Reid and Lady Cards ranked 8th in BIG EAST

WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE (We're glad you made it!)

-Reid ranked as 8th best player in BIG EAST

-UofL WBB ranked as 8th best team in BIG EAST

-YUM Center making money? Who knew...

-Kom on the sidelines

(Information from the Rutgers Rivals WBB Chat board.)

Monique Reid, pictured here, is ranked the 8th best player in the BIG EAST, according to an outfit called f-reports...We did a search and couldn't find any on-line information about the rating service but we'll go ahead and post their top ten BIG EAST players here. Not totally convinced that we're in full agreement with all the rankings and ratings here...but they aren't too far off. We'd probably move Reid up a spot or two and drop the Connecticut freshman Dolson down a few spots...

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1) Maya Moore-Connecticut-Sr. (No argument here...she's the best of the BIG EAST).

2) Madina Ali-WVU-Sr. (She's had a strong season so far for the Eers).

3) Angel Robinson-Marquette-Sr. (Can't argue this one either...this Angel can soar also).

4) Keisha Hampton-DePaul-Jr. (She's a little over-ranked here, in our opinion, but very good).

5) Stefanie Dolson-Connecticut-Fr. (A good player but not this good. Borderline top ten).

6) Kayla Alexander-Syracuse-So. (We would move her up a notch or two. A banger).

7) Sugar Rodgers-Georgetown-So. (Another one we'd move up. Quick, effective guard).

8) Monique Reid-Louisville-Jr. (The 'super sub' is top five in our stats.)

9) Liz Repella-WVU-Sr. (Are we the only ones who think she's been around 8 yrs.?).

10) April Sykes-Rutgers-Jr. (Breakout season for her. Not our namesake either.)

All in all, an OK list but we'd need to find room for Sam Quigley from DePaul in here somewhere and also Andrea Smith from South Florida. Shoni Schimmel is also on the bubble for making this group. We'll try to see how this list changes as the season progresses. If we can find it again.

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David Wilson does computer rankings of the basketball conferences and here's his latest of the BIG EAST. You can see his work over at http://www.talismanred.com/ Below is his top 10 for the BIG EAST:

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1) Connecticut 898

2) WVU 863

3) Syracuse 854

4) Marquette 720

5) DePaul 712

6) Georgetown 709

7) Notre Dame 700

8) Louisville 682

9) Rutgers 675

10) St. John's 665

He has Louisville ranked 42nd in the nation currently, putting the Cards squarely 'on the bubble' if the NCAA Selection Committee had to pick tournament teams today. Not real convinced here that there is that much difference between Syracuse, Marquette and DePaul..but after all, it is a computer.

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According to a published report in yesterday's Courier-Journal, the Louisville Arena Authority expects a profit in the first year of the KFC YUM ARENA in downtown Louisville. You can read the whole story at: www.courier-journal.com/fdcp/?1292322384500. If the link doesn't work, it's in Monday's paper. Buy or borrow one.

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We don't like the fact that the arena authority has to pay Freedom Hall $750,000 to cover its lost income because of events that have moved to the arena. Who in their right mind would choose Freedom Hall over the new downtown arena for anything? And, they just re-did portions of the Hall in Wildcat blue. I know they miss that $6 they used to get from us for parking at events out there...The KFEC also manages both facilities...so isn't this a little bit of double dipping here? Maybe it's gratitude money that is being paid for not having to be stuck forever on Ring Road.

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-Jim Host suggests that the arena could 'host' up to 140 events annually. Please, no tractor pulls or cow shows, Jim. 94 events are currently scheduled or have dates in the YUM.

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-$2.2 million is expected from food sales commission. That's a lot of nachos and cheese...

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-$1.1 will be paid out in gas and electricity. (Turn off all lights when not in use, guys!)

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Host goes on to say that even if the economy doesn't improve "we should be OK for two or three years going forward."

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(Speak for yourself, Jim...if things don't get better soon, CARDINAL COUPLE will be living in a cardboard box underneath the 2nd Street Bridge next to the Arena...)

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Former UofL golfer Danielle Kom is a noticeable impresario on the UofL sidelines during women's basketball games. She's working as a reporter for the WAZOO network and although we haven't heard her on the air doing a broadcast yet, she's a fixture next to Bob Valvano and Drew Deener when they're on the air.

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In addition to four years of golf at the 'Ville, she was also President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Kom attended high school at Christian Academy here in Louisville and also played basketball in addition to golf while there.

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WE'VE had the chance to sit next to her a couple of times this year and she's got a great personality and big smile. Some big time network or city will most likely come by and swoop her away from UofL and WAZOO before too long. We're gonna enjoy her presence while we can.

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(I'd make her play from the men's tees if I teed it up against her and I'd probably need 2-3 strokes a hole...considering the way I play. We are talking about Putt-Putt, right?)

