Gameday Against Clemson - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Late Breaking Update:  Today's game vs Clemson has been delayed by two hours.  Game time will now be 2pm.  Doors to the arena will still open at 11am, limited concessions are available and exit and re-entry to the arena will be allowed.  The only explanation available at this time for the delay is for "team safety protocols".

Gameday: Clemson

While basketball fans have started to get accustomed to games being played later than they were originally scheduled, we get a treat today, with UofL taking on Clemson far earlier than was originally scheduled.  In the original schedule, this game would have taken place almost a month and a half from now, on February 21st.  Instead, it will be contested today at noon.

There have been a lot of role adjustments in ACC women's basketball in the past couple of years.  Notre Dame isn't a national power, Georgia Tech is pretty good, and Clemson isn't in the bottom ranks of the conference.  Indeed, the Tigers are in the top half of the conference standings...not bad.

Like many high end teams, including UofL of course, Clemson's non-conference schedule has been nothing to write home about.  Charlotte, and maybe College of Charleston provided the only real tests there.  But as we start working our way into conference play, we start to see what these teams are really about.

Clemson does have a trio of conference losses.  The loss to Georgia Tech is understandable, as mentioned, GT has put together a fine team in Atlanta.  The losses to Pitt and Miami however, suggest that the Tigers may have a little ways to go before their evolution into a top team is complete.

They do have a couple of good wins, however.  A win over Notre Dame is good, even with the aforementioned non-national-power status of Notre Dame these days.  A win over Florida State turns heads even though there is some degree of uncertainty with FSU.  An interim head coach for the year and fewer games played will do that.  A win over Virginia goes in the win column, but is certainly not a statement win.

Kendall Spray gets much of the attention on this Clemson team, and she is an outside threat without question, more than tripling the number of 3 point goals made over anyone else on the team.  She is not, however, the leading scorer on the team overall.  Gabby Elliott and Delicia Washington both contribute more to the big number on the scoreboard.  Elliott and Washington are both 5'10" guards.  Spray does lead the team in steals, though not by an overwhelming margin - 17 vs Destiny Thomas's (5'10" guard) 14, and Nique Cherry's (6'1" forward) 10.

As a team, Clemson does stack up well on the defensive stats, forcing more turnovers, pilfering more steals, and stuffing more blocks that their opponents.  None of these are runaway numbers, but it shows the Clemson discipline and quality.

On those blocks, well over half of them are thanks to 6'4" center Tylar Bennett.  The Cards have had some head-scratching lay-up missed in some games this year, maybe trying to take it up against Bennett inside isn't the best idea.  To compare, Bennett's 27 is well above the best Cards blocking stat - E Balogun's 19.

I expect a guard focused game today, given the general propensities of both teams.  Will the Cards try to shift some of that focus to Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon?  Perhaps, if they can overwhelm Tylar Bennett, there could be a strategy there.  Overall, I think the strategy is to take advantage of the depths of guard play for the Cards, wear down the Clemson squad inside the arc, and make sure Spray doesn't get a good look from beyond the arc.

Check this one out on the ACC Network, on linear and streaming.  We get Pam Ward and LaChina Robinson on the call, both excellent in their roles.  If you're not near a TV, you can of course check out Nick Curran's great radio call on 790 AM in the Louisville area.  Tip is at noon at the KFC Yum! Center.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Jared was being Mr. Bankerman again yesterday for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour and podcast, though he did chime in through the magic of Skype chat, as he is wont to do.  Daryl, Case, Paulie and myself were all on the call, though, and we had plenty to talk about, with three games to recap in UT Martin, Bellarmine, and Virginia Tech, as well as previewing today's Clemson game.

Good fun, as always, check it out below!

NWSL Draft Approaches -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Racing Has Picks, UofL Has Prospects

The NWSL draft has been long awaited in this area since the announcement of the formation of Louisville's expansion team, Racing Louisville FC. Excitement grew in November when the expansion draft allowed Racing's roster to really start to take shape, and the final step toward the first gameday roster will take place this week. The NWSL rookie draft is set for January 13th at 7PM, and Racing has five picks in the four round draft. They'll get the first player off the board in each round, as well as the fifth pick in the first round.

 

Prior to the last week or so, the process was pretty straightforward for the draft, and we only knew of one Louisville player making herself available for the draft, Emina Ekic. The NCAA approved a waiver late last year that would allow any eligible player to register for the draft and then decide whether to report before or after the collegiate spring season, but we haven't seen news of any other Louisville players electing to register for the draft. There are plenty of seniors on the squad, so you would expect they might want to take advantage of that, but they also have an additional year of eligibility on hand, so perhaps they'd rather ply their trade in college for one more year. Ekic has already announced that she will forego the spring season completely, leading me to believe that she is already working with draft assurances.

