SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:
.
LIVE Updates on 2nd round games in BIG EAST Tournament...
.
-1st round BIG EAST Action and 2nd round matchups...
.
-Softball sweeps two.
.
-Lacrosse downs Oregon
.
-Hoops gets Nova tonight
.
We'll track the four games on tap today in the BIG EAST WOMENS BASKETBALL tournament today in Hartford, CT. right here for you. Check here for recaps and story lines...
.
***********************************************************************************.
.
LIVE UPDATES ON BIG EAST TOURNAMENT:
.
Cards roll past the 'Nova 69-47. Walz used the bench after the 10 minute mark....led by 29 at one point and now faces Muffett and the Irish. See ya tomorrow...-Paul @ 10:44 p.m.
.
Cards pretty much have it their way except for the slow pace 'Nova is playing when they get the ball. 33-18 at the half. Schimmel being the "Umatilla Thrilla" and Burke overcoming a couple of airballs for seven points. Redi active early, gone into hibernation mode at the end of first half. Cards in control...-Paul @ 9:12 p.m.
.
St.John's wins against WVU 59-51 in a second half that went back and forth until the Red Storm broke a 51-51 tie with 1:56 to go and scored the final eight points. The Mountaineers battled back several times, led briefly in the second half but could not pull it out. Onto the UofL game!...-Paul @ 8:03 p.m.
.
At the half..34-29 Red Storm. This one has been a battle...St. John's finding a way to shut down Liz Repella in the first half. Lost a 21-13 lead...but the Red Storm has the halftime advantage and they don't lose often when that's the case. -Paul @ 7:00 p.m.
.
Back and forth in the St.John's vs. WVU game. 8:55 to go in first half and the Red Storm up currently 19-14. They replaced Brooke and Beth with Bob and Katie to call the final two on TV. The kept Allison on the sidelines...good call! -Paul @ 6:33 p.m.
.
...Marquette rallies from nine down in the second half and Angel Robinson on the bench to get the win 65-61 over Pitt. 9-0 run gave them a 58-53 lead with 4 minutes left and they held on for the win. They get Rutgers tomorrow. Another thriller today...was 63-61 with a minute to go. Next game 6 p.m. Is it 5 o' clock somewhere? -Paul @ 4:29 p.m.
.
...Marquette started the second game on an opening 14-4 run against Pitt...but the Panthers responded with their own 13-0 run and outscored Marquette 26-9 over the final 13 minutes to lead at half 30-23. Taneisha Harrison getting it done for Pitt...16 first half points. -Paul @ 3:20
.
...Brooke Weisbrod and Beth Mowins are in Hartford already...doing today's games on the BIG EAST Network...ESPN announcers and the feed goes to ESPNU on Sunday for the final three days. The star of the show, though...has to be Allison Williams with the on-court and timeout interviews. She's catching everyone's eye...cuter than Erin Andrews and a wonderful personality...-Paul@ 2:26 p.m.
.
...Georgetown gets out with the win 61-60...another half of runs and Georgetown getting the lead 54-53 with 3:58 left. They hit two free throws with 7 seconds left to go up 61-57 and needed both as a Syracuse three at the buzzer went to make it a 1 point final. -Paul @ 2:12 p.m.
.
...Crowd low at XL Center so far...the UConn men play at 2 p.m. over in Storrs at the Gampel Pavillion. UConn women don't play until Sunday here at XL.
-Paul @ 1:13 p.m.
.
...Game of runs to start the first game. Georgetown starts with first eleven points...Syracuse goes on a 12-0 run to lead 18-14. Erica Morrow out with knee for 'Cuse. 'Cuse takes a 27-22 lead at half...after Monica McNutt fouls a desperation Orange 3 point attempt with .5 left and they hit all three free throws. Georgetown not getting transition like they started off with...-Paul @ 12:52 p.m.
.
Yesterday...Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia and Villanova advanced in first round play.
.
-In the first game, Pitt controlled things early on as USF was a little shook and out of balance after losing star player Andrell Smith in the first minute of play with a knee injury. She did not return and Pitt roared to a 30-17 lead in the first half before going in at halftime up 34-22. USF finally got some semblance of an offensive going behind twin sister Andrea Smith and cut the gap in the second half...40-36 with 11-0 run early in the second half. The Bulls would stay close, take a 60-59 lead with 49.7 seconds to go in the contest but Chelsea Cole's basket plus free throw was enough to get Pitt back in the lead and win 63-60. Andrea Smith had five 3 pointers in the loss.
.
Seton Hall led Syracuse for the first nine minutes of the second game before the inside play of Aisha Hemingway and Kayla Alexander woke up and Syracuse regained the lead and led 33-24 at the half. The second half was no contest...the Orange pounding the hapless Pirates front line on nearly each possession on both ends of the court. Syracuse...74-44 in a runaway.
.
Cincinnati tried to hang close with West Virginia early in the third game of the night...but Madina Ali and Liz Repella would have none of it and caged the Bearcats off the board. UC made a brief three point barrage in the second half to cut the WVU lead to 14...but the Mountaineers never trailed or seemed overly worried in the 66-41 rout of Janelle Edwards' Bearcats.
.
