Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Cards romp UC by 39

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Defense dominates in 72-33 Cardinal WBB win.

The University of Louisville forced 31 turnovers and outscored Cincinnati 30 to 11 off turnovers in a convincing win Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 9752 appreciative fans. Four Cards scored in double figures in the romp and Louisville outscored UC 41-18 in the final twenty minutes to expand a 16 point halftime lead.

The Cards started the "S" troops tonight...Sara Hammond, Sherrone Vails, Shoni Schimmel, Nita Slaughter and Bria Smith and the team held a planned celebration just 20 seconds in the game with a 30 second timeout after Hammond grabbed her first rebound. She'd go on to corral a team-high eight  boards in 27 minutes...Louisville out-rebounded the four-guard UC lineup 32 to 26. Charlie Springer has a detailed account of the Hammond celebration over at his site...www.uoflcardgame.com

Louisville never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 9-4 lead at the 16:46 mark after two Vails free throws. With a rather plodding pace in place, Louisville held a 13-8 advantage halfway through the first five and a half minutes before going on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes...before UC's Dayeesha Hollins netted a jumper with 4:46 to go to make it 22-10 Louisville. 

The Cards would stretch that out to 27-11 over the next three minutes and were still comfortably ahead 27-15 after another Hollins score with 1:22 remaining. UofL closed out the half with free throws from Megan Deines and a layup from Slaughter to lead 31-15 at the half.

Deines led Louisville's balanced attack with seven first half
points, Hammond added six, Slaughter five and Bria Smith contributed four. Shoni hit a three for her only points (and shot) of the half, Jude and Monique Reid were good for two each and Cortnee Walton did not score in four minutes.

Louisville came out strong in the second half, Hammond's jumper 50 seconds into play started a 19-1 Cardinal run over a seven minute stretch that gave Louisville a 50-18 lead with 13:11 left.

The Cards hit five out of six three-point attempts during the run and Walz brought in Shelby, Jude, Cortnee and Vails to finish it up with 11:55 left on the clock. Deines replaced Shoni with 6:35 left and Louisville leading 62-30. With minimal substitutions the rest of the way...the Cards outscored UC 10-3 in the final stretch. Alyesha Lovett's three ending a six minute Cincinnati scoring drought with 1:20 left in the game. Two Harper free throws with 40 seconds remaining, off a un-needed foul by Kayla Cook set the final score at 72-33.

Cards win, the Cardinals win!

Slaughter led Louisville with 13 points and went 3-6 from three point range. Hammond finished with 12, Shoni had three threes in the second half to finish with 11 points and Deines completed the double figure scoring Cards with 10.
Jude added seven points, Bria and Shelby totaled six each, Cortnee finished with three and Vails and Reid ended up with two each.

They all played, they all scored.

Louisville committed just 17 turnovers and went 11-14 from the free throw line. 48.1% shooting for the Cards from the field (26-54) while holding UC to 34.3% (12-35). The Cardinal bench outscored UC's 28-6 and limited the Bearcats to just 1-10 three point shooting. Louisville's suffocating defense allowed just six Bearcats to score and two of them (Hollins and Lovett) accounted for 21 of the 33 points UC totaled.

THINGS WE LIKED

1) Effort. The Cards put together a solid 40 minutes and regardless of the lineup, the intensity never waned. Everyone saw at least 13 minutes and no one saw more than 28 (Deines).

2) Fresh out of the oven, have some turnovers! UC had 31 of them..their starting guards responsible for 20 of them. The defensive pressure spurred the big run to start the second half and Louisville forced 14 in the first half.

3) Rebounding defense. Coach Walz has been on the squad about opponent's offensive rebounding and UC grabbed only 10 tonight.

4) Free throws. 11-14 is 78.6% and gets the Cards a gold star from us. Take away Jude's 0-2 from the line and this stat looks ever better.

THINGS TO WORK ON

1) Fouls. Louisville didn't have anyone foul out, but Vails had four, Mo and Bria three and none of the three played more than 22 minutes. Fortunately, UC shoots charity tosses almost as badly as they do threes...8-14 (57.1%) tonight.

2) Fast break points. Surprisingly, UC captured this stat. Barely...4-2. Tough to get much transition going against a four-guard lineup that drops back quickly...but only two fast break points?

3) Blown layups. Not as bad as it usually is, but Hammond's left-handed clank on a wide-open fast break chance drew a groan from the crowd. Vails and Walton missed chances too and, although this is nit-picking...those six points just might be the difference in a game down the road.

It was a better than expected win for Louisville tonight. After struggling against UC last year in Cincy, the Cards never were in trouble tonight. UC is a team on a rapid decline, though...they've lost their last two, both on the road, by 33 and 39 points. The road is a rough place in the BIG EAST...both of Louisville's conference losses have come there and only six BIG EAST teams have managed wins as visitors so far this season. Fortunately, Louisville trip to Marquette on Tuesday has them facing a Golden Eagles squad that hasn't won at home yet this year...

Jeff Walz's post game remarks (also known as his conversation with Paulie and J.J.) at the link below:

Post Game Walz

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Bearcats bop into town

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- BIG EAST foe Cincinnati to face WBB Friday night

(Quentin "Elvis Redbird" Voigt...we never really know which one is writing...previews the University of Louiville WBB game Friday night against our northern neighbors. Paulie has added a bit of drivel as well.  We'll have a recap Friday night, Saturday morning...depends on whether we get the electricity bill paid in time or not.)