I said that was straightforward until last week because the NCAA and NWSL announced another rule change. This one granted blanket draft registration to any college player that has exhausted three years of eligibility. This comes without a formal draft declaration. It's similar to baseball, in that the expectation could be that players will not join the team, but it's much riskier since there are 40 picks over four rounds rather than hundreds of picks over 40 rounds. A team like Racing Louisville can hardly afford to use one of their five picks on a player that will not report. 

Another change in the rules is the extension of the protected player period. When a player is drafted and does not report, the professional team still retains their rights until the end of the subsequent season... typically. This year, however, and this year only, the protected period has been extended until the start of next season. This article goes into whether or not that's good for players' rights, but it is definitely interesting for selecting players this year, and signing them after the 2021 fall college season. Whether or not that will happen, Louisville went from one player registered and likely to be taken to a whole host of "registered" players. The following is a list of players that were redshirt sophomores or beyond on Louisville's 2020 roster:

Hanna Wise, GK

Gabby Kouzelos, GK

Sarah Hernandez, D

Nadege L'Esperance, MF

Ravin Alexander, D/MF

Emina Ekic, MF

Taylor Kerwin, MF

Shay Hampton, F

Kiana Klein, MF

Lana Batson, GK

Maisie Whitsett, F/MF

Delaney Snyder, F

Cassie Amshoff, MF

Now, obviously, most other programs' eligibility lists look like this, but there are some very interesting undeclared players on this list. The most obvious is Gabby Kouzelos, who seems destined for higher play. Is she ready? I don't know the answer to that question, nor do I know what NWSL front offices think of her, but the extended protection period means that teams could take a flyer and allow a player to develop further in college. Other interesting players in that vein would be Sarah Hernandez, who has proven to be a top defender as a three year starter, and Delaney Snyder, who appears to be a rather good goal scorer. Whether either of their play translates to the next level is up for debate, but, like I said, it's not such a black and white answer. 

All of our questions will be answered next week, and by the end of the month, as drafted players have until January 22nd to decide whether or not they will join the team. The draft will air in full on NWSL's Twitch Channel at 7PM on January 13th.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Jared is out banking this week, but we'll still have a four-stack in the booth this week. Paulie will be back at the helm, thankfully, and Jeff, Daryl, and I will be along for the ride. We'll discuss the week that was in Louisville women's basketball, and then move on to look ahead at the upcoming week. There's plenty of joy and excitement to go around. Tune in at 11AM on the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel for the live show, or check out the replay or podcast following the conclusion of the show.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Louisville WBB steals the victory at Virginia Tech -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DANA DELIVERS DOWN THE STRETCH -- 71-67 CARDS 

GOOOOooooood Friday mornin' to everyone! It's victory Friday and that means its already a good one.  Have you looked outside yet?! Hehheh   

And today will be my first FRED report with the site.  While I do not already have my grades yet decided, I do know that overall, this will be a positive report because the Cardinals were able to get another ACC game in the books and remain undefeated on the season.  

 

It was a barn burner in Blacksburg as the Hokies gave it everything they had to try and take down the #2 Cardinals late Thursday evening but they would not succeed.  Louisville scratched back to win 71-67, led by Dana Evans who led all scorers with 22 points.  

Olivia Cochran, "O" as Coach Walz refers to her, got the scoring started for Louisville as Kianna Smith, HVL & Dana would follow to put the Cards up 15-6 midway through the first quarter.  Dana started the game with six points through the 1st quarter, four points and a couple assists in the 2nd quarter and I believe she got poked in the eye at one point & had to fetch a new contact from the sideline. But she would not be denied in crunch time. 

 

As a team, the Cards were able to push it to a 16 point lead with 3:51 left in the first half.  In the post game conference, Walz mentioned that he thought the team played sloppy in the final three minutes of the first half and that's where the team saw their lead dwindle to make it close down the stretch.  Tech was able to cut it to a single digit lead, 42-33 Cards, when Asiah Jones grabbed a missed 3 point attempt and put it right back up in underneath the basket at the buzzer.  They took that momentum into the halftime break.  

It was an uncharacteristic third quarter and one I imagine Coach Walz would like to forget...Louisville had six turnovers before the five-minute mark of the 3rd quarter. They then had two more which let the Hokies take the lead 51-50 before Louisville was able to secure a 54-53 lead at the end of the quarter. 

10 turnovers in one quarter. Hardly what we expected.  

The game went back and forth in the 4th quarter before Dana came up huge to tie it up and then take the 69-67 lead with :23 to go. She then came out of the timeout to steal the ball from Tech's freshman guard Georgia Amoore and seal up the victory for the good guys. HVL's two free throws clinched it and the Cards improve to 9-0 and 2-0 in the ACC. 

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

POST GAME thoughts from Coach Walz:

On having Dana down the stretch:  "Nobody (was taking the shot) taking it but Dana.  (We've got) Kianna, excited about having her.. she's gonna get better.  Balogun & Dixon were not in these tight situations last season, HVL and Olivia are freshman.. so having Dana is exciting.. and she's gonna be the one to have the ball."

