Monday Cardinal Couple: Game Reports -- WBB strong second half downs DePaul....

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


********GAME REPORTS*******

-Smith's 21 leads Louisville WBB in 81-55 win.

-Softball shuts out Stony Brook in final day at Jacksonville

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad broke open a close game at halftime by starting the second half on a 10-3 run in the first three minutes and cruised to a 26-point crushing of DePaul Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 10,906 fans.

Sara Hammond had 13 of her 17 points in the final 20 minutes and Bria Smith went 13-15 from the free throw line as Louisville improves to 21-5 and 9-3 in the BIG EAST.

Louisville got off to a hot start and led 10-2 after the first six minutes of the game. The Cards had pushed the advantage to 19-7 with 9:44 remaining on a Monique Reid free throw...Reid making her appearance to the court at the 10:30 mark to a roaring approval from the crowd. Smith had ten of Louisville's first 19 points and was making free-throws, to the delight of her coach and the crowd.

Louisville took their biggest first half lead at 23-9 after two more Smith free throws with 7:36 on the clock. DePaul, though, wasn't throwing in the towel and responded with a seven-minute 14-4 run that pulled them within four at 27-23 after two Megan Podkowa free throws. The Cards got a layup from Hammond with two seconds left in the half to take a 29-23 lead to the locker room.

Ref Al Titus always likes making cameos in my pics...

Smith had 14 points, six rebounds and was 8-9 from the charity stripe in her best twenty minutes of the season. Sherrone Vails was a perfect 3-3 from the field for six points and Hammond had four points and six rebounds in 12 minutes. Nita Slaughter and Shoni Schimmel contributed two each and Mo made a free throw. All but Shelby Harper played. The Cards were 0-9 from three-point range, shot 31.3% in the first half but had held DePaul to 6-32 shooting (18.8%) and was 1-14 from beyond the arc.

Walz called a specific play to get Shoni untracked at the start of the second half and she responded with a three only 13 seconds into the final stanza. The Cards pushed the nine-point lead to 46-31 after a Reid layup at the 15:45 mark...and the rout was on.

A Hammond layup made it 57-38 with 9:45 to go. Hammond canned a jumper to stretch the Louisville lead to 68-42 with 6:11 on the scoreboard and the Cards led by 30 after a Vails layup with 2:43 showing to push the score to 77-47. Vails and Cortnee Walton added layups the rest of the way and the Cards won going away 81-55.

Smith's 21 led all scorers. Hammond finished with 17 and 13 boards for a double-double. Vails also reached double digits in scoring with ten points. It was good to see Mo back in action...finishing with eight points. She left the game at the 12:37 mark after hitting a layup and noticeably limping...but she was fine, according to Coach Walz in the post-game presser. Slaughter added nine points, Shoni eight and Walton four. Harper and Jude had two each. Megan Deines played six minutes but did not score.

Louisville finished 29-67 (43.3%) but was 1-17 from trifecta-land. They out-rebounded the Blue Demons 50-45 and won the points-in-the-paint battle convincingly 50-10. They forced 13 DePaul turnovers and had seven steals.

DePaul was led by freshman guard Chanise Jenkins' 16 and Megan Podkowa, another freshman added 14. Senior standout Katherine Harry had eight points, all in the first half and 13 boards. Doug Bruno was without the services of leading scorer Anna Martin (knee).

WHAT WE LIKED

1) Free throws! Cards were 22-28 for 78.6%. Bria's 13-15 was impressive (we like this Bria Smith). Only Reid had less than stellar line appearance with 3-5.

2) Points in the paint. 50-10. We thought it was a mis-print at first...but the Cards were getting Smith and Hammond plenty of great looks inside and Mo was connecting, also, before she left.

3) Assists to turnovers. The Cards dished out 18 assists (Shoni seven) and made only 9 turnovers. Coach Walz is happy when the assists out-number the turnovers. We like Coach Walz happy...

4) Doug Bruno. Despite losing by 26, Coach came to the post game presser and gave excellent answers to numerous questions for over 17 minutes.

(Cliff notes here....He misses Anna Martin daily and isn't sure when she'll be back. It's day-to-day with the knee. He thinks Bria Smith and Mo are great, he's thankful to have been a part of the BIG EAST for eight years and trusts in the university leaders and administration to chart a successful course for DePaul Athletics in the future. He loves the YUM! Center. He thinks the BIG EAST is the best conference in women's basketball and he wondered if anyone saw THE WHO Saturday Night in the KFC YUM! Center.)

Great guy, that Doug is...funny at times but also very passionate about his team, his profession and women's basketball. One of the good guys in WBB.

