Pitt takes another hit -- Cards 78 - Panthers 45

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GAME REPORT

- Five in double figures in 33-point Cardinal win

- Brackemyre says..."Yes" to Louisville!

- Softball sweeps in Vegas: Day Two

Louisville used balanced scoring, led by Shoni Schimmel's 22 points, to put Pitt away early and win 78-45 in the KFC YUM! Center Saturday afternoon in front of 10733 fans. The Cards used an early 17-5 run to take away any Pitt hopes of pulling off an upset. The win puts Louisville at 20-4 overall and 8-2 in the BIG EAST.

Starters: The "S" troops (Shoni, Sara, Sherrone, Slaughter and Smith) opened the game for Louisville, scored off the opening tip on a Nita Slaughter layup and never trailed in the contest. With the score 4-3 after a 3-ball by Pitt's Brianna Kiesel, the Cards held the Panthers to just one basket and three free throws in the next nine minutes to lead 21-8 with 9:58 left in the first half.

After Kiesel's three, Sara Hammond connected on a jumper, Bria Smith cashed in on a layup and Sherrone Vails scored inside to make it 10-5 with 16:28 remaining and head Pitt coach Agnus Berenato called a thirty-second time out to talk about it. The conversation did not solve much...back-to-back layups by Shoni and Bria had it at 14-5 and Berenato stopped action again for another discussion. (Shoni's assist to Bria for her score was a nifty, behind-the-head, no-look pass that only Shoni could have pulled off.) A Shoni jumper, score from Megan Deines and three by Jude Schimmel made it 21-7 at the media timeout with 11:51 to go.

Shoni scored the next five points for Louisville and the Cards led 29-14 when Bria hit again with 6:11 on the clock. A free throw from Shoni, layup by Hammond, layup by Deines and then Hammond again inside had Louisville enjoying a 36-14 advantage with 2:46 showing until the half. The Panthers did outscore Louisville 6-3 the rest of the way and Louisville went to the locker room holding a 39-20 edge.

Shoni led the way in the first twenty with 14 points on 5-8 shooting. Hammond and Smith followed with six, Jude contributed five, Denies was good for 4 and Slaughter and Vails added two each. Shelby Harper and  Cortnee Walton played but did not score...Walton did grab four rebounds in 10 minutes of first-half action.

The Cards began the final twenty in red-hot fashion, going on a 18-5 run in the first five and one half minutes. A  Hammond free throw got the scoring started, Smith followed with a layup, Deines buried a three and Hammond added two more charity tosses to give the Cards a 48-23 edge just three minutes into action. Shoni scored inside and a Slaughter three put Louisville ahead by 30...layups from Slaughter and Deines had Louisville ahead 57-25. A Smith jumper doubled the score on Pitt at 70-35 with 7:46 to go and the Cards largest lead came at 72-35 a minute later after a Smith free throw.

From there on, it was just a matter of how much Louisville would win by. Deines looked good in hitting all three of her trifecta attempts in the second half and Slaughter put in eight second-half points as the Cards tried different combinations over the final minutes. Pitt did outscore the Cards 10-6 in the final 6:25 of the second half.  

Final....Louisville 78- Pitt 45

Shoni ended up with 22, Deines 17, Smith 11, Slaughter and Hammond 10 each to reach double figures. Jude added five points, Vails finished with two and Harper one. The birthday girl Walton had five rebounds, a steal and some very good defense but ended 0-3 from floor and 0-2 from the line.

Louisville lost the boards battle 34-32 to the Panthers, but went 30-63 from the floor (47.6%)...compared to 16-45 shooting for Agnus' girls (35.6%). The Cards won the points off turnovers battle 27-9 and committed just 11 miscues while forcing Pitt into 26. 14 steals for Louisville, but only 10-17 at the foul line.

Pitt was without leading scorer Asia Logan (separated shoulder) and season-starting point guard Brittany Gordon (foot).

6'11" center Marvadene "Bubbles" Anderson is on a red-shirt and did not make the trip. I was severely disappointed over this. A brief conversation with a couple of Pitt players in the pre-game warm-ups garnered me an invitation to the Peterson Event Center next year to watch "Bubbles" play. I may take champagne.

WHAT WE LIKED

1) Teamwork. The Cards had 18 assists and just 11 turnovers. The days of standing around and dribbling the ball waiting for something to happen appear to be over.

