Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Softball, Lacrosse in action today

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball (hopefully) against Wisconsin this morning

-Lacrosse travels to Drexel for Sunday match

-Way to go, guys!

-Cardinal Couple Radio recap

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SOFTBALL TODAY AT ULMER STADIUM HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER IN LOUISVILLE

NO SOFTBALL TODAY!


Weather permitting, the University of Louisville softball team will kick off Day 3 of the Louisville Softball Classic against Wisconsin at 10 a.m. this morning. Rain is forecasted for the Louisville area Sunday and, indeed, it was raining early this morning when Paulie padded out to get the morning paper.

Louisville (23-3) took the day off Saturday after two wins on Friday. The Cards extended their win streak at Ulmer Stadium to 11-0 with a exciting 4-2 win over UNC and then blasted EMU 6-1 in the second game.

Louisville will close out the Classic on Monday against Iowa at 1:30 and also will face Indiana Wednesday at Ulmer with a 6 p.m. game.

Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin...didn't Sandy get the memo that Louisville is headed to the ACC instead of the Big 10? Oh well, domination of one conference at a time...

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Louisville Lacrosse is 6-1 on the season and faces another 6-1 squad today at 1 p.m in Philly against the Drexel Dragons.

Drexel is 1-1 in their last two, falling to Maryland-Baltimore County and then downing Colgate 12-7. Our guess is that if Rachel LeCoq "Le Gran Le Coq" was still at Colgate...the teeth-cleaners would have won.

The Cards have won their last two...both on the road...romping Presbyterian in Georgia and demolishing Detroit Wednesday 19-2.

Louisville is ranked #5 nationally in scoring offense and scoring margin. The Dragons are #14 in the nation in scoring defense.

Drexel was a pre-season pick to finish third in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Kelli Joran leads the Dragons with 19 goals on the season. Goalie Teresha Bradley is allowing just 7.36 goals allowed in seven games.

Our thoughts are with the team, staff and students of Seton Hill University...who lost their lacrosse coach, unborn son and bus driver in a crash yesterday while on the road.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/16/us/pennsylvania-bus-crash/index.html



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We'd be remiss if we didn't extend our hearty congratulations to the Louisville men's basketball team who won the BIG EAST Tournament last night in New York's Madison Square Garden with 78-61 win of Syracuse.

Back-to-back titles for Pitino's players and back-to-back MVP Tournament awards to Peyton Siva.

After a rough start that had Louisville down 35-23 at the half, the Cards dominated the final 15 minutes of the second half, going on a 24-3 run that was incredible to watch and led 56-48 with 8:51 to play. Louisville would continue to increase that margin and was up 73-55 with two minutes left.

How about freshman Montrezl Harrell with 20 points? The Cards have won their last 10 in a row and if they're not a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, maybe the top seed of ALL the teams playing...somebody has some explaining to do.

Great job...Peyton, Russ, Montrezl, Gorgui, Luke and crew!

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We found parking on Frankfort Avenue and stumbled in for another Cardinal Couple Radio show yesterday and had a lively time discussing Louisville women's basketball, softball, lacrosse, swimming, the Selection Show Party and first and second NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the KFC YUM! Center.

Down one co-host...(Jenny was in Indianapolis trying out for the WNBA Indiana Fever squad)...we still managed to make it through the broadcast in one piece. Thanks to the brilliant Jeff McAdams and also to Coach Walz for the segment. And, Monkberry Moon Delight...in the control booth keeping us on the air and inserting the taped clips.

Did ya miss the live feed? Not to worry, it's available on the Crescent Hill Radio Soundcloud.

www.crescenthillradio.com

Paulie

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Women's teams head East

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

Saniya Chong, on an official visit to UCONN, pledges to be a Husky.   More on this later.  Congratulations Ms. Chong, we wish you well!

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


Paul and Sonja are enjoying a little football this weekend, so I’m jumping in today with just the facts on all your favorite squads that played on Friday.  It was a busy day for Louisville Women’s athletics, and all the teams are at away games except for Swimming and Diving. 

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Let’s get it started with Swimming and Diving.  Swimming and Diving opened the season at home at Ralph Wright Natorium Friday afternoon against Xavier.   There is no way for me to do the squad justice, so check out this link at U of L Athletics to get the details on the day:

http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/c-swim/spec-rel/101212aab.html

Sounds like a dominant performance by the Cards and the freshman on the team, of which there are six, had very good outings for their meet yesterday.   Congratulations on a dominant performance.    The team is back in the water today at 11:00 a.m. for an alumni meet. 

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Women’s Soccer hit the road and played Friday evening at Rutgers.   It was a rough outing for the Soccer Cards as they lost 3-0, bringing their season to a 3-3-3 in Big East play and 8-4-3 overall.   The Scarlet Knights opened scoring in the 15^th minute and again in the 27^th minute, taking the lead in to halftime to 2-0.   35 seconds in to the second half, the 3^rd and final goal was scored.  As expected with this kind of finish, Rutgers led the stat board too.  Let’s hope the team and regroup and focus on the next match at hand, which is Sunday at Seton Hall at 1:00 p.m.   Get out there Sunday and bring a win home off of this road trip!