BOPPIN' WITH THE BEARCATS

After a good second-half of staying tied with UConn Tuesday in Hartford, Louisville faces a protege of Coach Auriemma when Cincinnati comes to the YUM! Center. Jamelle Elliott, a former assistant to the head Husky, is in her fourth season at UC. The program has improved under her, but probably not to the point where they'll pull the upset down by the river. UC has fallen to Villanova by 3, Seton Hall by 8 and USF by a surprising 33.

UC (8-8, 0-3) will most likely throw these Bearcats at the 14-4, 2-2 Lady Cards. 5'6" Daysheea Hollins, leads Cincy in scoring with 16.8 ppg. Lesha Dunn is good for eight points a game, as is Tiffany Turner. Also seeing success at UC are Alyesha Lovett (7.1 ppg, and Kayla Cook (5.1 ppg.) .

I certainly liked seeing Bria Smith making those pull-up jumpers in the second half against the Huskies and Jude's fearless hustle and scrappy play was inspiring. More of the same, Maestro, please!

The Cards should get clicking against the Bearcats and not have to contend with anything like UConn's suffocating defense. HC Elliott most likely will be on the phone with Geno sometime before the game looking for pointers to help her cause...I hear she's a snappy dresser...but dressing for success probably won't help her tonight.

Quentin Voigt.


(Paulie)

The Lady Cards escaped last year in the Fifth Third Arena 64-59 with Burke, Schimmel and Shoni combining for 42 of the Cardinal points. 23 for 60 (38%) and 4-18 from trey-land usually isn't going to win you a lot of games, but Louisville did force 23 UC turnovers.

The Cards actually trailed a good portion of the last meeting between these two, until they pulled away late for the win. A tenacious 2-3 zone was mystifying for last year's bunch. They'll probably see it again. Can't see UC trying to run with the Cardinal transition game experts.

The Bearcats' Cook (13 points), Turner (11 points) and Hollins (15 points) from last year are back for another round but with this one at the YUM!...it looks like the bar might close early on them. The Cards have won nine out of the last ten meetings and have faced UC 62 times in the history of this series.

Hope springs eternal amongst Cardinal fans with the stellar performances of late from Jude, the Mo and Sho show is still getting rave reviews and Nita continues to be, perhaps, the Cards most steady and dependable performer. I can't see UC stealing one tonight on the road...but this one could be closer than most expect. Louisville needs to extend a full effort for 40 minutes in this one...a sluggish start or finish could be costly.

We'll hope that Bria's new-found infatuation with the mid-range jumper continues successfully and that The Hammer can produce some quality paint minutes. It would be good to see Vails wreak a little havoc in the post as well. We don't ask for much, do we?

Keeping rebounder Turner away from grabs (she had 11 last year against UofL) will be a priority. Janeish Randolph is back for UC but even Zach and Boots Randolph probably couldn't help the Bearcats win tonight. For what it's worth, UC hasn't scored more than 68 points in a game this season.

That ain't changin'. Look for Louisville to win by less than 20...but I'll wager both teams combined barely top 100 points total. If you're a fan of defensive tussles, this one ought to be right up your alley tonight.

USF's 33-point shellacking of the Bearcats Tuesday night in Tampa a bit surprising...if the Bearcats have tossed in the towel for the season (which I don't think they have) we could see the "S" troops ( Shoni, Smith, Sara and Slaughter) getting some bench rest tonight and big smiles from Jenny and Renee over behind the Cardinal bench. 

CARDINAL COUPLE will have the post-game wrap up for you, with full descriptions of the action, commentary and post-game remarks from Coach Walz. It's either that or heading over to the Troll Pub and making up a bunch of stuff.  
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Louisville wins BIG EAST opener at Cincinnati by five...64-59

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THURSDAY EDITION CARDINAL COUPLE

-Burke's free throws key in Lady Cards win at U.C.

-Lola named 3rd team All-American by AVCA

-Sandra Walker's review

The University of Louisville got a bank-in three from Shoni Schimmel with 1:30 left in the game to take a 58-55 lead and Becky Burke went 4-4 from the foul line in the final 25 seconds to preserve a win for Louisville WBB against the Bearcats tonight in Cincinnati.

"It's good to get the win and I'm happy about the way we battled in the final five minutes...but we didn't have the effort you have to play with to win on the road in the BIG EAST." -Louisville coach Jeff Walz.

STARING LINEUP: Vails, Taylor, Smith, Shoni and Burke

The Cards opened the game with a 2-0 lead on a designed play where center Sherrone Vails tipped the opening tipoff to Shoni Schimmel...who fired a pass to streaking Becky Burke for the first score. The Lady Cards would not see the lead again until a Jude Schimmel layup to make it 14-13 with 8:24 left in the first half. UC's Tiffany Turner was doing the work inside against the Cards defense and Louisville was struggling offensively with Shoni Schimmel being bottled up by the UC defense pressure.  It wasn't until the Cards went on a 10-0 run over seven minutes - to turn a 11-8 deficit into a 18-13 lead when Burke hit a jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the first twenty - that the Cards bore any resemblance to the #13 team in the nation.

UC would battle back, though, and chip away at the Lady Cards advantage, cutting it to 23-22 after the first three pointer of the game...by Kayla Cook.

It was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Louisville did score the final three points of the half to take a 26-22 lead into the locker room...but the Cards were anything but convincing. Louisville was having trouble stopping UC penetration in the paint, missing horribly from three point range (0-8) and unable to getting rolling on offensive sets due to the UC efforts on Shoni.