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game

2) Sold on Schimmel. Shoni has been spectacular over the last several games and today's numbers (22 points, six assists, two turnovers, two steals and four boards) show us she's no longer just a shooter. We feel it's because of Bria's increased time at the point. Shoni says it's just hard work. Whatever the reason, we'll have another, and another, and...more please.

3) Deines delivers. 7-11 from the field and no longer running the court with the deer-in-the-headlights look. She's moving on offense. She's having fun out there (just ask her) and it shows.

THINGS TO WORK ON


1) Free throws. 58.8% today. The Cards are 11th. in the league in this stat. Smith's 1-4 indicates to us she needs to spend more time practicing the freebies. She might stop by and pick up Walton on the way to the gym, too. (0-2).

2) Wide open shots. If there was a stat in the BIG EAST for blown layups and wide open shots under basket, the Cards would be the going-away leader. If Walz had a dollar for each time...you get the point. Close-in, layups..gotta make those.

3) Front-line rebounding. Starters Vails, Slaughter and Hammond combined for only 10 today. The same number Shoni and Bria had. We feel Walton may have just assumed the role of the Cards best interior rebounder (that isn't injured). She had five today.

SUMMATION

A win that needed to be accomplished in convincing fashion and job done within the scope of successfulness. If the Cards were looking ahead to Norte Dame Monday night, it wasn't showing. Jeff Walz just asks for his players to play good and how they are taught in practice. They did that today, except at the free throw line and on some "how did she miss that?" wide open looks and layups. 

Pitt is hurting. A shame, really...the program was once a tough opponent under Agnus. Having two starters out didn't help today, but the body of work is 0 for 10 in the BIG EAST this year. They were young last year, they're still pretty young this year...but it's beginning to look like they're putting in an early bid for doormat of the ACC, in addition to the BIG EAST title they already share in that category with Cincinnati.



Post Game Walz below. The Ho-Jo Show returns for another yeoman performance, getting in all the questions for Walz but one...before the video below stopped unexpectedly.

 Coach Walz Discusses Win Over Pitt


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Good news for the WBB squad in another area, too. Ohio prep star Sydney Brackemyer has committed verbally to the Cards. The junior is going to be a force here. A great "get" for Louisville. Welcome aboard, SYD!

The Clinton-Massie hoopster is currently sidelined with a ACL knee injury but expected back full force for her senior year. Louisville beat out Dayton and Michigan for her services...the 2014 recruiting class is off to a great start...  
 
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The softball Cards took two in the Sportco Classic in Las Vegas on Saturday...downing DePaul 8-2 and uphending UCF 5-3.

DEPAUL/LOUISVILLE

This one started rather slow...scoreless after three innings with DePaul ace Kristen Verdun and Cardinal transfer Rachel LeCoq hooked up in a pitcher's duel.

The Cards broke loose in the fourth inning, though...with a six-run barrage. After Taner Fowler started the inning with and walk and Jordy Trimble reached on an error, Whitney Arion's bunt single got Fowler to the plate on a throwing error. A walk to Krista Mann loaded the bases and a walk to JSW (our new name for Jasmien Smithson-Willett) brought home Trimble. Kayla Soles then poked a deep triple, clearing the bases an it was 5-0 Cards. Katie Keller tripled also, scoring Soles and Louisville had a 6-0 lead.

The Cards added one in the sixth. Maggie Ruckenbrod doubled, Chrisanna Roberts came in to pinch run and scored on a Keller ground-out.

DePaul countered with two runs, but the Cards added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Trimble doubled and two wild pitches got her to the plate.

LeCoq went the distance for UofL, allowing six hits, and two unearned runs.

UCF/LOUISVILLE


Louisville struck early in the nightcap...getting three first inning runs. Alicja Wolny had a two-RBI double and Whitney Arion doubled the senior first-baseman home.

UCF's Haley Barraco tied the contest at 3-3 in the top of the fifth with a two-run "tocuh 'em all" off Cardinal starting pitcher Caralisa Connell.

Keller returned the favor, though, in the sixth with a solo shot over the left field fence to give UofL a 4-3 lead.

Louisville added a run in the top of the seventh when Ruckenbrod doubled, was lifted for JSW to pinch-run and Soles smashed a double to get the freshman to the plate for a 5-3 Cardinal advantage.

"Carl" gets the win...allowing five hits and fanning eight UCF batters in seven innings.

The Cards face Minnesota tomorrow.

