Cards struggle in 1st half against EKU

.FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

LADY CARDS WIN WITH SECOND HALF SPURT

-Three in double figures for Louisville

-Gibbs out for the season.

-Women's soccer to battle Memphis tonight in 2nd round NCAA action

-Volleyball opens BIG EAST Tournament play tonight vs. Pitt

In front of 2800 fans, second highest in EKU women's basketball history...

The University of Louisville women's basketball team struggled in the first half with an opportunistic and hot-shooting EKU team.

The Cards fell behind 4-0 early before Becky Burke got the Cards on the board with two free throws at the 18:06 mark of the game.

Cards warm up for the EKU game

Louisville would grab a 7-4 lead when Shoni Schimmel nailed a three with 17:22 left in the first half...and was still on top at 11-10 when Asia Taylor connected inside...but a 6-0 EKU run over the next minute put them on top to stay for the rest of the first half. EKU led by seven with ten minutes remaining in the first half when Raechele Gray nailed a three to make it 24-17.

The Cards trailed 28-22 after Marie Carpenter nailed two free throws with 5:28
left in the half, but rallied to score eight of the final 11 points of the half to tie it at 30-30 on two Taylor free throws and go in down by only one at the half 31-30.

Shoni Schimmel led the Cards with seven points on 3-11 shooting and Becky Burke added six for the Cards...who shot only 32.3% in the first twenty minutes. Walz played nine players and all scored but Bria Smith, saddled with two early fouls and on the bench for 14 minutes in the first. 

Did you know...EKU enters the court thru an
inflatable tunnel?

For the Colonels, 4-10 three point shooting (compared to Louisville's 1-9) helped them retain the lead. Carla Booth and Marie Carpenter had eight first half points each for the Colonels...

The Cards woke up in the second half and a 24-5 run that spanned over ten minutes put it out of reach for the Cards at 64-46 with 5:34 to go. Five straight points by Sherrone Vails and a three by Antonia Slaughter closed out the Cards scoring, as Louisville held the Colonels to just 10 points over the final 13 minutes.



Fans spell out SARA at the game
(Photo courtesy of Jenny O'Bryan)



Louisville takes the win 77-53 but at the 15:18 mark of the final half, EKU was still very much in the game, regaining the lead at 41-40 after two Alex Jones free throws. The Lady Cards took off on a 11-2 run, though, after that...getting a lane driving basket by Shoni Schimmel, put back by Bria Smith, a Shawnta Dyer score from the paint, Becky Burke three and layup by Smith off a nifty Shoni pass to make it 51-43 with 11:30 remaining. The Cards led 60-46 with 8:51 to go after an Asia Taylor tip-in and EKU had no answers left to stop the Cards...

Cierra Warren led all scorers with 15 points - 10 in the second half - and Becky Burke and Shoni added 12 each...Shoni's on 5-20 shooting and Burke's 4-11 efforts. Louisville ended up at 38%((27-71) for the game from the floor but did record a sparkling 78.3% (18-23) from the charity stripe.

Walz played all eleven players dressed for tonight's game...all scored but Shelby Harper. Starters were Shawnta Dyer (5 pts.), Sherrone Vails (5 pts.), Bria Smith (9 pts.), Becky Burke and Shoni.  
Things we liked about tonight:

-Louisville took EKU's best punch in the first half (and for five minutes in the second half) and did not fall to the canvas. The Colonels nailed four 3-pointers in the first twenty minutes and seven for the game but Louisville out-rebounded EKU 50-30.

-Louisville had 18 assists tonight and forced 23 turnovers....while committing only 17 turnovers...and just 5 in the second half. They also had 16 steals and Shoni had 4 of them.

Cards radio crew Adrienne Johnson and
Matt Andrews prepare for the game. (We're not
exactly sure what the guy in blue is doing
to their left...)

-Asia Taylor had a very solid game for the Lady Cards tonight in 20 minutes...with eight points on 3-3 shooting and 2-2 from the line. She grabbed 4 rebounds, had two assists and only 1 foul.

-Sara Hammond thrilled the 100's in attendance from Rockcastle County with six points, seven boards and just two turnovers.

-Cards had 40 points in the paint, 25 off turnovers and 25 second chance points. The bench totaled 34 of the Cardinal points tonight.

Things that need improvement:

-Another slow start for the Lady Cards tonight. Becky Burke nailed it right on the head when she commented post-game that if Louisville comes out like tonight against Xavier on Sunday...they'll lose.

-Cards only had one blocked shot tonight...even though they had a clear height advantage. EKU swatted six Cardinal shots...four by center Jade Barber and two by Jones.

-Shoni, Sara and Becky went a combined 12 - 42 from the field. Those numbers need to get better...

-Worst part of the evening:

Hearing that Tia Gibbs is done for the year after her MRI revealed significant damage to her shoulder. Torn labrum and bone fragment revealed. She'll undergo surgery after first semester exams and Walz will try to get her a sixth year of eligibility. Heartbreaking...going to miss you out there Butler Bear.. 

Louisville returns to action Sunday at 2 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center against Xavier.

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Here's hoping the women's soccer team can
kick some kiddie kats around tonight!

Karen Ferguson-Dayes will lead the University of Louisville women's soccer team into battle tonight against the Memphis Tigers in Memphis. The 8:30 p.m. start is the second game of the evening at the Mike Rose Soccer complex...#1 seeded Florida will face Portland at 6 p.m.

Memphis is 22-0-1 on the season and will be a tough test for the Cards. They got to the second round with a 7-0 win over Tennessee-Martin. Louisville downed Dayton 2-0 to advance.

Live video of the games can be viewed at http://www.ncaa.com/, http://www.gotigersgo.com/ or http://www.uoflsports.com/ free of charge.

*****************************************************************

The University of Louisville Volleyball team goes in quest of defending their 2010 BIG EAST Tournament title with an opening round match vs. Pittsburgh today. The #1 seed Cards were upset earlier during the regular season by #8 seed Piit in the KFC YUM! Center.

No time to hesitate now, girls. Go get what is yours.

Key for the Cards, of course, is getting the ball to Lola Arslanbekova. Double and triple teams on her could also create some opportunities for Emily Juhl and Kaitlynn James to get some kills.
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louivilletook20moreshotsthanthecolonelsdidtonightandscored40pointsinthepaint