Monday Cardinal Couple -- Louisville teams go undefeated over weekend

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


SUNDAY GAME REPORTS

-WBB wins over Villanova

-Softball takes two on Sunday...goes 3-0 in Classic

-Lacrosse wins Saturday over ODU 21-3

Louisville women's basketball overcame a 42-40 Villanova lead with 6:15 left to defeat Villanova 55-49 in Philadelphia Sunday afternoon. Bria Smith led the way with 16, Nita Slaughter and Sara Hammond had 10 points and nine rebounds for the 22-6, 10-4 Lady Cards. Sherrone Vails added nine for Louisville...who was without Monique Reid (knee) for the contest and Shoni Schimmel in the second half (coaches decision).  In addition, Jude Schimmel fell to the floor with an injury with less than a minute to go. No word on her condition as we went to press.

Louisville started strong against the Wildcats, taking the lead 6-5 on a Smith layup with 18:07 left in the first half. They increased that to 11-5 after Smith scored again with 16:17 on the clock. The Cards played an excellent first 13 minutes of hoops and actually led 23-11 when Vails hit a free throw with 6:52 to go in the first half.

Nova, though...rallied to outscore the Cards 13-5 the rest of the way...Devon Kane's free throw creating a 28-24 halftime score.

Laura Sweeney tied the contest at 30-30 on a layup with 18:19 on the clock in the second half. Nova still led 42-40 before a Smith jumper....which sparked a 15-7 closing run for UofL over the final six minutes. Smith gave the Cards the lead at 45-43 at the 4:56 mark. Vails scored inside to make it 47-43. After a Laura Sweeney score cut the Louisville lead to two, Vails jumper at 1:33 gave Louisville a 49-45 advantage. Louisville then hit their final six free throws in a row...four by Slaughter and two by Smith to preserve the win.

55-49 CARDS ON THE ROAD!

Jude Schimmel went to the locker room hobbling with assistance with 44 seconds left in the game. Her sister Shoni did not play in the second half...ending up with two points.

Post game comments from Jeff Walz indicated that he challenged the team at halftime and asked Jude, Bria and Shoni if they wanted to play in the second half. Jude and Bria answered yes and Shoni did not reply to the question.

Walz assumed this meant she didn't and did not insert her into the game in the final twenty. Shoni did go to the locker room when her sister was injured.

Walz was uncertain of how long Shoni would remain on the Cards bench...stating that was up to her and her commitment to the team. The extent of Jude's injury was unknown when we went to publish.

Walz also mentioned that Monique Reid was held out because of her knee but would mostly likely play against Seton Hall Wednesday...which is the Cards last home game of the regular season and Senior Night.

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SOFTBALL SWEEPS TWO SUNDAY

Louisville won both games Sunday in the Cardinal Classic at Ulmer Stadium. That gave the Cards a 4-0 weekend...they also defeated Kent State Friday and Buffalo 9-3 on Sunday

Louisville 3 - Kent State 2

In the re-match from Friday's game Rachel LeCoq went 4.2 innings an allowed two runs on seven hits and Caralisa Connell came in for the save for the one-run Louisville win over the Golden Flashes. Louisville defeated KSU for the second time in three days.

The Cards scored twice in the second inning, getting three straight walks for Alicja Wolny, Hannah Kiyohara and Taner Fowler. A Whitney Arion single plated Wolny and Kiyohara.

After two Kent State runs in the fifth that sent Le Coq to the bench and tied the game....Louisville countered with a run in the sixth that proved to be the difference.

Hannah Kiyohara reached on a fielders choice and scored on a Maggie Ruckenbrod single.

Connell gave up just two hits in 2.1 innings pitched for the win.

Louisville 5 - Eastern Illinois 0

Connell was sharp in the shut-out win, going the distance and striking out 10 EIU batters while allowing just one hit in the Sunday nightcap.  

Louisvlle got their first run in the fourth inning when Katie Keller walked and scored on a mishandled- Kiyohara grounder to second.

The Cards tacked on four more in the fifth. Ruckenbrod singled, Mann reached on a bunt that advanced Ruckenbrod and Fowler's double scored both. Jennifer Esteban came in to run for Fowler and scored on a wild pitch. The Cards made it 5-0 when Kayla Soles singled and hit the plate on a Wolny double.

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LACROSSE DOMINATES OLD DOMINION

On Saturday, the Louisville Lacrosse team went to 3-0 with a 21-3 win over Old Dominion. Kaylin Morrissette had five scores for the Cards in the romp.

The Cards had two goals in the first minute and two more in the second minute. After ODU scored, Louisville responded with a 5-0 run....Nikki Boltja getting three of them. Morissette two. The Cards led 14-3 at the half and shut out the Monarchs 7-0 in the final 30 minutes for the easy win.

The eighteen goal margin tied a program record and three goals allowed tied the second best defensive performance in Louisville Lacrosse history.

The squad plays against Denver on the road next on Saturday.

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