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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- WBB faces Pitt, Softball splits in Vegas

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-WBB hosts Pitt today at 2 p.m.

-Softball splits in first day of Sportco Classic


(Quentin Voigt gives us the scout on today's opponent -- the Pittsburgh Panthers -- with some comments by Paulie. Also, softball defeats Texas Tech 10-6 but falls to UNLV 10-1 in Vegas.)

WE'RE DOIN' THE PANTHER WALK THIS WEEKEND!

This Saturday, Feb 9th...at 2 p.m., the Louisville Cardinal women's basketball team entertains BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh in the KFC YUM! Center. The Panthers are coached by Agnes Berenato, in her ninth year as the head Panther. She brings a young team into the YUM! that is made up of mostly  freshmen and sophomores. Add in a few juniors and no seniors for the 0-9, 9-13 BIG EAST Pennsylvania invader.

Junior Asia Logan, a 6'0" guard/forward leads Pitt with 15.3 ppg.  Along with 5'7" sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel, who averages 14.4 ppg, they've led Pitt in scoring 19 of their 22 games.

The smart money goes on the Cards today. Wouldn't surprise me to see a Louisville win by 20 or more.

-Quentin Voigt.

OK, these aren't sneaky Pink Panthers and their 0 for BIG EAST leads me to believe it just might be Peter Sellers' character Inspector Clouseau as the head coach instead of loveable, long-suffering Agnes...one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet.

Indeed, what intrigues me the most about this team is someone who isn't playing for them...6'11" (yes, 6'11") freshman Marvadene "Bubbles" Anderson...who is red-shirting this season. The highly sought-after Rutgers Prep High School star landed at Pitt, her coach at RPHS the twin sister of Pitt assistant coach Patty Coyle. 

Pitt's been in a few games...losing narrowly at DePaul 57-55 and falling in a close one when Providence came to Steel City Wednesday and left with a 85-83 double overtime win. Non-conference wins aren't spectacular...with triumphs over William & Mary, Siena, Wagner, Brown, Longwood, Loyola (MD) Mt.St.Mary, Buffalo and ODU.

Louisville went to overtime against them last year before winning 71-66 at "the Pete", Walz is 5-2 against them and the Cards are 7-2 lifetime over the Panthers. The Panthers have never won in the YUM! or Freedom Hall.  

Louisville in a romp today. I hope Bubbles makes the trip. Never seen a 6'11" girl in person before.

-Paulie


( We'll be back with the recap later today.)

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Louisville softball split two games Friday on the opening day of the Sportco Classic in Las Vegas. The Cards overcame a 5-0 deficit to thump Texas Tech 10-6 in the opener but the bats disappeared in a 10-1 loss to host UNLV in the nightcap.

CARDS 10 - Texas Tech 6

Caralisa "Carl" Connell got rocked by the first seven batters she faced in the first inning of the game. That brought transfer Rachel LeCoq to the mound and she pitched the final seven innings allowing just two runs.

Down 5-0 in the bottom of the third, the Cards strung together four singles, two walks and a wild pitch to tie the game. In the bottom of the fourth, they brought out the heavy artillery...a two-run homer by Katie Keller and solo shot by Alicja Wolny put Louisville ahead to stay 8-5. UofL added two runs in the fifth, Keller's single scoring Jennifer Esteban and Keller reaching home on an error.

UNLV 10 - CARDS 1

Connell drew the starting assignment again in game two, but a two-out, three run homer had her behind after one inning. The Cards lone run came in the second when Jordy Trimble reached on an error and freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett, who started both games in right-field, doubled her home.

The Cards had the bases loaded in the third with no outs, but a double play and ground out kept them from drawing any closer to the Runnin' Rebs.

Smithson-Willett treated rudely
in first collegiate pitching effort.

After four innings, and Vegas up 6-1, Pearsall turned the pitching assignment over to Smithson-Willett. The Rebs touched her for four straight runs and the game was ended after five innings.

Rough Friday for Connell. Rude introduction to DI pitching for Smithson-Willett. The Cards return to the diamond today for two more contests. They'll face BIG EAST foe DePaul in a non-conference game first and then UCF in the nightcap.

In the movie Caddyshack, the character Carl spent most of his time looking for an elusive gopher. On the Cardinal softball team, their Carl is searching for the form that got her to 19-1 last season.