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVING

1) Threes. Shoni was 1-7. Four other players combined for 0-10. Neither team was impressive from deep...DePaul was 4-29. It wasn't all attributable to defense, either. Maybe THE WHO'S appearance in the YUM! Saturday night messed up the atmosphere or air patterns in the arena...

2) Second chance points. Louisville lost this category 16 to 11. Louisville could use a Katherine Harry inside. The Cards do go up strong with follow-up shots, but they aren't very accurate most of the time. Trailing DePaul guards were getting easy put-backs.

3) First-half lag. Louisville led by 14 in the first half with 7:36 to go. They were lucky to lead by six at the half. Not a factor in the whole scheme of things today...Louisville won big...but something to work on.

SUMMATION


The Cards took care of business at home and in a large way. A big difference from this one and the six-point loss in Chi-Town in January. Getting Mo back seemed to boost the crowd and the team's spirit. Seeing Bria have a big game against a quality opponent is refreshing.

I was surprised they handled DePaul the way they did in the second half. Bruno misses the fire in Anna Martin immensely. As a fan mentioned to me before the game...it's good to see ten players out there again for UofL. Especially Mo. She's been through it lately and she was back to having a good time today.

Cards hosts USF Wednesday night. 7 p.m tip.

Coach Walz post-game comments below. You can find Bria Smith, Sara Hammond and Doug Bruno's abbreviated post-game remarks at courier-journal.com 


POST GAME WALZ



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The University of Louisville softball team shut out Stony Brook 5-0 to improve to 8-2 Sunday in the Jacksonville University Softball Tournament. A big day for senior Jordy Trimble, going 2 for 3 with three runs. Rachel LeCoq drew the starting assignment and picks up her second shutout of the season.

The Cards plated their first run in the second inning when Trimble, who attended Louisville Manual High School, got to first safely on a Stony Brook error and scored when Hannah Kiyohara (Sonja's favorite player) singled her home.

Louisville tacked on two runs in the fourth. Trimble and Kayla Soles started the inning with singles and Kiyohara drew a base on balls to load the bags with Cardinals. A walk to Jennifer Esteban plated Trimble and, with two outs, Kiyohara scored on a Stony Brook wild pitch.

UofL made it 5-0 in the fifth...Trimble smashing a double to left-center and Soles delivering her first home run of the season. Soles had a big game as well for Sandy Pearsall...2 for 3 with RBI's and a run scored.

Le Coq allowed only five SeaWolf hits and did not walk anyone.

The Cards return home and face Kent State at 2:30 p.m. Friday.



-Paulie

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Thriller at Lacrosse -- Cards down OSU 12-11

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SUNDAY CARINAL COUPLE

- Lacrosse pulls huge upset over OSU 12-11

- Softball splits in second day of J'Ville Tournament

- Cards WBB faces DePaul in YUM!


It was huge. It was totally awesome.

Simply said, it was the biggest win in the history of Louisville Lacrosse.

On a bitterly cold day in the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium, Louisville overcame a 10-8 deficit with 14:16 to go in the second half and defeated #13 Ohio State University 12-11 Saturday afternoon.

It was originally 13-11. What we don't understand about Lacrosse is how a referee can take a point away because of a stick/net inspection. Kay Morissette scored a seemingly brilliant gola with 6:46 left in the game to put the Cards up 13-11. Then, as the teams line up for the face-off after the "goal", a referee inspects Morissette's stick and net and decides there is something wrong with it. Two point Cardinal advantage gone. Kay's score erased.

 Seriously?

Whatever. These refs were biased against Louisville for the majority of the game, so...it wasn't surprising. Good teams find a way to win, though and Louisville did.

Louisville held on to the 1-point advantage and goes to 2-0 on the season with the win.

The Cards overcame a 5-4 halftime deficit to take a 6-5 lead shortly after the second stanza started.

No...wait...the refs take another goal away from Louisville. Back to 5-5. Maybe Nikki Boltja was chewing gum in class. Maybe they didn't say "Mother, may I.." after scoring.

Whatever. I don't understand Lacrosse rules yet. Maybe I will someday. The refs seem to make stuff up as they go.

Anyway, fast forward to the second half. Cards down 10-8 after OSU's best player (Jackie Cifarelli) gets her first score of the game. That's how well the Louisville defense was playing. 14:16 to go. Colleen O'Malley gets Louisville within one. Nikki Boltja ties it 90 seconds later. After OSU goes back ahead 11-10...the clock stops for some reason, the refs catch that...but it them becomes B.S.T.

Boltja Standard Time.

Nikki scores to tie it with 9:17 (maybe) left. Nikki puts Louisville ahead 12-11 with 7:31 left.

Nikki, I think I love you...

