WBB Stats Tidbits -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Not a Gameday

As has been covered here in Cardinal Couple already, UofL Women's Basketball has entered a Covid pause, so there will be no gameday today.  The Cards were slated to play Miami, in Miami, but Covid spread within the program put a stop to that.

Incidentally, Notre Dame was set to play NC State today and Notre Dame has also started a Covid pause.  As a result, NC State will travel to Miami and play Miami instead.  Well done by the ACC to at get a game set up for NC State and Miami so that those two teams are not, or are at least only minimally, impacted by these situations.

With these pauses and rescheduling of games, it does make one wonder what that will do with the previously scheduled Miami vs NC State game and how it will otherwise affect scheduling later on.  I was not familiar with the Wolfpack's or Hurricane's scheduling before now, but apparently they were slated to play on January 27th and that game is the one that is moved to today.  That will leave an open Thursday for those two teams, but there are still questions about when will games be scheduled to make up the lost games for UofL and Notre Dame.  I don't envy the ACC in having to juggle dates like this.

WBB Stats Digging

So, while we've got a break, let's take a bit of a dig through the Louisville stats so far this season.

Starting with the basics, if you had asked me who I thought was the scoring leader for the Cards this year, I would've said Emily Engstler.  Not so, in fact, she's third behind Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith.  And here I was commenting about how HVL made changes to her shooting stroke in the off-season and really hadn't gotten back to form, yet.  The three are neck and neck, though, 157 for Smith, 155 for HVL, and 149 for Engstler.

Most rebounds?  Olivia Cochran, right?  Nope, Emily Engstler leads in this category, and by a sizable margin.  118 to 70.  A cohort comes in all really close after that, with Liz Dixon, Kianna Smith, Chelsie Hall, Mykasa Robinson, and Hailey Van Lith pulling down between 52 and 46 rebounds.  Give Cochran some credit on the offensive boards specifically, though.  She's gotten 35 second chances for the Cards vs 29 for Engstler.

With the Cards stout offense, how about the steals category?  Yeah, Engstler, I don't think there was much doubt there, again by a significant margin, 39 with Chelsie Hall in second with 22.

We just came out of a giving season with Christmas, so who's the most generous?  Chelsie Hall takes the top spot in the assist category, but not by much, here.  Hall's 32 are followed by Kianna Smith's 30, and Mykasa Robinson's 28.

How about some offense?  Most 3 pointers probably won't surprise too many people with Kianna Smith dropping 27 from range.  Second place may surprise some though, Emily Engstler has 17.  This may be where HVL still needs to get her shooting form put back together with only 11, and about halfway down the list on the team for 3pt shooting percentage.

Playing around with the stats a bit more, one thing I did notice that I want to bring out, here.  Payton Verhulst, may not be getting the playing time she deserves.  She has played 167 minutes, while HVL tops this category at 383, with Kianna Smith at 367.  But when you sort the stats by just about any other category, Verhulst jumps up the list (unfortunately that also includes for personal fouls and turnovers).  But in field goals made, 3pt shots made, free throws made, total points, rebounds (both offensive and defensive as well as total), assists, steals, and rebounds Payton has out-stat'ed her playing time.  You can't say she's only seen the court against "bunny" teams as a reason that her stats are so much better than minutes played as she's played in 13 of the 14 games the Cards have played this year.  Maybe she should be playing more minutes?

Some interesting data to be found in the stats, got any that you think are intriguing?

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Jared orders four more sloppy Joe's 

After a couple of weeks off due to holiday scheduling, the crew was back at it again.  We had a late scratch as Case has been having Internet outages at his place, so he wasn't able to join the call, but Jared, Paulie, and myself got on the line to record the first CCRHP of 2022.

Lots of basketball talk, as you would expect, including obviously the announced Covid pause and some discussion of the impacts that will have.  We also recapped the Pitt and Georgia Tech games.  And finally we talked a little bit about Elle Glock, a transfer from USC (Southern California) joining the Cards volleyball squad for the sprint semester and beyond.

Jeff interviewing a potential new CCRHP panel guest/

At the moment the recording is only available on Youtube as Case does the light editing and addition to the podcast feeds, which has been disrupted by his Internet access troubles.  So you can check out the Youtube stream at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CCrNuTpLEM

WBB Enters COVID Pause -- The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

After a couple of weeks of holiday break, I was expecting to come back to writing with some joyful feature piece due to the break in the Louisville schedule. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be, as I've been handed a mixed bag of news to report.