When Dana getting the steal, checking the clock and holding on:  "We were actually trying to foul.. we had one to give. Overall really pleased how we handled the last minute of the game."

And now...for the FRED Report.. !! 

William Frawley (Fred Mertz)and Lucy
 after watching the third quarter last night...

Free throws You're going to love this discrepancy.. Louisville attempted only seven free throws on the evening while VT managed 26 of them, making 17.   Two very clutch ones by HVL at the end of the game to put the Cards up by four and the game out of reach for the Hokies . 6-7 overall was good for 85.7% from the stripe. That's more than our 70% standard and VT attempted 20 more than the Cards made so that gets a CAPITAL F. (It was a Dee Kanter-led officiating crew, did you expect the Cards would actually get any breaks?) 

Rebounding Louisville was outrebounded by the Hokies 34-33. "O" managed to grab just two rebounds in her 23 minutes on the floor.  Haley Van Lith came up huge, leading the team with seven rebounds in 38 minutes.  Her 38 minutes matched Dana for most on the team.  She also had 15 points.  As great as it is that HVL was able to get seven rebounds, Louisville's "bigs" will have to come up with more grabs for this squad to go deep into any potential tournaments.  lowercase "r"

Effort/Execution Two things I think about from this game .. That was the turnovers in the third quarter and Dana Evans getting fouled and not getting the call when she got hit in the eye and lost a contact!  The Cardinals ended up with 15 turnovers for the game but had TEN in the third quarter! AFTER the no call/contact situation. Ten of them!  VT had 14 of their own.  Louisville had 9 TO's vs UT Martin Tuesday night, they had  eight vs Bellarmine & 13 vs NKU.  After the 3rd quarter the Cards didn't really have another one.. they charged one to HVL but I say it was a foul and another bad call. CAPITAL "E" largely due to Dana's dominance at the end.  She refused to lose. 

Defense It was a pretty low scoring affair between the two teams.   Louisville held VT to 39.3% from the field and 30% beyond the arc. Sheppard went 4-13 from the field and 9 of her 20 points came from the free throw line.  And she made only three threes on the night.  Which gets a good amount of thumbs up from me...  The fouls racked up for the Cards, K.Smith and Balogun both fouling out and combining for five points, eight rebounds and  four assists.  As a team, the Cards had eight steals and four blocks, Evans and HVL with three steals each, the big one at the end by the senior. I'll give it a CAPITAL "D" for the overall effort. 

Final FRED tally :   F-r-E-D 

Hey, not bad for my first FRED report I think?! That's almost an ALL capital performance by the Cardinals against the Hokies. Got a different take? That's what our comments section is for, use it. 

NEW UNI'S 

 

The team also debuted these bad boys for the trip to Blacksburg.  I dig them...  I don't wanna see them all the time but I thought they looked nice on the team.  Dana wore a long sleeve black under shirt which also looked awesome. I think it could work with a white outline instead of a yellow one, as well.

 And this has been your Friday Cardinal Couple fashion update.. (ha ha). 

Seriously, have you checked outside yet? Grab your coffee, find your snow scraper and warm gloves and then go on and have a good morning.  The Cardinals basketball programs had four wins this week, two of them against Virginia Tech.  That's some solid news heading into the weekend.

I'll be on the Saturday morning show with the rest of the squad.  Be safe and warm out there Louisville and Go Cards!

   - Daryl 

Cards Travel to VT -- Academics Accolades -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cards Prepare for Game at Virginia Tech

Louisville women's basketball is back in action tonight, just two days after their game against UT Martin. The Cards travel east to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech. This is just the second ACC game for Louisville, who has seen nine ACC games cancelled or postponed up to this point with more probable in the future. Louisville beat Duke 73-49 back on Dec. 9. The 1-0 mark in conference play puts them in a tie for first in the conference with NC State (5-0) with a 1.000 win percentage.

Virginia Tech enters the game at 6-2 on the year. Their 1-2 conference puts them in the middle of the pack. The Hokies beat Pitt at Cassell Coliseum before falling on the road to Notre Dame and home to Florida State.

The game will be just the fourth for Virginia Tech in the last month. Like Louisville, the COVID-19 situation has made scheduling games difficult.

The Hokies have been led by star forward Elizabeth Kitley 18.8 points and 12 rebounds per game. Like we saw back in the day with Myisha Hines-Allen, Kitley is a walking double-double. She is shooting a stellar 64.8 percent from the field. Virginia Tech has been a solid three-point shooting team. They've shot .403 from deep and make 11.1 per game. Guard Aisha Sheppard is averaging 17.8 points per game highlighted by her 41.8 percent three-point shooting. Sheppard has made 33 threes on the year.

