Saturday Cardinal Couple - Colo 70 - UofL 66

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards fall in wild finish 70-66

A crazy final two minutes in this one tonight, Louisville down 64-51 and roaring back to cut it to two with 11 seconds left before falling on the road to Colorado tonight 70-66 in Boulder. A missed free throw by Chuckie Wilson gave the Cards a chance to get possession and possibly tie or take the lead...but Colorado's Jennie Reese grabbed the loose ball and stuck it in to secure the win.

Louisville started Sherrone Vails, Shawnta Dyer, Nita Slaughter, Shoni Schimmel and Megan Deines tonight against CU and had their way early against the Buffs. A Slaughter three put Louisville up 3-2 and two Monique Reid free throw gave the Cards a 11-6 lead with 14:58 left in the first half.

Two Shelby Harper free throws had UofL leading 16-12 with 12:03 to go...but the wheels fell off the cart for the Cards after that. A 6-0 Buffs run gave them a two-point advantage with 10:20 on the clock. They would push that lead to 21-16 after a three and led 23-16 before a Deines score stopped a four-minute scoreless streak for Louisville. The Cards fell behind 30-22 after a Chucky Jeffrey three...but a Slaughter jumper, two Dyer inside scores and two Slaughter free throws made it 34-30 with 23 seconds left in the half. CU's Hargis hit a jumper with five seconds left for a halftime score 36-30 Colorado. 

Slaughter led the Cards with nine first half points, Dyer added eight and Deines and Reid contributed four each. Smith and Harper finished with two each and Jude Schimmel and Cortnee Walton produced one point. Shoni did not score, nor did Vails. The Cards were out-rebounded 19-12.

Louisville started strong in the second half and Shawnta Dyer was the catalyst, scoring three baskets in the first six minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 41-40. Louisville got a three from Slaughter to make it 48-46 Colorado with 9:40 remaining...but the Buffs put together a 14-3 run over the next six minutes to lead to lead 60-49 after a Wilson basket for Colorado at the 3:30 mark. It looked like it was over for the Cards...falling behind 64-51 before Reid scored with 1:53 left.

Louisville went ballistic over the next 41 seconds. Deines hit two free throws, Shoni scored on a steal, Deines added two more free throws and then hit a jumper to make it 64-61...a 10-0 run for the Cards. Deines' foul sent Wilson to the line and she converted two with 1:10 left. Two more Buff free throws made it 68-61 with 1:04 to go and it looked like, once again, it was over for UofL.

Not quite.

Slaughter's three cut it to 68-64. A Slaughter layup got it to 68-66 with 12.5 left and when Wilson missed two free throws at 11.1 on the clock...it looked like Louisville had another ghost of a chance..but an improbable bounce off the rim fell in Reece's hands and her putback ended it. Louisville didn't get a shot off in the final possession.

Slaughter finished with 19, Dyer 14, Reid 12 and Deines 11 for the double figure scorers for Louisville. Shoni had 4, Harper and Smith 2 and Jude and Walton finished with 1 each. 

Chuckie Jeffrey led all scorers with 22 for Colorado

-Colorado out-rebounded the Cards 44-32.

-The Cardinal guard contingent of Jude, Shoni, Bria and Shelby totaled nine points tonight.

Tough loss in front of about 3700 fans in the Coors Arena. A valiant comeback....twice, in fact...but the Cards never led in the second half.

Missing Sara Hammond? Probably, but you have to play with who is there and Dyer, Reid and Slaughter fought hard...but it's tough to win when the opponent beats you by 12 on the boards.

Shawnta Dyer nailed it on the head when she mentioned after the game that the Cards missed out too many chances to block out.

Walz called rebounding the key before the game and he was right.

Louisville comes home to face Washington State Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Things We Liked


1) Shawnta Dyer. Stepped it up with 14 points and a great start to the second half.
2) Down the stretch they come! Down by 13 with two minutes to go, the Cards fought back and had a chance to win. Showed some heart.
3) 'Slaughtered' them. Nita with a season-high 19. Had the team's only threes. Improving every game.
4) Go Mo Below. Eight second-half points for the senior. Using her highly sucessful post up on the block and score.
5) Denies delivery. She was responsible for six of the Cards points in the late, last gasp run by Louisville.

