Hoops, softball and lacrosse weekend!!

WELCOME TO FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE!!

(You made it!)

-LIVE 1st round BIG EAST TOURNEY updates.

-Schimmel, Reid and Vails receive BIG EAST Honors.

-BIG EAST WBB Tournament starts today.

-Softball travels to Cookeville for Combat Classic.

-Lacrosse hosts Oregon today.

-Final chance for PANERA!

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LIVE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT UPDATES

...PITT 34-22 over USF. End of 1st half. USF leading scorer Andrea Smith out...leg injury in first minute of play. About 1000 in The XL Center watching. Pitt led 30-17 for biggest lead, never trailed yet and freshman Leesa Burgess has 10 for Panthers. -Paul @ 1:11 P.M. )

...(Wow! Down to the wire as USF erases a 15 point Pitt lead, actually goes up by one point with 49.7 seconds left but Pitt gets final four points of the game to win 63-60. Andrell Smith, filling in for injured twin sister...5 three pointers. Hail to Pitt..they advance after nearly letting USF steal it away. -Paul @2:18 pm..)

.. in the second game of the day...Seton Hall led over Syracuse for the first nine minutes of the first half bur the 'Cuse has started to go inside. Hemingway with eleven points and the Orange lead 33-24 at the break. 'Cuse head coach Quentin Hillsman missed his profession..would have made a fine dramatic actor. The Seton Hall Pirate mascot looks like a caricature of ex- UofL head volleyball coach Leonid Yelin. -Paul @ 3:39 p.m.

...Too much inside for the Hall to handle in the final twenty...Syracuse runs away with it 74-44. They get Georgetown tomorrow. What is Hillsman doing calling a timeout with 8.6 left in the game and up by 30? I'd walk right by him, too...like Anne Donovan did in the post game handshakes. Strictly no class, Q...next game at 6 p.m. -Paul @ 4:36 p.m.

...When in Hartford, one could do worse than visiting The Tavern Downtown. Seriously...that's the name of the restaurant/tavern. An easy walk from the XL Center, nice Happy Hour, moderate pricing and decent wings. -Paul @ 5:52 p.m.

...#10 WVU 37 - #15 Cincinnati 23 at the half. Bearcats have no answer for Repella or Ali. A very sloppy game in the first twenty minutes. UC Coach Janelle Elliott assesed with a well deserved technical foul in the first half (such languauge!). XL Center maybe 1/3 full...very pro-Cincy crowd because Elliott was a assistant for UConn. (Can't be because of the Cincy play...tons of turnovers).-Paul @ 6:53 p.m.

...as far as pep band go...the clear winner is the WVU bunch. Very entertaining and who else does a brass version of Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein"? (I hope they cut back on John Denver's "Country Roads"...though). The WVU Mountaineer mascot...a live person dressed in coonskin...looks like he's about 12 years old. Mountainerr...no way. Mousekateer? Maybe... -Paul @ 7:02 p.m.

...66-41 final. I didn't think Cincinnati could play any worse than they did in the first half. I was wrong. Four points in the first ten minutes of the second half and the WVU defense crushed them. UC made a run when WVU emptied the bench prematurely, cut it to 14...but they were basically never in it...-Paul @ 7:57 p.m.

...Providence vs. Villanova looked like a blowout early...The Friars blowing out to a 14-1 early lead. Insert Laura Sweeney for 'nova, though...and things definitely change. 28-21 at the half. Providence but 'Nova cut it to five several times. A classic match-up of 3 point bombardment ('Nova) vs. interior scoring (Providence). Hard to believe it has been 3 1/2 games of hoops today so far. Maybe it's because I basically slept through most of the WVU game...-Paul @ 9:04 p.m.

...Got to give it up for the Providence dance squad...Not as good as the Louisville LadyBirds, no way...but a good halftime routine. Let's go NOVA! Win this thing! LEGGOOO!!!...-Paul @ 9:12 p.m.

...WOO BOY...We're headed overtime in the final game of the night. 46-46. 'Nova rallying and actually leading for awhile. If I had five players I could choose to start a college team..Laura Sweeney would be one of them...-Paul @ 10:06 p.m.