See Cardinal fans go nuts. See Louisville shut out OSU the rest of the way. See the team and fans go nuts as the final seconds tick off and celebrate. See the squad rush over to thank the students, parents and fans in the bleachers.

This was beautiful. 

I talked with Julie Hermann minutes after the upset.
Beaming, incredulous and thrilled after the win, she told me about the dedication. Three seniors coming into her office early in the spring and telling her that Lacrosse was going to thrive. Pleading with her to not give up on the program. Asking her not to give up on them. They were changing the attitude, the meaning of Louisville Lacrosse.

I've never seen Julie Hermann cry. She looked pretty close to it today. A look of happiness. Full of pride. Happy Julie.

One proud mama.

Walking the field after the win. Pride. Joy. Reflection.

Kelly Young looked pretty close to tears,too. A signature win. A team she so strongly believes in. Her pride in Boltja, O'Malley, Oliverio, the freshmen. Everyone. 

Her girls, her brood. A renewed dedication to team, to the Louisville Lacrosse brand. A satisified and happy coach.

I've seen coaches thrilled over wins. Young's look of rapture and excitement will stay with me a long time. I recorded her comments on the sidelines. They don't do justice to the gleam I saw in her eyes. I won't forget that for a very long time. Sometimes, words just don't express what vision can. Picture worth a thousand words stuff.

I saw a masterpiece today.

Job well done, ladies. Louisville Lacrosse has arrived. Get on board, Cardinal fans. The CSX tracks run right behind the Lacrosse Stadium. It's doubtful either of the trains that rolled by Saturday afternoon during the game could have matched the power and steam of the Cardinals.

Boltja had four goals for the Cards, O'Malley four, Cortnee Daley two and Faye Brust and Monica Negron one each.


-Paulie

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Softball splits in the the second day of the Jacksonville Classic. A tough 1-0 loss to OSU in eight innings...the Cardinal bats falling silent after 16 runs the day before.

Transfer Rachel LeCoq pitching her Cajun heart out...giving up a run in the top of eight...tiebreaker rules in effect. The Cards fall short...runners on the corners and one out. Can't score. Bats...funny how they come and go.

Bats woke up in the second game against Jacksonville. A 9-0 fun-fest. Three hitter for Caralisa Connell, the same amount of hits LeCoq gave up.

Louisville finishes the Jacksonville stay tomorrow...facing Stony Brook for the second time... at 7:30 p.m.


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Quentin Voigt's preview of Lady Cards WBB against DePaul tomorrow at 1:30 in the YUM! below:

RING, RING, RING, Riiiiiiiiinnnnnggggg !!!

Time to attack! No quarter surrendered, no quarter asked!

Doug Bruno, head coach of DePaul has probably been worried about this game since he was miraculously able to vanquish UofL in Chi-Town on January 5th. The loss he should have accepted then - would have not built the fervor apparently building within CardNation for the beat-down of epic (EPIC, I repeat) proportions, destined to be visited on the Blue Demons. Sunday. 1:30 p.m. The place: One Arena Plaza (the KFC YUM! Center) , Louisville, KY.

Herr Bruno's squad features 5'8" Brittany Hrynko, a sophomore who's getting 15.6 ppg, dished out 129 assists this season and grabs 4.8 rebounds a game. She went for 21 points, 7 assists and 4 steals last time against the Cards. Will Anna Martin be a factor? We'll see if the knee will let her play. She had 22 against Louisville in the previous meeting.

Jasmine Perry is a talented forward for Dougie. He says:

"Jasmine Perry is one of the best players in the state of Indiana. Jasmine will bring great athleticism to campus and is a excellent rebounder, defender and shooter. Jasmine is also the total package in that she is an honor student that will help carry on DePaul's tradition of striving for success  --both on the court and in the classroom."

A just bit of praise for the young lady that adds 14.1 a game for DePaul's offense. She was 6 for 6 against Louisville earlier this year and hit 3 for 4 from the charity stripe.

And then there's Katherine. The leading rebounder in the BIG EAST. Katherine Harry gets the boards. She defends well, too...holding UofL's posts to 1 for 3 from the field last time out.

I believe in SPEED! Speed kills, in time. Ask Muhammad Ali, he proved it time and time again. The Lady Cards have the speed to beat DePaul today. Witness UK stepping on the accelerator earlier this year and demolishing DePaul by 32 in Rupp.

Running with purpose, shooting with the cold eye of an assassin, owning every rebound, valuing the ball. Attack them, attack them....and attack them! Go Cards. Give them "L"

- Quentin Voigt

I do think the Cards can win today. A lot of it will depend on the heart and effort that they display. It's an emotional game today. Monique Reid's grandmother passed away a couple of days ago. A grandmother to the team. To Mo, who might play today. To all who were fortunate enough to know her. A beautiful lady.

