UK defeats MSU in Freedom Hall 70-52

Victoria Dunlap dropped 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the 70-52 UK win. Not bad for someone who wasn't feeling very well. She transfered her illness to Michigan State...who heads home.

It was supposed to be the marquee matchup in the middle. 6'1" Dunlap vs. 6'9" Allyssa DeHaan. The defensive player of the year in the Big Ten against the Cats leading scorer for the season. Michigan State using a size advantage to overcome a quick and ball-hawking UK pressure defense.

It never materialized. Even with Dunlap feeling ill this morning when she woke up, she took the fight to the Spartans and held DeHaan to 4 points and 1 rebound in 19 minutes of play for the tall senior. Back up center Lauren Aitch actually did better for the Spartans but in the end it was too much UK defense, too little Spartan shooting accuracy and a going away win for UK.

Give MSU credit for fighting early, leading by 5 at one point in the first half and staying within four points of UK at halftime. The Cats used an 8-0 run late in the first twenty minutes, though....in front of a pro-UK crowd of 3361 to take the lead for good at 30-28 on a Lydia Watkins layup. The Cats took a 35-31 lead to the locker room and gradually pulled away from MSU in the second half, leading by 20 at one point before finally advancing to the Sweet Sixteen by 18.

Dunlap wasn't alone in securing the Cats' victory. Guard Keyla Snowden added 10 points and A'dia Mathies contributed eight points after sitting the final 7:38 of the first half because of foul trouble. UK used their pressure defense and aggressive rebounding to limit MSU to 34.5% shooting for the game. The Cats dominated the taller Spartans inside with a 36-18 scoring advantage in the paint and a 40-37 edge in rebounding. UK created 14 steals against the Spartans and turned the ball over only 11 times.

For Dunlap, a celebratory Sprite and round of soda crackers. For Freedom Hall, a final look at women's basketball for the foreseeable future. And for UK, a trip to Kansas City on Sunday to face #1 seed Nebraska in the regionals. Not much Cardinal red or Spartan green in the venerable old Hall this evening, but a rowdy blue clad crowd rattled the rafters as their undersized but overacheiving Lady Kats live to play another day. Ironic that the last fight song of the season in Freedom Hall was the UK pep band (much better behaved this evening) playing "On, On UK" and that the Wildcats' cheerleaders and players serenaded the crowd with "My Old Kentucky Home" while standing on the Denny Crum signature on the court.

A special thank you to the NCAA and the kind and helpful organizers and Cardinal staff in Freedom Hall who made it possible and quite enjoyable for CARDINAL COUPLE to report on the event.

Written by Paul
3/22/10

For the ladies, it all begins Saturday

The late, great pop star indicates how many NCAA Tournament Brackets he filled out last year. Beginning tomorrow, it'll be a "Thriller" for some teams, "Off the Wall" for others and half of the participants will be told to "Beat It."

Louisville hosts the 1st and 2nd rounds ofthe NCAA Women's College Basketball tournament in Freedom Hall Saturday. A lot of us expected that we'd be watching the home team...the Louisville Cardinals..participating in it. Instead, we get the rivals to the east (Kentucky) and Louisville's first round opponent from last year (Liberty) facing off on Denny Crum Court. Warming up the nets for those two in the early game will be Bowling Green and Michigan State.

This is a great time of year if you are a basketball fan. Yesterday tipped off the men's tournament and most of my bracket selections are already scratched thru with the ill advised picks I selected. Notre Dame? Thanks for showing up...time for you to go. UTEP. Don't look now but the Butler did it. Vandy? Loses on a heartbreaking buzzer beater from Murray State.

I love to watch the early rounds and have found that if you go to an establishment to do this you can easily get overcome with sensory overload because there are three games going on at the same time and the action is non-stop.

Saturday is a chance to go out and watch some really good basketball live here locally and I encourage you to go be a part of it, even if the Cards aren't taking part in it. Kentucky is a very talented and fun to watch basketball team. They apply pressure defense, shoot the three very well and should have no trouble with Liberty tomorrow. The early game should be a fight to the wire. Bowling Green will give Michigan State all they want in the paint and just might knock off the Big Ten powerhouse.

How well the local women's basketball fans supplement the attendance of the four schools playing could be a large factor in the decision making of if Louisville will receive additional 1st and 2nd round or other NCAA hostings down the road. A large crowd is needed to give our Lady Cards a chance to play at home in future years in the NCAA.