Bria Smith led the Cards with seven first half points, Burke with six, and Shawnta Dyer had four. Monique Reid had three and Shoni, Jude and Sara Hammond had two each. Walz played all twelve Lady Cards in the first half...looking for answers.

Shoni had three of the four Cards 3-pointers in the win.

Reid and Dyer replaced Taylor and Vails as starters in the second half...but Cincinnati opened the second half with the first two buckets before the Cards scored to regain the lead at 28-26 on a Cierra Warren jumper. Warren had replaced Reid at the 19:29 mark when she called knocked out of bounds, called for a turnover and injured her leg on the play. Warren's shot spurred a 7-2 Lady Cards run that had them ahead 33-28 with 15:37 to go. The success was short-lived, though.

UC began finding the range from beyond the arc and responded with a 8-0 run to grab a 36-33 lead with 14:31 left. Shoni tied it with the Cards first three of the game...but UC took off on a 7-0 run after that and had the Cards on the ropes at 43-36 after a Kayla Cook three at the 12:34 mark.

The threes kept falling for the Bearcats and the Cards wre trying to chip away at the lead. Shoni's five straight points tied it at 46-46 with 8:20 left. Louisville was down 53-49 after Bjonee Reaves knocked down the Bearcats sixth three of the half with just over four minutes remaining. Shoni had four fouls and the Cards were with their back to the wall again.

Shawnta Dyer played well tonight

Louisville persisted, though, and went on a 9-2 run (where four different Lady Cards scored) to take a 58-55 lead with 1:30 to go when Shoni banked in a three attempt to give Louisville their first lead since the 14:41 mark. A Shawnta Dyer layup made it 60-57 with 38 seconds left...setting up Burke's clutch free-throw shooting to preserve the victory. Final 64-59. Cards.

This one wasn't pretty. Louisville managed to shut down UC in the second half inside...but couldn't contain the hot "beyond the arc" efforts from the Bearcats.

Still, the Cards did manage to outscore UC in the final four minutes 15-6. 

About 900 were in attendance, according to reports. We'll hopefully hear from CARDINAL COUPLE contributing writer Sandra Walker today, who was in attendance and will share her observations.

Shoni led the Lady Cards with 16 points and Burke added 14. Smith reached double figures with 12. Dyer had seven...Warren, Hammond and Jude had four each and Reid finished with three. 

Reid's knee was examined during the second half and no major injuries were discovered...she was able to return to the bench for the final minute of the game. An MRI will be performed tomorrow in Louisville. The play she injured it one was a play where she was forced out of bounds from a UC PLAYER'S HARD BUMP...but the referees called Mo for travelling instead.  

Harper, Taylor, Slaughter and Vails played but did not score.

Cincy had four in double figures...led by Reaves game high 18. Cook nailed three second half threes and Reaves had two. UC's Dayeesha Hollins left the game with a separated shoulder midway through the second half.

Louisville went 23-60 from the floor for 38%...UC shot 21-49 for 43%. The Cards won the rebounding battle 38-32 and forced UC into 23 turnovers while committing 17 of their own. Louisville shot 14-19 from the charity stripe...UC 10-14. The Bearcats made seven of the 24 three pointers...the Cards four of 18.

"We've got to learn to play within our offense. Shoni was disappointing in the first half but came back to lead us to the win. Becky wanted the ball at the end of the game and I was proud of her and her free throws at the end. I thought Shawnta Dyer gave us a great effort tonight." - Jeff Walz.

Louisville travels to Portland, Oregon next to play the Portland University Pilots. Game is Saturday, 2 p.m. West Coast time and will be broadcast on 101.7 FM WKRD only for radio (the men's team will be on 790 AM).

Regular reader Jeff S. may have a solution for those of us who don't pick up 101.7 very well (about 99% of the listeners.) Portland shows games live with no user fee. The link is http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/up.portal#

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Congratulations to...Cardinal Volleyballer Lola Arslanbekova, who was named to the AVCA All-American 3rd Team. The junior was also 2011 BIG EAST Player of the Year. The awards were handed out in San Antonio on Dec 16th. 
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(Sandy Walker is a contributing writer for CARDINAL COUPLE. She attended last night's game in Cincinnati. Here is her report.)

Last night I was fortunate to be a part of a small but very vocal group of UofL fans.

I am always impressed to see how "basketball knowledgeable" UofL's road warriors are. I have attended games where the opposing teams supporters were almost rabid in their behavior but rarely owing a higher basketball I.Q. than the Louisville fans.

Last night's travelling supporters were no different and I was glad to be there with them. One fan support issue that I do see missing is any regular efforts to pre-organize group travel to any away games. A fairly late notice of buses available to the UK game produced five busloads of Cardinal fans. Perhaps an organized, early in the season, promotion for traveling to specific games would result in a starting point for an even larger number of away fans supporting our teams. Announcements a few days before an away game does not allow for work or financial arrangements to be made. This should be a pre-season promotion. It may result in one rented mini-van of additional fans, a large caravan of personal vehicles or could grow into a huge, game changing crowd. Just a thought. Ideas, anyone?

Paul's article gave a great read of how the game went down...including the update on who started tonight's game. I'm sure readers appreciate this information. Again, last night...the players on the floor at any one time continued to look like a game of musical chairs. They move in and out until the music stops...and then you look to see what combination is on the floor at the particular moment.

By this time of the season one would think it important for a regular starting lineup and established playing group to be on the floor at any one time. So far, that combination of players does not appear to have been established by Coach Walz or his assistants. Instead, we seem to see substitutions made upon each and every error made by a player.