Will UofL use that emotion? Will last year's scenario play out...Louisville loses in Chicago, wins the second match-up in Louisville. The only game this year where Louisville outrebounded an opponent and lost.

"Why is it, Coach...that I must play when
the women are playing also. Please explain
this to me. I am not happy, sir. Not at all."

Who will show up for this one? The men's team plays at 1:00 on ESPN. Walz wants 12-13,000 there. We'd like to see that, too. Anything over 9,000 is a big boost to Louisville's WBB chances today. In case you're out-of-town and can't attend, the WBB game is on ESPNU.

It's 'go' time for Walz and the Cards. Five games left before the Hartford Invitational.

As I said in an earlier column this week...

Whatcha got left, Cards?

(Today's game is a "wear Pink" in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Pink 'em up! See you there! We'll have post-game coverage later today. Go Cards!)

-Paulie


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Notre Dame Post Mortem Report

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( CARDINAL COUPLE Columnist Sandy Walker provides today's report on the homicide in South Bend last night. )


The washing machine broke so while CoCo and her repair team spends time trying to determine what parts to order...the Cardinal Couple Corporate Office gave Sandy the substitute assignment of reporting on the Notre Dame game post mortem instead of the week off.   After last night’s game I think a trip to the coin laundry to sanitize last night’s game uniforms is in order as it appears that the accumulation of team injuries have finally caught up with Walz's women.

As Cardinal broadcaster Adrienne Johnson said, the freshly minted # 10 nationally ranked Louisville got a “good butt-whipping” from #2 ranked Notre Dame.  The Monday night ESPN2 featured contest initially showed a slight promise of a true competition but it was not to be as this being the 13^th meeting between these teams was truly a bad sign.

To be successful, Louisville as a team, needed to take play with confidence, care of the ball, show aggression on defense without fouling and to control the glass.  The Cards did have what could be considered season best play from a few individuals for short-lived periods of time.  Otherwise, as a whole, 1 out of 4 of these goals would have been an improvement over what occurred.  Pick a statistic, any statistic.   No real additional explanations are needed.


 

                      Notre Dame          Louisville

Turnovers          19                            19                                                     

Rebounds          44                             23

Free Throws    19/26  for 73%             3/7 for 43%

Steals             11                               9

Field Goals     34/60  for 57%            27/62 for 44%

Team Fouls            8                        18

Assists                  25                        17

Basketball IQ       100 %                     Audit

                                                                        

Points               93                    64

Yes, there were brief periods of good play by a few where the pace was definitely increased upon Jude’s entry into the game. Her poised 33 minutes of play was shown by her total of 2 turnovers and 8 points.   Bria Smith, who had 18 points (10 in the first half) 4 rebounds and 5 steals was everywhere and played with a solid aggression which caught the attention of everyone.  The addition of Antonita Slaughter’s 16 points along with Shoni’s 13 just were not enough.  There was a brief 8-2 run by the cards at 9:20 in the first half which brought UofL to within 5 with the ball and a score of 17-22.  Louisville moved into the half time break still with a breath of life remaining as the 45-35 score gave us hope of a strong first 5 minutes of play which might turn things around.    

Their 2^nd half brief run at 17:44 which brought them within 7 at 47-40 could not be sustained as in only 2 additional minutes of play the spread had increased to 17 as the Cards' 40 was met by Notre Dame’s 57. All American and top 4 national player Skylar Diggins, who finished with 21 points, 7 assists and 4 steals pretty much schooled Louisville in what complete game play looked like.

In his post game interview Jeff pretty much summed the game up by saying the Cards just did not play tough enough either physically or mentally.  To win against a team like Notre Dame, play must more closely resemble football than chess.

Fortunately, the Cards have a few BIG EAST games left from which to position themselves for the upcoming end of season tournament.  The first opportunity for the women to regroup is this Sunday’s 1:30 game at the KFC YUM! Center when they have the opportunity to reverse their earlier misfortunes against DePaul.  Yes, the game is being shown on ESPNU but the women need your presence at the game, not on your recliner.

Last night’s ND crowd at the sold-out South Bend game absolutely contributed to the chaos which rained down upon our team.  It is time to return the favor as well as to show the nation what a Louisville women’s basketball crowd looks like.   UofL's recent slippage to number 3 in the nation for attendance is just not acceptable and ...now more than ever, this team needs us.