You can be assured that the UK contingent will be here in force. I've heard MSU fans travel well for their ladies team. What we need tomorrow is a good turnout from the local women's basketball fans. Doesn't matter who you cheer for or what colors you wear, just get out and watch the action.

You may just end up having a good time. CARDINAL COUPLE will be there, covering the action and reporting it back to you if you can't attend.


Written by Paul
3/19/10

Final Lady Cards home game in Freedom Hall Saturday

It has been 35 years of University of Louisville women's basketball in Freedom Hall. Attendance has grown from several hundred that would come in early to watch them play before men's game to the 19,000 that attended the Louisville vs. Connecticut game in 2008. Along the way, the Cards have also played home contests at several area high schools...as well as Bellarmine, Spalding, Louisville Gardens...well, about any place that has seats, a ceiling and two hoops.. As the Lady Cards get ready to say goodbye to Freedom Hall against USF, let's take a look back at the days in the Hall.

Terry Hall was the first UofL women's basketball coach. She stayed 5 years at Louisville and compiled at 79-54 record. Louisville began women's college basketball play on Dec. 2nd 1975 in Freedom Hall. The opponent that day was WKU and they dismantled the Cards 102-57. The Hilltoppers were considered one of the best in women's hoops back then. Louisville got their first win in Freedom Hall on Dec. 12th, defeating Northern Kentucky 58-47. In those early days, the opponents were mostly from around the Kentuckiana area and the Cards ended each season each year in the Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Championship state tournament held in Lexington.

Peggy Fiehrer replaced Hall in 1980 and guided the Cards for nine seasons. Her overall record was 120-139. In the 1982-83 season, the Cards made their first NCAA Tournament appearance, losing to Texas 84-55. They would get back there one other time under Fiehrer.

Bud Childers replaced Fiehrer as the Cards skipper and posted a mark of 152-88 in his eight years at Louisville. The Cards got three trips to the NCAA Tournament under Childers. The Cards split time between Freedom Hall, Cardinal Arena, Louisville Gardens and Broadbent Arena in those days and under Childers...they also won several Metro Conference and Conference USA titles.

1997 saw a coaching duo take over the Lady Cards. Husband and wife Martin Clapp and Sara White co-coached the Lady Cards from 1997-2000 and the Cards won 20+ games the first two years and went to the Big Dance. Clapp assumed the sole head coaching role from 2000-2003 and he was named C-USA coach of the year after the 2001-01 season that saw Louisville win the regular season championship and play Xavier in the NCAA Tournament. The Cards were 57-36 under the Clapp and White combination and 108-73 during Clapp's six years here.

Tom Collen took the reigns in 2003 and led the Cards to a 88-37 mark in his four years as the Cardinal skipper. After a WNIT trip in 2003-04, the Cards went to the NCAA tournament his final three years. Collen was on board when the Lady Cards began Big East play and Collen was responsible for getting three of Louisville's best to attend school here...Angel McCoughtry, Jazz Covington and Candyce Bingham.

As Jeff Walz wraps up his third season as UofL women's basketball coach, the Cards are poised for even greater accomplishments as they move into the downtown arena. Walz led the Cards to the NCAA Championship game last season and has had the highest ranked recruiting classes at Louisville each consecutive year he's been here..

SONJA'S ALL TIME FREEDOM HALL TEAM

Angel McCoughtry. Simply the best to ever wear the Lady Cards uniform.
Jazz Covington. The Adel, GA. center was tough as nails and cool under presure.
Kristin Mattox. Best outside shooter to play for the Lady Cards.
Sara Nord. Jeff, IN. point guard led Louisville in assists 4 years.
Nell Knox. Second behind Angel in career points.

SECOND TEAM

Candyce Bingham. The silky, smooth forward was Angel's perfect compliment.
Valerie Owens. Scoring leader in the early days of Cardinal hoops.
Sharon Bellamy. Led the Cards in rebounding 3 straight years. Scoring 2 years.
Marilyn Reckelhoff. The forward was a big scorer and deadly with free throws.
Gwen Doyle. Manual grad led Cards in scoring and rebounding for two years.


SONJA'S FAVORITE PLAYER OF ALL TIME IN THE HALL:

Kristin Mattox. Now Kristin Cox, she was the ultimate mad bomber from the court, sinking deep threes, driving layups and contested jumpers. From the foul stripe she shot .852 for her career...tops in Cardinal history. She could teach today's players quite a bit about defensive skills and played from the National Anthem till the final horn. It's unlikely her 271 career three pointers made will ever be topped.
Written by Sonja
2/26/10