UofL is 22-17 all-time against the Hokies. Most recently, the Cards took down Virginia Tech on Senior Day at the KFC Yum! Center by a score of 70-53. They have won seven straight against the Hokies and have not lost since joining the ACC.

You can catch this one on the Regional Sports Network/Fox Sports South. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m., so grab a midday nap if you need one.

If you're having TV trouble you can always tune into Nick Curran and AJ on Cards Radio WKRD 790-AM.

Academic Accolades

We saw a few more teams announce some off the field honors with their excellent academics. 

-- Field Hockey posted a 3.809 team GPA, a program best. 11 of the student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 and 26 were named Red and Black Scholars (3.25 or higher).

-- Softball had a 3.351 team GPA. Two student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 and 16 were named Red and Black Scholars.

-- Cross Country and Track and Field combined earned a 3.232 GPA on the women's side. Five scholars earned a perfect 4.0 while 33 were named Red and Black Scholars.

Not only are they incredibly talented on their fields of endeavor, but our student-athletes are super smart. There's plenty to brag about there and we are proud of the awesome academic successes.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards soar over Skyhawks 96-61 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 DANA EVANS CAREER DAY LEADS LOUISVILLE TO 96-61 WIN

Dana Evans had a career high 29 points and her #2 ranked Louisville Cardinals easily handled the rematch against visiting UT Martin SkyHawks Tuesday afternoon 96-61 in the KFC YUM! Center. Evans nailed her first two three-point attempts in the contest and had 11 points in the first 5:40 of the first quarter to propel the Cards to an early 15-9 lead. 

Louisville cruised out to an early 21-13 first quarter lead and the Cards showed no signs of slowing down in the next ten minutes. And, Evans remained hot. In a 28-11 Cardinal edge in the second quarter, Evans added 11 more points and UofL WBB went into the locker room comfortably ahead 49-24. Or, you could look at it as Evans 22 - UTM 22. She took nine first half shots. Eight went in. She took five three pointers. All of those went in. Add three assists and two steals to her performance and you had a very decent game for anyone for 40 minutes.   In basketball, finding the "hot" hand and feeding the hot hand is paramount to success. And, when her teammates "found" her...Dana delivered. 

The Cards were also getting it done defensively, allowing just 30.4% shooting for the visitors from Martin, TN. Louisville had shut down leading scorer Chelsey Perry to just two points on 1-5 shooting and former Card Seygan Robins still hadn't put one through the hoop after 20 minutes,  The Louisville transition game was running on all eight cylinders, the Cards were dominating in the paint (a 22-6 scoring edge) and UTM already had 11 turnovers, which led to 14 Cardinal points. 

And, it wasn't a case of Walz just using his starting five to inflict the damage. 10 Cardinals in all saw action in the first 20 minutes and nine of them saw at least five minutes of court time. 

One wondered if Louisville's intensity might drop off a bit in the second half, but it did not. The Cards put together a 29-19 third quarter performance to hold a 78-43 lead with 10 minutes remaining. Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith picked up the scoring attack and the Cards shot 61% in the third session and made five of their seven three point attempts. 

The newly activated Malea Williams decided to thrill the fans in the final quarter. She scored Louisville's final seven points of the game, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot in her six minutes of court time. Louisville maintained the 35-point advantage and picked up their eighth win of the season in front of an announced 2754 fans in attendance. 

It was a nice win, thanks to UTM for agreeing to the game and keep 'em coming, Cards.

THE FRED REPORT

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood
for UofL WBB yesterday. 

FREE THROWS -- A good day from the charity stripe for seven Cards who attempted them. 17 for 19 is 89% and very acceptable by our standards. Evans, Van Lith, Cochran, Williams and Dixon were perfect in their combined 15 attempts. NO HESITATION IN AWARING A CAPITAL "F" HERE. 

REBOUNDING -- A 39-28 advanatage for the Cards in grabs. No one had more than six (Cochran). What is most impressive is that the Cards had 12 offensive rebounds compared to just five for UTM. Liz Dixon and Norika Konno had three offensive rebounds each. WE'LL AWARD A CAPITAL "R" FOR THE BOARDS SUPERIORITY. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville shot 49.3 % for the afternoon (33-67) and a much improved 13-26 (50%) from beyond the arc. Besides Evans 6 for 7 accuracy, Kianna Smith was on target as well, making three of her four threes. The Cards had just nine turnovers and any time you can keep that stat under double digits, a tip-of-the-hat is in order. A CAPITAL "E" FOR THE ACCURACY AND PRECISION. 

DEFENSE -- Allowing 61 points was a bit better than the 67 allowed the first time the two squads met. Louisville had 10 steals, forced 18 turnovers and held UTM leading scorer Perry in check for three quarters with just 11 points for her.  A team effort that WILL EARN THEM A CAPITAL "D". 