WBB Announces Postponement of Miami Game

It may have been an inevitability, but the Cards have officially entered into COVID-19 protocols. The university announced yesterday that tomorrow's game against Miami has been postponed. After having players miss the last two games due to illness, it is a bit of a wonder that Jeff Walz and the team were able to maintain a handle on an outbreak for as long as they did. The full extent of the spread within the program was not announced, but it is safe to assume that the players that were positive prior to the Pittsburgh game are not the only positive cases that led to the full pause.  ACC protocols mandate that you have to have seven players and at least one coach who are COVID free to take the floor, or you postpone and the league will reschedule.  

"Think we'll head to Miami? Dunno, but I packed my bathing suit."

As with last season, the pause for the women's team lags that of the men's. This is probably coincidental, and is likely more attributable to the rapid spread throughout the city, but it is an interesting note nonetheless. As of now, the university at large is still planning to start classes in person next week, so we will see if the overall problem becomes more widespread. Last season's pause for the Cards was about two weeks long, and the men's pause last month was exactly ten days. I would expect a similar length for this pause, so if we count from yesterday, the Syracuse and Boston College games are also in jeopardy. 

We may learn more about the extent in the coming days, but for now we can only hope that those that have tested positive are feeling well and that any symptomatic members of the team and staff can recover quickly and fully.

Volleyball Officially Adds Elle Glock

On a more positive note, Louisville Volleyball officially announced the incoming transfer of Elle Glock from USC. Amidst the feel-good, retrospective pieces the team has been posting about Tori Dilfer and Anna Stevenson's retirements, this announcement puts more focus on reloading the squad for another run at a title after this season fell just short. We've heard rumors about this potentially addition, so the official announcement is welcomed.

Glock joins the Cards after just one season with Trojans, and enters a setter room with large shoes to fill. Glock is a talented addition, winning three high school state championships in Nebraska. Her four all-conference selections (they have conferences in Nebraska high school sports, apparently?) and two all-state selections led her to being the 39th-ranked recruit nationally, and she amassed 3,200 assists in her high school career.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast 

The CCRH Podcast will return this weekend after a couple of weeks off, but my break will continue. Internet issues are giving me a fit, so I'll have to miss this week. Fortunately, there should still be four on the panel with the return of Daryl. In addition to the games, Louisville WBB has given the crew even more to to talk about this weekend, so be sure to tune in. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

WBB storms past Pittsburgh 81-39; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

I hope the winter storms that rolled through the state did not cause issues for anyone yesterday or this morning.   It definitely impacted the crowd for the Cards WBB game at the Yum! on Thursday evening.  Between schools sending kids home early & businesses following their lead, to that blue team in Lexington straight up advising fans to stay home to avoid the weather delays... a wild day for the state's preparation for this winter storm.  

Either way, I do hope you were able to have a warm and safe evening, hopefully you were able to catch the Cards on the ACC Network vs Pittsburgh.  If you missed it, here are some notes and numbers from the match. 

Louisville WBB win 81-39 vs Pittsburgh

All 10 players scored for Cards as the team was lead by Hailey Van Lith and Emily Engstler with 12, Olivia Cochran had 11 and Chelsie Hall and Payton Verhulst chipped in 10 points a piece.  It was Engstler's 4th double-double of the season.  Mykasa Robinson and Norika Konno did not appear in this one due to COVID protocals.   The last time the Panther's played a game was back on December 22, 2021. 

End of 1Q 19-8 Cards

FG %
7-21 33.3% Cards
3-12 25% Pitt
Reb. 13-10 Cards 
3-pt %
1-5 20% Cards
1-2 50% Pitt

                                 Photos today by Jared Anderson

 

The Cardinals had some snow on the gears to open another game this season.   Starting by losing the opening tip, the first two possessions for UofL were turnovers, Kianna Smith let it slip into the defense and Olivia Cochran traveled.  The Cards' defense held strong to make up for it.  But offensive woes continued for the better part of the opening quarter for both squads.  Hailey Van Lith attempted the 3 and Kianna attempting the second chance points but both came up empty.   Both squads were 0-8 before Kianna gets the game's first points just around the 7 minute mark.  Despite not filling the stat sheet, HVL finds important ways to bring this squad to its victories..  HVL drew 3 fouls on Pitt in the first 4 minutes of the game.  But scoring droughts would plague the first 10 minutes as the two teams combined 1-13 in the first 5 minutes.  After frustratingly having 2-3 shots bounce all around the rim for Emily Engstler, she scored 4 quick points with a steal in-between.  The Cards put together an 8-0 run to push the lead to 14-4.  The Cards found an offensive spark in Engstler when she nailed the 3 pointer with 2 seconds left the in the quarter.                             