I would think that at some time...players need the opportunity to "play through" an error and have the knowledge that they would be able to stay on the floor. (You don't put your five iron away for the rest of the round if you hit one bad shot with it.).

I realize that we are not the coaches, but only fans, still...a common thread of fan chatter includes unrest as to...how can a group of individual players evolve into a cohesive playing unit when no one group is ever on the floor long enough to settle in together and rise as a unit.

Without a cohesive unit on the floor rather than five talented and unique individuals - games like last night's against non-ranked but cohesive units are going to be challenges. I fear this is going to be a terribly long season if the cohesion isn't found before the Georgetown's DePaul's, Notre Dame's and Connecticut's roll around.

(Thank you, Sandy, for your take on the Lady Cards. There is an old quote out there that goes something like..."Individually we may grow..but as a unit we can grow AND prosper.")

TOMORROW, We'll take a look at the Portland Pilots...the Lady Cards next opponent and David Watson has promised us something. (What it is, we're not exactly sure...and David isn't always, either.)

Click the link below to get an intersting take on the Schimmel's from Portland Tribune sports guru Stephen Alexander.

http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story_2nd.php?story_id=132390114237697500



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Cards play first of three on the road against UC tonight

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CARDINAL COUPLE WEDNESDAY EDITION

-UC, Louisville open BIG EAST play tonight

-Tennessee outlasts Rutgers

#13 Lady Cards open the 2011-12 BIG EAST Conference campaign with a trip to Cincinnati tonight. The Cards are coming off a 92-27 romp over Gardner - Webb...UC a loss on the road to Marshall.

Cierra Warren, the
Cards leading
rebounder

Louisville (8-2) is led in scoring by senior Monique Reid, who is averaging 14.6 points a game. The Lady Cards have three others in double figures...Shoni Schimmel (13.5), Becky Burke (11.7) and freshman Bria Smith (10.9). Schimmel leads the Cards in assists (5.1 a game) and Cierra Warren is the leader in rebounding through 10 games.

Shoni needs to perform her wizardry
tonight in Cincinnati

With the probability of the Bearcats starting four guards most of the season, will Jeff Walz tinker with the starting lineup from the Gardner Webb game? Walz started Shoni, Smith, Warren, Burke and Asia Taylor last time out. Although we doubt Walz will bring senior forward Reid into the starting five mix, he could possibly call on one of his reserve guard tonight to begin the contest to replace Taylor and give the Cards quickness to match that of the Bearcats. Maybe a Schimmel/Schimmel beginning?

Louisville has produced both of their losses on the road this season...at Texas A&M and Kentucky. In both contests, the opponents used huge first half runs to put the Cards at a deficit that they could not overcome. A fast start would be beneficial to the Louisville squad tonight...UC likes a little slower pace and works the half court set when they can.



This is a real bearcat



Rebounding and blocking out have been the prime objectives of the coaching staff and players since the Kentucky loss. Although improvements were noticeable in the win of Gardner Webb, where the Cards enjoyed a 15 rebound advantage over the smaller Bulldogs, the substandard quality of the opponent was a benefit for Louisville. A huge game from center Cierra Warren tonight would be a good step in the objective to get UofL more active in the paint.

This is the mascot version

Although we think Louisville will win tonight's contest, it may not be by the numbers that the Lady Cards handled the Gardner Webb crew. Even though the Bearcats have been a cellar dweller the last few years in BIG EAST conference play, the addition of transfer Daveesha Hollins and guard play from Bjonee Reaves and Kayla Cook have bolstered the UC backcourt and UC probably should have won at Marshall...leading by as many as eleven in the second half before falling to a hot-shooting three point effort by the Thundering Herd...when they sank (6) treys en route to a 55-47 win.

UC holds opponents to 49.5 points per game. We think the Cards will surpass this number...but we're not looking for an 80 or 90 point Cardinal effort. If the Cards can get significant production out of the fearsome foursome of Shoni, Mo, Bria and Becky and Nita Slaughter can continue her re-born outside shooting touch...we can see Louisville winning tonight's contest by 20+...We'll call it 76-56 Lady Cards.

WE'LL HAVE A FULL RECAP FOR THE ACTION LATER TONIGHT HERE AT C.C. and a report from Cincy by contributing writer Sandra Walker...who will be in attendance. Be sure to check out CARDINAL COUPLE shortly after the game for our report, thoughts and analysis.  
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April Sykes has evolved from a dirty tactics punk
to a leader of C Viv's squad this year

Exciting action last night in Piscataway, NJ as the Tennessee Vols and Rutgers Scarlet Knights engaged in a back and forth battle in the RAC. UT looked like they were going to blow Rutgers out of the water early...leading by 13 a couple of times in the first half...before a furious Rutgers comeback led by senior April Sykes cut it to five at intermission.

Rutgers gained the lead in the second half, looked like they were poised to spring the upset...but the air went out of the ball for C.Viv Springer's ballers during a eight minute stretch late...no points...Tennessee racing to a 10 point lead and then surviving one last try by the Scarlet Knights to win 67-61.

Rutgers deserves their #10 ranking. Their ferocious "55" defense creates havoc when an opponent tries to advance the ball up the court. They have legit scoring threats in Sykes, Rushdan and Oliver...and a very talented group of freshmen....led by Laney. Still, we wonder why Tennessee kept trying to pound the ball in the middle time and time again when it was closed. Turnover after turnover and deflections. UT has very good outside shooting when Simmons and Spani are "on"...but the Vols seemed content to keep going to the "bigs" with less than desirable results.

