Predicting Fall Records: Volleyball -- All-ACC Players -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Predicting Fall Records Part Two: Volleyball

We move onto another fall sport that is just around the corner- Volleyball.  The VolleyCards begin their season of Friday, Sept. 26 at home.

Like soccer, volleyball has an eight-match schedule that features two home and two away style.  The regular season will conclude a month after it begins, with Louisville finishing the season at Pitt on Oct. 25.

Louisville and Notre Dame have a history of close matches and a solid rivalry.  Most matches have gone into five sets between these two foes minus a sweep over the Irish near Thanksgiving last year.  UofL returns pretty much all of last year's team minus Melanie McHenry and a couple transfers.  They should be locked up to start the season 2-0.

To kick off October, Louisville heads north to Boston College.  The Eagles caught the Cards in the midst of a losing streak last year and won in five sets.  The Cards will get revenge and take both matches, improving their record to 4-0.

The Cards return home for their final two home matches to host Syracuse in early October.  The two foes split their meetings last year, but the Cards are in much better shape than last season and will continue their winning streak up to 6-0.

One of the top teams in the country last year and reigning ACC Champ Pitt is the final stop of the tour for Louisville this year in late October.  Pitt has won the last three match-ups and the Cards are looking to halt the streak.  Still, playing at Pitt makes the challenge a little tougher.  Louisville and Pitt will split the two-match series and each claim a share of the ACC regular season title.  The Cards will finish the year at 7-1.

Here are some bold predictions for you:

-Coach DBK will spread the wealth, letting players see an equal share of playing time.  There is no ACC Tournament nor is there a current scheduled NCAA Tournament listed according to the NCAA website.  There is not much to play for this season so it's a good chance to let the new faces get accustomed to college ball.

-No one will break 50 kills on the year.  If you look at last year's numbers then we would see 50-60 kills as the high.  Following my previous prediction, no one will see the court enough to reach 50 kills.

-Louisville will get beat on digs, again.  Opponents had one more dig than Louisville last year (1557-1556).  As we see different rotations on the court we will see more errors on both the offensive and defensive end, leading to less digs in the back row.

I forgot to add my bold predictions for soccer on Tuesday's post so I'll add them now:

-Emina Ekic will not score the most goals on the team.  With Brooklynn Rivers and Allison Whitfield posing as offensive threats last season the focus was spread out, giving Ekic more scoring opportunities.  Rivers and Whitfield graduated and there isn't a clear number two to run with the All-American, allowing opposing defenses to focus on her.

-The Cards will average no more than 1.0 goals per match.  That average last year was 1.5/match.  With a tough lineup, Louisville is up against tougher defenses with fewer offensive weapons.

-Anna Henderson will emerge as the breakout player.  Henderson had a strong showing in the spring, but has had a relatively quiet career her first two seasons.  By being able to fly under the radar so far she will be able to surprise opposing defenses.

Pastor Selected to Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team

Mercedes "Mechi" Pastor was a preseason selection to the All-ACC team, as voted by the seven conference coaches.  Pastor was the only Louisville player selected to the 11-player team.

Duke also had just one player selected while Wake Forest had no selections.

The senior midfielder was also named to the preseason All-ACC team last year.  She has also been a National Field Hockey Coaches Association twice.  She scored a career-high nine goals last season, and finished with 22 points.  

Three Volleyball Players Selected to All-ACC Team

Louisville Volleyball had plenty of good news to share yesterday with three players being named to the All-ACC Volleyball Team.  Tori Dilfer, Aiko Jones, and Anna Stevenson all received the honors to the 18-player team.

Pitt and Georgia Tech each had three players as well to lead the way with Louisville.

Aiko Jones had a breakout season during her redshirt freshman year.  She started every set while leading the team in kills and attack percentage.

Anna Stevenson was the primary middle blocker for the Cards, starting all but one match.  She obliterated the rest of the team in blocks, even topping 10 against Boston College.

Tori Dilfer was the primary setter for the Cards last season.  The senior averaged nearly 8.5 assists per set and finished second on the team in service aces.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

ALL-ACC for Emina & Gabby -- WNBA Update -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 EKIC, KOUZELOS NAMED TO ACC WSOC ALL-ACC TEAM

The University of Louisville women's soccer squad placed two players on the All-ACC First team and the Cards were picked to finish seventh in pre-season poll. 

