MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Thompson's second half lifts Cats past Cards 48-47

UK Freshman guard Janee Thompson scored all of her team high 13 points in the second half and her three with 8.4 seconds left in the game gave the Wildcats the come-back win over Louisville Sunday night before 15453 fans in the KFC YUM! Center. The Cards had not lost to UK on their home court since 1999.

Louisville led 37-24 with 14 minutes remaining but went on a cold streak, failing to score for almost five minutes as UK clawed their way back into the contest. It was 37-30 with 11:15 remaining and the Cats cut that to 41-38 with 5:35 left.

A buzzer-beating three by Sara Hammond gave Louisville a six point lead at the 4:38 mark, but the Cards wouldn't score a basket the rest of the way and 3-6 free throw shooting down the stretch had the Cards clinging to a 46-42 lead after a Sara Hammond free throw and 1:41 to go.

Shoni Schimmel fouled Thompson on a three-point attempt with 59 seconds to go and the freshman calmly sank all three to make it 46-45. Bria Smith drew a foul on a drive to the basket with .38 to go but converted only one of her two free throw attempts. That set up Thompson's three with 8.4 seconds left that gave the Cats their first lead since 9:15 remained in the first half. Smith drove the length of the court for Louisville and attempted the potential game winner driving down the lane with a second to go...but the shot was blocked by UK center Azia Bishop and Adia Mathies corralled the loose ball to secure the improbable UK victory.

Quite frankly, this one was ugly early. UK led 4-0 after the first four minutes...UofL turning the ball over five times and attempting just one shot. Smith finally got UofL on the board with a jumper...but UK went on another 4-0 run to lead 8-2 with twelve minutes left in the first half. The Cards chipped away at the advantage, though, and tied it at 8-8 after two Shoni Schimmel free throws at the 9:15 mark. Shoni's three 40 seconds later gave Louisville a lead that they eventually increased to five points at halftime...breaking a 18-18 tie in the final 1:40 of the half with a Hammond jumper and Shoni three with 38 seconds left. The Cards led at the half 23-18.

Schimmel had 13 points. She did not score in the second half. Nita Slaughter stepped up big with nine rebounds in the first half. She didn't grab another one the rest of the game and played only five minutes in the second half.

The Cards went on a 6-0 run to start the final twenty minutes and led 29-18 with 18:15 to go after a Smith jumper. A tip in from Megan Denies made it 35-21 Louisville with 15:08 to go and it looked like Louisville could do no wrong. They were aggressive, confident and getting the ball inside to Sara Hammond, who was converting.

Thompson entered the game with 16:47 to go for Kentucky and hit a three with 14:52 left. UK proceeded to go on a 11-6 run. With 8:42 left and the Cards leading 41-32, Adia Mathies fell to the floor clutching her leg after a turnover by Bria Smith and was replaced by Bria Goss. Two baskets by DeNesha Stallworth and a jumper by Stallworth cut it to a 41-38 Louisville lead and set up the frantic finish. Mathies did return with two minutes to go and finished the game.

Shoni led Louisville with 13 points. Sara Hammond had 12...10 of those in the second half. Bria Smith finished with seven, Monique Reid five (all in the second half), Shawnta Dyer four and Megan Deines, Jude Schimmel and Nita Slaughter two each. Shelby Harper played four minutes but did not score. Neither Sherrone Vails or Cortnee Walton got off the bench. 


Things We Liked

1. The Cards forced 23 UK turnovers in the game.
2. Louisville's defense held UK to 32.7% from the floor (18-55). 3-16 from three-point range.
3. The Cards had 11 steals.
4. Louisville hung in there in the rebounding also grabbing 34 compared to UK's 37.
5. The Cards got a great first half from Nita Slaughter. Why she played only five minutes in the second half is puzzling.

Things to work on

1. Turnovers. The Cards had 25. Shoni with 11 of them. Bria had six. That number needs to be cut in half.
2. Points off turnovers. Louisville had 10, UK 17. That's a hustle stat. UK won it.
3. 5-8 free throw shooting. The missed ones in crunch time were huge, in terms of being able to salt the game away.
4. Three-point shooting. The Cards were 4-15. Shoni had three of them (in ten attempts). The only other Cards to attempt them were Megan Deines (0-3), Nita Slaughter (0-1) and Hammond (1-1)

Final Summary

A heart-breaking loss in a game that Louisville controlled for most of the way. We understand why Coach Walz went to Smith and her quickness late in the game, clearing out and letting her create...but Louisville got off only four shots after Hammond's three at the 4:54 mark. Three misses and the block at the end of the game. Overly cautious basketball? Tough to say...but UK went on a 8-3 run from that point on and the Cards offense just seemed to evaporate. Give UK credit for their relentless defensive pressure but the Cards seemed slow in getting into the offensive sets at the end and could not score from the floor when they finally did take shots.