Sandy

 

Editor's Comments...So, let's go to South Bend, fail to block out, rebound or defend and see how that does. And, that pretty well sums up the final 17 minutes of last night's trouncing of the Louisville WBB squad by Skylar, Natalie and the other Muffet marauders. Sonja couldn't understand why Shoni was sitting when the Irish were pulling away. I explained to her that "matador defense" went out of style a few years ago. For a team that had only been allowing 53.1 points per game, the Cards looked like a squad that didn't realize it's OK to guard someone when they drive the lane with the basketball. It's become a dangerous sequence this season...go on the road, play a quality opponent, get your lunch taken from you.

Fortunately, the Cards finish the regular season with three in the KFC YUM! Center and only two in hostile territory...two dangerous ones, though, in Syracuse and Villanova. Walz mentioned in the post-game eulogy last night that he hoped all the television sets in Louisville were out of order last night. Something is broken, coach...but it isn't the cable service. The Wizard of Oz's Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion could have done a better job containing UND's front line last night. Put Toto and Jude out there, and you may keep the Wicked Witches of the West under 80...

The Cards probably looked the best when it was four guards and Nita on the court. Anyone know of any 6'0" and under leagues that these five could sign up for?

Issuing this amber alert. The post position at UofL has gone missing. If seen, return to the basketball offices on the 2nd floor of the S.A.C. on campus, please.

20-5 is a great record. This team has overcome injuries and played with heart and courage many times this year. Last night was a clunker. It happens. These next five are all winnable. They are also, potentially...all losable as well, except for Seton Hall. A 25-5 regular-season record would be outstanding. 21-9 would be OK, but may not be 4th seed NCAA Tournament or BIG EAST Tournament worthy.

Whatcha got left, Lady Cards?  

-Paulie

Cardinal Couple Thursday Edition - Big East Standings Check

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Staff columnist Jeff McAdams yawns, stretches, hits the snooze button one more time and then has a dream about the Thursday CARDINAL COUPLE article due. We're not sure, but he think Rip Van Winkle was patterned after him. But, when he does finally get around to posting, he's golden. Jeff looks at the BIG EAST WBB today and a volleyball addition. Then goes back in for a nap...The beauty of CARDINAL COUPLE is that there are no deadlines, no rush-rush articles or screaming editors. Just a bunch of chimps who somehow ended up with a website and the ability to type. Enjoy!)


(I was all set...had my schedule for the day laid out...to write up the Friday edition of the Cardinal Couple...then I went back and checked my email and saw that I was slated to write today's edition, not Friday.  You can just call me Mr. Organized.)

Big East Standings

Its very early in conference play, of course, but let's check on the Big East Rankings...mostly because its fun to see UConn not be in one of the very top spots.  Rankings are very jumbled this early on since there haven't been many games played by each team yet, so wins and loses are radically magnified in their impact on rankings right now.

Tied for first place at 2-0 is Notre Dame, Seton Hall, and Villanova.  Notre Dame clearly deserves the lofty rankings.  Seton Hall beat Cincinnati and Pitt, which suggests that they're not a team to be totally rolled over this year, but they haven't contended with any real powerhouses yet.  Villanova knocked off Cincinnati and DePaul...and beat DePaul in convincing fashion...so let's keep an eye on Villanova this year...usually not a powerhouse of a team, but maybe they've got something to them this year?

Tied for fourth is Syracuse and St. Johns at 1-0.  Syracuse got a solid win over Marquette, and St. Johns won a close game against Rutgers.  Hard to draw too much of a conclusion here, although after seeing Rutgers a couple of days ago, I'll be keeping something of an eye on St. Johns as well.

Tied for sixth are the 1-1 teams.  That includes the Cardinals, of course with the win over Rutgers and the loss to DePaul.  Also with us in the sixth spot are UConn, DePaul and Georgetown.  UConn, as I'm sure most of our readers are aware, lost a hot contested matchup against Notre Dame, so no shame there, and they will certainly climb back up in the rankings.  Their win was last night with a pretty lopsided score over Georgetown.  DePaul, well, let's not dwell on their win, but their loss was to Villanova as mentioned above, so they are clearly a beatable team.  Lastly, Georgetown, as mentioned, got pummeled by UConn, which shocks no one I'm sure, and they beat up on Providence for the conference opener.  Neither of those games shines much light on how good of a team Gtown is.

In 10th place, we see the 0-1 teams.  South Florida, Pitt, Marquette, and Providence.  Only Providence has a losing non-conference schedule, so as always with Big East women's basketball, it would be unwise to look past any games with USF, Pitt, and Marquette.

That leaves Rutgers and Cincinnati in the basement, tied for 14th, at 0-2.  Rutgers looked like they're a better team than that on Tuesday, despite the loss.  Cincinnati, with losses to Seton Hall and Villanova doesn't look to be much of a contender, but this early, you just can't tell.