The final game was intense and the most exciting of the day. Providence came out on fire and rolled out to a 14-1 lead over Villanova. The Wildcats eventually started hitting some threes and got spectacular bench play from Laura Sweeny and her mates and made it a 28-21 halftime tally. Providence seemingly forgot how to go inside the Mi-Khida Hankins in the second half and Villanova had crawled back to three at 38-35 with ten to go. They stayed within 5 until two straight Sweeney layups gave 'Nova a 46-45 lead with 2:51 to go. One Hankins free throw comprised the scoring in the final minutes and the teams took a 46-46 tie to overtime. Providence led 50-48 after a Hankins second chance putback with 1:53 to go...but baskets by Sweeney and Devin Kane closed out the scoring...a buzzer beater 3 attempt by Hankins fell short and #14 seed Villanova advanced to play Louisville with a 52-50 thrilling win.
.
Saturday second round action:
.
noon...SYRACUSE vs. GEORGETOWN
2 p.m..PITTSBURGH vs. MARQUETTE
6 p.m..WEST VIRGINIA vs. ST. JOHN'S
8 p.m..LOUISVILLE vs. VILLANOVA.
.
Georgetown defeated the "Cuse" by 18 early in the BIG EAST schedule in Washington, D.C. Pitt lost to visiting Marquette in overtime in late January. WVU destroyed St. John's by 20 in Morgantown at the end of the BIG EAST regular season and Louisville romped Villanova by 16 on the Wildcats home court.
.
*************************************************************************************
.
Softball Cards took two yesterday in the Combat Classic in Cookeville, TN. The Cards smashed Middle Tennessee 10-5 in the opener and took NC State to 9 innings before winning 3-2.
.
Chelsea Bemis slugged four hits with three runs as Louisville took control of the contest with a five run second inning. Colby Wherry nailed a four bagger and Alicja Wolny's two run single were key for the early advantage. The Blue Raiders countered with a two run fence clearer in the top of the third...but Louisville added three more in the bottom half of the inning as Bemis doubled one home and Wolny again produced a two RBI single to make it 8-2.
.
After a MTSU home run in the sixth, Bemis singled home Katie Keller and and Wherry pounded a double that scored Bemis and increased Louisville's lead to 10-3. MTSU rallied with two in the top of the seventh but the rally fell short. Carlisa Connell (3-2) got the win, going four innings and allowing three runs, seven hits and fanning four.
.
NC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second game in the third inning before Bemis opened the scoring for the Cards with a two run homer in the sixth to tie it. The teams took it to extra innings before Louisville started the ninth with Chrisanna Roberts on second per the international extra innings tie-breaker rule. Wherry's single got her to third and Wolny gave the Cards the win...singling home Roberts. Tori Collins got her seventh win of the year...going the distance and allowing only five hits and striking out nine.
.
***********************************************************************************
.
Lacrosse squeaked one out against visiting Oregon yesterday at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium 15-13. Louisville grabbed a 9-5 halftime advantage and held off the Ducks second half attack...Jamie Redding scoring with three minutes left to put the Cards up by two. Ashley Herbst had six saves at goalie for Louisville, seven different Cardinals scored and the Duck defense shut out Louisville leading scorer Bergan Foley for the 60 minutes. Liz Lovejoy picked up the slack with five goals...tying her career high. The Cards went on a 6-0 run in the first half...their second best unanswered scoring streak of the year.
.
************************************************************************************
.
Jeff Walz's Lady Cards play the 8 p.m. game against Villanova tonight. Sonja and David Watson correctly predicted that the Wildcats would upset the Friars last night. Maybe a blessing for the Cards...Providence defeated Louisville to end the regular season. Louisville can't take the Wildcats for granted, though...Laura Sweeney comes off the bench to provide the spark and tore up the Friars' defense last night by slashing, cutting to the hoop and stepping back to drill shots when the defense collapsed. Devin Kane, Nora Roberts and Sarah Jones are legitimate three point threats and leading scorer for the Wildcats..Lindsey Kimmel...had an off night against Providence last night...but must be respected as a scorer and rebounding threat. Don't let the Wildcats 14th place regular season finish fool you...they finished the season strong with wins over Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Pitt. They never give up, regardless the score, and will bomb you all day from beyond the arc if allowed to get open looks.
.
Louisville will need to take tempo and control of the pace and keep the Wildcats out of their preferred "slow it down and take time off the clock" attack. Don't be surprised if the Cards come out early with full court pressure and try to get the transition game going early. Providence blew the Wildcats out early last night by going inside time after time and if Louisville can have success with Reid penetrating the paint and creating, the Cards might be able to do the same. Guarding the three is a main priority of defense and knowing where Sweeney and Kimmel are at all times is mandatory if Louisville is to win tonight. A strong game on the boards is a must for Hines, Vails, Taylor and whoever else Walz tries at the "4" and "5" and Schimmel must be wise and accurate in her playmaking skills. We'll cover it for you here at CARDINAL COUPLE. Tip is 8 p.m. Game is available on Big East TV and on the radio with Matt and Liz at 790 AM WKRD.
.
***********************************************************************************
.
Pitino's 3rd seed Cards finish the regular season today at noon. They visit scenic Morgantown and the WVU Mountaineers...coached by affable Bob Huggins. Good luck, guys! The 'Eers are nail tough in the WVU arena. Look out for mountaineers with shotguns and students with full beverage cups... (TOUGH LOSS FOR CARDS 72-20..Eers scored final five points of game.)
.
No comments:
Post a Comment