fred G. Sanford. "Lamont, you got to get us
tickets to watch those Cardinal women ! 

FREE THROWS -- Louisville got four free throw chances in 40 minutes. No, this isn't a misprint. In one of the weirdest, one-sided calls by the officiating crew I can remember in recent memory. UK attempted 15 "free ones" and made 12. A 19-9 fouls called discrepancy -- the Cats being the huge benefactor -- but Louisville made all four attempts. Three for Dana, one for Diop. We'll award a capital "F"...any less of a effort, if humanly possible, and the Cards go to overtime or worse. 

REBOUNDS -- A clear 37-17 advantage to Louisville. Kylee reigning supreme with 13 grabs. No UK player gathered more than five. Diop's six rebounds off the bench in just 18 1/2 minutes was huge, as well. I break out the capital "R" for boards dominance. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- 15 turnovers for the Cards, not a bad number, considering the intense UK pressure. An eye-popping 10 assists for Dana. The Cards won the second chance points stat 11-6 and shot 51.8% from the floor (29-56). Yep, a capital "E" here. 

DEFENSE -- A gutsy Cardinal effort on defense. Six blocks, and shutting down Howard to just six second-half points in 20 minutes. Hanging in there at the end with both Dana and Jaz sporting four fouls. The 13-0 run in the third, after the media timeout when Louisville held UK to 0-4 shooting with Diop and Shook turning up the intensity pressure to"11" was the key for me. Let's close it out with a capital "D" 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-R-E-D  (our first perfect Fred report of the season) 


FINALLY...

This photo says it all. Heart-thumping eventual happiness
on Sunday

The Cards took UK's best punch, survived against the Cats and the referees on the road and took a highly exciting, competitive match. Four Cards in double figure scoring (Evans 18, Shook 11 and Dunham and Jones with 10 each) Two double-double efforts, with Shook's 13 grabs and Dana's 10  dishes. 

Maybe my MVP goes to Yacine Diop, though. When it mattered, when she was truly needed, she produced. Consider out of her almost 19 minutes, 10 of them came in the pivotable fourth quarter and 17 in the second half. The poise and experience of the veteran was a stabilizing force in the Cardinal third quarter rally and in the maintenance of a Louisville lead that withstood as much UK hammering as the construction efforts on the Rupp Arena property. .  


I saw a basketball battle yesterday that any basketball fan anywhere had to appreciate and talk about. After attending 16 straight contests between these two, I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore. I was wrong. I saw the continued emergence of maybe the best women's basketball player in the nation in Howard. I saw Louisville do a outstanding job of largely negating Howard's efforts in the final 20 minutes.

I saw why future Cardinal opponents will have feelings of dread and insecurity when they come to grips with having to face Louisville. From Shook to Jaz, to Diop, Dunham and Dana...this is a team that grew up a lot yesterday and went out with a competitive spirit.

I saw a classic. 




THEY SAID IT: 

Walz, Shook and Evans post-game video :  https://youtu.be/iPs3s7xQz8k

UK Players post-game video :  https://youtu.be/CAfnv7YFYEs

Matthew Mitchell post-game video :  https://youtu.be/fanliOwOeS8


(A HUGE THANK YOU AND JOB WELL DONE TO JARED ANDERSON FOR THE PICTURES IN TODAY'S ARTICLE AND THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO OF THE POST-GAME). 


paulie
xxxxx