FINAL FRED TALLY:   F-R-E-D

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

NEXT ? 

It was announced during Jeff Walz's post-game presser that the Cards would be travelling to Blacksburg, VA to face Kenny Brooks' 6-2 Virginia Tech squad for a Thursday 8 p.m. contest. Louisville was originally scheduled to host the Hokies on Jan. 28th., but in this card-shuffling, free-for-all scheduling circus that COVID has brought about, the Cards pick up a game against a VT squad that has lost their last two (at Notre Dame and hosting FSU). We'll always take a "game-added" instead of a game cancelled. 

We also got news of two games being re-scheduled, Miami and FSU. Those two will visit the KFC YUM! Center (let's hope...)

We'll take it. It's games, it's good opponent and it's a conference foes -- When the Cards face VT tomorrow, it'll be only the second ACC member Louisville has played this season. 

Jared will prep you for it tomorrow. Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

paulie

Cards Prepare for UT Martin Round 2 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Louisville Set to Host UT Martin Again

Didn't get enough of Seygan Robins in Louisville's first go around with UT Martin this year? Well, you get to see the Mercer County grad and former Cardinal again today at 2:30 p.m.

In the first game against the SkyHawks back on Dec. 6, the Cards won soundly 85-67. Dana Evans scored 26 points in the game to lead the charge. The game started close before Louisville used an 18-3 run in the final few minutes before halftime to hold a lead they would not relinquish.

UT Martin now holds a 2-2 record on the year but has yet to play at home. They are currently 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. 

Senior Chelsey Perry has been a leader for the SkyHawks this year. She is averaging 27.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. The 27.0 points per game ranks third nationally. The Middleton, TN. native has shot an impressive 53% from the floor. She posted a 26 point, four rebound mark in the first game against Louisville.

Robins scored six points while adding four assists and a rebounds against her former team in December. She is averaging 8.0 ppg and 4.5 assists per game right now, but has had some trouble with turnovers. The Coach Walz influence has left a mark as she is a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.

Louisville holds a perfect 10-0 mark all-time against UT Martin, with all games coming under Jeff Walz's tenure. The Cards are averaging a 25.6 point margin of victory in those 10 games, but only won by 18 in December and had to go to overtime to steal a win on the road last season.

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

CARDS WBB STILL #2 IN NATION

The Cards remained #2 in the latest AP Poll and hope to continue to show why they have earned that ranking today. Stanford still holds the top spot. UConn is the #3 team and Cards conference rival NC State checks in at #4. The top four are all undefeated. One-loss South Carolina rounds out the top five. 

Rounding out the top ten are Baylor, Arizona, Texas A&M, UCLA and Kentucky. ACC schools in the top 25 besides the Cards and Wolfpack are #24 Syracuse. In the "also receiving votes" category is North Carolina. 

By conference in the Top 25, The SEC and Big 10 have five schools, the Pac 12 four, and the ACC and Big 12 three programs. The Big East has two teams and the AAC, WCC and MVC one school each. 

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

Today's game is an early 2:30 p.m. tipoff. A lot of fans have scratched their heads at the early game time on a weekday, but the fact this game will be aired on ACC Network is the most logical answer.

That segways me into stating that duty calls and I will be counting money instead of taking pictures (😔) but I'll gladly make my coworkers watch it on TV with me.  Paulie will be present for the game and he will break it all down for us in tomorrow's write-up.  You can follow his live Tweets at @cardinalcouple

Of course, if watching on TV isn't accessible for you at that2:30 p.m. time, I highly recommend turning on 790AM WKRD Cards Radio to listen to Nick Curran and AJ call this game. Their color commentary and highly in-depth, in-game analysis can't be beat.

Following tomorrow's game, the Cards have a few days rest before staying downtown to host Clemson on Sunday. Game time has been announced for noon so tell your preachers to keep the sermons short and pray for a win. This one will also be aired on ACC Network.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared 

SCHEDULING CHANGES (Again) -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS VS. UNC and FSU POSTPONED -- UT-MARTIN and CLEMSON TO VISIT KFC YUM! CENTER

There is an old baseball adage that goes :'You can't tell the players without a score-card". As we roll into 2021, that could be altered to "You can't tell the opponent unless they show up." 

The Louisville women's basketball team will now play UT Martin for the second time this season, this one Tuesday, Jan 5th. at the KFC YUM! Center at 2:30 p.m.  This contest replaces the game against UNC at the KFC, since the Tar Heels have opted out of coming to Louisville for the third time this season. Also, it was announced yesterday that Clemson will visit Louisville WBB on Sunday, Jan 10th. The Cards were originally scheduled to host the Tigers on Feb 21st., no word yet on whether that'll still happen or not. 

Are you with me so far? Any questions? Hey, who stole my pencil? 