Louisville will have their hands full with the Scarlet Knights down the road. They swarm to the boards and rebound well. Sykes can beat you inside and deep. She resorted to cheap shot tactics last year against the Lady Cards in the Rutgers loss in the KFC YUM! Center. This year, her shooting and hustle are doing the talking. Looks like a bit of maturity and senior leadership have been acquired.

And...that should worry Lady Cards fans.
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Tonight's game will be on 790 WKRD, or http://www.uoflsports.com/ Also, CatsVision will show it live, over at the UC website. http://www.gobearcats.com/ You can purchase a monthly subscription for $9.99 to view it.

We're sticking with the radio. Once you purchase one of those subscriptions for another school, they're darn hard to get rid of. We did it once last year to
watch Louisville play Villanova. Three months later, we were finally able to get it cancelled (they automatically renew it and charge your credit card) and eventually saw a refund.

We'll just spend the $9.99 on pizza and listen to the excellent call from the Cards Matt Andrews on play-by-play and A.J. with her impeccable analysis and commentary. Listening to Matt call a game on the radio is almost as good as having front row seats for the contest and he and A.J. are worlds better than some of the radio crews we've heard at other college campuses.

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Lady Cards travel to Cincy to open BIG EAST schedule

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-WE break down Lady Cards first BIG EAST foe...Cincinnati

The University of Louisville's Women's Basketball team will take a drive up I-71 to face the Cincinnati Bearcats Wednesday evening for a 7 p.m. game in the Fifth-Third Center. Here's a look at UC so far...

The Bearcats are 6-2 on the season, currently on a two game losing streak. Last out, they travelled to Marshall and fell 55-47 to the Thundering Herd. UC led by as many as 11 in the contest, but ran into a hot-shooting Marshall squad that connected on six second half threes to do the UC squad in. Before that, they lost to cross-town rival Xavier 69-60 (no fights in this one...as far as we know).

UC started the season with a six game winning streak...filling up on cupcakes IPFW, Dayton, Evansville, South Dakota State, UTC and Morgan State.

Elliott is in her third
year as UC head coach.

The Bearcats are coached by Jamelle Elliott, in her third season as Bearcats skipper. She was a former assistant to UConn's Geno Auriemma, so the linage is there to eventually drag the Bearcats out of the BIG EAST WBB basement. She also played for Geno in the mid-nineties.

UC uses a four guard, one forward starting lineup as a rule and they have been led so far this season by Daveesha Hollins, a red-shirt sophomore guard who transferred to the Bearcats from Michigan, Hollins played her high school ball in Cincinnati (Winton Woods H.S.) and the 5'6" guard is averaging 13.9 points a game for UC.

Turner is UC's
leading rebounder

Bjonee Reeves is next in players to key on, the guard averaging 14.3 a game. Tiffany Turner, a  6'1"sophomore forward adds 7.1 p.p.g. and leads the Bearcats on the boards. Other starters are sophomore Kayla Cook, who was selected to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team last year and Chanel Chisholm. The Bearcats bring 6'4" center Lesha Dunn off the bench.

UC is outscoring their opponents 61.2 - 49.5 on the season and holds a 37.5 - 33-4 rebounding edge per game. The Bearcats average 15 turnovers a game and attempt an average of 17 three pointers a game, connecting on six per contest.

Louisville, despite the decided height advantage, may have trouble winning the war of the boards against Cincinnati. Turner is a battler on both ends of the court and Hollins, despite her size, can be effective in the paint.

We expect the Cards to show improvement in rebounding and to use their speed and guard superiority to create turnovers and establish transition basketball to gain an early advantage in this one and take the win pretty easily. We'll also be watching to see if Nita Slaughter can continue her torrid shooting skills in a road venue and if Monique Reid is able to keep up her amazing points per minutes playing numbers.

OTHER TIDBITS...

--Best wishes and prayers for Lady Cards guard Tia Gibbs...who goes in for shoulder surgery this morning. Heal well, Butler Bear.

--Still no word on the eligiblity status of Charmaine Tay. We'll see if she dresses for UC or accompanies the Lady Cards on their western swing to Portland and Washington State. 

--TV worth watching...#6 Tennessee heads to Piscataway, NJ to face the #11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights in WBB tonight. ESPN has the feed. It's a 7 p.m. tip.  C. Viv vs. Pat. Should be a good one.

Here's how the BIG EAST looks going into this week's action:

SCHOOL                          BIG EAST RECORD          OVERALL RECORD           RANKED ?

UConn                                       1-0                                      9-0                                  #2
Notre Dame                               1-0                                      9-1                                  #3
Georgetown                               1-0                                      9-2                                  #17
DePaul                                       1-0                                      8-2                                  #23
Villanova                                    1-0                                      8-2                                  ---
West Virginia                             1-0                                      7-2                                  ---
Rutgers                                       0-0                                     9-1                                  #11
LOUISVILLE                            0-0                                     8-2                                  #14
Cincinnati                                   0-0                                      6-2                                  ---
USF                                          0-0                                      6-4                                  ---
Syracuse                                    0-1                                     7-3                                   ---
Marquette                                 0-1                                     6-5                                  ---
Seton Hall                               0-1                                     6-5                                  ---
Pitt                                          0-1                                     5-5                                  ---
Providence                             0-1                                     5-5                                  ---
St. John                                  0-1                                     5-5                                   ---

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BIG EAST goes 0-2 in the Maggie Dixon Classic

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-St. John's and DePaul take losses in the Maggie Dixon Classic

-BIG EAST WBB results from Saturday.