Coach Pearsall mentioned that the Louisville pitching didn't show up Friday and when the bats fell silent in game two, it was a deadly combination. And, with 16 runs allowed in 12 innings of play...we'd have to agree that the Cardinal combination of Connell and Smithson-Willett was less than effective.

Sometimes, you go to Vegas and take a bath. Let's hope the Cards can start rolling sevens and elevens (on the scoreboard) and take two today. 
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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Stats and more on BIG EAST WBB.

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Statistical leaders in the BIG EAST WBB

-Softball swings into action

It's been awhile since we've run the numbers here at CARDINAL COUPLE on BIG EAST WBB, so here goes:

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

Notre Dame 9-0                       USF       4-4
Connecticut 8-1                       Rutgers 4-4
Louisville    7-2                        Seton Hall 3-6
Syracuse     7-2                        Marquette 3-6
DePaul        6-3                        Providence 3-6
Villanova     5-4                        Pittsburgh  0-9
St. John's    4-4                        Cincinnati   0-9
Georgetown 4-5

Who's hot?  Notre Dame. On a 16-game win streak and heads to Seton Hall next. Skylar Diggins is now over 2000 points in her career. The Fighting Irish are 6-1 against ranked opponents this season. Some rebuilding year...

Who's not? Pitt and Cincy. Losers in their last nine.

Surprise? Seton Hall. Didn't figure they'd get three wins in the conference for the entire season. They've matched that already.


OVERALL CONFERENCE TEAM STATS (As of 1/30/13)

Scoring Offense:  Connecticut 82.5  (Louisville 73.6 - 5th)
Scoring Defense:  Connecticut 46.5  (Louisville 52.8 - 4th)
Scoring Margin:    Connecticut +36.0 (Louisville +20.8 - 3rd)
Free Throw Pct:  Notre Dame .810 (Louisville .685 - 10th)
Field Goal Pct:    Connecticut .494 (Louisville .456 - 3rd)
FG Pct Defense:  Connecticut .302 (Louisville .373 - 8th)
3-Point FG Pct:   Connecticut .370 (Louisville .332 - 3rd)
3-Point FG Def:   Syracuse .272      (Louisville .277 - 2nd)
Rebounds:          USF 912               (Louisville 863 - 4th)
Rebounds allowed: Connecticut 626 (Louisville 722 - 9th)
Rebounding margin: Connecticut +11.7 (Louisville +6.4 5th)
Blocked shots:  St. John's 117         (Louisville 74 - 9th.)
Assists:               Connecticut 427   (Louisville 330 - 4th)
Steals:                Louisville 286
Turnover margin  Connecticut +6.5  (Louisville 6.2 - 2nd)


Cardinals that rank in the top 20 of individual stats:

Scoring: Shoni Schimmel 13.7 ppg (19th)
Rebounds: Sara Hammond 6.7 rpg (13th)
Field Goal %: Monique Reid .552 (4th), Hammond .511(12th)
Assists: S.Schimmel 3.3 apg (14th)
Free Throw %: Hammond .750 (14th)
3-point%: S.Schimmel .363 (8th), Nita Slaughter .357 (9th)
3-pointer made: S.Schimmel 57 (4th)
Steals: Bria Smith 2.3 a game (9th)

The Cards are second in the BIG EAST in attendance with 9424 a game at home. UConn barely ahead here with 9585 a game at home. Average attendance for both home and away game has Louisville third...with 5757. Notre Dame leads with 6652 and UConn is at 6606.

Shoni's 38 points against USF ties Sugar Rodgers as a season high in the BIG EAST. Since Sugar got hers against Yale and Louisville held her to six...we give Shoni the nod here. The Louisville vs. Kentucky game is the second highest attended with a BIG EAST team (15486). DePaul vs. UK drew 18488.

The Cards return to action Saturday @ 2 pm with (9-13, 0-9) Pitt coming to the KFC YUM! Center. We'll have a preview of it in Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE and a report of the action later that night.


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Softball swings into action today with two games in the SportCo Classic in Las Vegas. Here's the three-day, five-game slate:

FRIDAY

Cards vs. Texas Tech  2:15 p.m. (All times EST)
Cards vs. UNLV  6:45 p.m.

SATURDAY

Cards vs. DePaul  noon
Cards vs. UCF  4:30

SUNDAY

Cards vs. Minnesota  1:15 p.m.