Playing Clemson means, of course, that Louisville WBB's trip to play FSU in Tallahassee on Sunday has been postponed. This is because of COVID protocols facing the Seminoles currently.

So, as we greet Monday morning, let's try to simplify it like this: 

1) UNC -- postponed again. 2) UT Martin -- here again. 3) FSU -- delayed. 4) Clemson -- here earlier than expected.  And, don't forget the Cards WBB squad was scheduled to play at Virginia tonight (Monday) -- but that was postponed last week

Jeff Walz just may be the busiest non-medical or front-line responder individual in the city of Louisville. I had a dream he called me up and asked if the Cardinal Couple crew were available for a game Thursday. We tentatively agreed, provided we could bring in Asia, Shoni, Angel, Jaz and Myisha as members of the Cardinal Couple staff. .  

What it does mean... is that the Cards WBB squad (for now) will at least continue to get a couple of games in after being on the sidelines for most of December. And, a huge amount of credit goes to UT Martin for agreeing to visit Louisville again after starting their 2020-21 season here. Anybody up for including UTM in the ACC this year?

It was announced that tickets will go on sale this morning for the  UT Martin game on Tuesday ($12). You can pick those up through Ticketmaster.com.  And, any tickets or parking you had for UNC are still good, as well, for the UT Martin game. 

My highly unofficial account of 2020-21 Louisville WBB has the Cards playing seven games so far and winning all seven. They've also had 13 games either postponed or cancelled. 

The whole thing has me pretty confused. So much so that it put my morning routine in a frenzy. I was going to have cereal this morning. Sonja (my version of the ACC in this scenario) told me that cereal wasn't available (for the third time) but English Muffins were available (for the second time).

In addition, my plans for a breakfast of eggs and ham for later in the week were postponed, but bacon and toast would be moved up from their originally scheduled appearance later this month and be on the menu. Coffee and granola bars are still available at Ticketmaster, the status of bagels and oatmeal are currently being assessed and cold pizza remains on standby. Can a fella get a Happy Meal here?!? You want fries with that? 

In the old television show -- Hee-Haw -- parlance:  "Hey, Grandpa, what's for supper?"

Maybe I'll go back to bed and wait for lunch. Or Tuesday. 

In any event, have a meaningful Monday *unless we move it to Tuesday* ! Jared's got you covered Tuesday with a pre-game report on someone. Unless, it's Wednesday or he opts out for January. 

paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Cards over Knights

 Cardinals Beat Bellarmine

The Bellarmine Knights continued their inaugural season at the Division I level with a rescheduled game against UofL yesterday.

The move up from Division II to Division I typically takes a few years for the team to adjust, begin recruiting at a higher level, and develop into a competitive team.  Alas, that's what we saw with Bellarmine yesterday, with UofL easily winning the contest 97-46.

The Cards got the job done largely with their size and strength.  Six players scored double figures, including nearly all of the bigs.  Olivia Cochran lead with 15, Liz Dixon was just behind with 14, Kianna Smith, Dana Evans, and Noriko Konno each came up with 11, and Ramani Parker scored 8.  Most of the score differential can be found in the "Points in the Paint" stat, where UofL outscored Bellarmine 64-24.

I would normally be tempted to use second change points as another stat to bolster the argument that the bigs were the difference, and indeed, that stat does account for the rest of the score differential with a 22-4 advantage to the Cards.  That argument is weakened somewhat when you look at the offensive rebound stats, though.  Of the 17 Cardinal offensive rebounds, only three were collected by the crew we typically think of as the bigs of this squad, Cochran, Dixon, Parker, and Williams.  The leading rebounders, as seems to be the way of this team, were guards, Hailey van Lith and Merissah Russell with eight and seven.

The shooting in the game felt a bit rough still, though the stats don't really back that up when you look at 60.9% from the field for the Cards.  From beyond the arc, things don't look quite as rosey.  The total percentage isn't terribly, 18.8%, but the volume of shots was a little lower than normal, only 16.  The ugly part of it was the three point shooting in quarters divisible by two, where the Cards made exactly zero three point shots.

The general takeaway from this one is that Bellarmine was just outplayed by a better team.  That, however, is what was really expected here, and cannot, in any sane approach to the game, be considered an insult to Bellarmine.  UofL is sitting in the number two position in the national polls, and Bellarmine is brand new to Division I play.  This game was a nod of respect within a new cross-town, and at least so far, very friendly, rivalry.

Both teams are dealing with game postponements and cancellations, as are most college basketball teams, the stars and calendars aligned, and they made a game happen.  It was, hopefully, fun and helpful for both teams and everyone seemed to go away with smiles on their faces and talk of making this a yearly tradition...maybe even a "home and home" between the KFC Yum! Center and Freedom Hall.

Credit goes to Bellarmine's team for not ever giving up in this game.  They were getting easily outscored, but they kept their head's up and continued throwing everything they could at the Cards, and you could see where they gave the Cardinal's vaunted backcourt some challenges, at least at times.