Things to Improve On


1) Schimmeled. Going back to the second half of the UK game...Shoni's been a no-show offensively. That has to change.
2) Bored? Rebounding (or lack of it) a major contributor to the loss Friday night. Sure, Sara wasn't there...but there are five other Lady Cards who see time at the "4" and "5". They need to step it up on the boards.
3) Intensity for 40. The Cards seemed lackadaisial in the 10-1 Colorado run from the 7:03 mark to 3:30 mark. You have to play 40 minutes. Those 3 1/2 were hard to watch.
4) Mental errors. Cards had two late on Deines' foul and failure to block out on the final Buffs free-throw. The full hearts were there. The clear minds took a siesta.
5) Internet feed. This was rough to watch, with the freeze-ups and 15 second delay from the Louisville radio call to screen picture. Ended up bailing out on Matt and AJ and listening to the Buffs guy. Sorry guys. Technology needs to step it up.

Summary

We mentioned in the Friday article that this game had the feel of the game in 2009 when Louisville travelled to a fired-up Nevada gym to play a team eager to pounce on a top-Ten opponent. The Buffs wanted this win more than Louisville did. To reach the rare air of teams like UConn, Stanford and Baylor...Louisville has to learn how to go into away situations and not get caught up in the fan's fervor. Play like champions.

The Shoni situation is also disturbing. Maybe opponents have figured her out, now that's she's a junior. She's had some athletic guards putting the defense on her lately, too...but the most heralded player on your squad must do better than six points in five halves of basketball.

The loss a tough one to take, but Coach Walz will tell you that you have to let it go after a final look at it and get ready for the next one. Puzzling that Louisville, seemingly in command for the first eight minues of this one, suddenly became lifeless and apathetic for a couple of stretches. Bria needs consistancy, Sherrone looks lost at times on the court, and if Megan Deines hits any of her first four free throws...this one could have turned out differently.

Starting line up change needed? Hard to say, but we'd like to see an opening tip-off, five or six minute run with Shoni, Jude, Sara, Shawnta and Mo against Washington State.

There's our thoughts on it. Go ahead and let us have yours in the comments section.

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Finally, in closing...remember NCAA Volleyball final game tonight in the KFC YUM! Center featuring Texas and Oregon. Head on over and see some great volleyball and two highly different methods of style and play. First volley around 7:00 p.m.

We'd obviously like to see this event return here down the road. A large local attendance will help convince the NCAA we are worthy, so head downtown after MBB beats Memphis, grab a bite to eat and go have some fun. We're hopeful columnist Jeff McAdams will have some additional on this today or tomorrow.

Also, a great read on the demise of the BIG EAST. Link below:

BIG EAST DEMISE
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Whatever happen to?

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Whatever happened to...Kim Barnes Arico?

-He's back...

With no UofL women's sporting events on the horizon until Friday night...when the WBB squad takes on Colorado in Boulder...we thought we'd catch you up with a former Cardinal coaching foe who has changed directions and is having success in her new surroundings.

Kim Barnes Arico, formerly the head women's basketball coach at St. John's, is now at the University of Michigan and has the Wolverines off to a 8-2 start in her first season in Ann Arbor. The UM squad defeated Eastern Michigan 55-43 last night and has wins over Florida, Illinois State, and Xavier this year.

Losses have come to Utah and #4 Duke. Arico, who was 4-6 lifetime against UofL while at St. John's, defeated the Cards twice last season. The second win knocked Louisville out of the BIG EAST Tournament...a 68-61 win in overtime that saw her Red Storm squad hold the Cards to 1-12 shooting in the final five minutes.

Many were surprised when Arico made the switch to join Michigan and the BIG 10 after resuscitating the Red Storm WBB program. In her introductory press conference, she stressed the desire for her and her husband to raise their three children in an environment like Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus. We suspect the Arico checking account got a nice, little bump as well.

Leaving a squad that had starters Shenneika Smith, Eugeneia McPherson and Nadirah McKenith returning couldn't have been easy. She was the head coach at St. John's for 10 years and compiled a 176-133 record there.