New York, New York and Madison Square Garden were the hosts for the Maggie Dixon Women's Basketball Classic Sunday. The BIG EAST went 0 for 2 in the double-header...DePaul falling to the #7 Tennessee Vols and St John's on the short end of the score vs. #1 Baylor. 

Baylor got off to a slow start against the Johnnies in the first game...actually trailing at halftime for the first time this season...to Kim Barnes Arico's St. John's squad. The second half proved to be a little better for Kim Mulkey and the top-ranked Baylor Bears..after surviving an early second half 4-0 run from the Red Storm...they went on a 18-3 spurt to take control of the contest and pulled away for a 73-59 victory.

All-American Brittany Griner helped lead the surge, with 17 points and 13 rebounds for the top ranked Bears and Brooklyn Pope impressed with 19 points and eight grabs. Griner was held to just three shots in the first twenty minutes but found her game and the Bears overcame 1-12 three point shooting to secure the victory. 

St. John's suffered a potentially serious setback when starting guard Nadirah McKenith went to the floor with a leg injury with six minutes remaining. 

"I thought the kids seemed a little too excited at the half. I wanted them to be excited but I knew we had twenty more minutes and I knew they (BAYLOR) were going to make a run. They just wore us down." -- St. John head coach Kim Barnes Arico. 

Eugenei McPherson had 23 points for the Red Storm in a losing effort.


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Game two of the classic featured Pat Summit's Lady Vols against Doug Bruno's DePaul Blue Demons. Tennessee withstood a second half DePaul run that cut it to four at 43-39 with a 13-4 run of their own to lead 56-43 with 11 minutes to go. The Vols rolled to a 84-61 victory...Shekinna Stricklen gathering 12 points and Alicia Manning with 12 points and 12 boards to guide Tennessee. Jasmine Perry's 16 points and Keisha Hampton's 14 paced the Blue Demons. 

The Vols travel to #11 Rutgers Tuesday night and then take off to the West Coast to tangle with UCLA and #4 Stanford. 

Tennessee's Pat Summitt was honored with the Maggie Dixon Courage award. 


"I think when you see the impact Pat's had and when you go out and see fans wearing 'We Back Pat' shirts..it was exciting to see Pat get this award. We all know what Maggie Dixon stood for. Pat has a tremendous following and always will. She's preached to our kids being a woman first an self-sufficient." --Lady Vols associate coach Holly Warrick.

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BIG EAST action from Saturday saw the conference go 7-1 in non-conference action.

--Notre Dame used their withering defense to subdue Purdue for their sixth straight win 66-38. Natalie Novosel poured in 17 for the Irish.

--Louisville ran past Gardner Webb 92-27. Nita Slaughter showing the way with 23 points and Louisville forced 36 Bulldog turnovers.

--Villanova (8-2) had a 52-46 win over the St. Joseph Red Hawks. Laura Sweeney with the hot hand...totaling 18 points in the win.

--Marquette (6-5) took care of Iona 93-44. Katherine Plouffe leading the Golden Eagles squad with 20 points.

--Pittsburgh (5-5) took care of Valpariso 65-56 and takes on the Indiana Hoosiers next. 

(Another chance to use one of our
favorite pics...of Syracuse head
coach Quentin Hillsman.)

--Syracuse (7-3) held off Coppin State 56-50 for Quentin Hillsman. Closer than expected

--West Virginia rolled over the North Florida Ospreys 86-30. Ho-hum. Pass the cupcakes.

--Cincinnati (6-2) took to the road and suffered the only Saturday BIG EAST loss...falling short at Marshall 55-47. The Bearcats host Louisville on Wednesday.

(In the only other BIG EAST women's basketball game Sunday, the Georgetown Hoyas overcame a shaky first half against George Washington University to win 59-50. The Hoyas were up by only two 22-20 after the first twenty minutes.)
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Cards by the numbers...Coach and player comments from Saturday

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-WE look at the numbers from the GWU game

-Player and Coach Walz comments post game

-Watson weighs in on the UC vs. Xavier brawl
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BY THE NUMBERS

-The number that stands out first to us in 27 points scored by the Bulldogs. It's second lowest points by an opponent in Lady Cards history. This ties the total Hanover College has against UofL on Feb 12, 1976. The Lady Cards held Centre College to 26, at Centre, back on Nov. 29th., 1977.

-We also like that the shooting percentage was 28.2% and total point were 27. That doesn't happen a lot - when the shooting % is higher than the point total. For example, Louisville shot 49.3% yesterday and scored 92 points.

LadyBirds entertain during a timeout

-A look at the 40-40-40 stat (did the team grab 40 rebounds, shoot over 40% and hold the opponent under 40%?) shows Louisville accomplished 3 for 3 in these categories...40 rebounds, 49.3% and GWU 28.2%. You'll usually win when you can hit these numbers.

-Six Cards attempted three pointers in the game. Becky Burke an un-normal 0-5, Bria Smith 0-1, Shoni Schimmel 2-8, Sara Hammond 0-1 and Nita Slaughter 7-9. WE like that GWU was 0-7 from beyond the arc.

-No one fouled out yesterday. Sara Hammond had four (in fifteen minutes) but no one else had more than two. 13 total fouls and GWU had 14. The refs let them play yesterday.

-Louisville scored 42 points off turnovers, GWU 3. The Cards got 12 second chance points, the Bulldogs 8. Louisville had 12 fast break points, GWU 0.
The Cards won the assists stat, too with 17 (Jude Schimmel 6). GWU managed only 3 in 40 minutes. Only 3...