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The Scarlet Knights had there way with Louisville Athletics on Friday, also defeating Field Hockey Friday 3-1 in Piscataway.   The Scarlet Knights jumped out to an early lead in the 6^th minute.  Rutgers would score again and take a lead of 2-0 in to the locker room at half time.   Much like in the soccer game, Rutgers came out strong after the break and scored their final goal just under 2 minutes in to the second half.   Sophomore Alyssa Voelmle would score the Cards only goal in the game, bringing her season total goals to 5.    It was a tough day for the Cardinals in Jersey!   The team travels to North Carolina to face # 22 Wake Forest Sunday at 12:00 p.m.  Good luck as you face Wake, Cards; we’ll all be rooting for you.

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The VolleyCards are also up east, though they face the Red Storm of St. John’s.  St. John’s gave the Cardinals all they could handle, but the Cards came away with the win in 5 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 19-25, 15-9).  Lola had 20 kills on the day and Gwen Rucker chipped in 11 as the seniors fueled the team to victory.  St. John’s played aggressively and nearly came away with a huge upset.  The #15 Cards improve to 17-3 overall and 6-1 in Big East play.  The VolleyCards head to Connecticut on Sunday for another Big East matchup at 2:00 p.m. 

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It was a busy day for women’s athletics, and on the whole, the squads split the wins/losses for the day.  A day of travel and all of these away squads are back at it again on Sunday.   Safe travels ladies.  Play hard.  Go Cards!

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball sweeps Duke

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville sweeps Duke 3-0 in Volleyball

-Soccer shuts out SEMO 4-0

-Staff predictions on UofL vs. UK football game

The VolleyCards stayed on the winning path Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center...sweeping Duke in three games before a crowd of 2511. Led by Lola Arslanbekova's 19 kills, the Cards improved to 4-1 on the season with a 25-23, 25-12, 25-17 triumph over the A.C.C. powerhouse. 

The Cards jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in the first game on Lola's first kill of the evening and led 10-7 before Duke went on an 8-2 run and pushed ahead 15-12. The Cards rolled back, though...getting a service ace from Caitlin Welch to tie it up at 16-16 and Gwen Rucker's spike put the Cards ahead 20-18. Duke wold rally to tie the contest at 22-22 and 23-23 but Lola delivered a massive kill shot to give the Cards a one-point lead and Kaitlynn James expertly sent a tip past Duke defenders to give the Cards game one 25-23. 

(Not so Cameron Crazies in the KFC YUM Center)

Inspired by the win, Louisville took no prisoners in the second game. A 4-2 early Cardinal advantage ballooned to 15-7 after a Kaitlynn James kill at the net and the Cards...led by three Lola kills, out-pointed the Blue Devils 10-5 the rest of the way to win easily 25-12. 

After the halftime intermission, Duke offered a brief challenge..jumping out to a 4-1 lead to start the third game. Behind Lola and Brooke Mattingly, the Cards fought back and took the lead for good when a Lola block gave Louisville an 8-7 edge. The Cards steadily increased the lead the rest of the way...enjoying scores of 12-9, 16-12 and 24-15 before settling for the 25-17 final margin. Of particular note was the third game efforts of Mattingly...who recorded five kills in the final game and three straight during a stretch that saw Louisville go from a 17-14 lead to a 20-15 advantage. 

The Cards held Duke to just 17 kills in the final two games after allowing 15 in the first game. Louisville hit .333 for the contest and held Duke to .140. Welch and Lola led the Cards with 12 digs each. 

Two games today for the Cards...Marshall at 11 a.m. and Samford at 7:30 p.m. Samford defeated the Thundering Herd in earlier action on Friday.

POSTGAME : ANNE KORDES

(Opening remarks) 

" A huge win tonight. Duke is picked to contend for the ACC title and has a great tradition and winning program...so we couldn't be happier about it. I thought our girls played really well and we're working hard to get them prepared. I think their level of execution is at the highest level of any team I've ever coached. And, that's fun...because their IQ for Volleyball is very high. As a coach, you can just let them go out there and execute. We've got a lot of experienced upperclassmen and our freshmen are learning really fast. Tonight was a fun situation because we just controlled the game. 

(On Brooke Mattingly's third game effort)

" The reason she didn't come on before the third game is because we weren't setting her. We just got to get her the ball. She is going to be the girl that everybody prays doesn't have a good match. Opponents are going to have to key on Lola, key on Gwen...and if they key on them, it's going to leave Brooke wide open. And, that's fun...because she's taking full advantage of it when they do. 

(On Marshall and Samford next)

"Marshall is scary. They've got some Louisville kids on their team and we're the bigger, more established program...so, of course they want to come in here and show us up. I don't ever take anyone lightly. They struggled last year, we beat them last year but it's definitely not a game to mess around with. 

Samford...they go through their conference last year and don't drop a match. They'll probably do the same thing this year. They're a very dangerous team. They've got everyone back from last year. Their head coach actually worked for me at St. Louis. He does a really good job of firing them up and they have two senior leaders from Louisville..a player from Mercy Academy and one from Sacred Heart. We always like bringing opponents in with Louisville girls and giving them a chance to play."

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Louisville soccer improved to 3-0 on the season with a 4-0 win over Southeastern Missouri Friday afternoon in Lexington at the UK Tropical Smoothie Invitational.

Four different Cards provided the goals, Erin Yenney getting the first in the 18th minute of play. That held for the first half...Andrea Distler made it 2-0 Cards in the 55th minute of the second half. Nicole Mitchell gave Louisville a 3-0 advantage a few minutes later and Lauren Nash closed out the Cards scoring.

Louisville outshot SEMO 19-5...Chloe Kiefer had three saves while notching her 12th career shutout. 