End of 2Q   21- 5 Cards

FG %
9-21 42.9% Cards
2-9 22.2% Pitt
Reb.  11-8 Pitt
3-pt %
3-7 42.9% Cards
0-2 0% Pitt

Engstler opened the second quarter like she finished the first, hitting a 3 point jumper to make the lead 22-8 for Louisville.   A series of defensive stops for the Panthers and the Cards attempting the second chance shot, Payton Verhulst finds her first points and perhaps.. the glimpse of whats to come from the freshman guard?  Stay tuned...  with the assist from Ahlana Smith, PV hits the 3 for the Cards to push the lead 25-8 with 8 minutes left in the half.   Meanwhile, Engstler is loading the stat sheet halfway through the quarter already in double digit scoring with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.  The Cards would then go on a scoring drought for more than 3 minutes going 0-6 in that time.   Chelsie Hall breaks the ice with a jumper to 29-11 with 4:20 left in the half.   The Louisville defense had only allowed Pittsburgh to take 4-18 shot attempts by this point and forced a scoring drought of more than 3 minutes, including 4 turnovers, to close out the second quarter.

HALF  40-13 Cards

End of 3Q  23-12 cards 

FG %
6-13 46.2% Cards
5-18 27.8% Pitt
Reb. 12-9 Pitt
3-pt %
2-5 40% Cards
1-4 25% Pitt

Both squads decided to get the offense going quicker in the second half, scoring 5 points each in the first 2:09 minutes.   After that, Emily decided to take command of the floor blocking a shot, stealing the ball and recovering a rebound defensively all in a matter of 27 seconds.  A minute later, Engstler and Hall would both steal it again as the Cards forced 4 Pitt turnovers in the first 3 minutes of the third quarter.   Coach Walz would then give Engstler a break but the pressure does not slow up there, Pitt turns the ball over a fifth times, 4 of them steals with 4:35 on the clock and a media timeout.   The Cards found themselves at the free throw line alot more in this quarter than they did in the first half, remaining efficient when they got there,  going 9-10.   Olivia lead the charge going 5-6 on her FTs.   In her 7 minutes on the floor in the quarter, in my opinion, it was the Payton Verhulst show, as we got to see what I hope is a bright future for Payton's in red and black!  

Within 30 seconds of being inserted into the lineup, Verhulst snags the defensive board and registers the assist.  With 4 minutes left in the quarter, Verhulst gets the block and secures it, giving the offense another chance to score.  Then, with 1:52 left, she pulls down the huge rebound under the basket then forces Pitt's Brown to travel followed by a 3 of her own with 1:15 to extend the Cards lead 63-25.  The 6-1 guard from Kansas got big praise from commentator Debbie Antonelli after the run - commenting that when Payton gets settled into the college life and finds the weight room some more, she could become a serious star. 

End of 4Q 18-14 Cards 

FG %
6-15 40% Cards
4-15 26.7% Pitt
Reb. 13-10 Cards
3-pt %
2-4 50% Cards
0-1 0% Pitt

(Caption this...)

Picking up where she left off, Verhulst found herself at the FT line shooting 2 to open the offense for the Cards.  Not long after, around the mid 8 minute mark, Coach Walz moved to put some starters back out on the floor even with the Cards at a comfortable 40 point lead.  Regardless of the score, it has been covered before that Coach Walz always has a plan.  The move to bring starters back in for just a handful of minutes left in the game and a huge lead on Pitt was a coaching moment for him and the squad that will be the backbone of the post season.  Especially with the rust the squad has come out with in recent weeks.

Walz was wise to use the quality minutes for some extra shots to 'get the score to 70' (which has been a stressor for the coaching staff as a winning formula).  HVL did just that when she swished a 3 pointer to make it 70-28 Cards with 6:28 left in the game and Walz pulled the starters for the rest of the way.  Before Thursday night, the Cards were 7-0 season on the season, 21-0 last season and 49-0 over last 3 seasons when they score 70+ points.   At this point of the game, the Cards lineup looked like Ramani Parker, A. Smith, Merissah Russell, Hall and Payton on the floor.  The Cards struggled to find a rhythm offensively, not scoring until Russell hit a three with 3:40 left.   As a team, the Cards finished going 4-4 from the field to make it a 81-39 final score in downtown Louisville.  

UP NEXT

Louisville at Miami Sunday at 12:00 p.m. 