Arico knows a thing or two about rebuilding. She took over a Red Storm team that was 3-24 and 0-16 the year before she got there. Last year they were 24-10 and 13-3 in the BIG EAST.

The Red Storm finished third last year in the highly competitive BIG EAST and put an end to UConn's 99 game home-winning streak during the regular season. The Red Storm is 4-3 this season under new head coach Joe Tartamella.  

Although we'll miss seeing Barnes Arico prowling the sidelines when the Cards play the Red Storm, sometimes it's "family first" when it comes to difficult decisions and if anyone can help Michigan return to prominence in BIG 10 hoops...it'll be her.

A bigger arena. And, getting out from under the shadow of Geno, Walz, Muffett, and C. Viv (although that reunion with Rutgers will resume since the Scarlet Knights will join the BIG 10). Good career move? You bet. From city lady to country girl...Kim Barnes Arico has made the transistion and, so far, it's a hayride...

( Sonja adds...When you first see her, you think she might be better suited to be sitting in front of a store on Bardstown Road, playing a beat-up accoustic guitar and smiling trippingly at the passer-bys while she sings Joni Mitchell. Flower child. Then, you watch her coach a game, see her in action. Thinking she picked the right career path.)

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...Also in the "Whatever happened to?" category...

He's back...

Will Big Red fit on the back of a Harley?

How about the news that WKU has hired Bobby Petrino as the new head football coach of the Hilltoppers? Just when we figured it was safe to go back to Bowling Green...
 
As the kids are fond of saying these days...it is what it is.

"I love red towels and I'm anxious to own a few more..."

Temporary stop on climbing the ladder back up the coaching profession? Probably. Wise move for WKU? Definitely. The loss of Willie Taggert had to hurt. Nabbing Bobby Offense has to be a marketing staff's dream. Job security for all in the WKU ticket office, plus maybe a new hire or two. The football S.I.D. at WKU is probably sending out resumes, though..."the Bobster" can be a bear when it comes to the boys with laptops.

With no further adieu, here's our Top 10 reasons why Bobby's back in Kentucky.

10. Always had a "thing" for the 'Topper' mascot Big Red...
 9.  Switching from motorcycles to Corvettes, Bowling Green has the National Corvette Museum.
 8. Lost a bar bet to John L. Smith. Loser had to apply for the WKU job.
 7. Wants to continue personal win streak over UK.
 6. Loves the song "Bowling Green" by the Everly Brothers!
 5. The voices in his head told him to.
 4.  Is Facebook friends with DaMarcus Smith and Ace Wales...taking the relationship one step further.
 3. Has always wanted to try the lunch special at Smokey Pig BBQ.
 2. Will only coach at places who have red in their color scheme ( Louisville, Atlanta Falcons, Arkansas...)
 1. Bowling Green has 12 letters. Bobby Petrino has 12 letters. Coincidence? Or fate?
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Lady Cards roll past UCF

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Balanced attack leads Louisville to 94-73 win

(Cardinal Couple staff columnist Jenny O'Bryan on the Cardinal victory...)

Louisville Women’s Basketball took to the court in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in the inaugural Hardwood Tournament of Hope Tuesday evening against future Big East opponent University of Central Florida.  The Cardinals started out of the gate with the lead and never looked back.   The Cardinals won easily with a final score of 94-73.  

The team is off to a 4-0 start and looks to go 5-0 tomorrow when they take on Gonzaga University...who defeated Missouri State 80-68 in the game following the Cardinals' win.

The Cardinals also scored 90+ points for the 3^rd consecutive game for only the second time in school history!  The record is four consecutive games with 90+ points and that was during the 1991 season.   The Cards will look to tie that record tomorrow evening at 9:30 E.S.T. 

Coach Walz started the same five for this game that he has all season long...S. Schimmel, Dyer, Deines, Smith and Hammond.  Reid was first off the bench.  Walz subbed liberally during the first half.   The Cardinals gave up 33 first half points and ran an up-tempo game scoring in transition and pushing the ball in to the paint.   Post players were running the court well and were the beneficiaries of several long outlet passes for easy transition buckets. 