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We promised you yesterday we'd have predictions from our columnists on the UofL vs. UK football game and the troops came through in fine form with their predictions. We even got a prediction from Anne Kordes!  Timmy the Intern has collated the results and totals and predicts Louisville will win. (He's brilliant that way...) Here we go...

Jenny: I'm predicting a 20-3 win by Louisville, That's right, gonna keep the Kitties on a tight leash and only allow a field goal. 

Sandy: Louisville 28-0 and it could be a larger spread. There is a reason the UK fans aren't able to make the long distance trip in from Lexington. It is their loss as the return of tickets from their allotment just made more seats available for the home team. Regardless of the prediction of rain, word has it that the Cat fans need to stay home to be close to their Kitty Litter boxes once the upset stomachs begin from the "deluge" of T.D's.

Sonya: UofL wins 35-10. UK's a basketball school, right? This isn't John Calipari or Rupp Arena. This is Joker Phillips taking his first loss of his final season in Lexington. Maybe he and Petrino can team up and open a car dealership or something. 

David: Give me Louisville 27-10. I do feel weather might be a factor in the contest, but I don't think UK or monsoon strength winds can slow down Teddy "Bilge" Water. Full steam ahead! 

Mark: First games are hard to predict. Louisville is the favorite and the last two games have been close. Could this one go into overtime like the one in 2000...where the Cards won 40-34? Not this time. I think the Cards offense will shine -- even if it is cloudy and rainy. Louisville 23- UK 10.

Paul: Given the weather forecast and first game adjustments...I'll take a 21-14 UofL win. If the rainy weather holds off, add 10 to the Louisville total. If my beer gets diluted...I'm leaving in the third quarter and headed to 80 Under 80 to change socks and play boccie ball.  

Jeff: In the rain, huh? Well, that doesn't affect bumping much, but it does make setting a lot tougher. What's that? Wrong sport? Jeff Walz hasn't even started preseason practices yet...Football? It's the UK Invitational but they're not actually going to play UK. Oh. That type of football, the American stuff. 
As I understand it, rain tends to keep scoring lower and since we're apparently going to be playing in the Monsoon Bowl, let's say 21-3...Cards winning of course.

Donny: I'm going to go ahead and predict a 31-14 victory for the Cards. I think the first half will be close with the Cards holding a slim 10-7 halftime lead, before they control the second half and win going away. 

Anne Kordes: 31-10 Louisville. Charlie Strong doesn't need any motivation from our win over UK Wednesday. He's very fired up for Sunday. 
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Field Hockey falls 2-1 in O.T., Soccer battles to a 2-2 tie...Volleyball sweeps St. John

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CARDINAL COUPLE SATURDAY

-Conrad's 11 saves not enough against Syracuse

-Kiefer's nine saves help Soccer tie

-Lola's double/double keys Volleyball win.

-Softball today, tomorrow at Ulmer

-Will the BIG 12 come calling?

Louisville jumped out to a 1-0 lead against the Orange but falls in overtime to Syracuse Friday at Trager Stadium. The Cards got on the board when a missed Caitlin Collins shot was corralled by Kelsey Rosenmeier...who then fed Erin Schneidtmiller a feed and subsequent score. The Cards held that lead through the first half...Conrad picking up six of her career high eleven saves,

Syracuse wasted no time tying the contest after the break, though. Heather Susek slammed home a pass to knot the score and it remained 1-1 throughout the rest of regulation.

Louisville had opportunities to score in the extra period but couldn't convert on a corner or two direct shots on goal. It looked like the overtime might remain scoreless...but the Cuse put the winner in the net with under a minute to goal in O.T. when Leonie Geyer slipped past the Cardinal defense and connected from the circle for the winning goal.

Tough loss for the Cards (6-3) who will return to action Sunday. Just who they're playing is a bit of a mystery. The UofL schedule lists New Hampshire but a release from the sports information department says Northwestern. Those two face off today at Trager. Whatever, GO CARDS and beat the "N" squad....

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Women's Soccer travelled to Connecticut and earned a 2-2 tie yesterday against the Huskies. This one was a defensive battle in the first half...neither team producing a goal. The second half started the same way and it wasn't until 23 minutes into the final stanza before UConn converted on a corner kick to take a 1-0 advantage.

The Cards roared back, though, and knotted the contest when senior Jennifer Jones took a feed from Angelika Uremovich and found the back of the net for her first score of the year.

Assumption's Jennifer
Jones scored for the Cards

The Huskies regained the lead two minutes later. Louisville gained the tie with under three minutes left when Cardinal star Christine Exeter drove down the field and booted in a shot for an unassisted goal.

Louisville (3-4-3) was buoyed by the outstanding net work of senior Chloe Kiefer...who had nine saves for the Cards in the tie. UConn held the advantage in shots (22-19) and shots on goal (11-10).

The Cards travel to Providence next...for a 1 p.m. match against the Friars tomorrow. Next week, they return to Cardinal Park for two BIG EAST contests...a Friday match up against Marquette and also host USF on Sunday.


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The Volleyball Cards debut in the KFC YUM! Center was a successful one...sweeping St. John's in three games. CARDINAL COUPLE reporter Donnie Yaste was at the match and will have a report for us later today. Be sure to check back for it.

We can tell you that almost 3,000 attended the match last night at the downtown arena and the Cards will play there
again on Sunday....hosting the UConn Huskies.

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Coach "P" is locked and loaded
for another season.

Softball steps to the plate for an exhibition double-header vs. Murray State this afternoon. The Cards received some very strong pitching last weekend in the double-header win over Bellarmine...and should be a major force in BIG EAST softball this spring if Caralisa Connell and Tori Collins can stay healthy and produce like they did against the Knights. Two games, three hits allowed and 27 total strikeouts.