FRED REPORT

(Jared's supervisor...Freddy Farm Bureau)

FREE THROWS --  The Cards found themselves at the line plenty of times Thursday evening.  When they got there, they were very efficient going 17-18 on the evening.  Cochran lead the Cards, going 5-6 on free throws all in the third quarter.  The Cards excelled at the line going 94% which far exceeds are required 70% minimum. CAPITAL F 

REBOUNDING -- Somehow, Pitt managed to stay even with the Cards when pulling down the boards at 43 all.  Pitt's 6-4 Center Rita Igbokwe corralled 14 on her own.  The Cards' leading rebounder was Emily Engstler with 10.  The Cards lost the offensive rebound challenge, which limited the second chance opportunity to score.  lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  The game did not leave its viewers with many complaints if you're a Louisville fan.  When the offense started stalely, Emily Engstler revved the engine.   When her team needed a bucket, she made one.  When they needed the ball back offensively, she took it.  When a situation needed a dissatisfied expression, she took the technical foul.   29 points came off the bench, despite the Cards being down their first two off the bench (Robinson and Konno) and had 24 points in the paint. CAPITAL E

DEFENSE --  The Cards forced 35 turnovers.. 25 of them were from Pitt starters and 19 turnovers were steals.   UofL had 32 points off of the turnovers.  At one point, Merissah Russell was taking the charge under the basket, putting the ball back in Louisville's hands.  By halftime, the Panthers had attempted only half of the Cards shot attempts with 21 and totaled 24 turnovers.  CAPITAL D 

FINAL FRED TALLY: F_r_E_D

Cardinal Couple Radio - The gang takes to the air tomorrow at 11 a.m. Join us for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. A lot to talk about after three weeks... 

 As always
Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

 

WBB Hosts Pitt with Time Change -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Host Pitt

Louisville Women's Basketball returns to the KFC Yum! Center tonight to host ACC foe Pittsburgh. Originally scheduled for 7:00 p.m., the time has been moved up to 6:00 p.m., to be featured on ACC Network. As much as I like the extra air time on a larger tv network than just online, 6:00 results in a poorer showing for crowds due to this being a normal work day. Even for myself, I'll be rolling in right around tip-off due to rush hour traffic from work.

The Cards come into the game 12-1 on the year and have started a perfect 2-0 in conference play. Most recently, they are coming off a last second win at #16 Georgia Tech. Emily Engstler's layup with about three seconds left lifted the Cards to the 50-48 victory.

Pittsburgh sits near the bottom of the conference with a 9-4 overall record and 0-2 mark in the ACC. They have gone 0-3 against ranked opponents this year with those losses coming against NC State, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M. The Panthers are also finally back to playing for the first time since December 22. Their last two games were postponed due to COVID-19 related issues.

Pitt's greatest strength is their rebounding- 46.0 rebounds per game. That ranks second in the ACC and sixth in the NCAA. Louisville will have their hands full in the rebounding battle in hopes to keep the Panthers off the offensive glass.

Ideally, getting Pitt to the free throw line is a good way to beat them. Yeah, this is actually a game where it may be better to foul. On the season, they have shot just 63.9% from the charity stripe. 

Jayla Everett has been the big threat on offense for Pitt, averaging 15.0 points per game. She has an excellent mark from three-point range, hitting 35.5% from long range. Louisville will need to face guard her to try and slow her shooting. Rita Igbokwe has been a force on defense with 1.6 blocks per game. Pitt's top rebounder is Liatu King, who averages 8.8 boards per game.

Louisville owns the all-time series 21-2. The Cards have won 17 straight against the Panthers and are 10-0 at home against Pitt.

We hope to see a solid win for the Cards tonight, but conference play can get weird as we've seen in past years. The key will be limiting the Pittsburgh rebounds. Louisville has arguably the best defense in the country and should be able to limit Pitt's first-chance scoring efforts and find plenty of opportunities to score off of turnovers, but if Pitt starts getting second looks from their rebounding, this could get tight quick. UofL does need someone or multiple players to step up on offense for strong scoring efforts. The poor shooting against Georgia Tech was nearly costly.

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

There is a winter weather advisory in effect as the city of Louisville is expected to get 1-3 inches of snow throughout the day. If heading to the game, please drive safe and watch for snow and ice.

Weather pending, Paulie and I should both be there.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

ACC Standings -- Change coming? -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLR

 FOUR STILL UNDEFETED IN ACC PLAY

Now that all but one ACC WBB squad has at least one conference game in, let's take a look at the updated standings. Only Miami hasn't played a conference game yet, not due to COVID issues or anything health related, it's just the way the Canes are scheduled this season. 

Four schools are still undefeated in ACC play (North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Louisville) and one team (North Carolina) is still undefeated overall -- at 13-0. At least one will drop out of that undefeated conference status tomorrow night, since UNC and 3-0NC State are ue to match up in Raleigh. Virginia Tech brings Virginia in to Blacksburg and the Cards will host Pitt. 