In the end, two players who had never played against Louisville or in the KFC YUM! Center....Thompson and Stallworth...scored UK's final seven points (and 16 of their final 18) and the Cats won a exciting (but disappointing for Cards fans) Battle of the Bluegrass.

NELL ON WHEELS ROLLS INTO LOUISVILLE

About an hour before tip-off, Nell Fortner set up camp above the KFC YUM! main lobby with her latest "Nell on Wheels" stop. She was joined (while we were there) by LaChyna Robinson of ESPN and Fred Williams (head coach of the Atlanta Dream) and the three discussed key-points of the upcoming game.

Due to the heavy media presence at yesterday's game, the seating arrangements had Sonja and I split up for the first half of the game. I did get to spend the first half with Jared Stillman (J-Bone) who is now back in his hometown Nashville after graduation and working for ESPN Sports Radio 102.5 FM there. Always good to see the affable and personable J-Bone and he hasn't lost that rapier wit or knowledge of UofL hoops. Also had Lindsay McDonald (24/7 Sports) on my other side. Good writer, fun to talk to and very knowledgeable.

Sonja, on the other hand, was seated in Section 119 at a secondary press row and slated to sit next to Nell Fortner. After the first half, Nell hadn't arrived. We decided that we'd bring Sonja to the floor and take two vacant seats on press row (behind the basket) and sit together for the second half. I gave my seat to the Observer (Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game.) Sonja became no-show Danielle Donehew (Big East Poobah or something like that) for the second half.

We kept looking up in Sec. 119. Nell never showed. Guess those wheels were already in gear... or discovered the Troll Pub across the street.
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Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Louisville WBB romps EKU 76-42

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Schimmel's with 12 each in 32-point UofL win

-Volleyball tonight!

With 1:25 to go in the first half of the UofL women's basketball game Wednesday night, it was Louisville 33-Bryant 9. Yes, I know Louisville was playing Eastern Kentucky and no...it's not a misprint. EKU guard Jalisa Bryant had all nine of the Colonels points...on three three-pointers. She reached double figures for the half with ten...Jasmine Stafford added a free throw to make it 39-11 at the half.

For the first four minutes, it was questionable whether Louisville was aware they could score, too...down 6-0 at the 16:18 mark. Fatigue, both mental and physical seemed to be the culprit.

 A Bria Smith free throw, though, started a eight minute, 19-0 Cardinal run that had Louisville up 19-6 before Bryant connected on her third three of the half. Key to the run was the insertion of Jude Schimmel and Monique Reid into the game...Mo's four straight points got Louisville within one and four straight from Shoni put the Cards ahead to stay.

Louisville got balanced scoring in the first twenty minutes...nine of the eleven Cards who played hit the scoring column...Shoni leading the way with eight. The Cards held EKU to 14.3% shooting (3-21) and had forced 17 EKU turnovers, while committing only four. The 11 points is a season low for an opponent in the first half of a game this year.

Louisville started the same five (Hammond, Slaughter, Deines, Smith and Shoni) in the second half but saw the Colonels get production from someone else besides Bryant and actually used a 6-0 run to climb within 21 points at 46-25 with 13:24 left.

Shades of Tennessee-Martin?

Not tonight. Louisville responded with a 14-6 run that had them up after a Shawnta Dyer layup 60-31 with 8:24 remaining. From there on...it was purely a matter of how much Louisville would win by. Jude's three at the 2:32 mark made it 70-40 and the Cards outscored EKU 6-2 the rest of the way to take it by 34 points. Final: Louisville 76-EKU 42.

Jude and Shoni led the way for Louisville with 12 points each. Jude's came on a stellar 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from the foul line. Monique Reid finished with 11 (in 11 minutes...proving the Mo per Minute point philosophy is still alive and well). "The Hammer" -- Sara Hammond and Cortnee Walton added eight points, Shawnta Dyer seven, Megan Deines six, Bria Smith five, Nita Slaughter four, Shelby Harper three and Sheronne Vails one. All Cards played and all scored. 

Louisville outrebounded the Colonels 45-38, with the Hammer grabbing 7. Eastern's Jade Barber (a Louisville Ballard alumni) led all rebounders with 10 and also had 11 points. The Cards shot 42.4% for the game and had forced 24 EKU turnovers. Official attendance was 7942.

Things we liked

1. Turnovers = Points. The Cards scored 29 points off the 24 turnovers and had 44 points in the paint. Good to see the transition game in gear and 17 offensive rebounds.

