Manual wins LIT, Cardinal Win Dissected

SUNDAY AT CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Manual wins Girls LIT.

-Louisville win was "by the numbers"

-David Watson weighs in on the win.





Becky Burke and Shoni Schimmel get the last laugh in the 11 point Cardinal win over Rutgers Saturday night in the KFC YUM Center. They're probably not chuckling about the Lady Cards 6-26 effort from 3 point range, though. Schimmel and Tia Gibbs were 5-20...but hit when it mattered for the Cards...who are now 5-3 lifetime against the Scarlet Knights.

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Led by a balanced team effort, Stacy Pendleton's Louisville Manual girls basketball squad captured the Republic Bank LIT at Bellarmine Saturday night. The Crimsons held off a late Mercy Academy run to emerge victorious 48-46. Manual's Mechael Guess was named MVP of the tournament and April Wilson took the defensive player of the tournament for Manual. They led by double digits early in the second half before Mercy made a game of it late.

To reach the finals, Manual had to withstand a tough battle from Sacred Heart in the semis. Guess's 20 points were the deciding factor in a 53-51 win over SHA. Monica McCreal had 18 for the Valkyries...Morgan Clemons added 13 points and 13 boards in the narrow defeat.

In the other semifinal game, Mercy upended Boone County 75-68...Whitney Hartlage getting 16 for the Jags and Julianne Miller adding 12. Boone County's Sydney Moss showed why she is the best junior in the state with 21 points. Mercy outscored Boone County 25-12 in the 4th.

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( Jeff Walz pictured here in his Tony
from 'Saturday Night Fever' gear
prepares to talk to the BIG EAST
announcers after the Louisville win.
He didn't dance, as far as we know.)
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Some interesting numbers from the Louisville v. Rutgers matchup. WE figured here at CARDINAL COUPLE that Louisville would get destroyed on the boards...but Rutgers and Louisville finished with 27 rebounds each. WE also thought that Rutgers would punish Louisville from inside the paint. Not so...Chelsey Lee and Monique Oliver combined for only 12 points...Louisville front line starters Monique Reid and Keisha Hines were good for 21 points.

WE'RE not sure why Rutgers abandoned the inside game late and went to the 3 point attack...but it didn't work for them...they went scoreless for nearly ten minutes and missed six threes in that period of time. They were 5-11 from the deep before the slump.

Louisville forced Rutgers into 23 turnovers, while committing only 11. The Scarlet Knights committed 15 fouls while Louisville was whistled for only eight. WE'RE proud of Keisha Hines...only two fouls in 29 minutes. WE are distressed by this particular officiating crew's obsession with calling 'travelling' though...I know Rutgers got whistled for it a least 10 times and Louisville close to that. Not a familiar crew either, in terms of working Louisville games in the YUM Center. Maybe the crowd of 15,000 + got to them....

We saw a Cincinnati team play only seven against Louisville last week and C. Viv. Stringer followed suit...putting only seven Scarlet Knights on the court against the Cards. It is obvious that Rutgers misses guard Nikki Speed, out with an injury, but Rutgers looked tired and worn out at the end of the game last night. Jeff Walz trotted out nine Lady Cards in the win.



Rutgers shot a respectable 51.4% for the game (18-35) but cooled off from a blistering first half where they went 11-17..finishing 7-18 in the final twenty minutes. Louisville ended up 20-53 (37.7%)...picking up the pace in the final stanza with a 13-27 effort (48.1%) after starting with an ice cold 7-26 (26.9%) in the first twenty minutes.

Louisville's four freshmen that played accounted for 22 points, seven rebounds, five turnovers and no steals. Walz used the bench for only 34 of the 200 possible player minutes in the game.

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(David Watson, special correspondent to CARDINAL COUPLE, offers his always frank and sometimes entertaining views on LADY CARDS Hoops. He discusses the Rutgers win.)
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First of all, let me get this out of the way. I no longer consider C.Vivian Stringer the enemy. And , I offer a hearty apology if I upset any Rutgers (or Louisville) fans with my assessment of her in a previous column here at CARDINAL COUPLE. Instead, I feel bad for the esteemed Coach this Sunday morning. For 30 minutes yesterday, her Scarlet Knights took the fight to a Louisville squad that couldn't seem to climb the final hill and see the view from the top of the scoring mountain. Then, the wheels fell off the bus. The Cards rolled over the hill, jumped on the bobsled and enjoyed a merry ten minute downhill ride through the Scarlet Knight snowbank. 17-0 hurts. Especially when you see shot after shot from downtown Louisville clang off the rim and the ball fall into the opponent's hands. Not even Bill Murray in 'Groundhog Day' had it this bad.
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And it is the shot selection that baffles me here. Rutgers wasn't doing a bad job getting inside and pummelling Louisville's front line. They scored their first three baskets of the second half in the paint and Louisville appeared to have no answer to Chesley Lee or Monique Oliver down low.
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Maybe it was three straight threes made by April Sykes and Erica Wheeler after that, pushing the Scarlet Knights into a 3 point lead, that effected the change in offensive philosophy. A Hindenburg decision...I've seen toddlers toss their stuffed animals into the toy bin with more accuracy than the futile effort that occurred after the 11:00 minute mark.
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Rutgers will recover. They'll take the fight to St John's Tuesday night and win. Speaking of fights...what in the world was April Sykes trying to prove near the end of last night's contest?
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Frustration over the loss, sure...I get that...but to risk injuring Louisville's leading scorer with a
uncalled for, cowardly shove is strictly ghetto, no class b.s. She deserves suspension, disciplinary action at the very least, but it'll probably go unpunished. Hey April, just scream out an obscenity next time or stand there sullenly. Then again, she's from Starksville, Mississippi. That explains a lot. Good game, poor game ending response. I'll wait for the public apology that won't come.
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So, call it a Louisville win that wasn't a high scoring, up and down the court track meet but still a convincing display that the Cards do know the definition of 'defense' and the term 'get the ball to Monique Reid...Shoni !!'. A win I fully expected, being in the KFC YUM! Center and all. Put this one in the 'RAC' on Rutgers campus and the Scarlet Knights probably double digit the Cards. Nevertheless, CARDS WIN, CARDS WIN and it's one more notch on the pistol handle and one more payback delivered by Reid and company. 15,000 plus for women's college hoops. Possibility City, indeed.
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Girls LIT results and Rutgers Game Day

SATURDAY EDITION: CARDINAL COUPLE



-Quarterfinal LIT RESULTS


-Swimming splits dual meet


-Rutgers Game Day...David Watson checks in

-Lora Brown gets a PANERA Card!



The University of Louisville women's swimming and diving squad competed against Virginia Tech and Indiana University in a dual meet Friday at the Ralph Wright Natorium. The Cards downed the Hokies 205-95, but fell to the Hoosiers 181-119. Winners for the "Ville" were Therese Bergstrom (pictured above) in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and Aileen Cole (also pictured above) in the 50 and 100 freestyle. The 200 medley relay team also hit the finish line first...Raine Thompson, Krissie Brandenburg, Cole and Bergstrom getting the win.

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Quarterfinal results from the Republic Bank LIT at Bellarmine:

MERCY knocks off MARION COUNTY with a last second shot 52-20. Bre Edler had 18 for the visitors from Lebanon, KY. Kyvin Goodin-Rogers and Makayla Epps also hit double figures for MARION COUNTY.

BOONE COUNTY slipped by BUTLER 71-69. Sydney Moss had a huge game for the Northern Kentucky visitors in one that also went to the wire.

SACRED HEART skipped by SCOTT COUNTY 72-50 after leading by just two at halftime. Another big game for SHA's Monica McGreal.

MANUAL had no trouble in defeating OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 66-44. Stacy Pendleton's Mechael Guess and Leasia Wright led the Manual charge over the Western Kentucky visitors.

Semifinal action faces MERCY vs. BOONE COUNTY and MANUAL and SACRED HEART do battle. Final tonight at 8 p.m.

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(Special correspondent David Watson takes a look at Rutgers vs. Louisville...who will square off Saturday 6 p.m. in the KFC YUM ARENA. Neither team may ever be the same...)

First of all, I am not a C. Vivian Stringer fan today. Before you dump me in the Don Imus category or Sonja comes after me with attack yorkies and her old field hockey stick. let me explain. It has nothing to do with race, creed, color or 'nappy hoes'. I just don't like her coaching style. Rutgers beats opponents up on every possession. It is not fast break transition hoops. Some people dislike John Calipari or Bob Huggins (I happen to be O.K. with both) but C. Vivian Stringer is the enemy, the foe, the competition today.

Even though Louisville holds a narrow 4-3 margin in lifetime wins over the Scarlet Knights since the series began in 2006 and Jeff Walz 3-2 vs. Stringer, you cannot take the Scarlet Knights lightly. I suspect that there may be a few of these moments tonight. Remember the classic staredown between Kia Vaughn and Gwen Rucker two years ago? Godzilla, meet King Kong.
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C. Vivian Stringer is one of the most successful coaches in women's college basketball. She poses an immediate threat to the success of my University of Louisville Lady Cards this evening and, therefore, I do not like her today.
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I will make the drive down I-65 to watch tonight's game in the KFC YUM! CENTER tonight with my wife and two of my children. We'll arrive early, dine at Impelliazari's and go watch warmups. I hope to see and say "Hi" to Paul and Sonja there. I will not say "Hi" to C. Vivian Stringer today, though. Not even if she comes up to the seats, buys me a beer and wants to discuss crappie fishing trips this spring. She is the enemy, it's game day and we cannot be ebony and ivory, Whoopie and Patrick Swayze or Oprah and Dr. Phil.
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I will probably cheer for Rutgers later on this year. I like Monique Oliver. I like April Sykes and even the goofy Rutgers mascot. I am a reasonable man but I have some priorities.
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I do not like C.Vivian Stringer today. Maybe, probably tomorrow I will. It depends on the outcome of the game. Time to make her sad. She can rejoice, celebrate and do the happy dance the remaining eight BIG EAST games for her after this one today. I don't want her happy today.
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(David Watson does not like broccoli or artichokes either. We'll bring him Rutgers pom-poms and a Scarlet Knight hoodie to tonight's game...he won't wear or wave them but he'll be okay with the Rutgers head coach come Monday.)

SONJA OFFERS A COUNTERPOINT
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David, chill out. It's a classic women's college basketball game between two of the best programs out there. I fully expect a good game, no fights and certainly no tiff between Walz and Stringer. The two are good friends. Two years ago, the joy and pleasure on C.Viv's face when she held and talked to Jeff's two children before the game was priceless. I rather lose to Rugters than anyone else in the BIG EAST.

A class program, class coach and great rivalry. Good luck to both teams.

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Congratulations to Lora Brown for the winning e-mail for $10 in Panera Gift Cards. Lora likes the Elizabethtown, KY. location and all the friendly servers and counter people there. "They always are glad to see me and very friendly." she writes. "I like Panera's breakfast sandwiches and their coffee." She also mentions that the manager and Archie are always nice to her when she sees them.
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Want some? Send your e-mail here to us at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com and get some. Who doesn't want $10? WE'll draw again next Saturday...
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Kentucky defeats Indiana in Girls All-Star Game 94-87

University of Louisville signee Antonita Slaughter had 20 points, six steals and three threes against the Hoosiers in Conseco Fieldhouse in the come from behind overtime win for Kentucky Saturday night. Slaughter's layup with 13 seconds remaining tied the score in regulation.

"This means a lot," Slaughter commented after the game. Every shot counts. Last night's game (a 93-83 loss to Indiana at Bellarmine)gave us fire to come out here and beat Indiana on their home court."

The Kentucky team got a big boost from Bellarmine signee and Mercy grad Therese Montano in the extra session. She hit four free throws in the final 13 seconds to preserve the win afer Indiana had fought back to get within three at 90-87. The Kentucky squad forced Indiana into 29 turnovers Saturday.

UK signees Samantha Drake and Sarah Beth Barnette helped the cause for the Commonwealth. Drake totalled 16 points and 11 boards. Barnette added 12 points and seven carombs. The Kentucky squad was led by Middle Tennessee signee Ebony Rowe with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

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Marion County sophomore-to-be Kyvin Goodin-Rogers is a long way from hitting college but she already has a leading choice on where she's thinking about matriculation.

Louisville.

"I'm liking Louisville a lot right now. They would be the leader. I like Jeff Walz a lot." Goodin-Rogers recently told the Courier-Journal. She and fellow sophomore Makalya Epps are considered to be two of the top 100 players in the Class of 2013 nationwide.

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Louisville's Mercy Academy made it to the final game in the Kentucky State Girls Softball Tournament in Owensboro yesterday but fell to Reidland 8-6 in the championship. The Jags came out of the losers bracket in the double elimination format...defeating Green County 3-2 , knocking off Christian County 3-1 and sending Allen County-Scottsville home 4-1.

They advanced to the championships and had to beat Reidland twice for the title. After knocking off Reidland in the first game 8-4...they lost the nightcap.They didn't go down without a fight, though. Down 8-5 in their last at bat, they led off the inning with four straight singles and had the bases loaded with no outs. A line out to the Reidland pitcher Cassee Layne led to a double play and Layne struck out the final Mercy batter to get out of the jam. Layne was selected tournament MVP.

If Mercy had prevailed, they would have become the first school in Kentucky history to win the state basketball, volleyball and softball championships in the same year.


Five games in 90 degree weather. Hats off to the Jags for the effort.

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RACHEL ALEXANDRA destroyed four competitors yesterday in the Fluer De Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs. She dusted the rivals by 10 lengths in the 1 1/8 mile contest...coming within one second of the track record. RACHEL engaged JESSICA IS BACK for seven furlongs on the lead, put that one away as they turned into the stretch and romped home with Calvin Borel aboard to a roaring grandstand and clubhouse crowd.

Welcome back, oh ye Queen of Churchill Downs...

Not going to brag about it...but if you had followed our advice in Saturday's blog about the Stephen Foster Handicap...you would have made a handsome profit. BLAME put away BATTLE PLAN in the stretch to win by about a length and GENERAL QUARTERS held on for third.

How great it was yesterday to hear Churchill Downs bugler Steve Buttelman play the Stephen Foster classic songs like "Camptown Races", "Oh, Susannah" and "Sewannee River". He also does a fine job on "My Old Kentucky Home."

ZENYATTA, the other top female thoroughobred in the nation runs today in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. ZENYATTA has won her last 16 races in a row and with a win today would claim the modern day record for victories by a thoroughbred in non-restricted races.

Good luck, big girl. Hope to see you at the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs this November. Everyone is wanting a RACHEL vs. ZENYATTA matchup and let's hope it will happen this fall at Churchill.

Mercy survives in State Softball Tournament

Louisville Mercy went 2-1 yesterday in the State Softball Tournament in Owensboro...beating Scott County 7-1 and Clark County 11-1. They reached the winners' bracket semifinals but lost to Reidland 11-6 to drop back down to the losers bracket in the double elimination format. They face Green County today.

For PRP, the results weren't as good. They won their first game of the day 13-9 over Ryle but lost to Christian County 6-1 and Green County 4-0 to be eliminated from the tournament.

If Mercy advances, they'd play winner of the North Laurel vs. Christian County losers braacket game. A win there would put them against the loser of the Reidland vs. Allen County-Scottsville winners bracket game. Then, they'd have to beat the winner of that game twice to claim the title.

Sounds like a long afternoon of softball for the Jags if they want to bring the trophy and title back to Fegenbush Lane.


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Kentucky All-Star High School girls with a tough loss Friday night to Indiana at Bellarmine. The Hoosier prevail 93-83 despite 18 points from UofL signee Antonita Slaughter. UK signee Samantha Drake led the Kentucky squad with 21. They'll try again Saturday night up in Indy at the Conseco Fieldhouse.

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RACHEL ALEXANDRA returns to the track today at Churchill Downs...facing four competitors in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis handicap. Track the track conditions today...if it's raining and the going is sloppy...she could be vunerable to JESSICA IS BACK. If it's dry and fast....they're not gonna get her today.

The $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap is the main event on the card today. 11 runners will try the 1 1/8 mile race. CARDINAL COUPLE is hearing very, very good things about BATTLE PLAN...the Todd Pletcher trained stud. He'll probably go off as the favorite and there is a whole lot to like about this one. Javier Castellano gets the ride. Our buddy Paul McGee has DEMARCATION entered...30-1 morning line but those odds will mean nothing if the conditions are sloppy. Be forewarned...they scratched this horse out of the Opening Verse Stakes last night to run him today. A very live longshot. Paco Lopez flies in to ride Richard Dutrow's ARSON SQUAD. BLAME gets a horrible post draw but has the services of Garrett Gomez. I'll use these four in an exacta. We'll also try a tri wheel with BLAME and BATTLE PLAN on top, add the four above in second and toss in GENERAL QUARTERS and MACHO AGAIN with these for the 3rd spot.

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Last night's Friday Under the Lights at Churchill Downs was a 70's theme and it was wall to wall people. I heard at least 25,000 in attendance...and the music was just as good the racing. Boogie fever...

Softball Cards drop two in Red & Black Classic

Brittany York and her University of Louisville softball teammates lost both games of the first day of the Red and Black Classic Saturday at Ulmer Stadium.

Tough afternoon for Sandy Pearsall's squad on the diamond yesterday...falling 2-1 to Hofstra and 9-5 to #5 Michigan.

The Cards began the day against the Pride and fell behind early 2-0 when the Hofstra hitters tallied both runs in the top of the first inning. The Cards got one back in the sixth when Kristen Austin singled and scored on a Vanessa James single but couldn't produce any more runs in the inning or the rest of the game. Kristen Wadwell took the loss for Louisville, allowing 7 hits and striking out 6 in 7 innings of work.

Louisville started out huge against Michigan in the next game, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Jordan Trimble's three run base clearer in the second inning had the Cards in great shape to win the game, but Michigan roared back with 4 runs in the third and 4 more in the fifth to grab a 8-5 advantage. They would tack on an insurance run the sixth with Nikki Nemitz driving in her fourth RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly. Wadwell (6-5) took the loss in the second game also, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits in 3 innings of relief. Chelsea Leonard started the game for the Cards and went 4 innings...allowing 4 runs.

The Cards take back to the field today, weather permitting, against both Hofstra and Michigan today. Opening pitch against Hofstra is scheduled for 2 p.m. and they face Michigan at 4 p.m.

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Congratulation to Louisville's Mercy Academy for winning the 2010 Kentucky Girls High School basketball tournament in Bowling Green Saturday night with a 71-61 win over Scott County in the final game. Mercy battled to a 35-32 lead at halftime but came out with a strong 3rd quarter, outscoring Scott County 20-12 and maintained the lead for the win. Julianne Miller netted 23 points for the Jaguars and Malisa Cruz added 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead Mercy past the Lady Cardinals. Kristin Stainback led Scott County with 26 points in the defeat.

Mercy advanced to the final game with a 53-45 win over Rowan County Saturday morning and Scott County punched their ticket to the final with a 62-59 win over Rockcastle County. The Jaguars took a 24-11 halftime lead over Rowan County in the semifinal and held on for the win. Ellen Sholtes had 22 points for Mercy, including 11-14 from the charity stripe.

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Two great horses races yesterday for the top two fillies and mares. Zenyatta roared from dead last in the stretch to win at Santa Anita but Rachel Alexandra could not hold off Zardana in the final furlong at Fairgrounds and finished second by half a length. Zardana, ironically, is the stable mate of Zenyatta and both horses are trained by John Shirreffs and owned by Jerry Moss.

After the race, Rachel Alexandra's trainer Steve Assmussen refused to commit to the highly anticipated match up between his filly and Zenyatta in the April 9th Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. Assmussen did not expect Rachel to get beat and vowed to be more cautious with her future races, citing a possible lack of training as the reason she lost at the Fairgrounds. The $5 million purse for the Apple Blossom is only guaranteed if both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra run.

Congratulations to my better half Sonja, who correctly predicted that Zardana would top Rachel Alexandra and made a huge score in exacta, trifecta and Pick 3 wagers. She's buying Sunday brunch. For the whole restaurant.

Written by Paul
3/14/10

McCarty repeats as NCAA Champ

Louisville junior D'Ana McCarty won the NCAA Women's Indoor Weight Throw for the second consecutive year at the NCAA Championship Track and Field events held at the University of Arkansas. McCarty beat her previous record throw by eight inches and dominated the competition in Fayetteville...winning the event by almost 4 feet over the runner up.

McCarty has not been defeated in over two years and has won eighteen consecutive matches in the weight throw. Teammate Jere Summers also competed in the event but fouled on her throws and did not get an official toss in.

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Softball goes to the plate at noon today in the first day of the Red and Black Classic at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards will play two games today and two tomorrow, facing Michigan and Hofstra each day.

The Cards go on the road after this weekend's Classic to participate in the Judy Garmen Classic in Fullerton, CA. Arizona, Texas, Purdue, New Mexico, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton are the other teams in the 4 day event. Louisville will play each team once...beginning with Arizona at noon on Thursday, March 18th.

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Louisville's Mercy Academy has advanced to the Kentucky Girls High School State Tournament Final Four with a win over Henderson County 71-57. Therese Montano led for Jaguars in double figures with 16 points and nine boards.

The Jags (25-8) get Rowan County (22-8) today at 11 a.m. and would face the winner of the Scott County vs. Rockcastle County game if they can win. Rockcastle County had been dominating in the Houchens Industries/KHSAA girls' Sweet 16...beating Murray 69-36 and Clark County 56-45. Scott County advanced to the Final Four with a exciting 67-66 win over Boone County in overtime. Kristen Stainback drilled a three pointer with 4 seconds remaining to give the Lady Cardinals the boost to Saturday action.

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The top two fillies in horse racing take to the track today in preparation for their square off in April. Zenyatta will will face eight competitors in the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita and Rachel Alexandria will get tested by four fillies in the New Orleans Ladies' Stakes at Fairgrounds. They'll face each other for the first time ever on April 9th. in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn. Go get 'em Rachel...we all know that you'll dust today's competition and then top Zenyatta next.

Written by Paul
3/13/10