The Big East looks to be a powerhouse conference again this year, though those days are numbers with slated departures from the conference.

Spring Enrollments

I'm only aware of one women's athlete that has enrolled in the spring semester.  And, of course, since I'm writing about it, that means its a volleyball player.

Javoni Faucette graduated from Francis Howell Union High School in St. Charles Missouri in three and a half years...quite an accomplishment...and has started here at Louisville for the spring semester.  Congratulations Javoni, and welcome to Louisville.

If anyone is aware of any other spring enrollments for athletes in other sports, we'd love to hear about them in the comments.


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(CARDINAL COUPLE has gone to a word verification system for comments. We were tired of having to catch and delete spammers who were clogging out comments e-mail box with spam advertising for toliet items, cheap loans, Cigarettes, perverse sexual items and sites and toasters from Target. You still DO NOT HAVE TO REGISTER to comment at Cardinal Couple. You just have to be able to type in a few characters to prove you're not a bot and are a human. Timmy the Intern, Co-Co  Cletus and Bill the Goat are incensed beyond belief. Thank you for your understanding.)

iinthetownwhereiwasbornlivesamanwhosailedtheseaandhetoldusofhislifeinthelandbenaththedeepskyofbluandseaofgreenweallliveinayellowsubmarine

Sunday Cardinal Couple -- DePaul DeFeats Cards 86-80

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Mo scores 25 in Louisville loss to Blue Demons

Welcome to the 2013 BIG EAST, Louisville.

On a day where Notre Dame beat UConn 73-72 at UConn, the University of Louisville women's basketball team travelled to Chicago and got thumped by DePaul 86-80 in front of 3600 appreciative Blue Demon fans

Monique Reid put up the biggest point total of any Cardinal this season with 25 points in 33 minutes and sharpshooting Shoni Schimmel tried her best to carry the Cards to a victory with 19...including two threes late which cut a 10-point Blue Demon lead to four.

The game was close early, Brittany Hrynko put the Blue Demons ahead with a three at the 15:25 mark 12-10. Doug Bruno's squad would maintain that advantage until Jude Schimmel's two free throws tied it at 24-24 with 8:16 left in the half. It was a brief respite for the Cards, DePaul took off on a 14-7 run to go up 38-31 after Hrynko bounced in a layup with 3:58 on the clock. It looked like the Cards might be on the verge of getting blown out, but they got six points from Reid, including a jumper with 25 seconds left, to go on a 11-3 run and muster a 42-41 lead at the half.

The Blue Demons came out hot to start the second half and quicky regained the lead, outscoring Louisville 11-2 in the first three minutes. Anna Martin's jumper made it 52-44 DePaul as the clock showed 17:05. A technical foul was tossed at the Louisville bench by our favorite referee here at Cardinal Couple...the bumbling Bonita Spence...with 13:38 to go and the Cards trailing 56-48. The Cards would get within five or six over the next eight minutes, but a Martin three gave the Blue Demons a 70-56 advantage with 9:37 to go. Jasmine Penny's layup put DePaul ahead 80-70 with about five minutes left and, once again, it looked like the Cards were going to get romped.

Shoni decided differently. Two threes from her and a Reid layup whittled the ten-point DePaul lead to two with 1:07 remaining. Martin responded, though by blowing by Shoni for a wide-open layup to put the score at 82-78...and four Hrynko free throws made the final 86-80.

Besides Reid and Shoni's magnificent performance, two other Cardinals reached double figures. Nita Slaughter added 14 points and Bria Smith totalled 11 and grabbed nine rebound before fouling out late in the game.

Anna Martin led the Blue Demons to their sixth win in a row this season with 22 points. Hrynko added 21 and Katherine Harry grabbed 13 rebounds for DePaul.

The Cards out-rebounded their opponent 45-32 and shot 46% from the field (31-67). DePaul did slightly better, with 49.3% (33-67) shooting.

DePaul now leads the lifetime series 16-14 and the Cards fall again at their place...Louisville has only won there twice in the last 12 years and has lost 10 of their 15 visits to Chicago. They're 2-6 in McGrath Arena. We suggest UofL never play there again. If Louisville plays 2013-14 ACC Hoops, they won't have to. Walz goes to 4-3 lifetime in matchups against DePaul and Bruno.  

Tough loss and tough way to begin the BIG EAST, but the Cards did stage a huge rally late and almost pulled it off.
In the second half, though...the DePaul guards schooled Louisville's. And that was the difference.

Shoni and Mo get another huge test on Tuesday when Rutgers rolls into the KFC YUM! Center for a 7 p.m. game. The Scarlet Knights and St. John's battle today in both teams' conference opener.