For Emina Ekic, a senior midfielder from Louisville Manual, it's her third appearance on the All-ACC team. She appeared in 20 matches for the Cards in 2019 and led the squad in assists. She also scored five game-winning goals for UofL, who finished the season with a 13-5-2 record. 

Gabby Kouzelos makes her second appearance on the All-ACC squad. She also played in all 20 matches in 2019 and had ten shutouts in goalkeep for Karen Ferguson Dayes' squad. Her 0.87 goals against average is second in all-time program history. She's a redshirt-senior goalkeeper from Wadsworth, OH.

The "Kickin Cards" were picked to finish seventh in the ACC in a preseason poll. They assign points in these things and the Cards received 77. They were just two points behind Notre Dame for sixth. Atop the pre-season prognostications were perennial powers UNC, Florida State in second and Virginia in third. The Cards will face all three in the season -- which starts in just eight days -- with a road trip to Florida to face off against Miami and FSU. Louisville's home opener will happen on Thursday, Oct. 1st when Syracuse visits Lynn Stadium. 

WNBA RECAP

A night that featured games for all three teams that have Louisville women's basketball players on their rosters. 

Las Vegas blew out to a 59-41 halftime lead, led by 20 at one point and held on the defeat the Indiana Fever 92-86. The win puts the Aces in sole position of second place in the league at 15-4. A good night for Angel McCoughtry who saw 24 minutes, had 15 points and six rebounds for "the beers squad" -- (Bill Laimbeer). Vegas eliminated Indiana (5-15) from playoff consideration with the win

Washington kept their playoff hopes alive behind the stellar performance of Myisha Hines-Allen in a 89-86 win over the Minnesota Lynx. "Mooks" had 19 first half points for the Mystics and finished the game with 26 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes. A scary moment -- when Hines-Allen went to the floor wih about four minutes left in the contest with what looked to be an ankle injury. She did return for the final minute of the fourth quarter. A quarter that Washington won 22-16. With the win, Washington (7-13) remained a game behind eighth place Dallas. 

New York Liberty took a tough loss to the L.A. Sparks last night 96-70. Former Cardinal great Jazmine Jones did not play in the contest -- head Liberty coach Walt Hopkins indicating before the game that he wanted to play some of the other players on the roster who hadn't seen a lot of time and some of the other rookies. Amanda Zahui B also sat the contest out. Cardinal Kylee Shook, who had been sidelined with a sprained ankle, did return for New York, and contributed five points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.  

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

paulie 

Predicting Fall Records: Soccer -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Predicting Fall Records:  PART ONE

We are officially in the single digits before the first women's sporting event for the fall of 2020.  The football game this Saturday kicks off the 2020 sports season, but the first UofL women's sporting event is next Thursday when women's soccer travels south to Miami. So, today,we'll look at women's soccer.

To help build excitement and anticipation for the upcoming seasons I thought I would give my "Jared's Predicitons" for the different teams.  Perhaps we may even see a bold prediction or two.

Women's soccer will begin the season in the Sunshine State next weekend, visiting Miami and Florida State.  They come home to host Syracuse and Boston College to open October.  Mid-October sees a trip to the Old Dominion State to take on Virginia and Virginia Tech.  The season wraps up at home right before Halloween with Notre Dame and North Carolina coming to town.

The Cards did not receive a favorable bid this season.  They finished fourth in the conference last year with the top three appearing on the eight-game schedule.

Louisville will begin the season with a win at Miami, a team that  they shut down on the road last season.  Cards start off 1-0.

Florida State, who was a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament last year and advanced to the Elite Eight, will not be an easy foe.  The Seminoles will handle the Cards with ease. Cards go to 1-1.

The home opener will feature a team that the Cards smacked on the road last season.  When Louisville and Syracuse played last year, half the Louisville team came down with food poisoning and the match was pushed back a day.  Louisville will open the home season with a win.  Put WSOC at 2-1.

Boston College, who finished dead last in the conference last year, comes to town next.  This should be another match that Louisville should have control of from start to finish, moving their record to 3-1 at the midway point.

The second half of the season begins with the Cards traveling to another 1-seed in last year's tournament, Virginia.  Louisville took a beating to them last year, and even though this year's match will be closer, the Wahoos will take the win and Louisville's record goes to 3-2.