Louisville will also face Morehead State in a double-header Sunday. Sandy Pearsall is probably watching the conference re-alignment drama with as much interest as anyone. A UofL move to the BIG 12 would bump up the competition level to a higher skill level. Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri all participated in the 2011 College Women's World Series.

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Where do you think the Cards will end up? Or do they go anywhere at all. WE'VE got a poll over on the left hand side of the site and invite you to participate in it. According to prominent Louisville sportswriter Howie Lindsey, the momentum for joining the BIG 12 is picking up steam and the BIG 12 has identified Louisville as their top eastern option if the league expands.  

The Cards are a more attractive option than WVU or Rutgers or UConn, in our opinion, if the BIG 12 comes calling...but it would effectively end some great rivalries that UofL has built up over the years. Cincinnati, Notre Dame and UConn have played some classic games over the years against Louisville in both basketballs, softball, field hockey and volleyball.

And, what do you do with field hockey and lacrosse...two sports that the BIG 12 does not offer conference play for?

The future is interesting. The BIG EAST appears to be on life support. Do the Cards bail? Stay tuned, 2014 seems like a long way off...but decisions affecting the future could be coming very soon.
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Ladybirds Dance Team takes the title

Your Louisville Cardinal Ladybirds are the best

SATURDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-LADYBIRDS take the title.

-Lacrosse loses at Loyola

-Border Battle today at Cardinal Park

The University of Louisville Ladybirds took the National Dance Alliance National Championship Friday evening in Daytona Beach, Florida. Over 240 teams competed in the event which is broken down into ten divisions. Louisville was named Grand National Champion of all divisions. The event is a popular spectator event with over 10,000 attending. The over 5,000 participants go through a variety of skills, showmanship, game day abilities simulation and are also judged on teamwork.

The LadyBirds are directed by Todd Sharp and he and they have won this title numerous times over the past 20 years. To watch them perform at UofL men's and women's basketball games, football games and public appearances is always an exciting thing to see and WE send a hearty congratulations to these whirling dervishes!

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Lacrosse dropped a close one to home standing Loyola (MD) yesterday 14-12. The #5 ranked Greyhounds are 11-0 this year. Bergan Foley had five goals for Louisville in the losing effort. The Cards couldn't get the offense untracked in the first half and found themselves on the short end of a 8-4 score when the first thirty minutes cam to an end.

They did begin the second half strong, though and outscored Loyola 6-1 to start the final period of play. Louisville found offensive success from Foley and Emily Dashiell in the second half and took a 10-9 lead.
Loyola was able to stem the tide, though and outscored the Cards 5-3 over the final 13 minutes. Liz Lovejoy added 3 goals for UofL and Katie Oliviero finished with 2. Louisville heads to Georgetown next for Sunday action.

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Track and Field's Border Battle gets underway at 10:30 a.m. Saturday with field events. The weather isn't looking great for today's events, sadly. The concept pits Kentucky and Louisville against Indiana and Notre Dame in a dual meet format. The Cards/Cats combo swept both the men's and women's title last year.

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Softball is in Pittsburgh for a three game series against the Panthers...two games today, one Sunday. The Cards face a Pittsburgh squad that is deep in pitching and could shut down the usually powerful and run producing Cardinal bats. Louisville goes into the BIG EAST conference match up after defeating Indiana University 1-0 on Wednesday. WE'LL recap the action for you on the first two here Sunday at CARDINAL COUPLE

Inside the Lady Cards numbers and Soccer falls 1-0

Monday @ The Couple:

-Men's soccer falls 1-0 to Akron

-Louisville's first ten games
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Shelby Harper, pictured here warming up for the Dayton game, is fifth in three point attempts for the 2010-11 Lady Cards.
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Louisville is attempting 19.3 three pointers per game so far this year and cashing in on 37% of them.
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A hard fought game yesterday for the UofL men's soccer team but a 1-0 loss in Santa Barbara in the NCAA Championship game to Akron. After a scoreless first half, Akron managed to push home what proved to be deciding goal with about nine minutes left in the contest. Louisville would get close several times in the waning minutes but could not score on the Zips. A great season for Ken Lolla's guys and much promise for next year.
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After ten games this season the University of Louisville women's basketball team is 7-3 and 5-1 in the KFC YUM Center. Monique Reid has led the Cards in scoring four times this season, Shoni Schimmel three times, Becky Burke once, Sheronne Vails once and Reid and Vails tied for the scoring lead once. The Lady Cards are outpointing their opponents 79.8 to 55, an incredible margin of almost 25 points a game, and have hit the century mark twice this year.
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Louisville holds a narrow margin in out rebounding foes 415 to 373 so far and dominates in the turnovers created statistic...250-181. The Cards hold a 185-97 advantage in assists, have 147 steals against opponent's 85 and 52 blocks...15 better than the opposition's 37.
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Two Cards are averaging double figures for the season...Monique Reid with 15.8 points per game and Shoni Schimmel with 14.7 a contest. Knocking at the door are Sheronne Vails with 9.7 points a game, Becky Burke at 8.7 a game and Keisha Hines with 8.5 points a game. Schimmel's 26 against Kentucky is the highest individual scoring effort in a game for Louisville and she has scored the second most total points for Louisville with 147. Reid's 158 lead in this area.
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Schimmel averages 27.2 minutes per game, Tia Gibbs 23.2, Monique Reid 22.8, Becky Burke 22.7 and Sherrone Vails 21.7. 10 of the 13 Lady Cards are seeing 10 minutes or more a contest. Schimmel, Hines and Gibbs have started every game so far for Louisville and eight of the thirteen Cards have played in every contest. Schimmel has launched the most shots...116 in ten games and Reid has attempted 109. LaToya Johnson has the best shooting % at 80% (4 for 5). For those in the regular rotation, the leader is Hines (34-57)...good for 59.6%.
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At the charity stripe, LaToya Johnson is perfect (1-1). Behind her, Becky Burke a sizzling 12-14 and 85.7%. Of the starters and regulars, Schimmel is next at 11-15 (73.3%). Reid has attempted the most free throws with 48 and made the most...connecting on 33. Reid and Johnson are 1-1 from three point range this year, next in percentage is Burke at 47.7% (21-44). Schimmel leads the team in threes attempted (65) and threes made (26).
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In stats that are dubious to be the leader of, Hines has 36 fouls this year. Hines, Vails and Polly Harrington have each fouled out of a game so far in 2010-11. Schimmel has 38 turnovers...tops for the team and the worst shooting percentage (0%) belongs to Rachel Story (0-5) this year. At the foul line, Charmaine Tay is at the bottom of the list with 6-18 shooting and 33%.
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The Cards have enjoyed a four game winning streak this year...one that they are currently on...and suffered a two game losing streak with back to back drops to Xavier and ODU. Their biggest margin of victory is 66 over Houston Baptist and largest loss was 13 to Tennessee.
Louisville is 1-1 against the SEC and 1-1 against the Atlantic 10 conferences. Louisville played against a record 22,152 fans in the YUM against Kentucky and only 416 showed up in Fort Wayne to see Louisville beat IPFW.
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Louisville has an upcoming road trip of four games...one at Cincinnati on Wednesday and then three in Las Vegas (Marist, Houston and Nebraska). After that, the Cards return home for three in the YUM...(UT-Martin, St. John's and Pitt). The longest remaining road swing after that will be a two game journey to Notre Dame and Connecticut in mid-January and two on the road versus Syracuse and South Florida in mid-February. The longest home stand is the one of three games following the Duel in the Sun event in Vegas. The Cards have those three neutral court games left, a total of eight on the road and 10 in the downtown arena in the regular season.
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Too early for mid-season awards yet, but we'll offer Shoni Schimmel and Monique Reid as our two top contenders so far for "best player at the halfway point" and Schimmel the leader for Uofl freshman of the year. Most improved player would have to go to Becky Burke, because of her dramatic upgraded efforts defensively. The underachiever of the year...one we don't like awarding...would be Asia Taylor...for her on and off the court struggles.
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Louisville's freshmen (Vails, Schimmel, Tay, Harrington and Slaughter) account for 34.5 of the Cardinal points per game this year and returning starters (we used Reid, Burke, Hines, Harper and Taylor...) 39 points per game. The others (Johnson, Story and Gibbs) 10 points per game.
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It's interesting to note that if you add Gibbs scoring to the freshmen's total, the 'newcomers' are averaging 42.0 points per game and the rest of the team 41.5 a game. (These numbers are based on games played by a player divided into points scored, so the totals are slightly higher than the actual Cards points scored per contest.)
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Louisville returns to action Wednesday at Cincinnati. Game time is 7 p.m. and it'll be on 790 AM/101.7 FM Cards Radio WRKD. Jim Kelch and Paul Sandeford will handle the play by play and color commentary duties. (We've always loved the term, 'color commentary'...Oh, look there's the color blue! Over there is some yellow. I don't like blue but green is great! Haven't seen any red yet and what is the deal with purple these days?)
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Remember, the Bowl Pick 'Em contest begins on Saturday, Decemer 18th. With prizes offered by Viscardi Designs, Fanscloset and Panera Bread, it's worth you taking a few minutes and taking a few guesses on the 35 games.
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Good luck and you can enter here at Cardinal Couple if you want in this comments section, e-mail your picks to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com or enter them at the CARDINAL DOMINANCE website http://www.cardinaldominance.net/
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Cardinals would make Clark Kellogg proud.

A SNOWY SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

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-SpurtABILITY in Lady Cards vocabulary.

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-Pitino wins a huge one

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-Marion County rolls on

-Soccer today at 4 p.m

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The affable basketball announcer is widely credited with creating the word "spurtability" and the term describes how the Lady Cards handled Dayton yesterday. The ex-NBAer who has also shot "horse" with President Obama would have enjoyed the way the Cards took a 20-2 run to go from trailing the Flyers 8-4 to leading them 24-10. Schimmel with a three to cut it to one. Vails in the paint putting the Cards up to stay, Reid nails a jumper. Justine Raterman counters to bring it back to a one point game but Tia Gibbs drains a three and Keisha Hines follows with a layup off a steal. Paying attention? That's five different Lady Cards scoring. Reid then nails a free throw. Charmaine Tay gets a putback. Reid another layup off a turnover and a Schimmel three.

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SpurtABILITY, oh yeah...the Cardinals talk it.

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Another run in the second half for Louisville when Dayton cuts the Cardinal lead to 36-28. The Cards go on a 16-4 run...Keisha Hines and Monique Reid getting 6 points each in the spurt and Louisville is out of danger at 52-32.

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Ironically, it was a brief Dayton spurt at the end of the game that made the score look respectable for them. Louisville led 66-44 after two Reid free throws at the 4:11 mark. The Flyers outscored the Cards 11-3 the rest of the way, as Walz emptied the bench and the Flyers capitalized. Final score 69-55 in one that wasn't really that close.