2. Jude in the Mood. Another solid performance from the sophomore tonight...80% from the field, 75% from the line and a team-leading six assists. She also grabbed six rebounds. We're still waiting to hear if she drove the team bus back to campus.

3. Defense, defense! Louisville couldn't shoot worth a spit early...but made sure the Colonels didn't either. Over eight minutes without a EKU basket after Bryant's first two threes. That works for me.

4. No fold. The Cards saw a mini-EKU run cut it to a 21-point lead in the second half. The Cards did not panic, though...and rolled off eight straight points in response.

Things to Work On

1. Cardinals, start your engines! The Cards were 0 for 10 from the floor in the first four minutes of the game. Maybe jet lag? Not according to Shoni..."We weren't focused mentally". (They got better).

2. Gotta hit the free ones. I'll harp on it until it improves to 70%. 17-28 from the charity stripe. 60.7%. That needs to get to 70% or better. 11 missed points could be crucial Sunday against "you know who".

3. Stark from beyond the arc. Louisville went 3-14 from three-point range. 21.4%. One each for Shoni, Jude and Nita. Another area that must get better. If "Shake'Em" nails over 50% from the arc this year, I'll probably pass out from the shock.

Still...a good, quality win against an opponent who will definitely make some noise in the OVC. A nice tune-up before the UK game. A great way to top off an exciting day in the history of UofL sports.

They said it. (From the post-game presser.)

Shoni on the start:

"We just weren't mentally prepared for this game. We came out and picked it up after a little bit but we just lolli-gagged. Our bench gave us a good spark and for them to come up and take off was good for us."

Shoni on Jude making plays:

" It's awesome! To just watch her go out there or be on the court with her and see do her own thing....it's awesome." 

Shoni on what needs to happen between the EKU game and UK game:

"Definitely a day of rest. We been going pretty hard for the past few weeks and just a day of rest is going to help a lot. We want to be prepared for this game Sunday, because it is a big game for us and we want to do the best we can...so for us to be mentally prepared is probably the best answer for that." 

Sara on what the team can take out of the win:

" We can't take any teams for granted. Not saying like...'Oh, they're Eastern Kentucky and we're going to come out and blow them out'. Mentally, like Shoni said, we came out and said 'Oh, this is going to be a win for us'. A team like UK, a top ten team...with their defense where they pressure you and deny you...we have to come mentally prepared and bring energy."

Sara on Monique Reid off the bench:

"She comes in and she's instant points. She knows how to score...and she'll tell you that's what she does. Her experience, her scoring ability and being able to get to the free throw line. We're going to need that come Sunday...because they've got bigger post players this year." 

Coach Walz on the start of the game:

"We're tired. We're a tired group and I was concerned about that. We need a day off to just get acclimated again. Get back to school. Get some rest. Our travel schedule has been crazy. I think that had something to do with it. And, we're 0 for 10 in our first shots. We had some good shots. We just missed them. Then, we give up back-to-back threes where we just weren't there mentally. We're probably more mentally tired than we are physically. And with what we're asking them to get done, you can't be mentally tired".

Walz on Jude:

"I've challenged her. Now that teams know how well she passes the ball, they're going to force her and make her try to finish. And she hit some nice pull-up jumpers tonight. She's probably the best we've got going off ball screen. Just how low she gets. She passes the ball extremely well. I was really pleased for her."

( As were the fans, Coach. Cats Sunday. Volleyball Thursday and Friday. Football, too. It's a great time to be a Cardinal fan. But, has there ever been a time when it hasn't been?)

Best Walz quip of the night.

When asked about the 11-point first half performance of EKU:

"Yeah, and one player had ten of them. If we could have guarded her, it would have been a pretty good first half."



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As mentioned, Volleyball tonight in the YUM! against Belmont. The Cards have already won the Derby and Preakness, so.... The Rutgers vs. Louisville football game will be shown in various places as well inside the arena...so c'mon out and celebrate! Michigan vs. Tennessee at 5 pm. and Louisville vs. Belmont at 7:30 p.m. 

This is your chance to see exciting NCAA Volleyball action featuring the University of Louisville Cardinals and the Tenn. vs. Michigan match should be a very exciting one also.

The Cards are fortunate to have this first and second round match-up at home and if they are successful..they'll head to Berkeley, CA for the regionals. Then, it's back to the KFC YUM! Center for the Final Four if they take two on the left coast.

Anne Kordes and her staff have done a wonderful job with this team. In only her second year here, she's combined a roster of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers to sweep the regular season and tournament titles in the BIG EAST. In the ACC, they'll face even tougher opponents and challenges.