Sandy Pearsall's charges are #18 in the nation and have more power in their lineup than the law should allow.  They return four players that hit for over .300 last year and had a team batting average of .309.

As Sandy Pearsall mentioned in our exclusive interview with her...pitching is the question mark a lot of opponents have when it comes to looking at this squad. Caralisa "Carl" Connell is the lone returnee from a staff that won 55 games last season. She also won the "Most Popular Louisville women's athlete poll" here at Cardinal Couple.

We have seen yeoman efforts on the mound for Louisville in years past. Aja Sherman, Kat Bishop, Kristen Wadwell, Tori Collins. We feel confident that "Carl" will join these illustrious names in Cardinal Softball Pitching history.

Good luck in the desert, Softball sluggers!

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Finally, former Cardinal WBB great Angel McCoughtry has re-signed with the Atlanta Dream. Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed.
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Louisville defeats Pitt in overtime 71-66

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 GAME REPORT...Louisville vs. Pitt

-Cards rally to force overtime

-BIG EAST Tuesday Night results

-Early Kentucky Derby peek


 The Lady Cards came from seven down with 3:32 left in the game tonight and forced a 60-60 overtime...taking the Panthers in the extra session 71-66. Not a spectacular or impressive win by Louisville tonight, but a win against an inspired Pitt women's basketball team and a clutch effort by Shoni and Slaughter to secure it.

Shoni finished with sixteen to lead four Lady Cards in double figures. Her seven straight near the end of the game were key in getting the Cards back in the contest. Here we go...

Starters:  Shoni, Taylor, Vails, Smith and Burke

BB was hot
early vs. Pitt.

Pitt opened the scoring with a Ashlee Anderson three. She wasn't done by any stretch of the imagination. Louisville took off on a 10-2 run after that, though, and led 10-5 after Becky Burke nailed her second 3-pointer of the night. It was the second of four from her for the evening.

Pitt rallied back and tied it at 10-10 after a Leeza Burdgess jumper with 14:06 to go. A inside score from Shawnta Dyer and a Nita Slaughter three gave Louisville a 18-13 lead and Dyer connected again in the paint to make it 20-15 Lady Cards with 10:53 remaining. Pitt rallied to get within one at 20-19...but a three from Shoni and two Sherrone Vails layups off passes from Shoni had Louisville up 27-19 with 5:54 left in the half.

Vails second layup was the last basket of the half for the Lady Cards.

Agnus Berenato had
Pitt prepared for
the Lady Cards

Pitt would out-score Louisville 8-3 the rest of the way...the Cardinals getting a free throw from Burke at the 5 minute mark and two from Slaughter with 57 seconds left in the first twenty minutes to make it 30-25 Cards. Brianna Kiesel scored on a put-back to end the first half scoring and Louisville went to the locker room up 30-27.

Burke's 10 points...nine of them on 3-3 three point shooting led Louisville. Only four other Cards scored in the first half...Vails with six, Slaughter and Shoni with five each and Dyer getting four. All but Shelby played. Louisville was out rebounded by seven in the first half and was definitely having trouble stopping Pitt on the offensive boards. 

The Cards also needed to find a way to get the ball through the net from the floor to begin the second half. It looked like they might have found the answer early...as Vails and Shoni scored early to put Louisville up 34-27. Pitt roared back, though, and a Dowd 3 made it a two point game at 37-35 with 16:32 remaining. 

Sho-time magic late
in the second half
for the Lady Cards

Pitt would tie the game at 41-41 on another Kiesel score...part of a 6-0 run that had the Panthers ahead 45-41 after Ashlee Anderson hit a jumper with 10:02 remaining. A Shoni score got Louisville within two...but the Lady Cards could only muster three free throws in the next four minutes and Pittsburgh led 53-46 with 3:32 remaining. 

The Cards went to work. Two Dyer free throws, followed by two Bria Smith free throws got Louisville within three. It was Pitt 55-50, though, with 2:43 remaining and Louisville needed a scorer and a spark.

It became "Sho" time.

Shoni's jumper cut it to three. A Shoni three after a steal made it 55-55. Her third basket in a row capped a 7-0 Schimmel run and Louisville had regained the lead 57-55. Louisville fouled Burgess on a made basket, though, and her free throw gave Pitt a 58-57 advantage with 1:22 left.

I can do some pretty good
shootin' myself, dag nabbit!!