Seeing the Louisville frontcourt come out and have a good game and be, really, the biggest deciding factor was great as well.  The guards for UofL get a lot of attention, including from us here at Cardinal Couple, and with some good reason as there are a lot of them, and they're all very good players, but sometimes our frontcourt gets a bit overlooked in the Guardapalooza.  Olivia Cochran continues to develop and improve game over game.  Liz Dixon came out and had a good game.  Ramani Parker contributed a lot in her 10 minutes of playing time, and we even got to see Malea Williams on the floor for five minutes.

The Cardinals and the Knights both have a postponed game listed on the calendar next - Virginia for the Cards, and Morehead State for the Knights.  The next game still expected to go forward for the Cards will be UNC at 2:30pm on Tuesday to get back into conference play.  The Knights will start their conference play in the Atlantic Sun conference with a two day double-header against Lipscomb in Nashville next weekend.  Game times are 2pm on Saturday and Sunday the 9th and 10th.

A BIG Thank you to Jared Anderson for today's photos of the game! 

Fred Report

We give you Freddy Krueger for today's massacre. 

FREE THROWS --  The Cards went 16-24 from the line. Yes, they played 12 players and no one took more than five, but the 66% falls below our preferred 70% for a letter, so...no letter

REBOUNDS -- Cards were dominant and held a 48-18 edge in rebounding. That's quite impressive and we'll award a CAPITAL "R" here.

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Dominance prevailed here, with the Cards getting 64 points in the paint, 54 bench points and only eight turnovers. CAPITAL "E"...no problem. 

DEFENSE -- The Cards held BU to 32 % shooting and 17% three-point shoots. BU had only four second-chance points. No doubt about it -- A CAPITAL "D". 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  _-R-E-D 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Daryl, Case, and I were the main contributors to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday as Jared and Paulie were arriving at the KFC Yum! Center for the game right after the show.  Jared managed to find a quiet location within the arena, apparently the pool photographer's room in the media area, and was able to call in and contribute some good thoughts.  Paulie also called in from out in the main arena area.

Topics of discussion obviously included analysis of the NKU game, previewing the Bellarmine game, and ongoing scheduling juggling.  As always, you can catch the replay below, or Case's podcast version of it (slightly edited) wherever you get your podcasts.

JMCA

Louisville Knocks Off Rust Against NKU; Bellarmine Next -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Use Late 3rd Quarter Surge to Sink Norse

After nearly a month out of action, Louisville fans couldn't have expected to see the most crisp return to the court for the Cards. Refreshed legs, sure, but the players couldn't have been terribly worn out after just five games anyway. Whatever you expected, it probably wasn't that Louisville would struggle so much in their return to the floor against a 4-4 NKU team that had yet to win a non-conference game. As their schedule currently stands, NKU now looks to finish the season 0-5 in non-conference. However, they're currently tied with IUPUI and Milwaukee atop the Horizon league and will play a double header against IUPUI for the conference lead next weekend.

To NKU's credit, they had a hand in the way the game went yesterday. The outcome was not just the result of Louisville's long layoff. The Norse shot the ball pretty well, were very active on the glass, and harassed Louisville defensively. After a scrappy first quarter, NKU hung on to win the second quarter by a pair and held the deficit to just two at the half. Louisville would have liked to have been in much more control, but NKU would not give up.

The third quarter saw the Norse take their largest lead of the game when they used an 8-0 run to open up a five point gap with five minutes remaining in the quarter. I quipped in our group chat asking if Louisville's offense had any plans of showing up yesterday, as the score at the time was just 41-36 with just 15 minutes to play. Right on cue, Louisville rattled off a 17-2 run, capped by a 14-0 finish, to lead by ten at the end of the third quarter. The Cards looked in complete control, with Dana Evans coming alive and the Norse looking completely lost.

That wasn't the end for NKU, though. Back-to-back empty possessions for Louisville, both followed by fouls on layups that NKU converted (they shot 13-14 from the line and 9-9 in the fourth quarter) made it just a four-point game once again. The Cards stretched the lead back to eight, but the Norse just kept holding on. With just under eight minutes remaining, Lindsey Duvall converted yet another 3-point play for the NKU, cutting the lead to just three. Louisville floated that back up to 11, and the lead hovered at 7-9 points for the next six minutes. With 52 seconds remaining, Tayah Irvin scored NKU's final points to cut the lead to five. From there, Louisville would close out the game with free throws to win by 10. 

The Norse were led by Lindsey Duvall, who was comfortable in her return to the Yum! Center and was eager to show why she got the opportunity to play there in the first place. She finished with 20 points on 7-14 shooting while going 3-5 from beyond the arc. Duvall also added seven rebounds and two assists to go along with just two turnovers. Grayson Rose also reached double-digits, with an 11 point game, and Ivy Turner flirted with a triple-double. She shot just 3-15 from the floor, but finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. 