The second half was started with the same five, though most of the second half saw a combination of Vails, Slaughter, J. Schimmel, Harper and Walton, with Deines and Hammond also in on that combination.  All Cardinals played and all scored.  With the commanding lead Coach Walz was able to give his starting 5 plenty of rest presumably to save their legs for the upcoming next two games.    

What I liked:

<    -- Offense, offense and offense!  The Cardinals had balanced scoring with 5 Cardinals in double figures, led by Sara Hammond with 15 points.  Every Cardinal scored!

<    -- Post players running the floor and getting transition buckets.   The post players were fast and active, UCF could not keep up with them.  With deep reserves at each position, Coach Walz was able to run, while keeping his team rested.

<    --  Assists!  Cardinals are getting better at making the extra pass to set up the assist!  Coach Walz has been harping on this for 2 years (at least I have been hearing it for the last 2 years in post game interviews)  and it seems to be sinking in.  24 assists on 37 made baskets.

Areas to improve:

<    -- Cardinals continue to have woes at the free throw line.  Cardinals went 14-24.  Big games are decided down the stretch and at the line.  Cardinals need to continue to improve this stat.

<    -- Turnovers!  20 turnovers.  This stat will kill us in the Big East.  The Cardinals will make a great play to get a steal, only to throw it away on an errant pass.  Every possession needs to be valued. 

<    -- The biggest problem of the evening was terrible defense on the dribble penetration.  As good as the offense was the half court defense was bad.  Cardinals seemed to have no answer for the dribble penetration.  I could not see the game, but what I heard was not pleasant.  Coach Walz mentioned this as well in his post game interview.  Expect the Cards to improve mightily in this area. 

Overall, the Cardinals won easily and were able to rest the starters for most of the second half.  Rested players going in to Wednesday’s game is important as the Zags will be a very tough opponent. At least this one isn't in Spokane. 

Good luck to our Ladies tonight as they take on Gonzaga in the Hardwood Tournament of Hope at 9:30 E.S.T.  Cardinal fans can listen in on 790 WKRD radio in the Louisville area or at CARDS TV for a fee.  

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In other first round games in Puerto Vallarta, Oregon State won a close one against UC Santa Barbara 49-46 and Winthrop pulled off the upset by downing Mississippi State 61-59. Beside the Louisville vs. Gonzaga matchup, the other Wednesday games feature:

-UCF vs. Missouri State
-Mississippi State vs. UC Santa Barbara
-Oregon State vs Winthrop

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(Editor's Note...While we still lament the fact that these aren't available on television or the internet for viewing, it's always a pleasure to listen to the radio call of the broadcast from Matt Andrews and A.J. One thing I like to do when I listen to a radio play-by-play is close my eyes once in a while and see if I can visualize the action in my mind. With Andrews' call, it's an easy thing to do...I can see Bria charging with the ball into the paint and dishing it off to Shawnta or Monique for an easy score. Or Nita Slaughter clearing the boards and getting the rock out to Shoni for the transition fast-break. It's said a picture is worth a thousand words...the accurate descriptions from A.J. on a sequence that leads to a score (or turnover) help create that picture mentally when no view is available...

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It's been all the buzz on other sites and the sports radio...so we'll address it briefly here. Is Louisville headed to the ACC or Big 12?

With the exit of Rutgers to the BIG 10, the BIG EAST continues to take hit after hit in football. And, make no mistake...these conference re-aligments are about two, and two things only:

Football and money.

We're a UofL womens' sports site here. It's what we do. We're going to side with Jeff Walz and his opinion on all this conference stuff. WE don't care...as long as the Lady Cards basketball team and the other Cardinal womens' sports squad can suit up and play games. Whether the opponents are UConn and Rutgers..Duke or UNC..Oklahoma or Baylor.. it is out of the hands of women's sports and we're just going to let the football guys, networks and bank accounts fight it out while continue to concentrate on what we do here....providing you with daily updates on UofL womens' sports and keeping a watchful eye on Timmy the Intern.

It's what's for dinner... it is what it is and it's probably going to change way more than once....so, carry on boys and call us when you're done...
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