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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- DePaul vs. Louisville

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- DePaul hosts Louisville Saturday

(We bring you two reports on the upcoming DePaul vs. Louisville game...one from Quentin Voigt and one from Paulie. Game time is 6 p.m. and the contest will be shown on WHAS TV locally.)

Dance with DePaul 1/5/13
by Quentin Voigt

USA Olympic Asst. Coach and DePaul head coach Doug Bruno is readying his charges for a visit from the #10 (A.P.)/11(Coaches) ranked Louisville Cardinals. The Blue Demons are toting a record of 11-3. Their losses have come against Dayton (92-80), South Carolina (50-46) and Kentucky (at Rupp Arena -- 96-64).

In the UK game, the Wildcats jumped on DePaul early and often, buoyed by a record attendance for UK women's basketball (18,468) and it was over before the first half ended.

None of DePaul's wins are over top ranked opponents and since the Cardinals are a top 10 team, Coach Bruno is likely warning his players of the Cardinal's ability.

DePaul starters are likely 6'3" Katherine Harry ( 13.9 ppg, 5.14 assists and a Big East leading 11.3 rebounds a game.), 6'1" Jasmine Penny (15.1 ppg, 4.9 rebounds), Anna Martin ( a Nicholasville, KY resident who is a pre-season All-BIG East selection who scores 16.2 ppg and dishes out 4.6 assists), Brittany Hrynko ( 13.9 ppg and 5.14 assists) and 5'5" speedball Chanise Jenkins (8.9 ppg and 5.5 rebounds).

As a team, DePaul averages 77.8 ppg, 41.7 rebounds and 19.6 assists. They'll face the Cards in cozy McGrath-Phillips Arena with a seating capacity of 3000.

Post player Harry seems to love playing Louisville and has had some of her best games against the Cards. The injury bug has hit the Blue Demons again this season and left their roster a bit weak as of this writing.

I believe Coach Bruno will have the Blue Demons ready to tumble with the Cardinals on Saturday night. If Louisville plays with the same cohesion and spirit they've been demonstrating lately, they should move out to a 10-15 point lead by the end of this one and get the win.

Paulie:

OK. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to get into a run-out,  fast break contest with UK, Coach Dougie...Walz figured that out and slowed it down in a game many thought Louisville should have won. The only real question here is whether you'll allow the Cards to play fast-break, transition hoops against you.

My guess is you won't. I know it's your preferred style, but you don't want to try and fly with these high-wire Birds.

We've learned several things over the last few years when UofL plays DePaul. Katherine Harry rebounds well. She grabbed 35 in two games against UofL last year. Maybe she bought the Dennis Rodman instructional video. We've also learned that the home team usually wins this game. The last time the visiting team took a "W" was in 2008...when Louisville won up in Chi-town 79-56. The Cards had a gal named Angel McCoughtry on that team. She's not walking back through that door. Unless it's as a spectator.

Keys to a Louisville win? Rebound, shoot well and play defense. I know, brilliant observation...Paul, but taking care of the basics are essential tonight. Despite Ms. Harry, the Cards actually had a three rebound advantage in the two games last year. Shoni, this one could fall on you. The three-ball fell pretty easily for you against WSU, Wagner and TSU. Wanna take that act on the road? We hope so.

The "Hammer" could play a key role in today's game also. She's about the only Card who can match up physically with Harry except for Asia and Shawnta.  A-Tayy has just been cleared to practice again...so we doubt we'll see 30 plus minutes out of her like we did in the final game between these two last year. A game Louisville won 75-62, with Taylor scoring eight points, grabbing seven boards and frustrating the Blue Demons defensively all day.

Shawnta, of course, won't see any minutes. She had 20 points and 13 rebounds in two games last year against DePaul. It'd be nice to have the trio banging on Harry and Penny all night...but you go with what you have.

 If Bria can find her way into the paint for a few jumpers, Megan and Nita find the range from outside and Mo can duplicate her 'in the paint' scoring ability on the road, I like UofL's chances. Would love to see Jude have a smart and efficient 20 minutes also. I ask for a lot, don't I?

Penny, Harry, Martin and Hrynko all had 32 minutes plus against the Cards in the second game last year. They had 28 minutes plus in the 86-61 pasting they put on the Cards in Lincoln Park the first time they played last year. So, they're pretty familiar with the UofL squad.  That game was Cierra Warren's final appearance for the Lady Cards. She picked up 14 points in garbage minutes at the end of the game after the outcome was pretty much decided.  

A win?  I see UofL getting one. Not by 10 or 15, though. I'll take a 2-4 point win in a hostile environment from a young team that just may have to settle for 60 points instead of 106.