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Jeff Walz talks about the tough six game stretch that the Cards are currently in the midst of and the road ahead is tough. Louisville started these key six games with the Kentucky win and beating Dayton yesterday. Next is BIG EAST foe Cincinnati up at their place...the only BIG EAST team Louisville will play twice this year and not the cupcake they were several years ago. Janelle Elliott (one of Geno's prodigies) has the Bearcats competitive and playing smart basketball. Louisville went 1-1 against them last year, losing in Freedom Hall 74-68 on Feb. 2nd.

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After the Bearcats, it's the Duel in the Sun in Vegas...where the Cards face Marist on Saturday, Houston on Sunday and Nebraska on Monday Dec 2oth. All three were post season participants last year and the three schools went a combined 75-27.

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Survive and advance. A good prep for the demanding BIG EAST schedule that Louisville will jump into with both feet. Beginning January 4th, the Lady Cards will play 15 straight BIG EAST games.

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Louisville shot a solid 40.3% for the game...the deep ball being the only dismal stat. Louisville was 4-17 beyond the arc, Schimmel going 3-7, Tia Gibbs 1-5 and Sherrone Vails, Becky Burke, Shelby Harper and Charmaine Tay a combined 0-5.

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Burke had only 2 points in the game, a late score...but played 25 minutes, grabbed six rebounds and handed out an assist. Her defense has really improved over last year and she has shown she can contribute in many other way besides scoring.

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The Lady Cards revealed their version of the Twelve Days of Christmas holiday song yesterday on the overhead monitors and it's a enjoyable singalong. They all have fairly good voices. We're waiting on the Jeff Walz Christmas download now...he didn't sing with the girls in their video.

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We wonder what Christmas tunes Walz would belt out? I bet his wife would do a version of the Eagles hit... Please come home for Christmas. I can hear Walz singing Deck the Halls with basketballs and volley with Leonid Yelin in a duet. He probably won't be singing You're All I Want for Christmas to indefinitely suspended Cardinal sophomore forward Asia Taylor....

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Nice win for Pitino and crew to start the day in the KFC YUM Center by beating UNLV 77-69. The men's team is still undefeated and the YUM was wild and crazy yesterday during this one.

10-28 from three point land, Preston Knowles with a big second half and 20 points.

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Kyvin Goodin-Rogers had 17 points and 10 boards in MARION COUNTY'S 55-50 win over Madison Central Saturday. Marion County is 3-0 and plays again today.

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Louisville men's soccer team play in the finals of the NCAA Championship Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Cards face Akron. Louisville coach Ken Lolla coached at Akron before coming to Louisville. The man must know a little "something-something" about soccer. Louisville is undefeated going into the game, Akron has lost once. ESPN 2 will have the coverage.

Men's Soccer in NCAA Championship Game

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Soccer defeats UNC 2-1, goes to Championship game

-Lady Cards face Dayton in YUM doubleheader

-Rockcastle, Marion County girls win

(Photo by Mark J. Terrel/Associated Press)

It's not often that a University of Louisville sports team play for the national title, but Ken Lolla's Louisville men's soccer team will get that chance Sunday at 4 p.m. in Santa Barbara, CA. after defeating UNC 2-1 last night inthe semifinals of the NCAA College Cup. The Cards got the win in the final minute of the match when Aaron Horton broke free from a wall of TarHeel defenders and corralled a pass from Ryan Smith. Horton drove to the net and tapped a shot past UNC goalie Scott Goodwin with 52 seconds left in regulation.

Louisville (20-0-3) will face Akron (21-1-2) in the title match. Akron defeated Michigan in the semis 2-1. Akron played but lost in the championship game last year. ESPN 2 will televise the Louisville vs. Akron game.

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Jeff Walz's Lady Cards host Dayton today in the KFC YUM Center at 5 p.m. The game is the second of a Louisville basketball doubleheader...Pitino's men face UNLV in the first game at noon. For Walz and the Cards, it's a return to competition after defeating Kentucky 78-52 last Sunday in the YUM.

The Cards will enjoy Dayton's style of hoops because it mirrors theirs...pushing the ball in transition and creating turnovers with defensive pressure. The Cards (6-3, 0-0) face a Dayton team (5-3) that has four starters back from last year and that went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Dayton defeated BIG EAST member Cincinnati earlier in the season and is currently on a three game winning streak.

No word yet on whether sophomore forward Asia Taylor will dress and play in this afternoon's contest. The Columbus, OH. forward did not participate in the Kentucky win and watched the game in street clothes in the seats instead of on the bench.

Shoni Schimmel and Becky Burke won't be the only three point specialists on the Denny Crum Court this afternoon. Dayton has six players that are fond of the "long ball"and the Flyers attempt a mind boggling 32 threes a game. They are 66-170 on the season with the trifecta, good for 38% and Justine Raterman, Kristin and Kari Daughtery, Louisville Manual's Brittany Wilson, Patrice Lalol and Aundrea Lindsay will put it up without hesitation.

Headed to the 'Bucket'...see ya there.

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Sara Hammond had 16 points and 15 boards in #3 Rockcastle County's 77-52 win over Scott County last night. Marion County got balanced scoring in their 74-38 dismantling of Washington County. Marion County returns to the floor tonight.

Lady Cards face Dayton Saturday as part of doubleheader

FRIDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE


-Two in the Yum tomorrow

-Good luck Soccer!