...Nova wins 52-20. Devin Kane with a steal and layup 1:03 to go for the winner. Teva Wright missed a buzzer beater for Providence. 'Nova the only lower seed to advance today. A wild finish to a great day. See ya tomorrow...-Paul @ 10:18 p.m.

Sometimes it is a dog leading the dog world out there...but this weekend is full of treats for the Cardinal women's sports fans. Let's jump (or roll over) right into the action!
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Shoni Schimmel and Sheronne Vails have been named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Schimmel was a unanimous selection and also was picked as an honorable mention for the All-BIG EAST teams. Schimmel was selected as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week four times throughout the regular season. Vails joins her on the freshmen team. She led Louisville in blocked shots this season and is seventh in the BIG EAST in blocks. Others on the Freshman team:
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Bria Hartley and Stephanie Dolson (UConn), Kayla Cook and Jeanise Randolph (Cincinnati), Lauren Okafor (Providence), Katherine Plouffe (Marquette), Natalie Achowa (Notre Dame) and Ka-Deidre Simmons (Seton Hall).
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Monique Reid made the All-BIG EAST team for the second year in a row. Joining her:
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Tiffany Hayes and Maya Moore (UConn), Skylar Diggins, Devereaux Peters and Natalie Novosel (Notre Dame), Keisha Hampton (DePaul), Sugar Rodgers (Georgetown), Angel Robinson (Marquette), Kayla Alexander (Syracuse) and Liz Repella (WVU).
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BIG EAST play begins today with four first round games on tap.
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#12 Pittsburgh vs. #13 South Florida Noon
#9 Syracuse vs. #16 Seton Hall 2 p.m.
#10 West Virginia vs. #15 Cincinnati 6 p.m.
#11 Providence vs. #14 Villanova 8 p.m.

Louisville debuts on Saturday 8 p.m. vs the winner of the Providence vs. Villanova game. We'll have full first round action here for you at CARDINAL COUPLE.
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Louisville softball travels to Cookeville, TN. for three days of action in the Combat Classic, hosted by Tennessee Tech. The Cards will play twice today. 11 a.m. vs. Middle Tennessee and at 1 p.m. against NC State. Saturday they face host Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. and Sunday they conclude with games versus Belmont at 3 p.m. and Samford at 5 p.m.
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Louisville (9-6) is currently led by sophomore Alicja Wolny (.405, 14 RBI's) and freshman Maggie Ruckenbrod (.391, 8 RBI's). Pitcher Tori Collins is 6-3 and was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week last week. Carlisa Connell (2-2) has a 3.17 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched. The Cards went 4-1 in the Red and Black Classic last weekend, beating Wright State
twice and SIU Edwardsville and Boston University once. They fell to Miami (OH).
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In today's action, Louisville is 3-2 lifetime against Middle Tennessee and defeated them 9-4 last time they met in 2009 at Ulmer Stadium. The Blue Raiders (4-7) recently went 2-2 in the War Eagle Classic at Auburn.
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Louisville leads NC State 1-0 in lifetime matchups. They last met in 2004, with the Cards prevailing 2-0. The Wolfpack (7-7) last went 1-3 in the Carolina Classic.
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We'll have full reports on Sandy Pearsall's sluggers daily here at CARDINAL COUPLE.
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Lacrosse faces off against Oregon today at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium . Game time is 5 p.m. The Cards are 2-0 on the season with home wins over Binghamton and Old Dominion. Oregon (2-1) is one of the powerhouses in the Pac-10 and will prove to be Louisville's toughest test to date.
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Bergan Foley has 13 goals for the Ville in two games this season. Emily Dashiell and Katie Oliverio are also strong offensive threats for the Cards. Freshman Ashley Herbst has provided strong goalkeeping defense and had eight saves recently in the 12-7 win over the Monarchs.
CARDINAL COUPLE will have the summary for you.
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Today at noon is the deadline for entries in the CARDINAL COUPLE BIG EAST Tournament Pick 'Em. WE have 17 entries so far. At stake, bragging rights and a $10 Gift Card to either PANERA or Wal-Mart to the winner. You can register your entry in the comments section of today's CARDINAL COUPLE or e-mail it to:
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cardinalcouple@insightbb.com
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Good luck and choose wisely!
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