Here the full standings: 

TEAM                  ACC Record         Overall Record

UNC                   3-0                         13-0

NC State            3-0                         12-2

Va. Tech             3-0                         11-3

Louisville            2-0                         12-1

Notre Dame       2-1                         11-3

Duke                  1-1                         10-2

Ga. Tech            1-1                         10-2

Wake Forest      1-2                         11-3

Syracuse           1-2                          8-5

Miami                0-0                          7-3

Virginia              0-1                         3-8 

Boston Coll.      0-2                          9-4

Pitt                    0-2                          9-4

FSU                  0-2                          6-6

Clemson           0-3                          6-8    

Looking at the whole of the conference, there are really no surprises that stand out so far. Notre Dane is maybe a little better than I expected, Freshman Olivia Miles has become a force and "go-to" for the Irish.

North Carolina is getting exceptionally good play out of.Deja Kelly, Alyssa Ustby and Eva Hodgson. Hodgson is a transfer from William and Mary and sat out last year. Kelly and Ustby are sophomores who were on the UNC roster last year and made significant contributions to the Tar Heels. You had to wonder how Courtney Banghart's squad would fare after the graduation of Janelle Bailey and Stephanie Watts, but things appear to be "so far, so good" for the Chapel Hill school. Boston College gave then a test in their first ACC game, falling 76-73, a contest held up in Chestnut Hill. Syracuse and Clemson proved to be no match for the Heels. 

NC State is a top 10 team and, despite the loss to #14 Georgia, the Wolfpack has glided through early ACC , soundly defeating Pitt, Virginia and Clemson. Elissa Cunane leads the way in Raleigh with the usual suspects Raina Perez, Jakia Brown-Turner, Kayla Jones and newcomer Diamond Johnson, a transfer from Rutgers.  

Virginia Tech has conference wins at Wake Forest and Florida State and a home win over Duke. Elizabeth Kitley and Aisa Sheppard are the big stories again in Blacksburg, but Kenny Brooks does have Kayana Traylor (previously at Purdue) and Georgia Amoore putting up significant numbers. 

Six ACC WBB squads are in the AP Top 25. #3 Louisville, #5 NC State, #16 Georgia Tech, #17 Duke, #19 North Carolina and #20 Notre Dame. 

Thursday night brings seven ACC contests. We've mentioned the UNC-NCState, Virginia vs. Virginia Tech match ups -- in addition, Florida State hosts Clemson, Syracuse goes to Boston College, Wake Forest heads to Miami and Georgia Tech visits Duke. I'll take NC State, Va Tech, FSU, Boston College, Wake Forest, Louisville and Georgia Tech (but that GT vs. Duke game is a toss up in my opinion). In case anyone is tracking these, I did go 7-0 when I picked the Dec 30th. slate. 

Jared will get you read for Pitt vs. Louisville in tomorrow's column. 

CHANGE COMING?

(Just an explanation, I'm not referring to the old Sam Cooke song, also covered by Three Dog Night and Greta Van Fleet, just to name a few).

Attendance at indoor sporting events. We've seen Michigan put restrictions out on who can attend...requiring vaccination proof or negative COVID test within 72 hours. Stanford went one step further, limiting attendance to player's families. Will we see a reduction of fans in the stands for ACC hoops? 

The Omicron strain is spreading faster than most expected. Although it doesn't appear to be as serious as Delta has been, hey, it's COVID. You don't wanna go there. My wife's work has quite a few out as of yesterday and they're all masking during work hours and sanitizing like crazy. 

What threats do 5,000-7,000 in the YUM! Center bring? Should it be a mask-wearing policy? With spacing and limited attendance? Will the ACC come out as a league and mandate a policy? It should be interesting to see who else follows and how soon it happens. Obviously, the health and safety of the players, staff, fans and workers should be the prime concern and be the guiding principal in any decision. 

Stay tuned.

paulie

WBB Rankings -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Rankings

Rankings don't mean much, even halfway through the season, but when a Louisville team sits near the top of the rankings, we can't help but recognize that.

Louisville Women's Basketball (12-1, 2-0 ACC) sits in the top five of three different rankings. The Cards are the top team in the latest NCAA Power Rankings.

"It was a showdown between the top-4 defenses in the nation when Louisville faced #16 Georgia Tech, but the Cards were able to outlast the nation's leading defense, 50-48. Emily Engstler saved Louisville from the upset by finding an open lane to the basket with a game-winning layup. Earlier in the week, Louisville cruised past Boston College and are now 2-0 in ACC play and 12-1 overall, going on a 12-game winning streak. So far, Louisville has taken down four ranked opponents- Michigan, Kentucky, UConn, and Georgia Tech. Its only loss of the season comes from Arizona, which is now considered the #4 team in the nation, according to the Associated Press." -Autumn Johnson, NCAA.

