FINAL Louisville 67 - 55 over Michigan State

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GAME REPORT: LADY CARDS defeat MSU SPARTANS 67-55.


-Dyer leads Lady Cards with 13 points


The Louisville Lady Cards are in the second round of the NCAA Women's Tournament. They'll face Maryland on Monday in College Park, MD. Louisville got it done by scoring from all over the court, especially in the paint...where the four Louisville bigs combined for 34 points. 


The Cards shot 40% for the game (24-59) and went 4-15 from three point range...Becky Burke and Shoni hitting two each. Louisville held the Spartans to 3-16 from beyond the arc. MSU did shoot 41% from the field. 


Louisville held a 40-34 advantage in rebounding and had 12 turnovers...forcing MSU into 14. Below is a half-by-half replay.


2nd half


Louisville led this one by 22 points at one time...but a determined Spartan late second half run cut this one to 12 on a couple of occasions before the Cards closed it out 67-55.

The second half saw the return of Lykenda Johnson for MSU and brief flashes of the Spartan offense. They  scored the first two basket of the half and were within 12 points of the Cards. Louisville responded with a 11-2 run, however and led 49-29 at the sixteen minute mark. The Cards maintained that advantage and held their biggest lead at 59-37 with 9:40 left in the contest following a Nita Slaughter score inside. 


From that point on, though, the Cardinal offense went through stutters and sputters...managing just eight points over the final 9 1/2 minutes and scoring just one basket. 

MSU would trim the Cardinal advantage to twelve a couple of times late in the contest but Louisville held the rally at bay. Free throws from Hammond, Burke and Jude Schimmel late cinched the UofL win.


They get Maryland Monday...a 59-44 winner over Navy earlier today. 


According to President Obama, Louisville will win this one and also defeat Arkansas to get to the Great Eight before bowing out to Notre Dame. It's not a good idea to disobey a Presidential mandate...so pay attention to Barack and get there! Once you reach the quarterfinals...you can petition for a Presidential pardon and defeat the Irish... 


Louisville held MSU to 3 for 16 shooting from beyond the arc and Lykenda Johnson to just five points before she fouled out late. Four in double figures for Louisville...Dyer getting 13 points, Bria Smith and Becky Burke 12 each. Asia Taylor added 10 for Louisville. Shoni falling just short of double figures with eight points but getting six assists and six rebounds. 


Survive and advance. Anyway you can. Louisville did it with Schimmel magic and scoring early and tenacious defense late today. CARDS WIN! CARDS WIN!


1st half


Louisville leads MSU 39-23 after the first twenty. This one should be 49-23, the Cards have missed at least a half-dozen inside scoring opportunities at point-blank range. Started slowly, but an early 11-2 run put them ahead 13-7 and an additional 16-2 run gave them the lead at 33-16 with about five left. Cards keeping the turnovers low and Shoni creating some great opportunities with her passing and ball movement for the rest of the team.

Balanced scoring so far for the Lady Cards...Shoni had eight to lead Louisville and Walz is doing a lot of lineup rotation...Hammond, Dyer and Taylor getting some easy looks inside. The defense is solid and MSU's Lykenda Johnson sat a long time for the Spartans because of foul trouble. Unless the Lady Cards head to a Turkish bathhouse and meet Charlie Sheen...they should be advancing to Round 2. 


-Louisville WBB NCAA quest begins in College Park


-Softball cancelled because of rain.


-Last chance to enter CARDINAL COUPLE Women's NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge

-NCAA men tournament. Ugh.


The University of Louisville women's basketball team starts their visit to the NCAA Tournament today with a 1:30 p.m. tip-off against the Michigan State Spartans on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, MD. It's a ESPN 2 game. 

Jeff Walz was an associate coach at Maryland under Brenda Frese. Sherrone Vails played high school ball at Arundel High School in MD.

Fitting that the Lady Cards return to familiar ground for a coach and player. The squad needed some familiarity after losing two very familiar and popular players early in the season in Monique Reid and Tia Gibbs and had to re-familiarize themselves on how to play, win and advance without them. 

Of course...WE would love to see this battle against Michigan State in the KFC YUM! Center. Wait till next year, readers. 


Maybe WE would have liked to see Louisville ranked a little better than a #7 seed. Definitely next year.


WE could have handled a weaker opponent than Michigan State to start out. But 31 other teams are probably saying that, too. Same scenario last year, a #10 seed and then a #2 seed. The Lady Cards are familiar with that.


It's no leak of a tightly guarded secret...but the Louisville offense runs through Shoni Schimmel. Let's not forget, though that there are nine other players on this Louisville team who will be there also to help reach the team goal to get to the Pepsi Center in Denver for the Final Four.

What it is...is tournament time. You have to go on a six game win streak to take the title. You must beat the weak, the strong, the favored, the challenging underdog and the mighty #1 seed. Only one team will do this six times in the 2012 Women's NCAA Tournament. We hope...it is Louisville.


The Lady Cards do have a six-game win streak this season. It was early in the non-conference part of the schedule. None of the six teams Louisville beat back then made the NCAA Tournament. Although the impending foes are a tad bit tougher than the ones Louisville swept back then...we know that the Walz ballers have it in them to do it again.


We'll have full post-game coverage for you here at CARDINAL COUPLE. WE hope we can write some pretty and glowing-in-praise words about step one of six. We'll know around 3:30 today.


Time to start it up.   


Here's a link to an article about double B. Her last dance in the March Madness and a great time for her to blister the nets. Thanks to Kenny S. for passing the link on.


Burke plays in her 3rd NCAA Tournament

"I don't know about being a miscreant or scurrilous
but it sounds like fill 'em full of lead words
to me, dag nabbit!" 

Here's a link to a mention of CARDINAL COUPLE in Swish Appeal's Dance Card report. We think it's a compliment. Maybe. 


The words "miscreants" and "scurrilous" sent us scurrying to the ol' Websters to get definitions. WE don't think we're criminals or verbally abusive...but we do associate with Bill the Goat and Bread Boy. Not to mention the ubiquitous David Watson 
Thanks to Jenny O for the find. 


Lady CARDS 




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(Gotta admit, it's kinda cute...even if it is a Wildcat.) 

Softball team is out in California but the weather got them and games were cancelled Friday. I thought that...it never rains in California..but girl, don't they warn ya. It pours. Man, it pours. (from an old Albert Hammond song). They'll try again Saturday. They'll do fine. They're Cardinals.


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Get your CARDINAL COUPLE BRACKET CHALLENGE entries in by noon. Link at the top of the site, left hand side. Or enter here at the link below. Best of luck! Our group is 814 and our password is ladycards. Our thanks to Mark S. 'the commish' for his hard work and diligence on the contest.  


Bracket Challenge


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Big time surprises in the men's NCAA Friday action. Duke? (Rhymes with puke). Missouri? (The "show-me state got shown). Temple? (Say hello to our little South Florida friends). Michigan? (How about Mich-i-can't?)

It is the NCAA Tournament. Upsets happen, the underdogs rise up and forget to read the favorable press clippings and columns about lower seeds. They just go out and play basketball. 


How many years will they talk about "The Game" on the Lehigh and Norfolk State campuses? Will they use one of these finishes to replace that over-worked Duke vs. Kentucky Christian Laettner commercial that UPS pays for? 


How many Tiger and Blue Devils fans are waking up this morning and moodily brooding over their first cup of coffee...wondering if a made shot here or a block out and rebound there might have them still "dancing"? 

As the joyous Andy Williams song proclaimed so many years ago...even though it referred to Christmas...."It's the most wonderful time...of the year" 


For some.


Good luck tonight to the Louisville men's team in Portland against New Mexico. May the leprechaun dance over the rainbow and deliver a pot of gold and a chance to play in the third round to the O'CARDS. Faith and begora, lads!
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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-A look at Michigan State Lady Spartans


-CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Women's Tournament "Pick 'Em"... entries close Saturday prior to first game.


-HOW ARE YOUR NCAA men's brackets looking after Day One? 


The Lady Cards 1st round opponent in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is the Michigan State Spartans. They compete in the BIG TEN conference and were eliminated in the second round of conference tournament play by Purdue. Suzy Merchant's squad went 20-11 on the season.

Those losses came to Villanova, Fla.Gulf Coast, Miami (FL), Texas, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Minnesota, Purdue (twice) Illinois and Iowa. Six of those teams are competing in the NCAA Tournament. 


Porsche Poole (13.5 ppg) and Lykenda Johnson (11.0 and 8.7 rebounds) lead the Spartans. Both are seniors -- Poole a 5'8" guard and Johnson a 6'1" forward. MSU led the BIG TEN in defensive scoring...allowing conference opponents 60.6 ppg. They outscored all foes by an average of 67.4 points while giving up 59.7 a game. 


The Spartans turn the ball over 16.2 times a game and force opponents into 17.2. They attempt the 3-pointer 19 times a game and hit six of these. 


Suzy Merchant is 316-172 lifetime as a coach. The schools have met once before...MSU winning 82-73 back in 1990. 

How does #7 seed Louisville get past #10 seed Michigan State? The Cards need to do the following five things well, in our opinion. 


--Rebound effectively. Facing an opponent that out-rebounds their competition by almost seven game, Louisville will need to crash the boards after missed shots and block out. Asia Taylor and Shawnta Dyer are both proven "to go the boards" girls for Jeff Walz...but the entire front line and Becky Burke and Shoni Schimmel will need to grab a few also. 

--Nail the "3". Against a team that tries to keep the score down and values possessions, Louisville will need to open up the Spartan defense with some long range bombing. We know Burke, Shoni and Nita Slaughter can have big games from beyond the arc. Two of the three need to tomorrow to ensure Louisville's chances for a win.


--Free throw conversion. Louisville needs to do a little better than their last outing (against St. John's) from the free throw line. Let's hope Coach Walz stressed that in the practices following the departure from the BIG EAST Tournament. Bria Smith, Asia Taylor and Shawnta Dyer should get a lot of chances for "free ones"...given the aggressive nature of the MSU defense. They need to convert.


--Prevent the scoreless stretches. Louisville has had the tendency at times this season to go long stretches with little or no scoring. They cannot start slowly or finish poorly Saturday afternoon...or they might be going home before the weekend is over. 


--Limit the turnovers. Shoni needs to play with aggression but under control against the Spartans. The front line must be ready and able to catch her variety of passes and Bria needs to be smart and unselfish during her base-lines drives. 


Hopefully, the Lady Cards will be able to master these five areas we've mentioned and accomplish one more mandatory thing:


Score more points.


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Be sure to fill out your brackets for the CARDINAL COUPLE Women's NCAA Basketball Challenge. Click the link at the top left of the site or the link below and best of luck!


Our group is 814 and the password is ladycards. 

CARDINAL COUPLE Women's NCAA Bracket Selection Challenge


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So...are you playing the men's tournament selection brackets? And, how are you doing on them if you are?


CARDINAL COUPLE'S sweet Sonja went 14-2 the first day! Only Montana and UNLV got lines drawn through them on her bracket. 

Paul...not so good. 10-6. It happens when you try to "beat the chalks" and this tournament has been pretty lower seed success oriented so far.


DAVID WATSON reports he is 12-4. HE picked against Louisville to ensure they would advance. I know, Watson logic is hard to grasp at times...but that's why we love him.


Feel free to share your tournament successes or "woulda, coulda, shoulda"  stories in both tournament with us in the comments section or via e-mail. Misery loves company.  




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UK defeats MSU in Freedom Hall 70-52

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Written by Paul
3/22/10

For Merchant, the merchandise is moving well.

Michigan State head women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant faces a tough University of Kentucky hoops squad Monday night at 7:30 in Freedom Hall in the second round of the Women's NCAA Tournament.

Know your foe. During tournament time, it can be a difficult task given the short turnaround time between first and second round games. For Suzy Merchant, it was a trip to the courtside media table after her post game interviews following Michigan State's 72-62 first round win over Bowling Green. Not for face time or congratulatory greetings from fans...along with members of her staff, the popular Spartan coach was scouting the two teams vying to play the Spartans.

What she saw was a UK team that used excellent guard play to pull away from Liberty in the second half and advance to the next round for a match up against Michigan State.

The similarities between Liberty and Michigan State are remarkably similiar. Both teams have imposing front lines. 6'9" MSU center Allyssa DeHaan will tower over UK center Victoria Dunlap. Both MSU and Liberty place a priority in outscoring opponents in the paint and winning the rebounding battle. MSU has a balanced scoring attack and six players scored eight or more points against Bowling Green Saturday.

How will Michigan State succeed where Liberty failed...stopping UK freshman point guard Adia Mathies? Part of the answer may actually come from how well the Spartans can advance the ball against UK's devastating press. UK and Mathies used the defensive pressure to create turnovers and easy baskets for Mathies and her teammates. MSU will need to find a way to circumvent the intensity and advance the ball into the front court to set up the front line. The Kentucky press is susceptable to over the top passing to create mismatches and breakaway situations. It was something Liberty had limited success with but the athletic MSU guards and superior front line height should fare better.

The guards will be the key for MSU in foiling the UK full court pressure attack. Earlier in the season, in a game I got to see in person against Louisville, the Wildcats had a superior tactical advantage in quickness and experience against Louisville's weak backcourt and had a field day in netting points off turnovers. MSU guards Brittany and Jasmine Thomas (no relation) only had four turnovers, created five steals and scored eleven points each in 63 total minutes against Bowling Green. They're a bit more athletic and quicker that the Liberty guards Kentucky faced and the matchup should be a fun and interesting component of the game.

Another factor for Merchant and her team to deal with will be the pro-UK crowd in the Hall. At times, Liberty appeared slightly rattled by the noise level and fervor the UK fan base created from the Freedom Hall seats. The Spartans had a decent turnout for their game against Bowling Green but it is expected that the Big Blue Nation will take advantage of the short drive west to Louisville and pack the stands tonight. Wildcat fans are among the best in the nation at following their teams on the road and women's basketball is no exception. Their numbers should far exceed the Spartan fans in attendance tonight.

We'll have full postgame coverage of tonight's matchup here at CARDINAL COUPLE shortly after the action. Good seats remain for the game.

Written by Paul
3/22/10

UK, Michigan State advance in 1st round at Freedom Hall

6'9" Michigan State center Allyssa DeHaan grabbed 11 boards (most of them pretty easily) and added eight points in the Spartans 72-61 win over Bowling Green in the first game on Denny Crum Court this afternoon.

The Michigan State Spartans roared out to an early 8-0 lead against the Bowling Green Falcons and seemed to be able to score anytime they wanted in the paint with Haan and forwards Aisha Jefferson and Lykendra Johnson. In a half that featured several swings in momentum, though, Bowling Green fought back to tie the contest with 15:30 remaining and used a 15-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with 12:13 remaining. Bowling Green negated the Spartans powerful inside game with some spectacular three point shooting and with Tracy Pontius canning four trifectas in the first twenty minutes they battled to a 36-36 tie in the first half. Pontius's twelve points led all scorers and the Falcons went 8-16 from three-point range in the first half. It was clear that Michigan State needed to continue to use their inside advantage in the second half to gain some momentum in this game. They had 18 points in the paint compared to just 2 by Bowling Green.

The Spartans started the second half strong and used a 9-3 early run to lead Bowling Green 45-39 with 15:58 to go. Although Bowling Green would stay close for most of the rest of the final half, they could get no closer that four the rest of the way. Despite Lauren Prochaska's 11 second half points, Bowling Green goes home. Michigan State held Pontius to only 3 second half points and forced the Falcons into 16 turnovers while committing only 10 themselves.

Jefferson (17 pts.) led the Spartans in scoring. Four Michigan State players reached double figures. Suzy Merchant's team scored 22 of their points off turnovers and added 12 2nd chance points. Bowling Green returns Prochaska and Pontius next year and head coachCurt Miller is in an ideal spot to make a nice run with the Falcons again in the 2010-11 season.

By the time the second game between Kentucky and Liberty started, Freedom Hall had turned into a lower arena sea of blue. Liberty came out undaunted, though and scored the first six points of the contest. Using a decided height advantage, the Flames built a 12-4 lead with 16:46 to go in the first half. UK head coach Matthew Mitchell needed a way to spark his team and he found the fire by putting the Wildcats in a full court press. It spurred UK to a 15-1 run and the Cats, led by Adia Mathies and Amani Franklin took a 19-13 advantage with 11:20 to go. Liberty was not done just yet, though, and battled back to lead the Wildcats 28-25 with 3:39 remaining in the first half. A basket plus one by Liberty forward Kylee Beecher gave the Flames a 35-33 edge at the half. 31 of Liberty's first half points came from their tall front line and the Flames held a 24-14 advntage in points in the paint. They outrebounded UK 23-14 in the first twenty minutes but had no answer for Mathies and her 14 points.

Mitchell went back to what worked in the second half and UK defensive pressure allowed them to put together a 7-2 early in the second half and lead 40-37. Liberty fought back to regain the lead 48-45 with 15:03 to go but UK used three point shooting from Keyla Snowden and Mathies to surge past the Flames and led 58-52 with 11:15 left. Liberty would manage to cut the lead to six on a couple of occasions but could stop the explosive show from Mathies and took the loss 83-77.

Mathies was spectaular for the Wildcats this afternoon with 32 points. The Louisville native obviously enjoyed the soft rims in Freedom Hall...going 9-15 from the floor and 12-17 at the charity stripe. Keyla Snowden (15 pts,) and Victoria Dunlap (15 pts.) joined her in double figures. The Cats forced Liberty into 22 turnovers but lost the battle on the boards 38-26 and were outscored in the paint 54-30. They'll need a stronger effort on the boards Monday night to contend with MSU.

From my vantage point on press row, I had the dubious fortune of being right next to the UK pep band. Although quite entertaining with their musical selections, they kept up a constant and somewhat annoying banter directed at the Liberty players. Cheering for your team is one thing and quite acceptable, but personal insults and snide remarks about opposing players' physical apperances and hair styles is going over the edge. A potentially serious off court entanglement by Liberty's Devon Brown with the support behind the basket while going for a loose ball was met with rude comments and laughter. No need for such sophomoric and crass responses.

I guess they were mad that they didn't get to go to New Orleans to watch the UK men's team as members of the main pep band. Or maybe they're just loud-mouth, obnoxious jerks...

The second round game between Kentucky and Michigan State will be played Monday at 7 p.m. in Freedom Hall. Plenty of good seats are still available.

Written by Paul
3/20/10