They deserve our support. Please get out to provide it Thursday amd Friday if at all possible. 
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welljustdropthislittlepregamepredicitiononyouandpredictthatuoflbeatskentuckyinthekfcyumcenterbythescoreof77to70.ifanyoneisabletoreadthis,goodjob!

Women's soccer receives awards...We heard it thru the grapevine...UK for real this year?

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Exeter 1st team, Hunter 2nd team NSCAA All-Region

-Two Lady Cards recruits coming for a visit

-Lady Kats defeat DUKE in Rupp

Exeter led Louisville in
scoring for 2010 and 2011.

Two players on the University of Louisville women's soccer team have received prestigious awards...being selected to the NSCAA All-Region teams for 2011. Scorer Christine Exeter was named to the 1st team and defender Chelsea Hunter has been selected for the second team.

Exeter, who will be a junior next season, was the Cards leading scorer and All-BIG EAST Conference selection. She may well be on her way to re-writing all the records for scoring at the University of Louisville and helped power the girls to a #24 season ending ranking this year and trip to NCAA Women's Soccer's Sweet Sixteen.

Hunter's defense helped
Louisville reach the
NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Hunter made the second squad and is a remarkable "comeback story". After seeing limited action her first two years at Louisville, she had to sit out 2010 with an injury. The time off gave her the chance to re-focus and strengthen her defending capabilities and she returned this year as part of a strong Cardinal defensive line. 

Soccer is alive and well at UofL...for both the men's and women's squads...and plans to build a new, 5000 seat soccer stadium on campus are well under way with two sites being surveyed and reviewed for possible location.

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Rumors and tweets out there in cyberspace are indicating that two of the most sought after girls' high school players in the class of 2013 are headed to Louisville for a visit over the President's Day weekend. Mercedes Russell and Stephanie Mavunga will be in town for a visit to watch the Lady Cards play Notre Dame and check out the Louisville campus.

Russell is a dominant post player.

Russell, from Springfield, Oregon is considered by many the top recruit in the 2013 class. She is a paint monster and is drawing interest from Connecticut, Tennessee and all the women's college basketball "bigs". Russell teamed with Mavunga to lead the USA U 16 team to the gold this year in Mexico and has made a prior visit to the UofL campus to see what Walz and the Cards have to offer.

Mavunga is a high profile scorer

Mavunga hails from Brownsburg, IN...a suburb of Indianapolis, and is widely recognized as the best player in Indiana girls high school hoops. She's another dominater in the paint and packs gymnasiums wherever she goes with fans wishing to see her play. 

Although 2235 miles separate the two talented players, they've become fast friends and could probably show up on some campus as a package deal to play their four years of college hoops.

Always good to recruit and gather skilled post players with the ability to score. Here's hoping the girls have a great time on their visit in February and enjoy the state-of-the-art KFC-YUM! Center...

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After Kentucky defeated Louisville by 20 points on Sunday, there was some discussion that Louisville's women pretty much destroyed themselves with lack of effort and weak rebounding. Was Kentucky really that good a team? Would the Lady Wildcats suffer a drop off in their next game...against #6 Duke in Rupp Arena?

Last night, in front of 14,508 fans in Rupp, UK defeated the Blue Devils 72-65. The Cats trailed by eight late in the first half but made a serious run at Duke, had a 31-30 lead with a minute left in the first half but went into the locker room down 34-31. UK grabbed the lead early in the final half and got back-to-back threes from Bria Goss and Adia Mathies with five minutes remaining to go up by ten and hold off the visitors to win by seven.

Mathies followed the strong
effort vs. Louisville with 23
against Duke last night.

Mathies led UK with 23 points, Goss added 19 and freshman Azia Bishop...who had only 11 points coming into the contest, erupted for 12 points and 10 rebounds in the UK win.

UK may just be the real thing. We'll watch how they do in South Bend against the Notre Dame Lady Irish this month...but, last night, UK showed that the Louisville win was no fluke and that Matthew Mitchell just might have a bona-fide contender for the Final Four in Denver.

Meanwhile, Louisville looks to shake off the dismal performance against UK on Saturday when (0-7) Gardner Webb comes to visit. Louisville dropped to #15 in the NCAA rankings after the loss in Lexington.

The Cards shouldn't have much trouble against Gardner Webb tomorrow...we'll have a breakdown of the visitors tomorrow and a full recap of action after the game for you here at CARDINAL COUPLE.

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Kentucky wins WBB Battle of the Bluegrass 74-54

CARDINAL COUPLE SPECIAL REPORT:

-Early first half run propels Cats to 20 point win.