The Associated Press didn't give much recognition to Louisville as the Cards remained in the three hole in their latest poll. South Carolina (13-1) and Stanford (9-3) kept the top two spots. Arizona (10-0) and NC State (12-2) also stayed in their respective spots and four and five.

Georgia Tech (16), Duke (17), North Carolina (19), and Notre Dame (20) round out the six ACC teams in the current AP Poll. Other Louisville opponents in the rankings include Michigan (8), UConn (11), and Kentucky (21).

Another poll, the NET Rankings, lists Louisville as #5. The NET Rankings gets pretty in-depth from a numbers perspective. It takes into account win percentage, game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. Louisville beating Kentucky and Michigan at home isn't as good as getting ranked wins on the road such as against Georgia Tech. However, I still would argue that the win against UConn was a home game at the Huskies' secondary home.

Louisville's sole loss is to #4 Arizona (AP Poll). South Carolina's only loss came to an unranked and receiving votes Missouri team. Stanford has three losses to #1 South Carolina, #24 South Florida, and #9 Texas. Arizona hasn't played a ranked team since the Cards, but have been dominant on route to their 12-0 record.

It's hard not to still give South Carolina one of the top two spots in the rankings, even with a loss. I would also be okay putting Arizona in one of those top two spots too. However, with three losses this early into the season, I don't think Stanford deserves the #2 spot. Top teams find ways to win, even against other ranked opponents, and Stanford is 3-3 against current ranked teams.

They're better at getting in the way than they are at making good calls

I do believe Louisville should be in the top three right now based on how other teams have performed this year. Overall, the league feels more open than in past years with plenty of teams that could make the Final Four and be a top team, so it helps keeps the Cards up high.

Defensively, Louisville is without a doubt one of the best teams in the country. Offensively, the Cards have too many inconsistencies. I can understand players having off nights and just not shooting well. The missed layups and missed free throws this year are something that can't be as easily forgiven.

"Why aren't you better at your job?"

If UofL shoots better than 7-16 at Georgia Tech, then the last second layup would've been icing on the cake and not a needed game-winner. Louisville shot 8-12 against Kentucky. A couple extra made shots there takes a little pressure off that final minute. Ironically, the Cards shot 25-30 against Arizona but struggled with 17 turnovers and going 2-11 from three-point range.

The Cards stay in conference play and return home to friendly confines of the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday against Pitt. Following the ping-pong schedule, Sunday is a road game and next Thursday is a home game.

We will continue to bring you the latest Louisville Women's Basketball news and plenty of in-person coverage at the home games.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville 50-48 over Georgia Tech -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS ESCAPE IN ATLANTA 

Emily Engstler banked in a layup with 3.3 seconds left and Louisville Women's basketball pulled out a 50-48 win in Atlanta over Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon at the McCamish Pavilion.

If you are a fan of up and down the court, fast break, high scoring basketball, this wasn't the game for you. Defense dominated for 40 minutes in this one, The Cards shot 35.6% for the game, the YellowJackets performed even worse at 32.6% in a game where there were a combined 39 turnovers between the two squads, GT committing 22 of them. 

Louisville started cold from the floor, missing their first eight shots , before Chelsie Hall connected on a jumper with 3:39 left in the first quarter to make the score 6-2.Georgia Tech. A Hall free throw concluded the Cards scoring for the quarter -- but Tech wasn't exactly burning up the nets either, going 3-11 in the first ten minutes, Two Lotta Maj-Lahtinen free throws with a second left in the quarter gave the home squad an 11-3 lead after ten minutes. This was far from pretty, precise or point-producing basketball -- eight first quarter turnovers by Tech were about the only thing keeping the Cards around. One wouldn't have blamed Jeff Walz if he demanded a ladder and tape measure after the first quarter, just to make sure the rims were set at regulation height. 

A three-pointer by Lorela Cubaj a minute into the second quarter put the Cards down by 11. It was the Yellow Jackets fourth bucket of the contest -- all of them three pointers -- and it wasn't until Payton Verhurst connected on a layup with 6:46 left in the half that the Cards gathered their second basket of the game. That seemed to spark the dormant Cards, though. A Engstler three, another Verhulst bucket and Hall steal and layup over the next two minutes had the Cards within three at 15-12 with 4:47 to go in the first half. Tech had seen enough, though...and buckets from Cubaj and Hermosa over the next minute pushed the GT lead to seven at 19-12. Tech would score just a lone free throw over the final three minutes -- the Cards using a 8-1 run, with two buckets from Cochran, a Van Lith free throw and spectacular three from Ahlana Smith with three seconds left in the half to gain a 20-20 tie. 