Cards take off down the court

-Finally, the starters (Burke, Taylor, Warren, Smith and Shoni) played 89 of the possible 200 minutes available and had 42 of the 92 points. The Lady Cards freshmen logged 49 minutes and contributed eight points. Although Shelby Harper and Jude Schimmel did not score, they only took one shot between them in 29 minutes of combined playing time and did dish out 8 assists. 

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THEY SAID IT: (Unfortunately...some parts of the comments from the players and Coach Walz were lost on Paul's recorder. Change the battery next time, dummy! From what was left, off the top of his head and from memory...here are some of the topics covered:)

-Shoni, Bria and Nita were the players in the post game interview. Nita was asked about her game performance and was pleased with the effort. So were Bria and Shoni. It was mentioned that "it wasn't all about individual effort" but about the team.

-Practice was tough and demanding after the UK game. Rebounding, blocking out and defense were stressed. They did 90 minutes stretches were no offense was run, just the basics of blocking out and going to the boards were stressed.

-FROM WALZ

-He was proud of Nita's performance, noting that she played hard, came into the game with a purpose. She did exactly what he has been asking her to do for the entire season. It wasn't so much about her hitting a lot of threes..but she went to the boards and competed in other parts of the game. "She was everywhere." Walz remarked.

Walz expressed the hope that this would carry over, noting that the team has a big game Wednesday at Cincinnati.

-Walz reinforced the players' comments that the team did a lot of rebounding and defensive drills in practice during the week. He mentioned the placement of "bubbles" over the baskets...so no one could make a shot. He added that they'd continue to do that...emphasizing that they had to get better.

GWU is now 0-8

-Coach also mentioned that the team needed to get better at defending the dribble drive. Team needs to do a better job of stopping the ball from going to the middle of the floor. Team gets beat on the weak side of the board a lot. Just guarding the ball isn't going to get it done, he accepts the responsibility for getting the team to improve on defense. 

-Monique is fine, health wise. Coach thought she played well today and he was excited to get Asia Taylor some more time today at the "4" spot. Was please that Mo had eight points, eight boards, an assist and no turnovers in eight minutes.



GWU coach Rick
Reeves sorta looks
like a bulldog...

-BIG EAST is going to be a battle. Game on Wednesday night will be a battle. Cincinnati is 7-1 right now. Guards for Cincy playing extremely well right now. Hollis (a transfer from Michigan) and Revis.



-No question in his opinion that the BIG EAST is just as tough this year as it was last year. Hopefully, as the team continues to grow and mature, they'll come to play every night...because there are no BIG EAST opponent you can "just show up for and expect to win." 

-Walz started Taylor looking for some more rebounding, more aggressiveness at the defensive end and thought she did those things for the team yesterday. "She's a hard working player. She'll get out there and defend for me. That's what I need her to do. I'm trying to find a combination where it's not just everybody who can score...gotta find somebody who can guard the ball, somebody who can defend and rebound."

-Coach talked about competitiveness...that it wasn't just a one game thing and he would find out when the team travels to Cincy if the team would compete again.

-Walz talked about the large amount of away games the team had played this year...mentioning that they were at Cincy, then jumping on a plane and going to the west coast to play Portland and Washington State. He remarked that the Cards were 8-2 and had played only four home games. He challenged us to find anyone else who is ranked in the top 20 that has had only four homes and has their next three on the road.

( I took the challenge and did some research...here's what I found.)

Four teams in the top 20 meet the criteria of 2 losses...Texas, Georgetown, Penn State and Tennessee. Out of the four, Georgetown is the only one that meets the challenge. 

Georgetown (8-2). Has had four home games, six on the road and plays three out of their next four on the road. This pretty much meets the challenge, except that they play two on the road, come home for one and then go back out on the road for one.  

Penn State (7-2). Has had five on the road, four at home and but their next three are at home...

Tennessee (6-2) Seven at home, one on the road and their next four are on the road. 

Texas (6-2) 4 each at home and on the road. Next five at home. 

Walz concluded his post game remarks discussing how he felt about the team "some days good, some days bad..." and how he was looking for a player who would step up and be the leader, the vocal one...mentioning that Tia Gibbs had those qualities. Looking for a player that would "demand"...demand that the players go hard every day in practice, demand that they play hard in every game.

He briefly touched on scheduling, playing home and home schedules with in-state teams, and learning on the road. The team took two days off after the UK game. Will take Sunday off and then prepare for UC. He was asked about Slaughter again and discussed her briefly, how she made more shots in one game than she did in the entire season. She's becoming more than just a shooter. Walz is looking forward to the game where he can have Becky, Shoni, Antonita and Bria all show up with good shooting on the same night. He commented that it hasn't happened yet.

LOUISVILLE returns to action Wednesday against Cincinnati. No mention has been made on when and if Charmaine Tay will be eligible.

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

(David Watson is a special correspondent for Cardinal Couple. He comments today about the brawl at the end of the Cincinnati vs. Xavier's men's game yesterday.)

First off, I almost missed it. Was about to turn the channel and surf for more hoops. Then, a shove, a swing, a bench clearing and I was mesmerized. 

There is no place for this in college basketball. Or in any sport except MMA or boxing. Yancey Gates should be tossed off the team. So should anyone who threw a punch, stomped somebody or shoved. No place for it in a sport. A game. This isn't Call of Duty. It isn't US Troops in the Middle East. It's basketball. I don't care who said what, who responded or who started it. It's unacceptable. 