A Slaughter free throw tied it at 58-58 but she missed the second one. Slaughter then fouled Kyra Dunn with 27 seconds left and she sank both shots for a 60-58 Pitt lead. Slaughter to the rescue, though...she tied it with a jumper at the 16 second mark. Pitt had a chance to score at the buzzer, but Bria Smith partially blocked a Kiesel desperation heave and regulation ended at 60-60.

Anderson scored to start the overtime but Slaughter returned the favor with a jumper. She connected again with 3:25 left in the overtime to make it 64-62 Louisville. Kiesel put Pitt ahead with a 3-pointer at the 2:52 mark. Bria Smith drove and scored on the next possession, though, to give Louisville a 66-65 lead. An Anderson free throw tied it at 66-66 with 2:14 left. She had missed two charity tosses two seconds earlier...but grabbed her own rebound and got fouled again....making one out of two the second time around.  

Shawnta Dyer put the Cards ahead to stay with a free throw at the 2:13 mark. Then Bria Smith scored on a drive to the basket to give the Lady Cards a 69-66 lead and 1:30 to go. 
Pitt would not score again and Anderson fouled Burke - who cashed in two free throws with 16 seconds left for the final....71-66.

Cards win! Cards win! 

The Irish are next for
the Lady Cards on
Monday, 2 p.m.

Louisville played their way out of a very embarrassing potential situation...narrowly avoiding the loss to conference winless Pittsburgh. The Lady Cards got it done when it needed to be accomplished - getting 18 of their final 21 points from Slaughter, Smith and Shoni. 

They kept Pittsburgh scoreless in the final 2:13 of overtime - Smith and Shoni doing the job on defense against Anderson (who fouled out with 16 seconds left) and Kiesel.  

Sophomore Schimmel ended with 16 and was joined in double figures by Slaughter(15), Burke (15) and Dyer, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Vails ended up with eight and Smith six. Bria's points all in the final three minutes of the second half and overtime. Taylor, Hammond, Jude and Shelby Harper played but did not score. 

Pitt got 22 each from guards Kiesel and Anderson. They're a freshman and a sophomore and they were spectacular tonight for Agnus Berenado's Panthers tonight.

So, the Lady Cards survive on the road. Eight conference wins now, a number that Coach Walz feels will get them in the NCAA Tournament. 

Six days to prepare for Notre Dame. Based on tonight's hap-hazard performance, they'll need those days. We're very proud of the way the Cards fought back tonight and got a come-from-behind win in front of anywhere from 500-1555 in attendance (depending on whose numbers you want to adhere to). The Louisville swimming and diving team - competing in the BIG EAST Tournament in Pittsburgh was there, helping boosting the number and providing vocal support.

This was an ugly game. An effort like this against the Irish and the #4 team in the nation will wipe the floor with the Lady Cards. But, it's a "W" and this is the BIG EAST, where anything can happen.

We wonder if the BIG 12 will be like this?

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In other BIG EAST WBB Tuesday action:

--Georgetown got 17 points from Sugar, Sugar and gained a road win over Villanova 60-54. Sweeney finished with 16 for 'Nova.

--Norte Dame defended Purcell Pavillion with a 66-47 win over Providence. Skylar Diggins with 19 for the Irish, Rachel Barnes earned 16 for the Friars. Notre Dame was 1-5 from 3-point range in this one.

--USF travelled to Milwaukee and knocked off the Marquette Golden Eagles 61-48. They held Katherine Plouffe to single digits and "the Russian Rocket" Inga Orekhova had 14 for Jose Fernandez crew. Sasha Bernard contributed 10 for the Bulls.

Only one BIG EAST match-up for Wednesday night...but it should be a great one...Rutgers and WVU in Morgantown.

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We like our buddy J.J.'s blog on horseracing. In the money.

J.J knows horses. Way better than
we do.

She put up her weekly entry yesterday and it is chock full of great information about the three year olds. GIve it a click.

http://www.lyricalshadow.blogspot.com/

Tell her how much you like it. She offers some great insights into the "sport of Kings" and posts (for now) weekly.

We think you should go over there and read it if you have an interest in thoroughbred racing. She covers the best three year olds all around the nation this week and there is some very good information and insights about the "road to the roses" for the contenders.
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Lady Cards face Pitt tonight...Louisville chosen for 2013 NCAA WBB 1st and second round sites...Angel one of 21 being considered for Olympic Team

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards head to Pitt for Tuesday night clash with Panthers

-Louisville chosen for 2013 NCAA WBB 1st. and 2nd. round

-Angel one of 21 being considered for Olympic Team.