Virginia Tech was a middle-of-the-pack team last year in the ACC.  Louisville last faced them in 2018, having a surprising and disappointing loss to them on Senior Day.  This time, it will be revenge as the Cards leave Blacksburg with a win and improve their season record to 4-2.

Notre Dame comes to town next.  The Cards and Irish, like with volleyball, have had some barn burners in recent years.  I remember a double overtime thriller from a few years back that Louisville was on the wrong side of.  However, this match at Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium will be in favor of the Cards.  and UofL improves their record to 5-2.

Senior Day will be against the reigning National Runner-Up North Carolina, who was another #1-seed last year.  The Cards pulled off the Upset of the Decade back in 2015, but recent meetings have been ugly.  The Tar Heels continue to have a leg up on the Cards and will end Louisville's season with a loss.   Louisville ends the shortened regular season 5-3.

According to my math, that puts this season at 5-3 for the Cards.That percentage is a bit below last year's impressive total, but remains on the high side in recent years. That record shouls be good enough to get UofL WSOC into the ACC WSOC Tournament, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 10-15 at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Following that, it'll be a lengthy wait, since the NCAA WSOC Championships are not currently planned until sometime in the spring of 2021. 

Got a take or different opinion? Let me know in the comments section.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

LABOR DAY -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LABOR DAY

Hoping that you are able to "take it easy" today and enjoy Labor Day.

paulie

 

Derby Jaz and a Day Off - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 WNBA Update

Two Cards in action in the WNBA yesterday.

The Las Vegas Aces, with veteran Angel McCoughtry in action, winning over the Atlanta Dream.  Also Jazmine Jones with the New York Liberty going down to defeat against the Phoenix Mercury.

Angel had a good game for the Aces, as they got a solid 10 point win over her previous club, The Atlanta Dream, 89-79.  In 26 minutes on the court, she got 18 points, five rebounds, and four steals.  The takeaways move her into 9th overall for career steals in the WNBA.  The Aces continue to spread their playing time around nearly all of their active roster, with nine of the 10 players in the bubble seeing upwards of seven minutes of playing time.

In the late game, Jaz Jones had a couple of highlights in her 10 points and five rebounds affair.  The best was a rebound, followed by a nice spin move to get around a crashing defender for the put-back.  She saw just over 13 minutes on the court.

Her fellow Cardinals alumna and fellow rookie Kylee Shook didn't play.  She suffered an ankle sprain earlier in the week.  No word on an expected time for her return.

Derby Day

It was a weird one, folks.  That's for sure.  Churchill Downs was eerily quiet before, during, and after the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby.  With only 15 horses making it to the gate, it was also an oddly small field for the Derby.  15 is, of course, a large number of horses for a typical horse race, but the Derby is not your typical horse race.  With 18 horses set to go in the draw earlier in the week, three scratches, with the last happening when Thousand Words took a spill and hit his head in the paddock, the field dwindled to the smallest size field since 1998 where there were also 15 horses.  In 1997, there were only 13.

Authentic, the overwhelming favorite of UofL coaches and administrators, as pointed out by the GoCards social media accounts would take the win over overall favorite Tiz the Law with Mr. Big News showing.

Authentic didn't quite lead from the gates to the finish pole, but nearly so.  A slightly rough break for the winner from the 18 spot made him have to work to get out in front, but he accomplished that by the end of the first straight and would lead the rest of the way.

A Radio Hour Week Off

As Case mentioned yesterday, while this was a very unusual Derby Day, we did take our traditional day off of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast for it.

Join us next week as we get back into it with all of the updates and discussion we can cram into somethings sort of, kind of, around an hour long.

JMcA

Olympic Sports Schedules Released; Derby Day -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Fall Schedules for Soccer, Volleyball, Field Hockey, and Cross Country Released

Jared mentioned the women's soccer schedule release briefly yesterday, but along with it came the remainder of the fall sports schedules. Women's soccer, field hockey, and volleyball will all compete in approximately the same number of contests over generally the same time. Cross Country will have just three meets prior to the ACC Championships. Fans for all sports are at the discretion of the host universities, and UofL has announced no plans for these sports at this time. They are monitoring the situations and hope to release more information shortly before the start of the seasons. Similarly, the ACC reiterated that schedules are subject to change as conference leadership continues to meet with health and safety officials to keep track of the fluid situation. As a reminder, none of these seasons will count against a year of eligibility for fall athletes.