Cards stand for the National Anthem

Kentucky used a 15-1 first half run that spanned six minutes to pull away from the Lady Cards Sunday and went on to win big in Lexington in front of 7951 fans.

A Becky Burke three pointer with 13:14 in the first half had Louisville down just by one at 10-9. At the 7:29 mark, a Kastine Evans layup pushed the score to 25-10 UK. Louisville was plagued by five turnovers in the stretch and could not hit a basket in six attempts in the stretch. UK led by 14 at 30-16 with 5:28 left after a layup by Bra'Shey Ali and would go in up 40-23 at the half.

Actually, the Cards looked good for the first three minutes of the game...up 6-2 after a Cierra Warren tip-in at the 17:12 mark. After that...not so good.

Louisville was led by Burke's seven first half points...with Bria Smith adding six and Shoni Schimmel's five. Cierra Warren played just nine first half minutes because of foul trouble and other starter Sara Hammond saw just six minutes due to fouls. Louisville had 15 first half turnovers, compared to UK's 11 and trailed in the rebounding battle 17-15. A key stat was 2nd chance points...where UK held a 14-6 advantage.

The Cards needed to come out strong in the second half and go to the boards with authority...plus improve upon a first half 33.3% shooting number (8-24). UK blistered the nets for 15-29 first half shooting for 51.7% and went 6-9 from three point range....A'dia Mathies going 3-3 from deep for nine of her ten first half points.

It didn't happen for Louisville, though.

The Cards fell behind 44-23 in the second twenty minutes before a brief rally, capped off by a Shoni Schimmel layup off a steal at the 17:27 mark cut the UK lead to 46-32. The Cats responded with a Bria Goss three, though and pushed it back out to 50-34 with 15 minutes left. A Shoni three got Louisville back within 13 at the 14:42 mark...but the Cards would get no closer the rest of the way.

Kentucky stretched it out to 62-42 with 9:02 left on a three by Kastine Evans and still led 66-46 after a Shawnta Dyer foul put Brittany Henderson on the line to cash-in two free throws with 4:01 to go. UK largest lead came with 1:27 left at 74-50 on a Maegan Conwright layup....Louisville got two late layups by Schimmel to finish the game's scoring.

Disappointing and puzzling both...this Cardinal loss. Louisville did not do a great job on the boards...losing that battle 34-25 (15-11 on the offensive boards). Kentucky enjoyed a large advantage from the foul line...going 16-23 compared to Louisville's seven for ten chances.

Louisville never seemed to get fully motivated and fired up for today's game. For offense, the Cards relied on Shoni again...11 more shots than the closest Cardinal teammate and finishing with 17 points. Becky Burke added 11 for the Cards and Bria Smith finished with 10. Monique Reid was held to nine points in 28 minutes and left the game for good with 4:14 to go after taking a hard blow to the head on the Memorial floor and laying motionless for a minute. She went off the court under her own power. It was the only time Memorial was quite all afternoon.



Cardinal bench watches dejectedly in second half.

 A'dia Mathies fueled the Cats with 20 and Samantha Drake had a big game inside against the Cards with three for five shooting and four for four from the stripe...giving her 10 points. 

The Cats four guard lineup seemed a step faster and more eager to get into the transition game than the Lady Cards...Walz tried Shelby Harper for seven first half minutes and Jude Schimmel for 14 minutes in the second half to try and keep up with the Cats...but UK's main four guards (Mathies, Goss, Amber Smith and Evans) accounted for 45 of UK's points and 12 assists...two more assists than Louisville had for the game.

WHAT WE LIKED TODAY:

Not much to glow about here...

- Cards had 10 steals for the game, three more than UK. Shoni led the way with four.

-Jude Schimmel logged an impressive 14 second half minutes for the Cards today. No fouls, no turnovers... a rebound, basket and assist during her time on the court.

-Mo had nine rebounds (five on the defensive end) for Louisville. More than Cierra Warren, Sara Hammond, Asia Taylor, Shawnta Dyer and Sherrone Vails COMBINED.

Things to improve on: 

-Turnovers. Even though both teams had 26...Louisville's seemed to come at the most inopportune times...18-22 is what Walz seemed resigned to, they surpassed that today against the ball-hawking UK guards. 

-Playing with intensity. At times, the Cards looked confused, scared and other times almost dis-interested and un-affected by the court activities.

-Threes. A dismal 5-19. Jude 0-1, Burke 2-6 and Shoni 3-12. Need more of those to fall.

So...what started as high hopes for a Louisville Sunday win against the in-state rival will now be looked at as a drubbing by a talented non-conference opponent.