On the home side of the floor, Louisville put five players in double-digits. The Cards were led by Dana Evans, who finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Olivia Cochran, Kianna Smith, Hailey Van Lith, and Liz Dixon were the other players in double digits. While E. Balogun struggled from the floor, shooting just 1-6 and finishing with two points, she had eight rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and two steals to show why she remains on the floor even when the shooting touch isn't there. Kianna Smith added 10 rebounds to her 11 points to pick up her first double-double as a Cardinal. 

The CASE Report

Looking at the final score and having watched the game, I don't have high hopes for Louisville's performance in these metrics. However, they won, which is ultimately what matters. That said, let's take a look.

C-Care: Any time Louisville scores significantly below their average, you would expect that to be a result of some carelessness with the ball. While Louisville did turn it over 13 times, that's far fewer than it felt like in the game flow. It's also fewer than the 18 they forced out of NKU. That said, NKU really struggles to turnover their opponent, forcing just 13.33 per game, good for 291st in the country. Louisville's 13 is far greater than 60% of that average, so it's a lowercase 'c'.

A-Assists: The Cards did manage to move the ball pretty well, finishing the game with 18 assists. That's on 30 made baskets, so good for a 60% assist rate, though HVL would have liked a few more of her passes to have been finished in the basket. Unfortunately, they didn't quite double up their turnovers, and finished with a 1.38 ATO. I know, my thresholds are cruel. Lowercase 'a'.

S-Steals: Straightforward category here. Louisville finished with 11 steals, a tally that is greater than the 7.5 steal threshold and the 6 steals that NKU managed. Uppercase 'S'.

E-Efficiency: I know what you're thinking. Louisville didn't turn the ball over that much and NKU wanted to run the floor with them, so they must have been terrible from the floor to score so few points. Nope. Louisville actually finished with 41.7% shooting, although the 18.2% from three was rough. Taking that out, Louisville shot 52% from two-point land, which isn't world beating but is pretty good. The Cards also shot 76.9% from the free-throw line. It was worse than NKU, but it'll do. Uppercase 'E'.

So there you have it. Louisville was actually not that bad statistically, finishing at c-a-S-E. Having watched the whole game, I can't tell you what kept Louisville from dominating, other than NKU's scrappiness. Louisville won the battles for turnovers, rebounding (though only by 4), second chance points, fast break points, and points off turnovers. Credit to the Norse for sticking around in this one. It is likely to keep Louisville on their toes, particularly against teams they would consider lesser opponents. 

Cards Welcome Bellarmine in First D-1 Matchup Between Schools

On that note, another opponent that Louisville should have no trouble with will head to the visitor's locker room today. At noon, Louisville and Bellarmine will tip-off in what will be the first matchup between Louisville and Bellarmine in any sport since the Knights joined Division 1. While history would have leaned toward that distinction going to the men's basketball programs, I'm sure Jeff Walz is happy to make the connection, especially as today's game will put Louisville more than halfway to the 13 required games to become eligible for the NCAA tournament.

With Monday's game against Morehead State postponed, the Knights will lace them up in the Yum! Center for their final game before beginning ASUN play. It hasn't been the greatest debut season for Bellarmine, as they enter today's matchup 0-4. In their games against Ball State, Western Kentucky, Western Illinois, and Evansville, the Knights have been outscored 331-210. Interestingly, they've scored more points and allowed fewer in each successive game. Their best performance came against Evansville on December 29th, when they lost 72-62 on the road. 

The Knights are led in volume scoring by Lauren Deel, who has averaged 10.5 points in all four of their games. However, Breia Torrens is likely to surpass Deel soon, as she has averaged 16 points in the Knights' two most recent games, the only two in which she's played. 

Louisville should be able to control the pace of this one and score at will. Bellarmine is allowing their opponents to shoot 50% from the floor this season, while managing only 30% themselves. I expect Dana and HVL will both get back to the deadly duo we'd seen in the first portion of this season today. The game tips off at noon on the ACC Network Extra.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie and Jared will be at the Yum! Center for this one, but Jeff, Daryl, and I will bring you this week's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour right up until tip-off. We'll talk about Louisville's long hiatus finally coming to an end and take a look at the upcoming schedule (will Louisville finally play UNC?). Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel at 11AM, or check out the replay when the show ends. You can also subscribe to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour podcast and have the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics pushed straight to your device. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

HOPEFUL NEW YEAR -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

HOPEFUL NEW YEAR

The Cardinal Couple Staff would like to wish one and all a happy and hopeful 2021. A time to say good bye and a time to say hello.  Our New Year's resolution is to continue to bring you the best in UofL womens athletics news. We invite you to come along for the ride! 

Paulie, Jeff, Case, Jared, Daryl and Sonja