Women's Soccer

Karen Ferguson-Dayes will lead her squad to the field first as the women's soccer season gets underway in Florida on September 17th. The Cards will take on Miami on that Thursday, followed by a Sunday matchup against Florida State. After a brief break, the Cards will come home to open Lynn Stadium with a Thursday match against Syracuse on October 1st and Boston College will come in on October 4th. After that, Louisville travels to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers and Hokies on October 15th and 18th, respectively. Finally, the Cards will host Notre Dame on the 25th and North Carolina on the 28th. The ACC tournament is set to begin in Cary, North Carolina on November 10th. Only the top 8 teams will advance, so it will begin straight with the quarterfinals and wrap up within the week.

This is a really tough schedule, with Florida State, Virginia, and North Carolina all posing huge threats. There also isn't a lot of time to make up for a bad game so the team must hit the ground running. It will be interesting to see what Coach KFD will do with the lineup given last season's departures, but an advantage of the travel schedule is that there is a lot of rest built in. I really like the decision to keep things regional, except for UNC and ND coming at the same time. The travel to play schools in the same state is a nice touch.

With the shortened schedule and no NCAA tournament, it's hard to make predictions for the season, but I'd expect the Cards to be able to make the tightened ACC tournament field. If they can do that, I'd consider it a successful exhibition season.

Volleyball

Like soccer, volleyball will play only 8 matches, but there will be no ACC tournament waiting at the end. The volleyball schedule was divided regionally, and one conference group will have all of the attention: Louisville's region of Boston College, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh. The volleyball schedule is broken into four pairs of double-headers, reducing travel and exposure level. Louisville will host Notre Dame and Syracuse for their four home matches, with the Irish coming on the weekend of September 25th and the Orange coming the weekend of October 9th. The Cards are in BC on October 2nd and head to Pitt on October 23rd. The big break between the Syracuse and Pitt series will be really helpful for the Cards as that will be their toughest matchup of the season.

With no postseason to play for, this one is perhaps even more of an exhibition than soccer or field hockey. I'd like to see Louisville win six of these eight matches, and it would be nice if one of them could come against Pitt. Perhaps playing without the raucous home crowd at Pitt will give the Cards a better chance in the away double-header. Either way, the Cards must come out of this season above .500 (not at .500) to have considered it a success in my opinion.

Field Hockey

Playing the most regular season matches of any of the sports we cover here is field hockey. They'll play nine regular season matches but take on only six opponents to do so. As the conference records cannot be marred by the increased number of matches, only six of the games will count as conference games. Field hockey will play three double-headers and the opening game of each of those will count as the conference game. The field hockey season culminates in a four-day ACC championship hosted by Duke starting on November 5th. 

Louisville will open the season with four home games and then say goodbye to campus for the remainder of the season. The Cards host Duke on September 26th and 27th before bringing in UNC on October 2nd and BC on the 4th. If fans or media are allowed, I suppose we'll have to split our attendance between soccer and field hockey that day.

After senior day against BC (in early October!!) the Cards will travel Wake Forest on the 10th and 11th, to Virginia on the 23rd and 24th, and they'll wrap up the regular season in Syracuse on October 30th. Home by Halloween. As is typical, all of the ACC teams will make the ACC tournament, so the Cards will be playing for seeding throughout that regular season. Of all of the sports, this one is the closest to a real conference season that can be had, so Louisville could claim a legitimate conference championship if the season is able to be played in full. 

Cross Country

The Cross Country team has no NCAA championships to compete for but that doesn't mean that they can't have some glory in the ACC. There will be three regular season meets for the Cards to qualify for ACC competition on October 30th. Like soccer, that postseason will take place in Cary, NC. Louisville's meets will be in South Bend on September 19th, here in Louisville on October 3rd (busy weekend for Louisville fans), and in Hoover, Alabama on October 16th. I'm not sure how the UAB hosted Blazer Classic meets the standards of conference only competition, but oh well. 

Derby Day

It's a weird one, but it is still Derby Day. As is tradition, we'll be taking the week off from the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. Be sure to tune in next week when we return with actual things to talk about. Until then, have a nice Derby Day and Labor Day weekend. Be safe, and enjoy yourselves.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Diversity and Social Justice Changes by UofL and ACC -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Diversity and Social Justice Changes

Yesterday, both the ACC and UofL announced some changes to help with diversity and social justice.