A loss that saw a girl from Louisville Iroquois (Mathies) start a fire and burn the Cards at the stake - plus a passed over center from Bardstown (Drake)exact revenge on a taller Cardinal front line. Sometimes, it just happens. Louisville got outplayed...and has the "L" in their column to prove it.
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THEY SAID IT:

UK head coach Matthew Mitchell on the game:

"That was a great victory for our team today. A tough, tough opponent. We had a lot of respect for them coming in and they were very tough to prepare for. Very good coach and I'm so proud of our players for putting in the work to
prepare and put themselves in a position to get a great victory. I'm real happy for our players.

We were hoping that our depth could be quality today and it would be an advantage. I was extremely cautious - worried is maybe a better word - about their top players. Shoni's just an unbelievable player. We had to use our depth today and use it in a way to see if we had quality depth or not. Today, I think it paid off for us and we were able to use it to our advantage."

Mitchell on rebounding and second chance points:

"We've really been working on becoming a great offensive rebounding team and I think we have the talent to do that. We just have to focus on that and work really hard....Louisville is just a great defensive team and they make it so hard on you to run anything that looks really fluid, that looks good. They do a great job of knowing your personnel and making it difficult on you. I didn't think we played a very pretty offensive game today but offensive boards and second chance putbacks were big for us today because Louisville was making us struggle for things."

Mitchell on the rivalry:

"I think it's grown into a tremendous thing. That thing over in Louisville last year was unreal...the people that showed up for that game and obviously Louisville put it on us real good. I think the game today was closer than the margin ... a tough, tough game with really good players on both sides and it's an exciting time for women's basketball here in the Commonwealth." 

Louisville head coach Jeff Walz on the game:

"Second chance points. The difference in the game. We had stressed that, coming into tonight's game...that we hadn't taken care of the basketball. In order to limit the number of second chance points, we had to rebound the basketball. I thought we did an O.K. job of taking care of the ball but we gave up way too many second chance points."

Bria Smith on her first time in Memorial and in the series:

"The crowd was definitely crazy. I wish the game would have gone a little better."

Walz on the rivalry and basketball in the Commonwealth:

"They had a great crowd here, close to 8,000? and we're fortunate every night to come out and play in front of 12,000. We have a city that supports women's basketball, their community here supports it and it's fun. It's what these young ladies deserve to play in front of. They work just as hard as the men do and I think people are starting to realize it's good quality basketball."

Shoni on the first half:

"It was frustrating because we weren't mentally prepared. and, we got out-rebounded so we were just trying to bounce back in the second half."

(We'll run Jenny's take on it in the Monday edition of Cardinal Couple.) We'll also go into the numbers a little more. (Grudingly...gee, do we have to? They ain't pretty.)
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CARDS down CATS 78-52

LADY CARDS "flawless" in win over Cats.

With a capacity crowd of 22,152 on hand, the University of Louisville women's
basketball team jumped out to an early 17-4 lead in the first eight minutes of
the Sunday afternoon contest in the KFC YUM Center and never looked back in the 26 point win over Kentucky.

Shoni Schimmel and Becky Burke drained six three pointers each in the beating of the Wildcats and Sherrone Vails narrowly missed a double/double with 10 points and nine boards in the win. Louisville held UK to 28.2% shooting while shooting 49.1% against the Cats and took UK's heralded three point shooters to a combined 3-18 from trifecta land and the Cards led at the half 43-24. (Photo by UofL Card Game's Charlie Springer, and a beaut at that!)

Quite a bit to like in the taming of the Cats this afternoon:

-Schimmel finished with a game high 26 points on 9-16 shooting and was 6-9 from three point range. She also led the Cards with 6 assists in 35 minutes of playing time. Forget the eight turnovers (part of Louisville's 21)...Schimmel schooled the Wildcats back court and her three straight three pointers that boosted the Louisville lead from 5-4 to 14-4 in the span of one minute early in the first half had Cardinal fans in a frenzy.

-Becky Burke definitely likes the sight lines in the KFC YUM. All 12 of Burke's shots this afternoon were from beyond the arc and she also went 3-4 from the free throw line for 21 points. Burke's second consecutive three with 6:07 remaining in the game put the Cards up 68-48 and got Louisville fans roaring from the rafters.

-Credit again to Shelby Harper for an off the bench first half spark. Harper is adept at getting the Cards into the breakneck, fast paced transition game and this afternoon she skimmed over the hardwood creating and driving. A couple of bone shattering collisions with UK's Victoria Dunlap and designated UK thug Brittany Henderson failed to deter the blonde Harper's resolve and she bested UK A'dia Mathies off the dribble when she was on the court.

