Lady Cards defeat UTM 70-57

CARDINAL COUPLE GAME REPORT:

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Thursday with the Couple & cast...

-Lady Cards down Tennessee-Martin 70-57.

-Reports from Sandra, Phil and Jenny on the game.

-Let's go to the movies...

(Special thanks to Sandra, Phil and Jenny for the coverage. Arrived back in

Louisville at 7 p.m. tonight. Trying to get 3G coverage in the Appalachian Mountains....spotty at best. Louisville did win by 13. Good to be home. The fun and excitement of attending bowl games never grows old...but I won't be back to this particular one if the Cards draw the invite again. Paul's new bowl philosophy #1. Bowl games need to be played in warm weather. That is where I'll attend them from now on.)

OK, to the reports...

From Sandra: 12:35 p.m.

Starters Shoni, Asia, Sherrone, Bria and Becky. He (Coach Walz) started the same game of musical chairs with players  One mistake and out. Becky dropped a pass early and we just now saw her return again at 6:58.

Sara (Hammond) might be having a better game. Looks stronger. More confident.

From Sandra: 1:31 p.m.

We will win but no blow out. Jeff keeps messing with combinations that are not his best players. Bewildering.

From Phil: 3:50 p.m.

So, I watched the game this morning (I've signed up for that pay per month service) and have my laptop connected to my TV. I have to say that I think Walz proved my point again. What should have been a blowout was much closer than it should have been until the very end.

Here's what we got out of the game from the effectiveness per minute ratings:

Starting at the post, Warren (1.0) and Vails (.83) were both very effective but they only played a combined 26 minutes.

Dyer (.79) and Hammond (.65) were both very effective but played only 24 minutes combined. Dyer's minutes ( 11) came at the "5" .

You have four "bigs" who play a combined 50 minutes.

Why was this game close? Burke with a negative (-.17) in 29 minutes and Harper with a negative (-.06) in 16 minutes. Those two played only four minutes less than the "bigs" we mentioned above. Go figure. 

I could go on about some bizarre substitution patterns and lineups. The bottom line is that the Cards are doing something here that I'm obviously
missing. Someone please explain it to me.

Jenny's game article below...

The Lady Cards took to the hardwood today after a brief holiday break On the sidelines were both Tia Gibbs and Monique Reid. Tia, who had surgery after exams, was sporting some kind of sling keeping her arm/shoulder immobilized. Mo was obviously favoring her leg, but was standing and walking unassisted. Last report we had on Mo from the west coast had her on crutches, so it was good to see her able to bear weight.

While the Cards came out of the game with the win, it was a rusty effort at best. Sherrone Vails easily won the opening tip off, getting it to Bria who drove to the hoop and drew a foul. She cashed in on 1 of 2...UT-Martin held Louisville without a basket until the 16:51 mark when Cierra Warren finally connected. Bria Smith picked up two early fouls, but Walz let her play through it for a few minutes. Once she left, she stayed out the rest of the half. The Cards did eventually go out two first half runs of 10-0 and 8-2. UT-Martin stayed close though - by hitting five three-point attempts. The Cards did force 17 Skyhawk turnovers in the first twenty and had a 35-30 lead.

The second half started with two quick fouls on Smith. She left at the 19:04 mark and and returned later in the game before fouling out with 3:01 left in the game. The Cards could never pull away from UTM in the second half. Shoni sealed the win by leading Louisville in a late run for the 13 point victory. 

UTM played their starting five 180 of the 200 minutes available. Those five had all the Skyhawk points. Heather Butler had 13 and Perica Glenn and Jaclissa Haislip added 12 each and had double-doubles with 10 boards each. 

The Cards got 16 from Shoni Schimmel and 14 out of Cierra Warren. Sara Hammond grabbed a team high 9 rebounds to go with 8 points. A strong game from the freshman, nearly getting a double-double. Louisville was out rebounded 43-41. Second chance points was won by the Skyhawks 15-2. The Cards forced 26 turnovers while committing 19 of their own. Louisville also won the assists stats 15-12 .

WHAT JENNY LIKED ABOUT THE GAME...

-SARA!  I've thought from the beginning she was a baller. She got off to a slow start this season, but today I saw the confidence and strong play that won her Kentucky Miss Basketball last year. She did have a few defensive breakdowns, which netted the usual sideline reprimands from Walz, but overall it was a good game for her and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

-SHAWNTA Dyer also had a nice stat line today. Seven points in 14 minutes. 3 grabs, 3 steals, an assist and block.

-STEALS. 15 today. Active hands. I liked it. Keep it up.

JENNY'S THINGS TO WORK ON:

-Slow starts. Another one today. In the BIG EAST, these will put the Cards in a big hole early.

-Rebound, rebound, rebound. Two of our four "bigs" had only 3 rebounds each. an embarrassing 13 offensive rebounds and two second chance points. I know you can do better.

The girls will hit the film room Thursday to review and discuss. One game at a time is the current Walz credo. Without Tia and Mo, it's a wise one. Each contest a challenge now that the non-conference schedule is complete.

Louisville begins BIG EAST play Tuesday, Jan 3rd. in the friendly confines of the KFC YUM! Center against Marquette. Hope to see you there!
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(A nice report from Jenny and photos, too!)

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(After getting a good night's sleep and reviewing everything we could find about the game yesterday, Paul and Sonja have come up with five things that Coach Walz may want to hit the pause and rewind button on when the team reviews the film.)

-The lack of blocking out on the boards. Should have quite a few opportunities
to review the lack of this from what we've heard and read.

-Freshman fouls. This segment could star Bria Smith, but it's a good teaching tool to show players how to avoid significant "pine time".

-Catch, set, square and shoot. Burke isn't going to shoot this badly each time out. Maybe a review of the three point attempts will teach "how not to."

-"Sho" them how it gets done. Shoni Schimmel put the team on her back and carried them to the win late. Maybe the rest of the team could pick up a pointer or two on "ready for prime time" basketball.

-Five pictures. Walz should pick his five starters for Tuesday this morning, put their pictures on the screen and challenge the rest of the team to play good enough to grab one of these spots. We'd go with Shoni, Sherrone, Sara, Jude and Cierra. Make Burke, Nita and Bria prove they want it. Good, challenging competition. Challenge Asia to pick it up. Have Shelby ready for a few back-up minutes. Make Shawnta your first off the bench and get 25 (minutes) 10 and 10 (rebounds and points) from her each night.

BIG EAST is around the corner. Grab your lunch pail and go to work, Lady Cards.  

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