Mick Cronin said the right things in the post game interview. There is no room for "gangster" in college basketball. Let them go up against Tony Soprano and his crew if that's what they think they are. They are supposed to be college student-athletes. They are receiving a free education because they are good at playing a game. They are the fortunate ones. How many kids out there are holding full time jobs trying to get an education. No place for this "thug-boyz" agenda.  

Sadly, it won't be the last time this happens in college sports. Until strict penalties are enacted and enforced for fist-swinging, taunting and un-sportsmanlike conduct...it'll continue. 

And, that hurts the spirit and intent of athletics. Grow up, guys and gals. 

(David Watson, you're right on the mark...)

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Cards lose heartbreaker at Providence 63-61

CARDS MISS OUT ON OPPORTUNITY TO GET DOUBLE BYE IN BIG EAST...
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-Hankins hits with 10 seconds for the Friar win...
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-Post game Walz comments...
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Mi-Khadi Hankins hit a baseline jumper with 10 seconds left and Providence pulls the upset over the Cards 63-61 in Alumni Gym tonight in Providence. With Marquette losing minutes before to Cincinnati 65-62, the Cards miss out on a gift-wrapped chance to draw the 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament beginning Friday in Hartford, CT.

That honor will go to Rutgers ( 11-5) who needed both Louisville (10-6) and Marquette (10-6) to lose tonight and win over Seton Hall...which they did handily. The Cards will go into the tournament as the sixth seed and play the winner of #10 seed West Virginia and #15 seed Cincinnati on Friday.

Louisville couldn't rebound or hold a lead tonight. Providence wins the board battle 30-21. A sluggish start for the Cards had them down from the opening tip and Louisville trailed 16-9 after eight minutes of action. Louisville finally found a spark late in the first half and used a 6-0 run to take a 27-24 lead after two Shelby Harper free throws and 1:48 on the clock. Providence would counter, though with a 5-0 run to close out the half and lead 29-27.

Tia Gibbs led the Cards with 11 points in the first twenty minutes and the Cards went 11-12 from the free throw line. Both teams had 15 turnovers in a very sloppy half of hoops...Gibbs also had five first half steals.

Louisville started the second half positivity with a 6-0 run to grab a 33-29 lead after a Monique Reid jumper...and stretched that out to a 38-31 advantage when Shoni Schimmel drilled a three with 15:13 to go... but Providence came back again and knotted it at 41-41 with a Cropper three at the 12:46 mark. From there on, it was back and forth...with both teams holding leads and making alternate good and bad plays. Keisha Hines tied the contest at 61-61 with a jumper and 1:45 on the clock. After Hankins' jumper to give Providence the final margin of victory, the Cards inbounded and Becky Burke attempted but missed a three pointer. Keisha Hines was there for the rebound but her foot was on the baseline and Providence got the ball back with 1.6 left in the game. Louisville fouled Hankins during the inbounds pass and she missed her front end of the one and one free throw attempt. Louisville called timeout and got a pass to Shoni Schimmel on the final inbounds play...but her half court desperation attempt went wide right and off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.

A disappointing loss for the Cards against a very beatable team. Louisville was led by Reid's 15 points...11 in the second half. Gibbs finished with 14 and Schimmel hit double figures with 13.

It was quite the night for upsets in the BIG EAST. In addition to the Bearcats knocking off Marquette...Villanova beat Pitt, WVU uphended St.John's and USF downed Georgetown.
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Jeff Walz in the post-game:

"We just didn't get it done. It's an embarrassing outing for us. I'm really just sick. Physically sick. I just don't know...I don't understand. I mean...our kids knew what was at stake. I even told them with four minutes to go...'hey...you just got a gift from Cincinnati. They beat Marquette. You gotta put it on the line...let's go'... and then on the next possession out of the time out..we let number one ( Tate) shoot a wide open three. She's their only three point shooter. She goes 3-5. No I take that back...#14 (Cropper) goes 3-4. You gotta know where they are. The problem is...we did not defend on the perimeter at all. That's guards and wings. We let them beat us off the dribble to the middle of the floor..time after time after time. It made us help in, help up and that let to wide open shots. It's an embarrassing outcome for us. One that I hope we can get over quick, as a team. It's one that is going to affect me for a while, though.."
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Walz on rebounding:
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"We did get beat on the boards. We had a seven point lead in the second half and gave up offensive rebound after offensive rebound. We just did not commit to playing hard.
As well as Tia Gibbs played, I think this is the first game..that I know of...where she plays 32 minutes and did not get one rebound the entire night. I thought she played hard but you've gotta find a way to come up with boards. We had 21 rebounds the entire night. That's embarrassing. 21 rebounds and 20 turnovers.
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On the start of the second half:
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We came out and played hard. We boxed out, we rebounded and then we just decided that that was enough and we're not going to play any harder.
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On getting ready for the BIG EAST Tournament:
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"I'm not real concerned about that. If these kids can't get prepared to go up to the BIG EAST Tournament and play..then I've probably got the wrong group of kids. We can't control what we just did tonight...it's over...we're going to watch it (the game film) and learn from it but there's nothing you can do about it and if you're going to feel sorry for ourselves and go up there on Thursday and let tonight's game affect us...then I've got the wrong group of players and I'm not doing a very good job of coaching...because that's the great thing about the sport of basketball...you've got opportunities to continue to play and right now we've got a great opportunity in front of us in going up to Hartford to play in the BIG EAST Tournament and we've got to come out and play and perform. Like I said...man, I'm just sick and it's been a long time since I felt this bad..but this was just a performance I'm embarrassed about and I'll go back tomorrow and apologize to the entire athletic staff..because it is just an embarrassment."
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