-Rockcastle County and Hammond

-Getting to know: Bethann Shapiro Ord

-Bowl Pick 'em gets enhanced...


Two games Saturday in the KFC YUM Downtown Arena, with Rick Pitino's team facing UNLV at noon and Jeff Walz's Lady Cards hosting Dayton at 5 p.m. A great sports day for the college basketball fan and one of those rare occasions where both UofL basketball teams play on the same day. Neither contest will be easy for the home teams. UNLV whipped the Cardinals last year in Sin City and they're showing no signs of slowing down this year. Jeff Walz's Lady Cards are 7-5 lifetime against the Dayton Flyers and hold a three game win streak currently over the Ohio dwellers.

Dayton (5-3) is led by junior 6'1" forward Justine Raterman and 6'0" senior guard Kristin Daughtery. Raterman is good for 17.1 ppg and Daughtery averages 14.6 a game. Former Louisville Manual star Brittany Wilson is a redshirt sophomore for the Flyers and pops in 8.8 per contest.

The Flyers have knocked off Cincinnati, Toledo, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wright State this year and lost to Penn St., Mich St., and UIC.

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Best of luck to the University of Louisville soccer team today in their game against North Carolina in the FINAL FOUR of NCAA Men's Soccer in Santa Barbara, CA. The team received a tremendous send off Weds. from fans in the YUM Center and is currently ranked #1 in the nation. Our co-horts over at Cardinal Dominance and UofL Card Game are providing great coverage and photos of Ken Lolla's quest to bring back a National Championship title and trophy to the "Ville".


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Rockcastle County takes to the hardwood tonight and Sara Hammond and her teammates face a very tough Scott County. Rockcastle County is 2-0 on the season so far and is considered one of the probables to show up in the Sweet Sixteen Tournament in March. Louisville signee Hammond is one of the best in the state and her versatility on the court will procure significant moments for her on Denny Crum Court when she arrives at Louisville.

Marion County hits the hardwood tonight also. Go Bre, Makayla and Kyvin!


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Bethann Shapiro Ord is one of the assistant coaches for the University of Louisville women's basketball team. It's her fourth year here at the "Ville"...coming on board when Jeff Walz took the head coaching job. Ord came in from Colorado. Ord has been a key part of Louisville bringing in back to back to back stellar recruiting classes during her time here and the current freshman class was ranked 5th. in the nation. Bethann began her coaching career at Pittsburgh in 1992. She played her college ball at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and was a three year point guard and letter winner for the Retrievers.


Ord comes from an athletic background, her Dad is a recently retired athletic director, her Mom a head coach for 20 years. She has a younger sister that is a deputy director of athletics development at Columbia and her brother is a head coach. Some say Bethann bears a striking resemblance to actress Meredith Eaton-Gilden, who had a recurring role on BOSTON LEGAL as Bethanny...William Shatner's love interest.


We'll try to introduce all the Lady Cards coaches and staff as the season progresses...and now you know a little more about Bethann Ord...



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CARDINAL DOMINANCE has joined forces with CARDINAL COUPLE to offer the readers a free College Bowl Game Pick 'Em. 35 games that begin Dec. 18th. A full description of the contest and the prizes that will be awarded is available over at http://www.cardinaldominance.net/

It's free to play, you can make all your picks at one time or in sections and you could win some great prizes from FansCloset, Viscardi Designs or Panera Bread. You can submit your entries over there or e-mail them to us here at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

Games begin on Dec. 18th, so get to work on those picks!

Volleyball falls to Purdue

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Boilermakers eliminate Cards in four sets

-Soccer advances to Final Four

-Hoops today: Cards vs. Cats

Tough break for Leonid Yelin's Volleyball squad yesterday in West Lafayette, IN...falling to Purdue 26-24, 25-23, 19-25, 25-15.

Sometimes, you play a better squad and that was the case Saturday against the Boilermakers. Still, a very good season for Yelin's young team and the promise for next year looks bright with all but two players returning.

Louisville led in early in all four sets...but the Boilermakers...led by Tiffany Fisher's 12 kills and tough defense...came back in all but the third game to win.

"We had a tough time blocking Fisher," said Gwen Rucker. "She made the biggest difference for them. Purdue just made runs. In volleyball, you make runs. That's what you do. They made theirs and we had trouble stopping them.

Rucker had 13 kills and Caitlin Welch's four aces were high points for the Cards...but could not overcome the Boilermakers.

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Nice win in the snow last night for UofL men's soccer, defeating UCLA 5-4. The Cards head to Santa Barbara now...for the FINAL FOUR. Good job to Ken Lolla and crew.

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It tips at 2 p.m. Sunday and over 19,000 are expected in the KFC YUM Center. Cards vs. Cats. Red vs. Blue. In-state bragging rights for the year.

WE'LL have a full post game report on the action, including post game comments and players reactions later today.

Volleyball advances in NCAA Tournament over MTSU

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Volleyball defeats MTSU in straight sets.

-Know the foe: Scouting the Ky. Wildcats

-Soccer tonight!

-High School roundup for UofL WBB recruits

The University of Louisville Volleyball team swept Middle Tennessee State in three games Friday in West Lafayette, IN. to win their first game of the NCAA Tournament and advance to play Purdue on Saturday.

The Cards roll on with a 25-22, 25-21 25-17 defeat of the Blue Raiders. Lola Arslanbekova had 17 kills to lead Louisville. The Cards held MTSU's hitters to a .158 hitting percentage, much lower than their season average.