The ACC added a few initiatives that all 15 schools will be required to follow.  They announced three new initiatives:

-Mandatory diversity and inclusion training for student-athletes, athletic department and conference staff

-Creation of ACC Unity Symbol as a visual representation of solidarity among the ACC's 15 institutions

-ACC Unity Statement to be read prior to every league contest

UofL added a few things of its own after meeting with student-athletes and staff.  The biggest change is the creation of a committee called S.O.A.R. (Strategically Organization Against Racism).

Several student-athletes have voiced their thoughts and opinions on current issues through their various platforms of social media.  The S.O.A.R. committee has been established to make sure all student-athletes and staff are treated fairly as well as promoting an inclusive culture.

Kristia Worthy, the Director of Talent Development, has been selected to be the head of the committee.  The other members are listed as follows:

Vince Tyra

Marvin Mitchell

Christine Herring

Josh Heird

Dr Thomas Strause

Dr Vanessa Shannon

Lauren Rust

Justin Ruffin

Alyssa Murphy

Chris May

Adrienne Johnson

Caroline Jeffers

Weston Ijames

Dr Matthew Frakes

Zach Farrel

Marc Ellis

Jimmy Dorneman

Soccer Update

Although schedules have not been released we did recently find out that women's and men's soccer will have an eight-game schedule.  Each team will have four home matches and four road mathches.

Most matches will be played on weekends, with teams allowed to play up to two matches per weekend.

Each host school will have the decision on allowing fans and how many can be in attendance.  With UofL set to have fans at football it would be no surprise for them to allow fans at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium.

We still do not have an update on media allowance.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

JUSTINE SOWRY INTERVIEW -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 INTERVIEW WITH LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY HEAD COACH JUSTINE SOWRY

I had the pleasure to catch up with University of Louisville's head Field Hockey Coach Justine Sowry on Wednesday via phone and we talked about Louisville Field Hockey. 

The "stick girls" will go into action (or at least it's the plan) on the weekend of Sept 26th. when they bring ACC foe Duke to Trager Stadium. 

It's a good chat with Coach as we reviewed practice, scheduling, players and the 2019 season. You can hear it at the link below: 

JUSTINE SOWRY INTERVIEW

WNBA RECAP

Three games in the "wubble" last night -- with one involving a former UofL WBB great.

The Washington Mystics faced league-leading Seattle but could not knock off the Storm -- falling 71-64. Shooting just 26% from three-point range will do that to you. Myisha Hines-Allen had a relatively quiet night with just 20 minutes on the court -- gathering six boards but just two points. 

Washington goes to 4-13 on the season and it's getting close to desperation time for the Mystics if they want to make the playoffs. 

Minnesota got a win over Chicago 86-83. The Lynx are now 13-5 and the sky 11-8 and both appear to be safe for the playoffs. 

The Los Angeles Sparks took a 91-83 win over the Dallas Wings. L.A. is 14-4 and battling for one of the first or second round byes. Dallas drops to 6-12 and holds on to eighth spot (and playoff inclusion) in the league despite the loss. 

BELLE LOSES ?

In what has to be considered a huge upset on the Ohio River, the Louisville-based steamboat The Belle of Louisville lost the annual Great Steamboat Race to her sister boat the Mary M. Miller. A usual third participant in the Derby Week event, The Belle of Cincinnati, did not make the trip down to Louisville for the race because of the Coronavirus. 

(Handicapper's tip: The Mary M. Miller was the "wise guys" pick because it had regular engines -- the Belle is powered by a paddle-wheel.) 

Have a terrific Thursday. It's "Thurby" of Derby Week, but it sure doesn't seem like it. 

Paulie

JAZ SHINES IN LIBERTY LOSS -- PHOENIX TAKES ACES -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 THE SHOT

I'll call it, "the shot" and it came from Jazmine Jones last night during the New York Liberty's game against Connecticut. With time running out in the third quarter and the Liberty on the short end of a 52-45 score, the Liberty got the ball in play to Jones, who streaked down the sidelines in front of the benches and released a shot from half-court as time expired. 

Bingo! 

LINK:  https://twitter.com/i/status/1300957408483778560

One to remember, no doubt, in a season that's been a learning experience for the youth on Walt Hopkins' New York Liberty squad. The Liberty, unfortunately, couldn't close the gap in the fourth quarter and fell to Connecticut 70-65.