-Sheronne Vails and Keisha Hines took the fight to UK's Victoria Dunlap as best as anyone can...and combined for 16 points and 17 rebounds. Dunlap was unworldly in defeat, though...with 17 points, 23 rebounds and 5 steals. If there is a better forward in the SEC, you'll have to prove it to me. Dunlap dominates, seems to be around every loose ball or missed shot and her strength and quickness is unmatched. A late injury had her leg wrapped in ice during the post game press conference and she's scheduled for an MRI Monday. We hope she's OK...she is an ultimate warrior and fierce competitor.

-No Asia Taylor this afternoon for the Cards. When asked about the sophomore's absence, Walz would not go into detail, just saying that she had some things to work out and he had told her that she wouldn't be needed for the Kentucky game. According to Cardinal Sports Reports' Howie Lindsey...Taylor watched the game from the stands, sitting near CSR's head honcho Jack Coffee.

-Monique Reid came off the bench, as Walz stated she would, and gave the Cards 10 points and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes. Mo knocked out 6-8 free the free throw line and penetrated the paints against the Cats as well as any Cardinal all afternoon. Looks like the hustle level is there...Coach Walz.

-We'd be remiss if we didn't offer "Happy Birthday" wishes to Jeff Walz's wife Kim. We'll be polite and not mention her age. Nice birthday gift, Coach.

This was a win that Louisville earned with hustle, drive, determination and following the game plan. They felt that Dunlap would get her usual big performance...but by taking Mathies, Snowden and Conwright out of the picture...the Cards were able to win. The three combined for 10 for 34 shooting and just three hits from long range.

FROM THE POST GAME:

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UK's head coach Matthew Mitchell's opening remarks to the media:

"A disappointing day, obviously. Our style of play is based on hustle and tenacity and really working hard and we picked a bad day not to play hard defensively.... I just thought that UofL looked much more motivated than we did. We'll take responsibility for that and see what we can figure out. An absolutely terrible...tough day for us...and UofL had a lot to do with that. "

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On Victoria Dunlap's injury late in the game:

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"She's being checked out right now. She walked off under her own power...it could be a hyperextension. She said she didn't hear anything pop. Obviously it would be a terrible blow for us if she were lose anytime for us."

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On Shoni Schimmel's performance:

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"What a great day she had and she took advantage of when we made mistakes. Not just open threes...but some when we were trying to claw back and we had someone on her."

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On today's crowd.

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"I thought it was fantastic. What a great job people did turning out today. An exciting atmosphere for UofL...it wasn't that great for us.

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On it "just being another game for UK":

"No. I don't think so. This is a very important game to me. This is not a game we took lightly. The coaches put their heart and soul into the game. The players know. We have a lot of veteran players that performed well in the series last year, so we absolutely did not disrespect UofL.

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CARDINAL PLAYERS BECKY BURKE, SHONI SCHIMMEL, SHERRONE VAILS and SHELBY HARPER:

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Burke on how this feels compared to last year:

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"It feels really good to get a win against a quality team. A win against a top ten team is great and a win against a rival is really great, too. We don't talk about last year (laughter).

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Schimmel on her and Burke's three point success:

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"Before the game, we talked about having a shootout. We tied. She did shoot more than me, though. We both did well."

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Schimmel on her three early three pointers:

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"It felt great, just going out there and starting that way. It kinds got things rolling and everyone else got rolling."

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Harper on whether she thought she'd see as much playing time as she did today:

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"No. I didn't really expect it. I'm always ready, though, when he wants to put me in there. Just try to come in, bring the team some energy and getting up and down the floor and focused on what we need to do."

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Vails on her minutes tonight:

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"It was a physical game and I knew that my two post partners were in foul trouble so I just had to be tough for the team."

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JEFF WALZ:

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"To get 19 assists on 27 made baskets shows that you are really playing team basketball.'

(On being surprised on Schimmel's shot selection)

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"No, I recruited the kid. It's what she does. I mean..some of the behind the back stuff and that...she's learning when and where and how to do it but that's what her game is. That's the flair she brings to the game. I'd have a hard time believing that any first time fans that there were there today weren't impressed with her game. If they weren't impressed, they need to try bowling or something."

Lady Cards romp Mississippi Valley State 96-37

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Lady Cards roll over the Devilettes 96-37.

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Track and field @ Southern Illinois.

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Volleyball Friday afternoon

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Purdue vs. Louisville: Part Deux

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Shoni Schimmel (pictured here) is either calling a Cardinal inbounds play or is scratching her ear. As far as we're concerned...she can do whatever she wants on the court and it'll probably turn out good.