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POST ARTICLE NOTE...Maybe we spoke too soon about Danielle. She thought CARDINAL DOMINANCE did this write up and has joined the CARDINAL DOMINANCE website. Hey, happens all the time. We're so insignificant that dogs won't even shake hands with us. We appreciate that CARDINAL DOMINANCE reposts most of our articles over at their site and also on Facebook. Sometimes, people even read them and realize that it was us who actually wrote them. And sometimes not. Shannon is the 'man' when it comes to recruiting information and coverage of the football Cards. And, he cooks a mean Italian Sausage over a propane grill.

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Two stroke penalty, Danielle.

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WE'RE not in the business of telling jokes here at CARDINAL COUPLE (although we do joke around a lot over on the left side of the site...) but gotta share this one with you.

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An Indian chief instructs his tribesmen to collect firewood for the upcoming winter. They bring in a bunch and ask him how much more they should collect. He tells them that he'll let them know in a couple of days...he rides into the nearest town and sends the guys at the National Weather Service a telegram...who assure him that it's going to be a cold winter. He has the tribe collect more firewood...but just to make sure, he contacts again and they once again assure him that it's gonna be a cold winter. The tribe finds all the firewood possible and Chief sends one more telegram to the National Weather Service.

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"How can you be sure that it's going to be a cold winter?" he asks them.

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"The Indians are collecting an incredible amount of firewood." is the reply.

Inside the Lady Cards numbers and Soccer falls 1-0

Monday @ The Couple:

-Men's soccer falls 1-0 to Akron

-Louisville's first ten games
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Shelby Harper, pictured here warming up for the Dayton game, is fifth in three point attempts for the 2010-11 Lady Cards.
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Louisville is attempting 19.3 three pointers per game so far this year and cashing in on 37% of them.
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A hard fought game yesterday for the UofL men's soccer team but a 1-0 loss in Santa Barbara in the NCAA Championship game to Akron. After a scoreless first half, Akron managed to push home what proved to be deciding goal with about nine minutes left in the contest. Louisville would get close several times in the waning minutes but could not score on the Zips. A great season for Ken Lolla's guys and much promise for next year.
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After ten games this season the University of Louisville women's basketball team is 7-3 and 5-1 in the KFC YUM Center. Monique Reid has led the Cards in scoring four times this season, Shoni Schimmel three times, Becky Burke once, Sheronne Vails once and Reid and Vails tied for the scoring lead once. The Lady Cards are outpointing their opponents 79.8 to 55, an incredible margin of almost 25 points a game, and have hit the century mark twice this year.
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Louisville holds a narrow margin in out rebounding foes 415 to 373 so far and dominates in the turnovers created statistic...250-181. The Cards hold a 185-97 advantage in assists, have 147 steals against opponent's 85 and 52 blocks...15 better than the opposition's 37.
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Two Cards are averaging double figures for the season...Monique Reid with 15.8 points per game and Shoni Schimmel with 14.7 a contest. Knocking at the door are Sheronne Vails with 9.7 points a game, Becky Burke at 8.7 a game and Keisha Hines with 8.5 points a game. Schimmel's 26 against Kentucky is the highest individual scoring effort in a game for Louisville and she has scored the second most total points for Louisville with 147. Reid's 158 lead in this area.
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Schimmel averages 27.2 minutes per game, Tia Gibbs 23.2, Monique Reid 22.8, Becky Burke 22.7 and Sherrone Vails 21.7. 10 of the 13 Lady Cards are seeing 10 minutes or more a contest. Schimmel, Hines and Gibbs have started every game so far for Louisville and eight of the thirteen Cards have played in every contest. Schimmel has launched the most shots...116 in ten games and Reid has attempted 109. LaToya Johnson has the best shooting % at 80% (4 for 5). For those in the regular rotation, the leader is Hines (34-57)...good for 59.6%.
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At the charity stripe, LaToya Johnson is perfect (1-1). Behind her, Becky Burke a sizzling 12-14 and 85.7%. Of the starters and regulars, Schimmel is next at 11-15 (73.3%). Reid has attempted the most free throws with 48 and made the most...connecting on 33. Reid and Johnson are 1-1 from three point range this year, next in percentage is Burke at 47.7% (21-44). Schimmel leads the team in threes attempted (65) and threes made (26).
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In stats that are dubious to be the leader of, Hines has 36 fouls this year. Hines, Vails and Polly Harrington have each fouled out of a game so far in 2010-11. Schimmel has 38 turnovers...tops for the team and the worst shooting percentage (0%) belongs to Rachel Story (0-5) this year. At the foul line, Charmaine Tay is at the bottom of the list with 6-18 shooting and 33%.
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The Cards have enjoyed a four game winning streak this year...one that they are currently on...and suffered a two game losing streak with back to back drops to Xavier and ODU. Their biggest margin of victory is 66 over Houston Baptist and largest loss was 13 to Tennessee.
Louisville is 1-1 against the SEC and 1-1 against the Atlantic 10 conferences. Louisville played against a record 22,152 fans in the YUM against Kentucky and only 416 showed up in Fort Wayne to see Louisville beat IPFW.
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Louisville has an upcoming road trip of four games...one at Cincinnati on Wednesday and then three in Las Vegas (Marist, Houston and Nebraska). After that, the Cards return home for three in the YUM...(UT-Martin, St. John's and Pitt). The longest remaining road swing after that will be a two game journey to Notre Dame and Connecticut in mid-January and two on the road versus Syracuse and South Florida in mid-February. The longest home stand is the one of three games following the Duel in the Sun event in Vegas. The Cards have those three neutral court games left, a total of eight on the road and 10 in the downtown arena in the regular season.
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Too early for mid-season awards yet, but we'll offer Shoni Schimmel and Monique Reid as our two top contenders so far for "best player at the halfway point" and Schimmel the leader for Uofl freshman of the year. Most improved player would have to go to Becky Burke, because of her dramatic upgraded efforts defensively. The underachiever of the year...one we don't like awarding...would be Asia Taylor...for her on and off the court struggles.
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Louisville's freshmen (Vails, Schimmel, Tay, Harrington and Slaughter) account for 34.5 of the Cardinal points per game this year and returning starters (we used Reid, Burke, Hines, Harper and Taylor...) 39 points per game. The others (Johnson, Story and Gibbs) 10 points per game.
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It's interesting to note that if you add Gibbs scoring to the freshmen's total, the 'newcomers' are averaging 42.0 points per game and the rest of the team 41.5 a game. (These numbers are based on games played by a player divided into points scored, so the totals are slightly higher than the actual Cards points scored per contest.)
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Louisville returns to action Wednesday at Cincinnati. Game time is 7 p.m. and it'll be on 790 AM/101.7 FM Cards Radio WRKD. Jim Kelch and Paul Sandeford will handle the play by play and color commentary duties. (We've always loved the term, 'color commentary'...Oh, look there's the color blue! Over there is some yellow. I don't like blue but green is great! Haven't seen any red yet and what is the deal with purple these days?)
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Remember, the Bowl Pick 'Em contest begins on Saturday, Decemer 18th. With prizes offered by Viscardi Designs, Fanscloset and Panera Bread, it's worth you taking a few minutes and taking a few guesses on the 35 games.
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Good luck and you can enter here at Cardinal Couple if you want in this comments section, e-mail your picks to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com or enter them at the CARDINAL DOMINANCE website http://www.cardinaldominance.net/
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Cardinals would make Clark Kellogg proud.

A SNOWY SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

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-SpurtABILITY in Lady Cards vocabulary.

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-Pitino wins a huge one

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-Marion County rolls on

-Soccer today at 4 p.m

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The affable basketball announcer is widely credited with creating the word "spurtability" and the term describes how the Lady Cards handled Dayton yesterday. The ex-NBAer who has also shot "horse" with President Obama would have enjoyed the way the Cards took a 20-2 run to go from trailing the Flyers 8-4 to leading them 24-10. Schimmel with a three to cut it to one. Vails in the paint putting the Cards up to stay, Reid nails a jumper. Justine Raterman counters to bring it back to a one point game but Tia Gibbs drains a three and Keisha Hines follows with a layup off a steal. Paying attention? That's five different Lady Cards scoring. Reid then nails a free throw. Charmaine Tay gets a putback. Reid another layup off a turnover and a Schimmel three.

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SpurtABILITY, oh yeah...the Cardinals talk it.

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Another run in the second half for Louisville when Dayton cuts the Cardinal lead to 36-28. The Cards go on a 16-4 run...Keisha Hines and Monique Reid getting 6 points each in the spurt and Louisville is out of danger at 52-32.

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Ironically, it was a brief Dayton spurt at the end of the game that made the score look respectable for them. Louisville led 66-44 after two Reid free throws at the 4:11 mark. The Flyers outscored the Cards 11-3 the rest of the way, as Walz emptied the bench and the Flyers capitalized. Final score 69-55 in one that wasn't really that close.

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Jeff Walz talks about the tough six game stretch that the Cards are currently in the midst of and the road ahead is tough. Louisville started these key six games with the Kentucky win and beating Dayton yesterday. Next is BIG EAST foe Cincinnati up at their place...the only BIG EAST team Louisville will play twice this year and not the cupcake they were several years ago. Janelle Elliott (one of Geno's prodigies) has the Bearcats competitive and playing smart basketball. Louisville went 1-1 against them last year, losing in Freedom Hall 74-68 on Feb. 2nd.

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After the Bearcats, it's the Duel in the Sun in Vegas...where the Cards face Marist on Saturday, Houston on Sunday and Nebraska on Monday Dec 2oth. All three were post season participants last year and the three schools went a combined 75-27.

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Survive and advance. A good prep for the demanding BIG EAST schedule that Louisville will jump into with both feet. Beginning January 4th, the Lady Cards will play 15 straight BIG EAST games.

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Louisville shot a solid 40.3% for the game...the deep ball being the only dismal stat. Louisville was 4-17 beyond the arc, Schimmel going 3-7, Tia Gibbs 1-5 and Sherrone Vails, Becky Burke, Shelby Harper and Charmaine Tay a combined 0-5.

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Burke had only 2 points in the game, a late score...but played 25 minutes, grabbed six rebounds and handed out an assist. Her defense has really improved over last year and she has shown she can contribute in many other way besides scoring.

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The Lady Cards revealed their version of the Twelve Days of Christmas holiday song yesterday on the overhead monitors and it's a enjoyable singalong. They all have fairly good voices. We're waiting on the Jeff Walz Christmas download now...he didn't sing with the girls in their video.

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We wonder what Christmas tunes Walz would belt out? I bet his wife would do a version of the Eagles hit... Please come home for Christmas. I can hear Walz singing Deck the Halls with basketballs and volley with Leonid Yelin in a duet. He probably won't be singing You're All I Want for Christmas to indefinitely suspended Cardinal sophomore forward Asia Taylor....

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Nice win for Pitino and crew to start the day in the KFC YUM Center by beating UNLV 77-69. The men's team is still undefeated and the YUM was wild and crazy yesterday during this one.

10-28 from three point land, Preston Knowles with a big second half and 20 points.

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Kyvin Goodin-Rogers had 17 points and 10 boards in MARION COUNTY'S 55-50 win over Madison Central Saturday. Marion County is 3-0 and plays again today.

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Louisville men's soccer team play in the finals of the NCAA Championship Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Cards face Akron. Louisville coach Ken Lolla coached at Akron before coming to Louisville. The man must know a little "something-something" about soccer. Louisville is undefeated going into the game, Akron has lost once. ESPN 2 will have the coverage.

Lady Cards down Dayton 69-55

-Reid's 21 leads Louisville to win over Flyers


We've referenced the slow starting car scenario before in talking about Lady Cards basketball in the past and once again the Cards
sputtered out of the driveway before going on a 20-2 run in the
first half to defeat Dayton. Louisville trailed the Flyers for the first five minutes of this afternoon's game in the KFC YUM Center before Shoni Schimmel nailed a three and Louisville went on a seven minute roll to blow out to a 24-10 lead after another Schimmel three with 9:30 in the first half.

The Cards led at the break 34-22 and Schimmel and Monique Reid had 18 of Louisville's points. The Cards had capitalized on 15 Flyer turnovers for 15 points and held the prolific Flyer outside attack to 2-10 three point shooting. Schimmel had three connects from beyond the arc in the first twenty minutes.

Louisville saw Dayton creep within eight points in the second half at 36-28 with 16:24 to go but then went on a 16-4 run to lead 52-32 after a Reid jumper at the 11:06 mark. Louisville led 66-44 with 4:11 to go...but the Flyers outscored the Cards 11-3 the rest of the way as Jeff Walz emptied the bench late.

Other things to like about the Lady Card win:

-Louisville held Dayton to just 4-16 three point shooting in the game and just six attempts in the second half. The Flyers had been attempting 32 trifectas a game.

-Keisha Hines finished with a 10 point, 10 rebound double/double before fouling out with3:27 to go. Hines was mugged, thugged and banged around by the Flyers front line most of the 22 minutes Hines played.

-Besides Reid's 21 points, other Cardinals prominent in scoring were Schimmel with 17 and Tia Gibbs with 9 in 31 minutes. Sherrone Vails added 7 points and 4 boards in 27 minutes.

-Louisville went a respectable 17-27 from the foul line but Dayton capitalized on 15-22 charity stripe attempts.

-Tia Gibbs had six steals and Shoni Schimmel five against the talented Dayton guards.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM:

Monique Reid on holding the Flyers to 16 threes:

"One of the game plans was to be there on their catch and contain then. We knew they were all good shooters so it was all about being there on the catch so the shots couldn't get launched.

Keisha Hines on her focus for the game:

" I was struggling in the beginning . I was just try to come out hard and play the best I can. It's my last year so I have to come out and do it big."

Reid on the tournament in Las Vegas beginning the 18th:

"Basically Coach Walz has us just focus on the next game. We have Cincinnati next and we start BIG EAST play and that's big for us and we're real excited about it. Our freshmen won't be freshmen any more when we hit the BIG EAST."

Reid on Dayton's earlier win over Cincinnati:

"Really it doesn't mean anything. We beat 8th ranked Kentucky by 26. Anything can happen on any given night. So we're not overlooking Cincinnati. We're just going to play our game and play hard.

Shoni Schimmel on the Cards 20-2 run:

"It was just everyone going hard and everyone working hard. Everyone kept feeding off each other and we started hitting shots right around there. We got a lot of good transition shots in the run."

Reid on the end of the semester:

"We're off tomorrow but most of us will shoot around and then get ready for finals. Coach Walz takes studies just as serious as basketball and so do we."

JEFF WALZ:

On the defense:

"I thought we did a really good job defensively. We made it a sloppy game. We came out and we knew that offensively they were a very talented team and they have a multitude of players that do a really good job of shooting the three and our goal was to try and make it as ugly as we could when they got into their offensive set. You saw the first two trips down the floor they scored back to back buckets because of their offense and the way they get things moving. And then we were able to score and we got a chance to press them. I thought our press was very effective tonight. I thought it really took a lot of time off the shot clock and forced them into some bad shots."

On Dayton's 31 turnovers:

"Again, that's what we try to do. We tried to get them to play sloppy basketball and we were very successful with it. "

On Tia Gibbs:

" I thought tia played very well tonight, especially in the press. She had very active hands tonight... comes up with six steals."

On the 47-40 rebounding edge for Dayton:

" No, I;m not happy with that. That's something we have to improve on. We gave up 18 offensive rebounds and I'm willing to bet you that they got eight of them at the free throw line. There's no excuse for that and we're going to have to work a lot harder blocking out at the foul line." (Actually it was seven...I should have taken the bet...but Walz's point was well made).

On the Vegas trip:

"Well, if I can hit a progressive slot, I won't be back." (Laughter). That's the whole idea about going out there, right? (More laughter). We've got a game at Cincinnati that we have to be prepared for first. Then, we're going to be flying down on Thursday and give us a chance for a Thursday practice and a Friday practice. We play Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It's a very competitive field."

On Asia Taylor:

"It's like I said on the air...she's suspended indefinitely. It's nothing to do with basketball. She gives us great effort on the basketball court. There are just some expectations that come along with being a part of our program and you've got to make sure that you live up to those expectations...and she's not right now. Sure, we like to win basketball games but we want to win basketball games the right way and that our behavior off the court is something we're just as proud of as our behavior on the court. "

Men's Soccer in NCAA Championship Game

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Soccer defeats UNC 2-1, goes to Championship game

-Lady Cards face Dayton in YUM doubleheader

-Rockcastle, Marion County girls win

(Photo by Mark J. Terrel/Associated Press)

It's not often that a University of Louisville sports team play for the national title, but Ken Lolla's Louisville men's soccer team will get that chance Sunday at 4 p.m. in Santa Barbara, CA. after defeating UNC 2-1 last night inthe semifinals of the NCAA College Cup. The Cards got the win in the final minute of the match when Aaron Horton broke free from a wall of TarHeel defenders and corralled a pass from Ryan Smith. Horton drove to the net and tapped a shot past UNC goalie Scott Goodwin with 52 seconds left in regulation.

Louisville (20-0-3) will face Akron (21-1-2) in the title match. Akron defeated Michigan in the semis 2-1. Akron played but lost in the championship game last year. ESPN 2 will televise the Louisville vs. Akron game.

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Jeff Walz's Lady Cards host Dayton today in the KFC YUM Center at 5 p.m. The game is the second of a Louisville basketball doubleheader...Pitino's men face UNLV in the first game at noon. For Walz and the Cards, it's a return to competition after defeating Kentucky 78-52 last Sunday in the YUM.

The Cards will enjoy Dayton's style of hoops because it mirrors theirs...pushing the ball in transition and creating turnovers with defensive pressure. The Cards (6-3, 0-0) face a Dayton team (5-3) that has four starters back from last year and that went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Dayton defeated BIG EAST member Cincinnati earlier in the season and is currently on a three game winning streak.

No word yet on whether sophomore forward Asia Taylor will dress and play in this afternoon's contest. The Columbus, OH. forward did not participate in the Kentucky win and watched the game in street clothes in the seats instead of on the bench.

Shoni Schimmel and Becky Burke won't be the only three point specialists on the Denny Crum Court this afternoon. Dayton has six players that are fond of the "long ball"and the Flyers attempt a mind boggling 32 threes a game. They are 66-170 on the season with the trifecta, good for 38% and Justine Raterman, Kristin and Kari Daughtery, Louisville Manual's Brittany Wilson, Patrice Lalol and Aundrea Lindsay will put it up without hesitation.

Headed to the 'Bucket'...see ya there.

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Sara Hammond had 16 points and 15 boards in #3 Rockcastle County's 77-52 win over Scott County last night. Marion County got balanced scoring in their 74-38 dismantling of Washington County. Marion County returns to the floor tonight.

Lady Cards face Dayton Saturday as part of doubleheader

FRIDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE


-Two in the Yum tomorrow

-Good luck Soccer!

-Rockcastle County and Hammond

-Getting to know: Bethann Shapiro Ord

-Bowl Pick 'em gets enhanced...


Two games Saturday in the KFC YUM Downtown Arena, with Rick Pitino's team facing UNLV at noon and Jeff Walz's Lady Cards hosting Dayton at 5 p.m. A great sports day for the college basketball fan and one of those rare occasions where both UofL basketball teams play on the same day. Neither contest will be easy for the home teams. UNLV whipped the Cardinals last year in Sin City and they're showing no signs of slowing down this year. Jeff Walz's Lady Cards are 7-5 lifetime against the Dayton Flyers and hold a three game win streak currently over the Ohio dwellers.

Dayton (5-3) is led by junior 6'1" forward Justine Raterman and 6'0" senior guard Kristin Daughtery. Raterman is good for 17.1 ppg and Daughtery averages 14.6 a game. Former Louisville Manual star Brittany Wilson is a redshirt sophomore for the Flyers and pops in 8.8 per contest.

The Flyers have knocked off Cincinnati, Toledo, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wright State this year and lost to Penn St., Mich St., and UIC.

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Best of luck to the University of Louisville soccer team today in their game against North Carolina in the FINAL FOUR of NCAA Men's Soccer in Santa Barbara, CA. The team received a tremendous send off Weds. from fans in the YUM Center and is currently ranked #1 in the nation. Our co-horts over at Cardinal Dominance and UofL Card Game are providing great coverage and photos of Ken Lolla's quest to bring back a National Championship title and trophy to the "Ville".


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Rockcastle County takes to the hardwood tonight and Sara Hammond and her teammates face a very tough Scott County. Rockcastle County is 2-0 on the season so far and is considered one of the probables to show up in the Sweet Sixteen Tournament in March. Louisville signee Hammond is one of the best in the state and her versatility on the court will procure significant moments for her on Denny Crum Court when she arrives at Louisville.

Marion County hits the hardwood tonight also. Go Bre, Makayla and Kyvin!


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Bethann Shapiro Ord is one of the assistant coaches for the University of Louisville women's basketball team. It's her fourth year here at the "Ville"...coming on board when Jeff Walz took the head coaching job. Ord came in from Colorado. Ord has been a key part of Louisville bringing in back to back to back stellar recruiting classes during her time here and the current freshman class was ranked 5th. in the nation. Bethann began her coaching career at Pittsburgh in 1992. She played her college ball at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and was a three year point guard and letter winner for the Retrievers.


Ord comes from an athletic background, her Dad is a recently retired athletic director, her Mom a head coach for 20 years. She has a younger sister that is a deputy director of athletics development at Columbia and her brother is a head coach. Some say Bethann bears a striking resemblance to actress Meredith Eaton-Gilden, who had a recurring role on BOSTON LEGAL as Bethanny...William Shatner's love interest.


We'll try to introduce all the Lady Cards coaches and staff as the season progresses...and now you know a little more about Bethann Ord...



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CARDINAL DOMINANCE has joined forces with CARDINAL COUPLE to offer the readers a free College Bowl Game Pick 'Em. 35 games that begin Dec. 18th. A full description of the contest and the prizes that will be awarded is available over at http://www.cardinaldominance.net/

It's free to play, you can make all your picks at one time or in sections and you could win some great prizes from FansCloset, Viscardi Designs or Panera Bread. You can submit your entries over there or e-mail them to us here at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

Games begin on Dec. 18th, so get to work on those picks!

Angel flying high in EuroLeague

THIRSTY THURSDAY AT CARDINAL COUPLE:
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-Angel flies high

in Hungary.
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-McCarty gets BIG EAST honors.
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-Pitino, Cards stifle USF in 2nd half.
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-We're #1.
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-UofL Card Game up and running again!!
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(Photos from Euroleague.com)
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Angel McCoughtry is touring Euro hoops this winter for her MKB EuroLeasing team and the results have been outstanding for the former Lady Card. In 13 games this year, MKB is 12-1 and Angel is the leading scorer with a 20 point effort per game. Not that we'd expect anything different for the best player in Louisville women's basketball history...but when you consider she's basically been going non stop for a year on the court now between the WNBA, Team USA competition, European league and even her own basketball camp this summer for young ladies in Louisville...it's a pretty remarkable feat. Maybe there's (2) Angel's out there...
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Against Lotos recently, McCoughtry filled the rim with 32 points in a 88-76 win. She is one of two USA residents on the squad, the other being former MTSU and current WNBA standout Amber Holt. Keep up the good work, #35. Maybe someday we'll get a WNBA franchise here in Louisville (what else are they going to use the YUM Center for in June-Sept?) and Cardinal fans would have the chance to see you shake 'em off the dribble and pull up and bury the mid-range jumper again...
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D'Ana McCarty has been named the BIG EAST Female Field Athlete of the Week off her performance in the Southern Illinois Fast Start Invitational. McCarty won the weight toss with a hurl of 72-10.5. It's the longest throw in the nation this year by over nine inches and the second longest throw ever by D'Ana. Look out for her on campus if a snowball fight breaks out.
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Also tossing well for the Cards is sophomore shotputter Khadija Abdullah, who won the event at the Southern Illinois meet. Both McCarty and Abdullah qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with their throws.
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Slow start for the Pitino coached Cards last night but they roared out fast in the final twenty minutes and held San Francisco to just 10 second half points in the 66-35 romp in the KFC YUM Center. Louisville jumped out to an early lead in the first half but saw USF methodically cut into it and tied the game at the end of the first half. The Cards came out hot in the second half, though...and cooled off the Dons to remain undefeated on the season.
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We ran into former Cardinal great Darrell Griffith at halftime...'Grif' still looks like he could hit the hardwood and light someone up for double figures. Same old Griffith, always a big smile and a handshake for those he runs into.
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Guess who leads the NCAA in women's home basketball attendance? That's right, your University of Louisville Lady Cards!! Louisville is averaging 12,770 per game so far in their five home games. The numbers...boosted by appearances from in-state rival UK and nationally ranked Tennessee... are very impressive. And, Louisville women's basketball is a bargain if you're looking for a fun way to spend a few hours with the family. You might even see the CARDINAL COUPLE staff there and wouldn't that be just awesome!!
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You'll get your chance to help keep the Cards up there this Saturday when they face Dayton at 5 p.m. The men play at noon that day against UNLV, so it'll be a busy day of activities at the KFC YUM Center. CARDINAL COUPLE will be spending the whole day down there watching balls bounce and we'll have a full post game report on Walz's women's efforts.
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Our buddy Charlie Springer's site, UofL Card Game, recently received an attack from spammers across the water. Knocked him off line for a day or so...but he is back up and running again. It's a problem we have...as bloggers and web site owners. Hackers are vicious and will stifle and paralyze a site for no apparent reason. Some 'phishers' recently snuck into CARDINAL COUPLE and dumped a few "smut offer" replies in the comments section of a couple of column.

Charlie runs a good site and keeps it clean, informative and up-to-date. He didn't deserve this stuff. We're glad he's back up and running...we got our blogging and reporting starts over at CARD GAME and are eternally grateful for the wise council, editorial tutelage and sound advice he patiently provided us when we were just cubs...

You can access CARD GAME from here...just go to the left side of our sites and it is listed in the Sites We Recommend. Click and go. It's a good time over there.

Rucker, Arslanbeckova Selected for All-Northeast Region

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE PRESENTS:
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-Rucker and Arslanbeckova garner honors
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-Hoops
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-WE read your mail...(but won't take out your garbage... )
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-Marion County, DALTON, GA. girls teams win.
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Lola Arslanbeckova and Gwen Rucker have been named to the AVCA All-Northeast Region team. The announcement yesterday marks the second straight year that Arslanbeckova has received the honor. The sophomore was third in the BIG EAST with a kill % of 3.86.
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For Rucker, the Lexington junior middle blocker, it is her first time being named to the squad. Rucker, a former Lady Cards basketball player, was second in blocks per set in the BIG EAST.
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Maybe it's just us, but why is Louisville in the Northeast region? It's cold enough today to be in the northeast, (18 degrees as we write this) but I think of Boston, Portland and Bangor when the northeast comes to mind. Must just be a grouping thing...
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Things about the Lady Cards (6-3) basketball team that you may have not known:
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- Louisville has four Kentucky natives on the squad this year. Tia Gibbs, Monique Reid, Shelby Harper and Antonita Slaughter get misty eyed when Al Greener's pep band plays MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME. (OK...they probably don't...but they are Kentucky women.). Latoya Johnson and Polly Harrington hail from Missouri. Ten other states have sent one player each to the Jeff Walz roster of 16.
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With 27 assists against Mississippi Valley State, the 2010-11 Lady Cards moved up to second place in a single game assist record. The Cards assisted 33 times against Memphis back in November 2006. I was at that game. It was played in Bellarmine's Knights Hall. And, the third game in three days for Collen's Cards...an opening season tournament. No current Lady Cards were on that team.
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Louisville's 13 steals in the UT game are the most since the 16 steals against Liberty in the 2009 NCAA tournament. The Cards are 5th. in the nation currently in steals. Call the cops!
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Prior to moving in the YUM, Louisville was 63-13 over the last five years in Freedom Hall. The Cards are 4-1 in the YUM. Click your heels and say it with me...'there's no place like home, there's NO place like home'. Speaking of, the Louisville womens' team will be there Saturday, Dec. 11th. vs Dayton. How about another 22,000 in the seats, fans? You can make it happen. If you're headed down to watch UofL's men play UNLV at noon, just hang around the downtown area or the KFC YUM for a few hours and make a Cardinal day of it.
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PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIP OFF TIME FOR THE THE DAYTON GAME HAS BEEN MOVED FROM 4 P.M. TO 5 P.M.
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If you've made it this far today, congratulations! Pop quiz time. (Answers the the bottom of today edition)

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1) Sherrone Vails is from:
a) Maryland
b) New Jersey
c) Michigan
d) Haiti.
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2) Which Cardinal is sitting out from a transfer from North Carolina?
a) Chauntise Wright
b) Nikki Burton
c) Kimberli Pemberton
d) Cierra Warren
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3) Where did Becky Burke originally 'verbal' to?
a) Kentucky
b) Bellarmine
c) NJIT
d) South Carolina
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4) Shoni Schimmel hails from:
a) Grand Rapids, MI.
b) Vancouver, Canada
c) Jonesboro, AK.
d) Mission, OR.
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5) Monique Reid lit up the scoreboards at which local high school?
a) Kentucky Country Day
b) Fern Creek
c) Jerry Abramson Vocational Tech
d) Assumption
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FROM THE MAILBAG:
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CARDINAL COUPLE:
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Can you tell me if Louisville is pursuing Shoni Schimmel's sister Jude? Thanks and my wife and I enjoy your site.
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-FAST EDDIE
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Slow down there, Edward...lol. Jude is uncommitted at this time. She has said that she'd like to play college ball with her older sister, though..so we'll see what happens. Let's just hope Shoni doesn't transfer to Spalding. (Humor attempt.)
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HEYYYY SONJA:
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You used to write a lot over at Cardinal Sports.com? Why the lack of info over there anymore?
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-The Breeze.
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Heyyyy Breeze! Just a matter of so few hours in a day. Paul and I do a lot of research for our site and we also submit stuff for a couple of other independent sites out there. (Cardinal Dominance and UofL Card Game). Plus with me being on second shift at work, it's all we can do just to keep up with this site...which has grown beyond our expectations. Howie does a good job over there, though and I get over there when I can. Thanks for writing!
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Paul and Sonja:
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When are you going to take your site seriously and stop all the nonsense over on the left hand side of the blog?
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Kenny D.
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I hope WE never get to the point where we lose our humor and parody viewpoints toward life and sports. Winston Churchill once said, 'A joke is a serious thing.' I'm not really sure what he meant by that, but I like it. There are plenty of sites out there that are serious about recruiting, rumors, retaliation and reflection. We're not that way. Plus, we pay a lot of money to house and upkeep Bill the Goat, the intern chimps and to our 'associates' in Jersey for protection and exploitation. WE ain't changin'. Skip the left side if you don't care for it and thanks for commenting.
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Answers to the quiz:

1) Sherrone is from Odenton, MD., Arundel High School. If you selected "a", you got it!
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2) Cierra Warren played as a freshman for Sylvia H. down in Chapel Hill. "d" is correct.
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3) B.B. originally verballed to South Carolina before she came to her senses. "d" again.
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4) "Sho-time" wowed 'em in Oregon four years before heading to the Derby City. Another "d"
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5) Mo was a Fern Creek Tiger and so was Paul! Great alumni from there...right? "b" is right.
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How did you do?
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5 correct. Hey, Coach Walz...didn't know you were taking the quiz!! (Or you 'googled' the answers.)
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4 correct. Very good. Please apply to CARDINAL COUPLE for a intern position.
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3 correct. Not bad. You've been to a game or two and read this site.
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2 correct. Go to the corner, put on the dunce cap. And click on CARDINAL COUPLE every day!
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1 correct. Looks like you're going to run the steps at the YUM. Lace up and get at it....
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0 correct. We hate it when UK fans come in here and mess up the results...
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Louisville verbal Quaneisha McCurty had 17 points and 17 rebounds in the Dalton, GA. win over Cedartown 91-27. Marion County defeated Adair County 55-41. Individual stats for the Marion County game were not available at the time of this entry...WE'LL add them when he can find them.

Schimmel selected BIG EAST freshman of the week

TUESDAY @ C.C.



-Shoni Schimmel BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors.


-Lady Cards Track and Field update.

-Marion County girls basketball debuts tonight.

Shoni Schimmel, pictured here sharing a laugh with teammates during the UK game has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. Schimmel had six threes in the UK and Mississippi Valley State games and 26 points against the Cats. (Photo from bigeast.org)
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Other honorees for the week in the BIG EAST:
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-Sophomore Syracuse center Kayla Alexander was named Player of the Week. She averaged 20 points a game in the Orange's 3 wins.
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-Keisha Hampton (DePaul), Sugar Rodgers (Georgetown), Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Kandice Green (Seton Hall) and Madina Ali (WVU) were named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for their performances.
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-No Becky Burke for her efforts? I guess the BIG EAST names only one player per team to these things. That's OK, the CARDINAL COUPLE Honor Roll will name Burke, Keisha Hines, Schimmel, Shelby Harper and Sherrone Vails as our top performers. I guess we should add Victoria Dunlap from UK to that list as well. Great effort from the Wildcat against the Cards. Fortunately, her knee injury in the Louisville game Sunday was not serious and she is expected to play Tuesday night against Tenn. Tech.
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LADY CARDS track and Field fared very well in the Southern Illinois Fast Start Invitational in Carbondale. Illinois over the weekend. Khadija Abdullah won the shot put toss and D'Ana McCarty took the weight throw.
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On the running side, Ahliva Spencer finished first in the 600 meter run. The Cards also got three second place finishes in running events.

The indoor track season picks up again in mid-January for UofL with participation in the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington.
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Marion County, one of the preseason favorites in Kentucky Girls High School basketball, begins their season tonight with a trip to Adair County. The Lebanon, KY. school is led by junior Bre Elder and sophomores Makayla Epps and Kyvin-Goodin Rogers. These three teamed up with Rockcastle County senior Sara Hammond this summer on the KENTUCKY PREMIER AAU team and were unbeatable. Sure would be nice to see all four in Cardinal uniforms down the road...are ya listening Coach Walz?
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We had a report that Epps was seen at the recent UofL vs. UK women's basketball game in a Cardinal shirt. No argument here...
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WE'LL keep track of Marion County's progress this season. WE know that they'll be in Louisville at least three times this year for regular season games against Ballard, Manual and Mercy. You just might want to get out and see one or more of these...they put on a show.

Louisville Men's Soccer TEAM SEND OFF Tuesday at 5 p.m.! Autographs and 500 FREE SHIRTS for the Kids!

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - TEAM SEND OFF for Louisville men's soccer and head coach Ken Lolla at 5 p.m. Tuesday, December 7th at the KFC Yum! Center, as they head-out for the College Cup in Santa Barbara, California!

Admission is free!

Autographs and FREE T-shirts for the first 500 kids!

Be there!