Louisville managed just seven points in the third quarter. A three by Engstler 26 seconds in gave the Cards their first lead of the game at 23-20, but 2-9 shooting the remainder of the quarter plagued the Cards. 

An interesting development occurred with 5:02 left in the quarter. Mykasa Robinson got her face rearranged on a high Cubaj elbow and Jeff Walz loudly took exception with ref Karen Preato (and rightly so) for a review of the action for a possible intentional foul. Preato, in turn, first calls a technical on Walz, and then decides that maybe the crew should take a look. No intentional was called, though, and GT hit one of the ensuing two free throws. It was a quarter where UofL was whistled for nine fouls, and Georgia Tech just one. Fortunately for the Cards, the YellowJackets could hit only 5 of the 10 free throws they were awarded in the quarter....otherwise their 32-27 lead at the end of third third might have been higher. 

The fourth quarter was a virtual scoring frenzy, based on what had happened earlier. Both teams had their highest outputs of the game in the fourth in points -- Louisville 23 and GT 16. .A Kianna Smith three to start the fourth cut the Tech advantage to two. two Van Lith free throws a minute later tied the ball game up. Tech regained the lead, though, and that's how the contest went for the next six minutes, Tech's lead varying between 1-4 points. Cubaj nailed a jumper to give GT a five-point edge at the 2:58 mark at 47-42.. 

And then, the Cards came back. An Engstler steal and layup cut the lead to three. Two Cochran free throws with 1:05 remaining made it a 47-46 Tech lead. Cubaj countered with a free throw to set the lead at two, but a Van Lith jumper off an Engstler pass tied things up at 48 with 35 seconds left. Lahtinen whiffed on a three eleven seconds later and the Cards grabbed the rebound and got a timeout with 14 seconds to play. Would Walz come up with a game winning play? Van Lith's ensuing inbounds pass eventually resulted with the ball in Engstler's hands, she "fake fed" the crossing Van Lith and Hall and confidently drove the right hand side of the paint by Cubaj...released... and her shot dropped in.

50-48. 3.3 remained on the clock. It was Louisville's second lead of the game and it couldn't have come at a better time. 

Tech had one more chance, but no time outs. Lahtinen's desperation shot from sidelines mid court was well-guarded and well oft the mark. Louisville had prevailed in Atlanta.   

THE FRED REPORT

A roller-coaster ride today in Atlanta for the Cards

FREE THROWS --  The Cards went 7 of 16 from the charity stripe. Only three Cards attempted "free ones", Cochran went 3-8, Van Lith 3-6 and Hall 1-2. 43.8% won't earn a letter here. 

REBOUNDS -- Louisville won the rebounding battle against the taller Tech squad 36-34. Cochran was huge in her effort, with 13 in her 34 minutes and Kianna Smith added six. You win the rebounding battle, you get a CAPITAL "R" in my book. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Engstler led the way with 14 points in just 22 minutes, the turnovers (17) weren't awe-inspiring, and the 36% shooting was salvaged by 62% in the fourth quarter. You have to admire a squad that comes back to win after leading only 1:18 of the 40 minutes. Louisville's last three minutes of execution to get the win dictates I award the small case "e" here. 

DEFENSE -- Despite Cubaj being a one-women wrecking crew on the Cards, Louisville didn't do that bad a job defensively. They held GT to 32% from the floor. They had 10 blocked shots and six steals. They forced 22 turnovers. Tech had 0 fast break points. Defense kept Louisville in this one and I'll award a CAPITAL "D" for the effort. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  -_R-e-D

 

Sometimes, you win ugly. This was a battle between two teams that could very well be in the Sweet Sixteen at the end of the year. It's hard to say that Georgia Tech actually lost this game, let's just say Louisville was better this Sunday. And, thank goodness, the Cards only face them once in the regular season. Championship teams find a way to win, someway, somehow -- and that's what Louisville did. Never say die, never stop until the clock shows 00:00 and holding the Yellow Jackets to one basket and one free throw in the final 4:22 of the game was the deciding factor. 

Besides Engstler's 14 points, three Cards finished with seven each -- Cochran, Hall and Van Lith.  Kianna Smith totaled six points, Verhulst added four, Ahlana Smith produced three points. Kasa Robinson finished with two. Dixon and Konno played but did not score 

Imagine this Cardinals squad without Emily Engstler this year. Built tough, plays tough and doesn't understand the phrases "back down" or "coasting''. Somewhere, Sam Fuehring is smiling and nodding slowly in approval. 

Lessons to be learned from this one, sure, and the Cards have to find a way to eliminate these ice cold starts...but road wins on the ACC should be worth more than just one in the won/loss column.  