-Tori Collins named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week


The University of Louisville women's basketball team travels to Pittsburgh for a Tuesday night game with the Lady Panthers. Pitt hasn't exactly been setting the BIG EAST on fire this year...0-11 in conference games and 8-16 overall. Louisville (18-7, 7-5) looks to add a BIG EAST win to their record and stay within sight of a possible top four finish in the BIG EAST.

Rebound well against
the Panthers, Asia!
(Photo from Charlie
Springer- Card game)

The Panthers are led in scoring by freshman Brianna Kiesel. She produces 12.8 p.p.g. for Agnus Berenato. Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Anderson is also in double figures for the Panthers...with 10.8 a contest. Freshman Chyna Golden has been playing well off the bench lately for UofP. A youth movement going on in the Petersen and those can take awhile sometimes...

The Panthers have lost 10 in a row...getting their last win back on Dec. 31st. against Lafayette 74-69 in overtime. Last two out for the Panthers have produced losses at Marquette (72-48) and at Cincinnati (62-57). 

Hard to find a lot of positives in their play...but they are ninth in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounding and tenth in blocked shots. They play their home games in the Petersen Event Center and average about 2000 a home game, one of only seven BIG EAST teams that average close to or over 2000 fans in attendance for home games. At least the fans are staying behind this team despite the dismal season...

Pitt is coached by Agnus Berenato. She's in her ninth season as the Panther skipper and has complied a 161-137 record there. Overall, she's in her 28th. season of coaching and is 444-401 lifetime. Agnus is a class act. A shame she's having such a rough year. We hope she can turn it around in the final four games this year after they play Louisville...they go to USF, host Connecticut and Seton and finish at West Virginia.

We'll have a full recap of the action for you later tonight. Only TV we know of is on Comcast Pittsburgh. Matty and A.J. have the radio call for Louisville on 790 WKRD.  It's a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Reppin' the ladies !

How about those Lady Card fans? With over 12,000 in attendance for the last two home games...they lead the BIG EAST in home game attendance and are #2 in the nation with a 10,473 average. With DePaul and Notre Dame remaining on the home schedule...that number will go up. We salute you!

Besides Louisville vs. Pitt, there are three other games on this Valentine's Day. Providence goes to Notre Dame, Marquette hosts USF and Georgetown travels to Villanova. All are 7 p.m. starts.

Only one game involving a BIG EAST WBB team for Monday night...UConn pulled away late to beat homestanding Oklahoma 73-55.

Finally, if anyone watched the men's game on TV last night and saw the #L1-C4 banners in front of the scorers table, that stands for:

Louisville first. Cards forever.

Whatever...we guess it will grow on us. We've been told we'll see a lot more of it, so get ready.


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Louisville has been chosen as a first and second round site for the 2013 NCAA Women's College Basketball Tournament. Games will be played at the KFC YUM! Center. First round games will be either March 23rd. or 24th. and second round games on the 25th. or 26th. 

Besides Louisville, other first round sites are:

Baton Rouge, LA                 Boulder, CO            College Park, MD
College Station, TX              Columbus, OH         Durham, NC
Iowa City, IA                       Knoxville, TN          Lubbock, TX
Delaware, DE.                      Queens, NY             Spokane, WA
Stanford, CA                        Storrs, CT                 Waco, TX

Regional sites are Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Spokane and Trenton

Once again, the NCAA showing a lot of love to Gonzaga...they could stay home again until the final four if they can keep winning. I know, two seperate arenas for the First and Second Round and the Regional. Doesn't matter. They're like five minutes apart and Gonzaga play in both during the season.

The KFC YUM! Center

Gotta love the selection of Louisville! This 2012-13 Louisville team should be one of the strongest and most talented in Lady Cards history and it would be fun to watch them play the first two rounds here. 

Last time the city of Louisville hosted the first two rounds was in 2010. Kentucky came into Freedom Hall and defeated Liberty and Michigan State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. We went to those games...wanted to see how Victoria Dunlap did against the tall Alyssa DeHaun of MSU and the huge Liberty front line.

She did just fine. And, no...we weren't cheering. Official media representatives for the two contests...



Adia wasn't so happy after getting TKO'ed in the
second half last night at UT. That had to hurt...