Arslanbeckova fired the Cardinal offensive attack in the first game, getting seven of her kills. The Cards jumped out to a 6-1 lead but had to weather a Blue Raider rally that tied the contest at 20-20. Louisville took five of the next seven points to end the match.

In game two, Louisville secured an early 9-3 lead but watched MTSU fight back and grab a 15-13 advantage. Louisville then ran off 10 of the next 12 points to lead 23-17. Gwen Rucker finished the Blue Raiders with a kill to give the Cards a four point win.

The third game was back and forth with Louisville clawing to a 15-14 advantage. After a timeout, the Cards blasted ten of the next twelve over the net successfully for the win...Rucker blocking a MTSU attempt for the final Cardinal point and game and match win.

Purdue at 7 p.m. Saturday night. The Boilermakers beat Kentucky yesterday to advance and holds a regular season win over Yelin's Cardinals early in the season. This Louisville team has improved leaps and bounds (sorry about the pun) since then and will give Purdue all they want in second round action tonight.

The Cards are due against Purdue. With Rucker and Simmons dominating net action and Arslanbeckova on a hitting streak of late, Louisville looks ready for the challenge and hopefully will down the Boilermakers.

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The University of Kentucky women's basketball team will travel to the KFC YUM Center Sunday afternoon for a 2 p.m. game against Jeff Walz's Lady Cards. UK comes into the game 5-0, ranked 8th nationally and is fresh off two wins in the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. While there, they knocked off Murray State 91-59 and handled Southern Miss 79-60. The Cats, who have played three out of their first five on the road, also defeated BIG EAST school Notre Dame 81-76 in Memorial Coliseum in Lexington.

The Cats are led by senior front line star Victoria Dunlap and guard A'dia Mathies. Dunlap, a 6'1" senior is averaging 15 points and 9.8 rebounds so far this year. Mathies, a sophomore guard out of Louisville Iroquois, carried a 16 point average for the Cats. Guard Keyla Snowden, a deadly outside shooter, chips in at 11 points and game and freshman point guard Maegan Conwright has started four contests and is one of six new players for Matthew Mitchell.

Like UofL, the UK frosh have had an impact on the court this year. Besides Conwright...the diaper dandies are true freshmen Kastine Evans, Samantha Drake (Nelson County, KY.), Sarah Beth Barnette (Lexington Christian), Jennifer O'Neill and redshirt freshman Bernisha Pinkett.

The frosh are contributing 33 of the Cats 84 points per game and Conwright looks like the real deal at point guard.

Last year, UK obliterated UofL 101-67 in Lexington...a game where the Cats overwhelmed Louisville's guards with pressure defense and transition basketball. Mathies, Dunlap and senior guard Carly Morrow all had big games against the depleted Cardinals that afternoon.

SONJA SEES IT:

For Louisville to have a chance against the Wildcats...they must accomplish five things:

1) Get the ball up the court after UK scores. Last year, the Cats withering defense and several unforced Lady Card turnovers put this one out of reach early. Louisville adds Shoni Schimmel, Tia Gibbs and Charmaine Tay this year as back court specialists and they should help improve the Lady Cards' attempts to cross the time line.

2) Hit the boards. UK dominated the Cards on the glass last year and most of it came from the hard working, blue collar Dunlap. Louisville must find a way to keep her bottled up and capitalizing on second chance baskets and defensive rebounds. Blocking out would be a good start. The Cards match up zone on defense should help, but preventing 'VD" from spreading is a must.

3) Outside effectiveness. Louisville will need to be "spot on" from behind the three point arc early to loosen up the paint. The Cards have proven long range bombers in Becky Burke (shooting 50% this year from three point range), Schimmel, Antonita Slaughter, Charmaine Tay and Gibbs...they'll need to display it against a UK defense that probably won't give them anything easy.

4) Create the transition, stop the transition. This may should a bit contradictory...but Louisville will need to rebound well when on the defensive glass to get the transition game rolling. The Cards are at their best when they can motor, create and let Schimmel perform her magic at the point. They must also get back when UK rebounds and prevent the free-wheeling Mathies and company from making it a layup fest.

5) Hit the free ones. This one has the possibility of seeing both teams proliferate at the free throw line. Louisville has had a mixed bag of success there this year...encouraging 14-16 against Mississippi Valley State...but off nights as well. Gotta get the points when no one is guarding you and if the Cards don't cripple themselves with errant charity stripe opportunities...they could benefit here.

Gates open at noon for the game. CARDINAL COUPLE will be there to watch the rivalry and give our readers a full report and post game comments after the contest. GO CARDS!

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Saturday 7 p.m is a chance for the #1 nationally ranked UofL men's soccer team to advance to the NCAA Final Four in Santa Barbara. All they need to do is defeat the visiting UCLA Bruins in Cardinal Park. Weather conditions will be nasty for this one, about 2 inches of snow has already fallen here as WE write this column this morning and snow is forecast until later this afternoon. Not exactly the conditions you hope for in a soccer match. Think about it, though...how many times has the UCLA, located in southern California, played in a mess like this? WE think...advantage Cardinals. (For the fans sake...would they move this one inside to the Trager...? LOL)

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Sara Hammond popped in 20 of Rockcastle County's 54 points last night in a nine point win over Lincoln County. The UofL women's basketball signee has led "the Rockers" to a 2-0 start so far this year.

Louisville verbal Quaneisha McCurty led Dalton, GA. with 21 points in their win over Cartersville 71-61. Dalton is 4-0 on the season and 6'5" McCurty is proving to be very hard for opponents to stop.