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This one tonight was like that old 1960's V-8 gas guzzler my Dad used to drive the family around in. It started kind of rough at the beginning but once it got warmed up, it hit on all eight cylinders and ran to perfection. Almost five minutes into tonight's game, the score stood at 6-6 and Louisville was still sputtering out of the driveway.

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Enter Shelby Harper and the Cards shifted into high gear and rolled out the next 15 points over the next six minutes.

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Shelby had a little help. The Cardinal defense turned up the pressure, Monique Reid comes in the game and adds eight quick points and Shoni Schimmel nails a three...well, you get the picture. Sometimes it takes a village to get it done.

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Add another 18-2 Cardinal run and this one was pretty much one for the record books. Louisville went in at half up 44-15...10 Cardinals had played, seven had scored and they had allowed a mere 16 Devilette shots in twenty minutes...10 of those from three point range.

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They went ahead and played the second half anyway.

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Louisville outscored Mississippi Valley State by 30 points in the second stanza and everyone scored but Rachel Story. Five Cardinals end up in double figures, led by Schimmel's 15. Monique Reid added 12 in 14 minutes, Antonita Slaughter pushed in 11 second half points, Polly Harrington 10 in the final twenty minutes and Tia Gibbs totaled 11.

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Other things to like about tonight's romp:

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-The Cards shot 14-16 from the charity stripe. When asked about improvement from the line from previous games...Jeff Walz joked:

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"It's all about getting good free throw shooters to the line."

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(At least I think he was joking.)

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-Louisville went 10-23 from three point range. Schimmel and Slaughter with three each. 6 for 11 in the second half...Slaughter is almost automatic when she can set, square and release.

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-10 rebounds for guard Charmaine Tay, all in the second half. Add six assists to that stat and you begin to get an idea why Jeff Walz was so crazy about her out of high school.

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-Louisville held MVS scoreless for the opening 7:45 on the final half. By then it was 63-15 and Louisville would go on to hold a 81-24 lead with seven minutes to go.

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How does it all translate out as far as a preparation game for Kentucky on Sunday? Coach Walz pointed out that he was pleased with the defense and the way the Cards stopped the screen off the ball, a play UK runs effectively. The open shots weren't too prevalent for the Devilettes and Louisville ran the transition game as good as they have all season long.

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It will be her first time experiencing the UofL /UK rivalry game but Shoni Schimmel wants to help her seven teammates that weathered the UK bombardment last year get a little payback.

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"It means a lot to me. I'm going out, playing as hard as I can and doing the best I can against them. We won't worry about what they can do, we're just going to play our game and make it about us." the sharp passing freshman commented.

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Monique Reid turned up the intensity level tonight and showed a lot of hustle in her 14 minutes tonight. She even commented that she's OK with coming off the bench and contributing to the team that way.

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That's good...because it's a role that Jeff Walz doesn't see changing anytime soon. According to Walz, if she can provide a solid 15-20 minutes without getting tired or slowing down and add 12-14 points...then it's 'job accomplished' for now.

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The University of Louisville's track and field teams open the 2010-11 indoor season Friday at Carbondale, Ill. in the Southern Illinois Fast Start Invitational.

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For the women, two-time weight throw national champion D'Ana McCarty will look to put up big tosses in the event. McCarty is also the BIG EAST indoor weight throw two consecutive years.

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The Cards will compete against national Division II power Lincoln (Mo.), Southern Illinois, South Florida and Belmont. Toss away, Cards!

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At 5 p.m. Friday afternoon, the volleyball Cards begin the quest to win the NCAA Championships with a match against Middle Tennessee State in West Lafayette, IN. Winner of this one gets the victor in the Purdue vs. Kentucky match. MTSU has defeated Louisville the last two times the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. Not today, Blue Raiders...Spike 'em, Cards!

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Got a e-mail from CARDINAL COUPLE reader Dan Wallace about the Go Cards Beat Purdue legacy. He was in the student section the night of the event. He writes:

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Paul and Sonya:

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Great story and a classic on the Purdue sign.

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What actually happened was...which ever opponent UofL was playing the student section called out that school's name in the cheer. It was the next home game after the Purdue game and the cheerleader used the backside of the Purdue sign to write the name of the opponent the Cards were playing that night. The cheerleader happened to have turned the sign over and upside down to write the name of that night's opponent. So, as the cheerleader is holding the sign down against her body..."PURDUE" is being shown to the student section.

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We all chanted PURDUE before she could place the sign over her head. And a tradition was born.

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Thanks for bringing back the memory!
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Thanks for the eye witness report, Dan! Now... if we could only resurrect the Cardinal Bird bungee jumping from the ceiling of the YUM Center....