And...a warning to the rest of the league. These Atlanta Yellow Jackets are more than capable of stinging you. The Cards avoided the stinger today, but nearly saw that top three ranking go up in smoke. I can't honestly say if only seven GT players dressed for the game made that big a deal or not. All five starters were dressed and Tech usually goes with a rotation of seven in close games. 

A Cards win that was in doubt until the end, but the conference standings don't care if you win by two or twenty-two. A "W" is a "W".  

paulie

Gameday in Atlanta - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 WBB vs 16th Ranked Georgia Tech

As Case's "Year of New", apparently we're trying some new formatting options here on Cardinal Couple, notably center justification*, so let's do this new thing.

The hoop squad is in Atlanta getting ready to take on the Yellowjackets of Georgia Tech.  Nell Fortner is in her third season as head coach.  She has assembled a high powered staff of women with Tasha Butts as Associate Head Coach; Blanche Alverson and Murial Page as Assistants; Mickie DeMoss, who has helmed the Florida and Kentucky teams during her career, as Chief of Staff; Louisville alum, and Cardinal Couple favorite Cortnee Walton doing recruiting operations; and more.

(* OK, nope, I can't do the center justification thing for a whole article.)

The Yellowjackets are 10-2 on the season so far with a win against Wake Forest in their only conference game thus far.  A second conference game, scheduled against Pitt on Thursday, was postponed due to Covid issues in the Pitt squad.  Their losses aren't terrible, falling by eight points to Auburn and by only a single point to Purdue.  Both games were low scoring affairs with scores in the 50s.

Not many signature wins for GT in the season at this point, though I'm sure they're happy with the rivalry win over Georgia.  Oh yeah, and the 13 point margin over UConn is sure to get a lot of attention.

The Techsters, much like UofL so far this season, have shown off on the defensive side of the ball.  They've forced almost 20 more turnovers from their opponents and have chalked up more than 10 more steals than their opponents so far in the season.  They get about four rebounds for every three their opponents get.

On offense, things get a bit fuzzier for GT.  Only one player has a free throw average that would earn them an "F" in the Fred report, Lotta-Maj Lahtinen (5'9" senior), who's 20-28.  Loyal McQueen is listed on the season stats as hitting two for two, but she transferred in mid-December to Alabama.

Top scorers overall on the squad are Eylia Love (6'1" sophomore) and Nerea Hermosa (6'5" junior).  Neither are particular threats from beyond the arc, though when Love takes them, she hits them at a 52.6% clip.  Hermosa hasn't even attempted a three this season at all.

From range, watch out for Lahtinen, Digna Strautmane (6'2" super senior), and Lorela Cubaj (6'4" super senior).  Avyonce Carter (5'10" sophomore) is also a three point threat coming off the bench.  Lahtinen and Cubaj are the main distributors with 46 and 58 assists respectively.

With both teams being primarily driven by defense, look for a scrappy messy game.  Look for transition offense resulting from aggressive defensive plays, and a well coached game between two high quality coaches.

McCamish Pavilion is the location for this game, with a noon start on ACC Network, so you can find it on ESPN's streaming, or on linear TV.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The CCRHP is still on winter/holiday hiatus, but should be back next week, where we'll try to catch up on all the Basketball action of the previous three weeks and preview a bit of the Miami and Syracuse games.

We hope to start the new year off with a bang, and hope you'll join us.

Happy New Year! -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

It has been one heck of a week, so you might notice this post is out quite late. After the last few days, we hit the hay around 10:30PM, not bothering to watch the ball drop, and I caught up on a lot of sleep to start my 2022.

I'm not much of a resolutions guy, having recently taken up the idea of yearly themes instead. Resolutions are very unforgiving and can put you in quite a poor headspace if you aren't able to stick to a new habit or hit an arbitrary goal you created, at least that's the case for me anyway. Themes give you the flexibility to model your year how you see fit and change targets as necessary if the situation demands it. 

My theme this year is the "Year of New", and I'm trying to freshen up a lot of aspects of my work and personal life. I'll be taking a look at my routines, habits, hobbies, physical spaces, and more to try to make the most out of 2022. It feels like the right time for that theme given what has been a bit of a slog over the last two years. 

As the sun sets on 2021, UofL and the athletic program will be going through their own Year of New as well, but theirs is due to a different set of circumstances. Hopefully as fans of the Cards, the new we see can be a new National Champion or two. 

Louisville women's basketball's quest for a national championship continues tomorrow when the two Louisville teams play a double-header against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Jeff will have more in his preview article tomorrow. As Daryl mentioned yesterday, we'll be back with the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast next week!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case