Hey...a win's a win. L1C4, ladies...Rebound, Mo. Play smart, Shoni.  Block out, Sara.

It's BIG EAST time. Keep the icepacks, bandages and Teena Murray nearby. This isn't Wagner, TSU or Austin Peay.
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple - Big East play begins

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville WBB nears BIG EAST Conference schedule

-Football Cards play in Sugar Bowl tonight

( Jenny O'Bryan brings us the Wednesday Edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. We're glad she's feeling better and back on the laptop!)

With the New Year comes conference play.  Big East play starts on Saturday, January 5th.      

Below is a link to current Big East standings along with the schedules of each team, thus far. Louisville is 12-2 going into the Saturday matchup and will look to avenge a 86-61 loss that the Blue Demons stuck on the Lady Cards the last time the Cards visited McGrath-Phillips arena in Chicago. The Blue Demons had five in double figures in the rout, routinely beat the Cards in the transition game all night and Katherine Harry grabbed 20 rebounds in the dismantling.

http://www.bigeast.org/portals/5/fls/19400/stats/wbasketball/2012-2013/confsked.htm

This will be the last time in the foreseeable future that Louisville will face some longtime rivals in Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers and BIG EAST schools Providence, Seton Hall, Georgetown, St John's, Villanova, Marquette, USF and DePaul.  

 

Seven of the fifteen teams are already in to double-digit wins for the season with only Connecticut remaining undefeated.    The rugged play of the Big East is upon us.  For all of you who have been worried about the “soft” out of conference schedule, well, no more. 

Atop the conference, as has been historically typical, is Connecticut.  Syracuse, Notre Dame and Louisville round out the top 4.   This conference ranking is based on W-L percentages, so, I expect things will readjust very quickly as we get in to conference play and the competition steps up for a lot of teams.  For instance, Syracuse is off to a 12-1 start, but has played no top 25 teams.   I am not saying they are not good, just that so far this season, they do not seem to have been very tested. 

Saturday’s line up of games to kick off Big East play provides the opportunity to watch some really good basketball.  There are 5 games to open the conference, and likely the toughest of the day to be UConn vs. Notre Dame, to that in a minute. 

As we know, Louisville travels to DePaul to face the Blue Demons at home.  Coach Doug Bruno spent his summer as an assistant to the US Women’s Olympic team.   While the Blue Demons are currently not ranked, they are getting votes and are always very, very dangerous at home.  Look for veteran players, Kentucky native Anna Martin (senior) and Katherine Harry to provide the biggest challenges to the Cardinals. 

In what may be the marquee matchup for the day, depending on whom you ask is Notre Dame at Connecticut.   Notre Dame graduated 3 of their starters in Novosel, Mallory and Peters.  While returning Diggins and others, their lineup took a big hit to graduation.  The flip side to that, Connecticut graduated only Tiffany Hayes and added the # 1 recruiting class in the country in Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck.  After Connecticut’s rout of Stanford this past weekend, I look forward to watching this game and seeing this rivalry matchup early in the season.  Looks to be nationally televised, too.  So, catch it on TV at 4:00 and then tune in to Cards Radio to listen in on the Louisville game at 6:00 p.m. 

Providence will face Georgetown, Seton Hall will face Pittsburgh and Marquette will face Syracuse in the other 3 games in the Big East. 

It is time to buckle up Cards fans.  Big East play is here and things are about to get a lot tougher for our Cardinals.  I think they are up for the challenge, but no opponent can be overlooked!

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Finally, in other news, Louisville Football plays tonight in the Sugar Bowl.  While Cardinal Couple dedicates it coverage to primarily women’s sports, rest assured that we are all rooting for our Cards in Lou Orleans!  Check out any number of our favorite sites (on the left side of the page) for all your football coverage.   As Cardinal football fans like to say, “Get on the train”.  This is a big time game, on a national stage. Cards a 14-point underdog. We have nothing to lose. Go, Teddy, go!

Stay classy, Lou Orleans, stay classy.  Go Cards!!

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Finally, in the "News of the Weird" department, we received a call from ESPN yesterday inquiring if we'd like to do a "skype" with them on the upcoming Sugar Bowl game. At 11 p.m.

We politely told the caller we were a women's sports site and although we will be cheering for the Cards, we probably weren't knowledgable enough to deliver a factual report. Plus, we don't have "skype". 

If we did, we probably would have rounded up Co-Co, Cletus, Jenny, Sandy, Jeff, William Frawley, Mondo Vendo, MArkie MArk, Timmy the Intern, Bud Goode, Sonja and I and delivered a version of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Or put Jeff Walz's last post game interview to a operatic format.

Always thinking, always confused. It's not just a motto, it's a way of life here.
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