Lady Cards vs. Rutgers tonite

(Who will Gwen Rucker go "eyeball to eyeball" with tonite? Last year's contestant...Kia Vaughn...has rotated to the WNBA.)

The regular season draws to a close this evening for the Lady Cards...who will face always dangerous Rutgers in Jersey. The game will be played at the RAC (Rutgers Athletic Center) where close to 4,000 are expected to be in attendance to greet Jeff Walz and the Cards.

The first day of March appears to be rolling in like a lamb this morning as I write this. Don't expect the Scarlet Knights to follow suit. Despite the loss of Kia Vaughn and Piph Prince to the pros, Rutgers is still a formidiable foe. Brittany Ray is a whirling dervish, scoring from anywhere on the court. April Sykes and Nikki Speed (oh, no...not another Speed!) are talented shooters and the Rutgers defense (beware the "55") will shut an opponent down with full court pressure and hustle.

For Louisville, a last chance for momentum before entering Big East play. Too early to tell who the Cards will face first in Hartford...currently they are tied for 11th place in the Big East standings. Action begins Saturday, March 6th in Hartford for the Geno Invitational (formerly known as the Big East Tournament).

The RAC is a very tough place for opponents to have success. The Rutgers' womens basketball fans are a passionate bunch and the team is trying to put its stamp on an NCAA Tournament appearance by winning tonight. Rutgers has one of the few Women's Basketball discussion boards on Rivals and their fans that post there are knowledgeable, kind to visitors and fiercely proud of C. Vivian Stringer's team. Someday, maybe the Louisville Rivals boards will follow suit, until then...I recommend that you visit the Rutgers Women's basketball board for a lot of good Big East women's basketball information. I insist, though...that you be respectful and courteous to the followers there.

Louisville looks to return to the form that beat up on Seton Hall two games back and that nearly knocked off USF in Freedom Hall. It won't be an easy task for the Cards and you know that the Scarlet Knights will be seeking a little payback due to losing to the Cards last year in the Big East tournament and regular season.

Game time is 7 p.m. and we'll have a full report on it after it is over here at Cardinal Couple.

Written by Sonja
3/1/10