GOOD SATURDAY MORNING (yawn...) FROM YOUR FRIENDS at CARDINAL COUPLE. It goes down tonight...Louisville one of sixteen teams still alive. ESPN will show the four games tonight and you can also follow Louisville's game against Gonzaga on 790 WKRD.
-LADY CARDS face Gonzaga tonight at 9 p.m.
-Louisville softball vs. Villanova this weekend
-McCarty leads throwers in Alabama.
-The Sideline Announcers final four...
-Staff picks for the Sweet Sixteen
-Sara Hammond named Miss Basketball.
The University of Louisville women's basketball team will attempt to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament tonight in Spokane, Washington when they tip it up against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 9 p.m. Louisville, a i#7 seed and #11 seeded Gonzaga are the two highest seeds left in the Sweet Sixteen participants. Shoni Schimmel, pictured above, is back in the Northwest and has probably had a few moments like above with her sister Jude and family.
She is pictured here with her cousin Sam McCloud above.
Courtney Vandersloot (right) and her Bulldog teammates look to be the "Cinderella" in the Elite Eight. Gonzaga looks to be the first #11 seed to advance to the Great Eight in tournament history.
The sixteen teams still dancing are as follows:
#1 seed in the Philly Regional...Connecticut...will play #5 seed Georgetown Sunday night
#2 seed in Philly is the Duke Blue Devils. They get #3 seed DePaul.
#1 seed in the Dayton Regional is the Tennessee Volunteers. They go against #4 seed Ohio State.
#2 seed in Dayton belongs to Notre Dame. They'll try to advance against #6 seed Oklahoma.
#1 seed in Spokane is the Stanford Cardinal. They'll battle #5 seed North Carolina tonight
#7 seed Louisville in the Spokane regional gets the #11 seed Gonzaga after UNC v. Trees ends.
#1 seed in Dallas is the Baylor Bears. They'll try to dispatch of #5 seed Green Bay on Sunday.
#2 seed Texas A&M is the #2 seed in Dallas. They'll battle #6 seed Georgia Sunday.
When you break it down...the BIG EAST has 5 of the 16 remaining. (Louisville, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame and DePaul). The Big 12 with three teams left. (Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas A&M). The SEC has two still dancing (Tennessee and Georgia). So does the ACC (Duke and North Carolina). Green Bay is in the Horizon League. Ohio State plays in the Big 10. Gonzaga is a WCC member and Stanford is from the PAC 10.
Louisville will play in front of a sold out arena in Spokane against the Zags. WE'LL have full coverage of the results after the game here at CARDINAL COUPLE. Here's how the staff here at CARDINAL COUPLE sees it going down:
-Sonya Says:
The matchup here will be Vandersloot against Schimmel. Both are tireless workers who can create with or without the ball and can shoot the net off the rim when hot. Both have an accompanying cast to go with them as well. I think Louisville's is a little deeper in Monique Reid, who just might be more dangerous than Schimmel and Vandersloot on the court. Tia Gibbs has been playing with a purpose all season and Keisha Hines has picked up her game dramatically since mid-season. Add the hard driving freshman Charmaine Tay and the long range abilities of Becky Burke to the above and you've got a recipe for success. I'm going with Louisville here...let's say 81-72.
-Paul Predicts:
There's an old horse players axiom that states "class tells, competition sells." and you can apply it to tonight's game. Louisville has banged heads with members of the best conference in the nation for half the season. They've got three key players who went to the FINAL FOUR and championship game two years ago. Their road to Spokane went thru a under ranked Vandy team and Xavier at Xavier. Gonzaga played in their gym, dispatching Iowa and UCLA.
Excuse me if I'm not impressed with Gonzaga's path to the Sweet Sixteen or their league and competitiveness, but I am not... and I go with Louisville as the winner. By 17...85-68. 
-David Watson writes:
If Louisville can stay out of serious foul trouble, rebound with the ferociousness of the past two games and stay hot from beyond the arc, they'll conquer and advance tonight. It may not be easy, won't be pretty at times, but these Main Street maulers, YUM Center sprinters, LADY CARDS who play hard will win this shootout on the banks of the Spokane River. Make it Louisville 89 - Gonzaga 86.
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Sonja, Paul and David's other seven picks in the Sweet Sixteen are at the end of today's column.
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Louisville softball faces Villanova today in BIG EAST action at Ulmer Stadium with a doubleheader against the Wildcats...beginning at noon. Nova comes to town with a 8-14 record and a win last time out against St. Joseph's 1-0. The Cards come off a 6-0 whitewash of UK. The admission is free, the concession stand is outside the stadium and has coffee and hot chocolate. GO LADY CARDS softball. We'll recap the action in Sunday's CARDINAL COUPLE. We might even drop in to watch bat meet ball...
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D'Ana McCarty took first place honors in the hammer throw in the Alabama Relays Friday evening in Tuscaloosa, AL. Her toss of 57.59m was a full meter better than the competitions. Three other Cardinals competed in the event...Patrice Gates finished fifth, Hannah Baker eighth and Amasji Kendall 11th. The Cards will also take part in the discus throw today down in "Sweet Home Alabama".
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Congratulations to the Final Four sideline announcers contestants! Andrea Kramer won easily against Eamon McAnanly yesterday to join Erin Andrews, Allison Williams and Pam Oliver in the semifinals. The survivors will get a few days off before competition resumes next Friday.
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Congratulations to Rockcastle County senior and UofL future Lady Card Sara Hammond for her selection as Miss Basketball in Kentucky. Hammond led the Rockets to the state title and will be a talented addition to the 2011-12 Lady Cards. The Rockets lost but one game all season and Hammond's ability to play multiple positions will serve the Cards well over the next four years.
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Here are the staff picks for the other seven Sweet Sixteen matchups:
1) UConn v. Georgetown. Paul, Sonja and David all pick UConn. (Duh...)
2) DePaul v. Duke. Sonja goes with the Dookies. Paul and David chose DePaul
3) Tenn. v. Ohio State. Sonja and David are selecting Tennessee. Paul likes Ohio State.
4) Notre Dame v. Oklahoma. All three picks go to Notre Dame.
5) Stanford v. North Carolina. Sonja and Paul have Stanford. David chose North Carolina
6) Baylor v. Green Bay. Baylor gets all three staff members' check marks.
7) Texas A&M v. Georgia. Sonja and Paul side with Texas A&M. David has Georgia on his mind.
PLAY BALL!!
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