Jazmine was sporting a clear, plastic face/nose guard during the contest, I didn't get to hear just why but noticed she had taken a shot to the nose in the previous game against the Aces.  

For New York (2-15), Jones had 15 pts. in 18 minutes and Kylee Shook (who they've started calling "Shook the Rook") had a nice outing off the bench with nine points, including a "three" and four boards in 14 minutes Connecticut (9-9) was led by DeWanna Bonner's double-double of 27 pts. and 12 rebounds. 

Post game, Walt Hopkins and Kia Nurse had some nice things to say about "Shook the Rook's" development and progression. Link below: 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1301009501823406080

Despite a slow start where the New York squad trailed 18-8 after one quarter, the Liberty rallied in the second quarter to take a 32-29 lead into the locker room at the "wubble" at halftime. 

PHOENIX 92 - LAS VEGAS 85

She's arguably one of the greatest guards in the history of the WNBA and Diana Taurasi reminded us of that last night...erupting for 32 points in 32 minutes against the Aces last night. 

Cardinal great Angel McCoughtry saw 19 minutes in the loss for Vegas and had eight points and five rebounds

Both teams have cinched playoff spots, and I can understand resting Angel a bit for the playoff format ahead. A rough second quarter for the Aces, where they were outscored 25-19 ultimately spelled the difference in this one, the teams played the second half to a 40-40 tie. 

Las Vegas (12-5) got 20 pts. from Jackie Young. Phoenix (11-7) also got 20 points from Skylar Diggins-Smith. 

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

In other WNBA action, Atlanta downed Indiana 102-90. Both squads are still holding on hopes of sneaking into the eight-team playoff format and they have identical 5-13 records now. 

The top eight, after last night, are Seattle, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Chicago, Phoenix, Connecticut and Dallas. Just one loss behind Dallas, for that eighth spot, are Atlanta and Indiana. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday of Derby Week here in Louisville. It seems so strange to say that in September...

paulie

WNBA Stats and Figures -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WNBA Stats and Figures

With no new UofL news we stay focused on our former Cards and their successes in the WNBA.  Currently, we have four Cards playing in the WNBA: Angel McCoughtry, Myisha Hines-Allen, Jazmine Jones, and Kylee Shook.

All teams have played 15-17 games up to this point in the season and have just a couple weeks left in the season.  It's a good time to see just how successful our Cards have been.

All stats are shown through Aug. 30, 2020, based off the WNBA site.

Angel McCoughtry, Las Vegas Aces

The eldest of the four Cards in the pros has played in all 15 games for the Aces, averaging 20.5 minutes per game.  McCoughtry has totaled 220 points on the season.  Her 53.5% from the field is on the low side for her.  McCoughtry has also posted 78 rebounds and 38 assists to go with 18 steals, five blocks, and 25 turnovers.14.6 points per game for Angel. 

Myisha Hines-Allen, Washington Mystics

Myisha has stepped up big time in her third year.  The Mystics have looked to their new leader, who has appeared in all 15 gsames.  MHA has shattered her previous career-high and has 236 points on the year while averaging 29.4 minutes per game.  Myisha has added 128 rebounds, 36 assists, and 22 steals while committing 36 turnovers. 15.7 points per game for Myisha. 

Jazmine Jones, New York Liberty

One of two UofL rookies, Jazmine Jones has stepped into a bit of an unfamiliar role with the Liberty.  Jaz has appeared in 14 of the 15 games.  She has averaged 20.6 minutes per game and totaled 145 points on the year.  The rookie has shot a surprising 38.5% from three-point range.  Jaz has also added 47 rebounds, 30 assists, 17 steals, and six blocks to go along with 38 turnovers. 10.3 points per game for Jazmine. 

Kylee Shook, New York Liberty

Shook is the other of the two Louisville rookies in the WNBA, and has averaged 15.2 minutes per game.  Shook has scored 61 points, but very little of it has come from deep range, going just 2-for-12 so far from beyond the arc.  She has totaled 45 rebounds to go along with eight assists, six blocks, five steals, and 14 turnovers. Kylee averages about 4.0 points a game. 

The regular season concludes on Sept. 12, with the playoffs beginning shortly after.  If the standings stay true we will see just Angel and the Aces in the playoffs with the Liberty and Mystics falling short of playoff contention.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared