Up and down the court with ACC WBB -- Wednesday CARDINAL COUPLE

FIVE FAST FACTS ON FIVE. 

As we get nearer to the halfway point of the ACC women's basketball conference schedule, the cream is starting to rise to the top and the mud is sinking to the bottom...mixing a couple of metaphors here. We like to report on the joy and excitement of UofL sports here at CARDINAL COUPLE and knowledge of the teams that Louisville has met or is going to meet is exciting to me. So, in alphabetical order...let's take a look at the coalition known as ACC women's basketball and five things about five teams. 

BOSTON COLLEGE

Kelly Hughes has paid her dues. 

1) They are the only team in the ACC that is below .500 in overall play. 

2) Quality win of the season? Probably over Clemson to start their ACC slate...although they did win the Battle of the Boston's against Boston University early in the season. 

3) One player you need to know? Guard Kelly Hughes is fifth on the Career - Total Three Point FGS Made with 301 and is the only active player on the list..so the #1 spot held by Ivory Latta (345), who played for UNC from 2003-07, could be within Hughes range. 

4) 6'4" sophomore center Mariella Fasoula leads the Eagles in scoring with 15.9 ppg. She's from Athens, Greece and was on the ACC-Blue Ribbon Panel All-Newcomer team last year. 

5) Boston College has had one ACC Rookie of the Week this season...Georgia Pineau, a freshman forward from Victoria, Australia 

CLEMSON

Wait til' the sun shines, Nelly Perry..

1) The Tigers are the only ACC team that has not won a conference game yet. They face Louisville Thursday..so that dubious streak is likely to continue. 

2) In a 86-27 loss to FSU, the Seminoles posted their largest margin of victory over an ACC opponent in their 28 years in the league. 

3) One player you need to know? How about Nelly Perry? The 5'10" junior guard from New Jersey leads the Tigers in scoring with 14.5 ppg. She's been out since early January with a separated shoulder and Clemson hasn't won since she sat down. 

4) Danielle Edwards, a 5'7" sophomore guard out of Maryland, is shooting .839 from the foul line (47-56) as of 1/17/17.  

5) Clemson, a South Carolina based school, has no South Carolina high school players on their roster...but four from neighboring Georgia. 

DUKE

Lexie Brown has been a thorn in Louisville's side since she
has been...like... five years old, right? 

1) Duke guard Lexie Brown and Rebecca Greenwell average a total  of 34.2 ppg. 

2) Duke started the season 14-1 and beat five top-25 opponents in doing so. 
Only unranked Vanderbilt dealt them a loss in that stretch. 

3) Lexie Brown made 56 consecutive free throws earlier this season. It's an ACC record and the sixth-longest streak in NCAA history. 

4) A name you need to know?  Rebecca Greenwell was ESPNW Player of the week back on !2/5/16. She also played her high school ball at Owensboro (KY) Catholic. 

5) Duke has won 448 home games in their 38 years in the ACC. That's #2 in the league....behind UNC's 511 in 39 years. 

FLORIDA STATE

Chatrice White will fight all night.

1) At 19-2, 7-1...the 'Noles have the best record in the ACC and are ranked #6 in the AP and USA Today polls. 

2) Despite the top rankings, FSU has not had a ACC Player of the week or ACC Freshman of the week this year. 

3) A name you might be familiar with...Leticia Romero leads the ACC in 3-Point FG PCT (.544) and Free Throw PCT (.938) 

4) Florida State is 14-14 against Louisville lifetime. The only ACC schools with a over 50 % against the Cards are Notre Dame (12-4) and Clemson (3-2).

5) Florida State has not lost on the road this season...going 10-0 in away and neutral site contests. 

GEORGIA TECH

No "flash in the Pan"...Francesca has a strong history of
 Euro-ball in her background. 

1) The Ramblin' Wreck started the season on fire at 11-2 but is 2-4 since then. 

2) Georgia Tech has seven international players on their roster, the most of any ACC squad. 

3) A name to know is Francesca Pan. She has been awarded ACC Rookie of the Week three times this season and is one of three players on the squad averaging 11 points a game. 

4) Georgia Tech has only one senior on their roster and no graduate seniors. 

5) Head coach MaChelle Joseph is fourth in seniority of the ACC coaches in the league...having been at GT for 13 seasons. 


We'll look at Louisville, Miami, North Carolina NC State and Notre Dame the next time we do Five Fast Facts on Five. Have a wonderful Wednesday and use your turn signals when driving, please! A real nasty wreck this morning out in front of the house and it was because a driver didn't use a turn signal, stopped and got rear-ended in the dark. Let people know what you're doing. Use turn signals. Waking up to screeching tires, a loud metallic crash and seeing a person bleeding and unconscious behind the wheel is no way to start the day...  



Donovan Mitchell is Superman
paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- A follow up on the freshmen...TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HOW IS THE LARGEST FRESHMAN CLASS IN THE WALZ ERA DOING? 

Six true freshmen joined the UofL women's basketball roster this season, making it the largest freshman class in the Jeff Walz era at UofL. This was a subject of discussion the other night...an esteemed colleague of mine thought the 2009-10 class had six freshmen. He was close. Walz brought in five that year. My colleague was sure it was six. Here is who he named off. See if you can pick out the one that wasn't a freshman in that class.  Answer at the end of today's article. 

Shelby Harper                                      Nikki Burton
Tia Gibbs                                             Asia Taylor
Rachel Story                                        Ashley Rainey

As good as that class turned out...all six had success, even if it was ultimately at different schools for three...this 2016-17 class has the potential to be even better. Let's see how they are doing.


Kylee Shook. The 6'4" forward out of Mesa Ridge, CO...(And some will debate the height listing...claiming she is at least 6'5"...maybe taller) has given Louisville strong minutes at the "4" or stretch forward spot. She's been called on to play the "5" or center at times...but stretch forward is where she'll serve this squad best. Shook has played in 20 of the 22 games for a total of 225 minutes...third highest of the freshmen...for an average of 11.3 a contest...also third best. Her field goal % is .518 -- second best for the freshmen. She's 8-21 from three point range...those eight makes second best and she has 61 rebounds, which is tied for tops for the freshmen. 

She poses a dilemma for the opponents. Very capable of scoring either inside or out...how do you defend her? Leave her alone outside and she'll make you pay. Defensively, she needs to be a bit more aggressive...but with 21 blocks (second-highest) front-line opponents think twice when going up inside when she's on the court. Her length poses problems for foes in the passing lanes and she runs the court well for a "big". You can team her up with about anyone inside and she performs well. So far...we're impressed with her skills and feel that we'll see continued greatness as her career progresses. 


Ciera Johnson. Also listed at 6'4", this Duncanville, TX All-American has proven to be a valuable addition at the "5" for the Cards. Put into a starting role at the beginning of the year with Cortnee Walton's elbow injury, she held her own in the early competition and has continued to give the Cards quality minutes in a reserve role.  

Johnson has seen action in all 22 of the Cardinal's games and has logged 264 minutes...second best for the frosh...for 12.0 per contest. Her field goal shooting is 41-82 (50%) and she has 55 rebounds...good for third highest among the freshman. She is a student of the game and knows it quite well for a first-year. Still a bit slow on defensive assignments, she does use her size and strength to command position in the offensive sets and has shown the ability to go to the board strongly. We'd like to see the free throw accuracy improve (20-35 .571) Opponents have had trouble with her strength underneath and she has the most blocks (23) of the freshmen. So far...we like how she has performed in the Walz system and can only see better things down the road for her. 

Jazmine Jones. The Tallahassee terror has made quite an impact her in first season at the "Ville". Blessed with one of the smoothest mid-range jumper we've seen in awhile, extremely quick and athletic...Jones has been getting "first off the bench" assignments for Louisville and usually provides a spark when she does enter a contest. She's appeared in all 22 contests and put in 315 minutes (14.3 per game) which is tops for the freshmen. She is first in assists (23) steals (15) and tied for first in rebounding with 61. Her shooting (40-88) is at 45% and free throws (16-26) register in at 62%.

Jones is an exciting, dynamic and powerful addition to this squad. She provides valuable minutes at the "3" despite not having that great of a three-point proficiency (0-2 for the season) and can easily go to the "2" or even "4" if needed. Quickness and athleticism are two good descriptions for her. Prone to freshmen mistakes at times...sometimes she needs to adjust to the pace of the game...but we've heard people compare her to a young Angel McCoughtry. It will be up to her to develop the leadership skills, ability to take-over a game and strong all-over-the-court domination and three-point ability Angel had as her career progressed...but she has the talent, motivation and love for the game to become one of the best at Louisville. All it takes is the execution, hard work and dedication to get better and better. We look forward to "hearing the Jazz" the rest of this season and for a long, long time in the KFC YUM! Center. 

Sydney Zambrotta. Syd is a shooter. It's what she does best and it's the reason she is here. Especially from the three-point range. Out of Christ The King high school in New York, she has played in 18 of the 22 contest this year...for 124 minutes (6.9 a game). She's 18-42 from the floor this year and of those attempts...13-34 from beyond the arc. She also has the best free throw percentage on the squad (7-8  .875). 

Can she become a Becky Burke or Brandie Raddie type specialist for the Cards...being brought into games to do the outside bombing effectively? She's already shown she can be a force from the deep...five 3's connected against WKU and two other games where she's made two or better. Along with Asia, Mariya and Kylee...she's the outside threat and her playing time could increase as she gets more and more accustom to the pace of D1 basketball and her defensive skills improve. We hope she'll continue to work hard and continue to develop all aspects of her game...but perfection at trifecta distance when called upon is what the squad needs from her and is how she'll continue to help this squad.

There's a certain pride in knowing you're the "gunslinger" on the squad and that role could be hers if she is willing to work for it.


Bionca Dunham. The 6'2" Philly flash (once again...there is debate if 6'2" is correct...she seems taller) comes to the Cards as the least experienced baller...she didn't start playing serious, competitive hoops until her sophomore year in high school...but one with perhaps the most upside. Entered in 16 games this year...she leads Louisville with a .621 shooting average (18-29) and has seen 95 minutes on the court. 

Offensively, we see the ability and potential. Going strong to the boards in the paint certainly isn't a problem for her.  Defensively, there is still a lot of work to be accomplished...but that really isn't that uncommon for someone who has been playing as short of a time as she has. With time, experience, hard work and learning the D1 pace and mechanics...we think she can become a very valuable presence inside for the Cards. She reminds us of Asia Taylor in so many ways...Asia had a better basketball knowledge and talent when she got to Louisville...but Dunham has shown she can produce inside and Monique Reid and "A-Tayy" made nice careers out of that very same skill set. She may be the most gifted athletically of the freshmen...turning that into productivity and overall court-awareness and performance is the challenge that we hope she continues to pursue with abandon and embrace with a work-hard ethic.

Jessica Laemmle. Everyone's favorite "attack Yorkie" at 5'2"...she walked on the Louisville squad after a very successful career at Louisville Mercy. Fulfilling a lifelong dream to be a Louisville Cardinal, she's probably never going to be the Cards starting point-guard...but is the perfect candidate to lead the second squad on the court. Above average ball-handling skills, excellent court awareness and skilled at being the on-court leader...Laemmle is the type of hustle and drive player every team needs on a squad. 

Appearing in 14 games for the Cards, she's seen 79 minutes and provided eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in her court time. She fully understands her role on this deep and talented squad and works as hard as any player on the roster. A crowd favorite when she hits the floor, Laemmle is one of those girls you love to see on the roster and gives it her all when called upon. 


*          *          *          *          *          *          *

We're not going to rank the freshmen on who is best, most effective or valuable to the team. You probably have your own ideas in those categories and feel free to share them in the comments section if you wish.

We will point out that they've been an integral part of Louisville's successes this season and given Coach Walz a multitude of options in game situations. Continued success and improvements are essential from them if the Cards are going to "March" to the Final Four. We feel confident that they'll respond successfully. 

( Answer to the question at the top of today's article:  If you picked TIA GIBBS, you are correct. Gibbs started her career at Vandy and joined the Cards her sophomore season. )


Paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Women's Basketball -- Triumph in Tampa...WBB beats Bulls 66-52. MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN'S 27 LEADS CARDS TO WIN

Louisville women's basketball got 27 points and 12 rebounds out of junior forward Myisha Hines-Allen and the Cards never trailed in an excellent performance in the Sun Dome Sunday...beating the USF Bulls 66-52. 

The Cards never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 19 in picking up their 18th win of the season. #9 Louisville had one of their better defensive performances of the year in holding the #23 Bulls to just 38.5% shooting and leading scorer Kitija Laska to just five points...nearly 15 below her average.

Louisville started the contest fast...jumping to a 7-0 lead in the first ninety seconds. The Bulls withstood the opening salvo, though, and climbed back to within two at 9-7 with six minutes left in the opening period. A Hines-Allen jumper made it 13-9 with 3:10 to play and Asia Durr scored a putback at the buzzer to move the scoreboard to 17-13 UofL. Hines-Allen had six points in the ten minutes, Louisville had a commanding 13-4 rebounding edge but Briahanna Jackson had picked up two early fouls and the Cards were being a bit sloppy in their possessions with five unforced turnovers. 

Hines-Allen went on a 6-0 run to start the second session...scoring inside with 7:30 until to put Louisville up 25-13. A Durr triple had the Cards prevailing 28-16 but Cortnee Walton picked up her third foul at the 4:42 mark. Scores by Mariya Moore and Hines-Allen kept the Cards in control at 36-22 and Sam Fuehring muscled one in from the paint with 40 seconds until half giving UofL a 38-25 advantage after twenty minutes. 

The Cards were shooting a deadly 55% from the floor, Hines-Allen was 7 for 10 from the hardwood for 14 points and USF was an uncharacteristic 1-5 from the charity stripe. 

Hines-Allen keyed a 6-0 start in the third quarter with two buckets but BJ gathered her third foul with 7:11 left. Walton would pick up her fourth foul 90 seconds later...but the Cards held their largest lead of the contest at 44-25 before USF went on a 7-0 run to get within 12. It was time for Hines-Allen to go back to work and two straight scores from her put her at 21 points and two Ciera Johnson free throws had UofL sitting pretty at 50-35. BJ would get her first points of the game with a minute left in the third and Hines-Allen's conversion in the paint with 31 ticks left on the clock gave Louisville a 54-37 edge after 30 minutes of action. 

The final frame started rather slow for both squads. USF drew first blood at the 7:19 mark. It started to a 6-0 run for Jose Fernandez's Bulls and suddenly it was 54-43 with 6:16 remaining. The 2500 in attendance...about 100 Louisville fans...came alive and Louisville needed an answer. 

It came from Myisha with a smooth jumper. USF would get within ten a minute later but a Durr jumper and Hines-Allen putback of a missed Walton shot gave the Cards a 60-47 edge with 3:19 remaining. Durr and BJ would add threes in the final two minutes...BJ's coming as the shot clock was expiring and 18 seconds remaining and the Cards had met the test and emerged triumphant with a 66-52 win. 

Louisville snapped USF's 14-game win streak at home with the victory and had dominated the boards against a strong rebounding Bulls squad 44-23. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Activist Fredrick Douglass

FREE THROWS -- The Cards went to the line only six times in the 40 minutes...a rarity in a Joe Vaszily refereed contest...(USF had 16 free throw attempts) but made the most of their trips...hitting 5 of 6. It was the Ciera Johnson show from the charity stripe...a 4 for 4 performance. Hines-Allen took the other two for UofL. 83.3% scores a capital "F" in the category...the foul differential was a bit disturbing, but USF, normally  a very good free-throw shooting squad was just 9 of 16 for a lackluster 53%. 

REBOUNDS -- Thumbs up for the Cards on the grabs. MHA's 12 led all performers. Walton took six, Moore five, Shook and CJ had four each. A 44-23 advantage says capital "R" to us. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Hines-Allen was All-ACC Sunday and Moore, despite gathering only five points, had a game-high 11 assists. Every time USF seemed to catch fire, someone for Louisville was there to douse the flames. The first quarter turnovers and three starters with four fouls each was a bit trifling...but overall, a 14-point win on the road against a top 25 team will justify a capital "E" in this area. 

DEFENSE -- Another strong effort from Louisville tonight. Shutting down Laska and limiting the Bulls front line starters to just 22 points was the key to victory and the Cards held USF to just 3-14 from the deep (23%) All that makes it an easy choice for a capital "D" on the defensive effort. 

FINAL FRED COUNT:  F-R-E-D   


THINGS WE LIKED

The Return of Myzilla...Call her Myisha Hines-"All The Time" in this one. The reigning ACC POY gave notice that she's still alive and well and has scored double digits in seven of her last eight games. Even her defense was passable Sunday. Hines-Allen on the court = Cardinal "W". 

More from Moore...Yes, the California junior can do more than just bomb threes. Her 11 assists were impressive, she fought well on the boards and led the Cards with 37 minutes. The shot was a bit off Sunday...but the knockdown three to start the second half was a momentum-starter for the Cards. 

Seeing Ciera...A solid nine minutes in relief for the 6'5" freshman...the four free throws an unexpected pleasure...but she also grabbed four rebounds and scored a basket. On a night where Cortnee played only 16 minutes...Johnson, Shook and Fuehring maintained the post presence very acceptably. 


THINGS TO WORK ON 

Jose points out the turnover he wants. 

Close the Bakery on Sunday.  The Cards had 14 turnovers...that's a few more than we (and Coach Walz) would like to see. Especially in the first ten minutes...when the Cards looked pretty inept. 

Slamming the door. Louisville had a 19 point lead and possession in the third and it would have been a great chance to build on it. Instead, the Bulls run off seven straight points. The lack of productivity to start the fourth (going over four minutes before scoring) won't fly against the Notre Dame's and NC State's ahead. 


SO...

Myzilla confronts a defenseless, falling-back Mariya
 while Paulie looks on
curiously...

Overall, a very good win for Louisville in several aspects. It was the Cards first road win against a top 25 opponent. The bench came in and gave Louisville a lift and that's important, especially on the road, showing opponents that just because starters are sitting...the attack and effort hasn't taken a seat. 

Hines-Allen came through on an afternoon where the Cards weren't getting the kind of outside productivity they usually can depend on. 13 for 17 from the floor is a number she and Walz would take each game....and only two fouls in 35 minutes a stat we'd like to see repeat itself over and over the remainder of the season. 

Briahanna Jackson's homecoming to Tampa was a win...even if her night wasn't the most productive in the history of her career. The three at the end of the game a "feel-good" moment for her and her fan-base in attendance. 

Former UofL head football coach Charlie Strong was in attendance and spoke with Walz before the contest. We're not sure if Strong...now USF head football coach...planted a bug in Walz's ear about going to Jurich and asking for a football series or maybe a chance to have Paulie come down and set him up on some media questions. 

We'll see if Joe Hill chimes in later in the comments section. He was purported to be at the contest with his bride. 



THEY SAID IT:  

Head coach Jose Fernandez on the difference in rebounds:

“This week, we talked a lot about rebounding with our kids.  That is the one thing we have been stressing. How the game ended, is how the entire game went. They beat us to the glass. Here is the thing, we were at home; that shouldn’t happen at home, or anywhere. When a shot goes up, you have got to be individually accountable and we weren’t.”

Head Coach Jeff Walz on the Cardinals bench. 

"I thought our bench really came in and gave us a lift," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "And we're really going to need them as we continue on throughout the season because they just bring a different dimension to us. That's one thing I like about my ball club is, that we've got a lot of different parts that we can throw out there depending on how we're being guarded. 

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Paulie picks

I went 7 for 8 yesterday in Paulie Picks. Syracuse dealing me my only loss in a surprising, huge win over Miami. Sykes with 29 for FSU. 

-- Notre Dame handled UNC without much trouble  in a 77-55 win at Chapel Hill.
Brianna Turner with 24 for the Irish. 

-- Florida State handed Virginia Tech their third conference loss with a 82-55 shellacking of the Gobblers in Blacksburg. 

-- Pitt held the upper hand over visiting Virginia...getting a 62-54 win and improving their conference mark to 3-3.

-- Louisville taking a road victory 66-52 over USF. Myisha Hines-Allen pouring in 27 for the 18-4 Cards. 

-- Duke prevailing with a 67-44 win at Boston College. They remain tied with the Cards and NC State at 5-2 in conference. 

-- NC State holding strong at home with their 65-53 win over ACC-winless Clemson. 

-- Wake Forest getting an ACC road win at Georgia Tech 70-65. Wake at 3-3 in ACC play. 

Overall, I am 40-9 (81.6%). A sparking 13-1 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday! 

Paulie
xxxxx 

CC Special Report

Volleyball and Cardinal Arena

In the past few days, news came out that Volleyball would be switching all of their matches back to being played at Cardinal Arena.  There was also news that the Athletic Department is looking to spend approximate $600,000 for renovations at the arena, with $425,000 just to replace the seating.

Additionally, we were hearing reports that Volleyball and Women's Basketball will be swapping office space.  I had not seen official confirmation of this part of the changes until I reached out to new Volleyball Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly for comment.  The Volleyball program currently occupies part of the Yum! Center on Floyd Street (sometimes affectionately referred to as, "Little Yum"), while Women's Basketball occupies offices on the third floor of the Student Activity Center (SAC), also on Floyd Street.  Cardinal Arena is in the SAC, and would result in the Volleyball program having their offices and practice facility be in the same location that they play.  Coach Busboom Kelly confirmed that the two programs will be swapping office, saying:

"The move to Cardinal Arena allows us to have a volleyball only, volleyball specific facility. We can tailor the arena to exactly what we need and we can make it an amazing experience for our fans. The biggest motivation for the move was to create a fun, loud, energetic home court advantage. With our fans being close to the court, it makes it an intimate experience and they can see and appreciate the power and athleticism of our players. We are currently working through which changes will be made to the arena, but we are expecting it to look completely different.

"We will also be switching office space with women’s basketball. We will be able to practice and play in Cardinal Arena without having to swap floors or worry about scheduling conflicts.

Scheduling has been a challenge in Cardinal Arena, with Women's Basketball Player looking to come to Cardinal Arena, their practice facility, to put up some extra shots and finding that it's set up for a Volleyball event.  Women's Basketball has, at times, used the "Little Yum" facility for practices, as well.

The Worldwide Take

I applaud this move, although I do have one concern (more on that in a moment).  I always thought, ever since "Little Yum" was built, that it was odd that Women's Basketball used Cardinal Arena for a practice facility and played at the KFC Yum! Center downtown, with Volleyball practicing at "Little Yum!" and playing (at least some of) their matches at Cardinal Arena.  The obvious resulting scheduling conflicts seemed eminently avoidable.  This move solves that problem.

For atmosphere, Cardinal Arena can't be beaten,  the seating is very close to the playing floor, no matter where your seats are in the arena.  Cardinal Arena is not a large arena, the current stated seating capacity is 840.  Volleyball draws crowds that will largely, or completely fill the arena.  I've been there when Cardinal Arena was full for a volleyball match multiple times (including a match against UK with a stat sheet attendance of 1207, in a facility that officially seats 840), and it gets loud for the home team.  It creates a great home court advantage, and is a great move for that reason.

The one concern that I have (alluded to above) is that 840 person (or so) capacity of Cardinal Arena won't be enough to accommodate the Volleyball crowds.  The average attendance of UofL Volleyball last year, during a year with not a great deal of success, was over 1,900.  OK, those number may be a bit generous, but if everyone that attends volleyball games regularly at the KFC Yum! Center went to the games at Cardinal Arena, it would be a crowded facility indeed.  I'm especially hopeful that attendance will pick up, with a new coach and hopefully new success for the team, and that could quickly pose a problem.  The flipside of that is that approximately 2,000, in the KFC Yum! Center just get lost in that facility, mitigating the benefit of being on the home court.

Ultimately, it is my firm belief that UofL needs to step up with some sort of intermediately sized
facility to host the program.  Cardinal Arena will, I believe, ultimately prove to be too small, while the KFC Yum! Center is too large.  We really need a Goldilocks facility, one that is neither too big, nor too small, but "just right."  I believe that such a facility would seat somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000.  That would be small enough that the home court advantage still exists, but big enough to accommodate all of the fans that might want to come to matches, with room for future growth.  Such a facility would, obviously, be a discussion for the future, so for the time being, I'll be happy to lead to the C-A-R-D-S cheer when opponents call timeouts at Cardinal Arena.

JMcA

Cardinal Couple Rounds the Bases --SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sunday Roundup

Saturdays always seem to be busy around UofL sports, and this was no exception.  Tennis, Swimming and Diving, Track and Field, and Men's Basketball were all in competitive action yesterday.  Meanwhile the evening was topped off by one of the supreme delights of working with Cardinal Couple, the Softball Bullpen Club Dinner.

For net serves, mispronunciations, ex-presidential candidate's future plans, Leon Berger, horrible lighting for photos, hoops of every fashion and running South Bend style...read your intrepid columnist's comments below...with an assist to Paulie.



Women's Tennis

Jordan and Nicole are back in black! 

After the Men's racket got their home opening workout yesterday, the Women took their turn today.
 Both squads played double-headers this weekend, with the men taking on Samford and Chicago State on Friday, while the women tackled The University of Tennessee - Martin, and Murray State.  Both squads took both victories in their respective matches, a 4-0 weekend for the Racquet Cards.

The Cards handled UT-Martin by a score of 5-2.  The morning started out as Paulie, Case and I were hitting the airwaves on Crescent Hill Radio at 11am.  The Cards swept all three doubles matches to take the doubles point.  With singles underway, Mariana Humburg, Aleksandra Malley, Olivia Boesing, and Tiffany Huber all picked up singles points, and thus clenched the overall match.  Sena Suswam and Abbi Pahz dropped their matches to let UT-Martin pick up 2 points.

It was all Cards in the afternoon when the Murray State Racers came to visit with a 4pm start.  While Sena Suswam and Olivia Boesing dropped their doubles match, Abbie Pahz with Mariana Humber, and Adriana Rodriguez with Jessie Paul were victories in their doubles matches to get the doubles point for the Cards.  The same lineup as the morning matches swept the singles points to give the Cards the 7-0 win over the visitors from the far western end of the state.

The men will play Northwestern today at noon, while the women will be in action again next Saturday when Western Kentucky comes to visit.

Swimming and Diving

Nicole proves she can raise her hands to chin levels

It was a busy weekend for Swimming and Diving, after beating ACC rival Notre Dame with 14 B-cuts on Friday, the splashers headed down I-64 to take on the Wildcats.  Of course, any meeting with UK takes on heightened importance, but the Swimming and Diving squad, if you haven't heard, are doing some pretty impressive things of the past couple of years and are currently ranked 7th on the men's side of things, and 10th on the women's side of things.  In the interest of fairness, I will point out that Kentucky's women are ranked 18th, so no slouches down in Lexington either.  Besides, that just makes the victory that much sweeter.

The men were victorious by an overall score of 176.5 to 123.5, while the women took the meet 167 to 133.  I'll mention the 50 free (these are yards, in NCAA competition, not meters, FWIW) as the Cardinal women took the top 3 spots.  Casey Fanz touched first in 23.01 seconds, Lainey Visscher hot on her heels at 23.02, and Avery Braunecker taking 3rd at 23.41 seconds.

This was senior day for the Swimming and Diving squad though there is still some season left to compete.  They will be in action again Friday in Bloomington vs IU.

Track and Field

Nicole celebrates that she got to eat dessert at the Bullpen
Club dinner Saturday night

The Track and Field squads headed north to South Bend for the Notre Dame Invitational and both the men's and women's teams took 2nd in a seven team field.

Raven Grant got wins in the 60 and 200 meter races.  Dolly Nyemah won the weight through with a distance of 70ft 2 1/2in with Emmonnie Henderson taking 2nd.  With a throw of 54ft 10 1/4in., Emmonnie did win the shot put event.  Bre'Yana Wash won the long jump with 19ft 8 3/4in, with Alexis Gibbons taking 2nd place.

Track and Field will be joining the swimming squad in Bloomington Friday and Saturday for the IU Relays.

Men's Basketball

I'm sure you heard that the men dropped their hoops game against a quality Florida State opponent.

After digging themselves a big hole in the first half, they did come roaring back to make a close game of it.  Finally falling to the Seminoles 68-73.  If we ask nicely, perhaps we can get Case to share his thoughts on the game in the comments below.

Bullpen Club Dinner

We offer this exclusive of Sandy Pearsall's back

And finally we come to the highlight of the day.  The Softball Bullpen Club dinner was held last night at the Galt House.

This is one of my favorite events of the UofL Sports year.  I find the banquets for the spring sports to always be a bit more interesting because they help the team, family, and fans get hyped for the imminent season.  The banquets are also always fun because it's an opportunity for these young women to let their hair down a little, and just enjoy their work for a few hours.  It's great for fans because you get such a chance to meet some of the players and learn a bit more about them than just their RBI totals, and batting averages.

My father joined me for the event and we had the pleasure of sitting at a table with Alison "Mike" Szydlowski and all of her immediate family (parents Joe and Laura, sister Emily, and charming 9yr old niece Austin).  There was one other fan at the table with us, and we all had a wonderful time chatting about various sports, and how we came to be fans of UofL Softball and what paths brought us to be in that place at that time.  We compared the joys of Softball as compared to Baseball, and shared a bit about our loves for other sports at UofL.

Paulie was entertaining freshman Shelby Graybill and her family at his table. The Ft. Thomas, KY catcher/first baseman provided great information about the mechanics of catching, the equipment and observations on her freshman year so far. Keep your eye on this slugging, Brittany Duncan protege. 

Sierra Romero was an out-standing
speaker at the Bullpen Club dinner! 

The event was hosted by the ever-present, ever-professional, and ever-entertaining Sean Moth.  An introductory video was shown, with each player introducing themselves, along with a fun fact. Nicole Pufahl's fun fact confirm that she is ambidextrous, an open question from the All-Southpaw Squad introduced a couple of weeks ago.  Coach Sandy Pearsall addressed the crowd, and finally the keynote speaker, University of Michigan short-stop extraordinaire Sierra Romero.  Romero's message to the women of the Softball squad was to encourage the players to live in the moment and enjoy their time.  Don't get too stressed about playing the game and fretting over mistakes.  Lean on your teammates to help you through the struggles, and be there for them when they struggle.

The softball season gets underway February 10th in Las Vegas, with the home opener at Ulmer on March 3rd against Indiana State.

Paulie got several interviews and some pictures, which I'm sure he will add into the article when he gets a moment, if they're not there, check back, they are wonderful.  You'll get to hear how Jordan McNary's presidential campaign went!  Also, listening to Paulie struggle to get the name of the event correct is worth the price of admission.

LINK: Interview with Maryssa Becker

LINK: Interview with former Presidential candidate Jordan McNary

LINK: Interview with Megan Hensley

LINK: Interview with Sandy Pearsall and Leon Berger

(Editor note: My sincere apologies to center fielder Nicole Pufahl...who gave us a rousing three minute interview that did not get recorded since the Tascam DR-05 Linear PCM Recorder device's batteries died 15 second in. WE WILL make it up to "Puf". )



Radio and Computer Troubles

The Cardinal Couple Hour radio show is up on the SoundCloud.  Check it out, and here me stress out when I experience computer problems.  Case Hoskins jumped in to do the scheduling segment as I struggled to get my computer booted back up.  Another fun romp through the various sports events taking place at UofL.

(a special thanks to Sandy Pearsall for doing a great interview
with Paulie that we were able to play most of on the show.) Time constraints are a hazard in this business.

WBB today

The WBB Cards step out of conference play to challenge a very good USF Bulls squad in Tampa at 2 p.m. today This one will be on ESPNU if you wish to view it. #9 Louisville (17-4) enters the contest after wrecking Georgia Tech Wednesday 91-51. #23 USF (15-2) has won their last five out of six. 

It's a homecoming for senior guard Briahanna Jackson. Go Cards...beat those Bulls! 


Paulie PICKS

Last but not least...Paulie looks at the Sunday ACC schedule: 

-- Notre Dame heads to North Carolina to face the struggling Tar Heels. I don't see the Irish getting mired down on Tobacco Road and should handle Sylvia's shooters pretty easily. Pick: Notre Dame.

-- Florida State is in Blacksburg to chase the Gobblers around Cassell Coliseum. They should handle Va. Tech in this one and hang on to their #7 ranking in the AP Poll. Pick: Florida State.

-- Pittsburgh hosts Virginia in a match-up of Cavaliers and Panthers. We see Pitt feasting on the Wahoos in a close one in "The Pete". Pick: Pittsburgh

-- Duke goes up to watch the Patriots play in Foxboro and might even show up on the Boston College campus to play a little hoops as well. They should ground the Eagles. Pick: Duke

-- NC State tries to catch a Tiger by the tail today when Clemson visits. Mr & Mrs. Wuf should have a lot to dance about in Reynolds Coliseum...the pick here is NC State. 

-- Louisville steps out-of-conference to visit Jose and the USF Bulls in Tampa's SunDome. It should be sunny for those high flyin' Birds over the Bay. Pick: Louisville

-- Wake Forest heads southwest to dismantle the Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech. This was the hardest one to pick today...but we'll go with the Demon Deacs. A close one. Pick: Wake Forest.

-- Miami leaves the sun and fun of south Florida to visit the "Q" and the 'Cuse. They'll supply their own brand of orange juice for the Orange and I'll pick Miami over Syracuse.



JMcA 

Softball swings into action soon -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

PEARSALL RETURNS TOP PITCHERS AND HITTERS FOR 2017 

With the unseasonably warm weather the Louisville area has been having of late, the Louisville softball team has had the rare pleasure of doing something they rarely get a chance to accomplish in January. 

Practice outdoors. 

We sat down with head Louisville Softball coach Sandy Pearsall recently to discuss the upcoming 2017 season. It's probably no coincidence that the fire alarm in the SAC building kept going off while we chatted. Sandy has a returning roster that could set the ACC afire this season: 

CARDINAL COUPLE: Let's take a look at the roster, Coach.

Our favorite Oregonian...Maryssa Becker

PEARSALL: We have a good group of nineteen players. I look forward to this group. They've worked extremely hard. They've probably been more dedicated to becoming better on a daily basis than any group I've had in a long time so I'm really excited about that. Pitching wise, we have [Maryssa] Becker back for her senior year and we have high hopes she'll have a great senior year. Megan Hensley continues to work so hard on  her game and continues to get better. We're excited about having her back this season. She's the future for us.

We added a freshman in Sydney Warinner to the staff and she's going to be more of a relief kid right now, probably not a full time starter just yet. We see bright things for her. We're going to continue to develop her. For her, the sky is the limit. A lot of great potential. It's just getting her ingrained into the game. 

CARDINAL COUPLE: Take us through the outfield.  

PEARSALL: We'll have some competition in the outfield. Clearly, we have the two seniors in Morgan Meyer and Jordan McNary. Morgan has really grown into her game. Last year we started to see something from her that we always knew was there. Jordan certainly improved and had a great junior year. Nicole Pufahl anchors us in center field. She does a great job out there and we expect even better offense from her this year. You also have to add Jordan Vorbrink, who spent limited time out there last year and could rival for any position out there. She could even come into the infield and play, which she did a little bit of last year. Competition will be tough for the infield spots. 

CARDINAL COUPLE: How has the squad looked in the couple weeks of practice? 

PEARSALL: Good. We really been able to progress pretty quickly because they did come back ready after putting in some work in the off-season break, which is what we absolutely need from them. We got into more strategy this week after fundamental work last week. I always like to go back and refresh everybody's memories. It was something we needed to do. We're still working on that third base and first base issue...those corner spots are a little bit iffy . There's a little inexperience there. Lil [Goetz] comes back with a little experience, although not a lot of experience...and then we add Celene Funke, into that mix...a freshman... into a position she's never played. 

Also, we have Tiarra [Sanabria] coming off an injury at first base, we're kinda working through that. The culmination of our infield is that their experienced in some ways and very young in other ways. It'll be interesting to see how that develops. I like what I've seen in practice. If they continue with the same intensity and development...they're going to be really ready. 

CARDINAL COUPLE: After a road swing to start the season you come home to Ulmer Stadium to start play on March 3rd. 

PEARSALL: The kids really like to play at Ulmer Stadium . They get excited about it because we have such a wonderful facility. 


To hear the CARDINAL COUPLE interview in it's entirety with Coach Pearsall...be sure to listen to today's broadcast on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR at 11 a.m. at www.crescenthillradio.com or you can access the Soundlcloud version here: 

CARDINAL COUPLE INTERVIEW WITH SANDY PEARSALL


We would be remiss if we didn't mention that the Softball Banquet/Bullpen Club Dinner is tonight at the Galt House in the Archibald Room. Happy Hour and Silent Auction begin at 6 p.m. and speaker Sierra Romero and dinner start at 7 p.m. 

This is a fun event that usually sells out each year and one that Worldwide, Sonja and Paulie enjoy attending. We get some great interviews each year and the keynote speaker is always fantastic. We'll have a recap of the festivities in our Sunday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. 



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RADIO TODAY (MAYBE?) 

We'll be in the studio today at full strength...Paulie, Worldwide and Case...for another exciting edition of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...the only question is whether we'll be on the FM waves or strictly Internet. 

A hacker gained control of the FM feed and made it necessary for the transmitter of the FM signal to be shut down yesterday and it is not known when the transmitter will be back up. The WCHQ app and Internet stream are fine, though, so you can listen to us that way. More on the hacking: 

WCHQ 100.9 Hacked

We have a fun show planned for you. Hoops galore and Sandy's Softball interview....plus discussion on Volleyball and their purported move from the KFC YUM! Center back to Cardinal Arena for home games. We assigned Case the duty of attending the Presidential Inauguration and asking Donald Trump on his views of the ACC women's basketball schedule and standings...we'll hopefully have that report as well. (If he didn't stay for the women's march today...) 

It's live radio and unrehearsed. That makes it all the more exciting...because you never know what kind of off-the-wall trivia Worldwide is going to toss out there or which stream of conciousness Paulie may lapse into. 


put Paul in the Hall
Paulie
xxxxx