 Speaking of Kentucky WBB...they got absolutely handled by the Lady Vols last night in Knoxville. Two losses in a row for Matthew Mitchell's girls. Hope Adia Mathies is OK. She took a strong forearm shiver from one of Pat's front liners in the second half. Cats still lead the SEC by a game...but trending downward. Any talk of UK WBB getting a #1 seed for the Big Dance can now officially "pipe down". Mattie Mitchell with the perfect post-game comment:

"It only counts as one loss. It probably should count for more than that...but one's all we're getting in the loss column."

91-54. Awkward. Another round of "Rocky Top" please, pep band.


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Congratulations to Angel McCoughtry, one of 2 finalists chosen to compete for 12 spots on the 2012 USA Olympic Team. The list of 21 is impressive...looks like an WNBA All-Star game roster...with Brittany Griner the only college player listed.

Geno probably won't get this agitated in the Olympics.

Geno Auriemma is the head coach of the team. He always raved about Angel when she played for Louisville, so we're pretty confident she'll make the cut. The team will be competing right in the heart of the WNBA schedule, though...so tryouts and competition are going to be next to impossible. You can probably expect Geno to load it up with UConn ex-players...so get ready for  Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Renee Montgomery to be issued jerseys.  I probably missed a few ex-Huskies here...no big deal...as long as USA wins the gold we don't care if he takes the current UConn team over there (with Angel, of course.)

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Torrid Tori Collins sends them back to the
dugout muttering...

Senior Louisville softball pitcher Tori Collins was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for her outstanding performances in the FIU Combat Classic last weekend in Miami. Here's how she did in three starts and one relief apperance:

-Record:        3-0
-Strikeouts     30
-Innings pitched  20.1
-Hits allowed 15
-ERA             1.72
-Opp. team batting avg.   .195

Very impressive for Sandy Pearsall's circle dweller! Louisville's Taner Fowler was named to the BIG EAST Softball Honor Roll for her play in Miami also. She had five great games, batting .500 (8-16), scoring three times and getting five RBI's.

How they left Maggie Ruckenbrod off the honor roll is a mystery...she was tearing it up at the plate in the Combat Classic.
She played in four games...sitting out the UMass game...and had seven RBI's, five runs scored and five hits at 12 apperances at the plate. That's a batting average of .416.

Louisville is 5-0 and heads to Greenville, NC for tournament action at East Carolina this weekend. OOH-RAH, Lady Cards !
..
...

Slaughter's onslaught saves Cards 79-68

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Antonita Slaughter sparks LADY CARDS win.

With 5:49 to go in the UofL vs. Pittsburgh game and the Cards down 59-52...the Cards were in desperate need of a spark, a surge...something to snap them out of the 3-point shooting slump Jeff Walz's crew was mired in.

Enter Antonita Slaughter. See Louisville go on a 13-5 run to take a 65-64 lead 90 seconds later. Two 3-point bombs from the freshman..plus key shots from Shoni Schimmel and Monique Reid..saw the Cards tie it at 59-59 and go up to stay 65-64 after Slaughter's second bomb with 4:10 remaining. Louisville held the visiting Panthers to nine points over the final 5:49 and got clutch free throw shooting from Reid down the stretch to go 3-0 in the BIG EAST.

The Cards began the Sunday afternoon contest in a hurry...grabbing a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes after a Reid 'plus 1'. They would see Pitt fight back to take a 8-7 lead behind the 3-point shooting of Shayla Scott...but a 13-2 LADY CARD run over a 4 1/2 minute span had the Cards sitting pretty at 20-10 with 12 minutes to go. Pitt would battle back, tie the contest at 20-20 following a Marquel Davis jumper with 8:23 in the first half. Louisville returned the favor with a 8-0 run...keyed by two Tia Gibbs layups off steals...and take a 32-26 lead into the locker room at the half. Reid was the Cardinal first half workhorse...with 12 points...and the Cards enjoyed a 9-3 steal advantage over the Panthers.

Louisville started the second half slowly, though and Pitt tied the contest with a 10-4 early run...with Jania Sims scoring twice and adding a couple of steals for Agnes Berenato's crew. At 36-36, Louisville forged ahead to lead 42-38 after a Keisha Hines layup with 14:30 remaining...but the Cards would see Pitt regain the advantage 46-45 after another Shayla Scott three at the 11:47 mark.

The teams battled back and forth with the lead until Pitt used a Shoni Schimmel foul and subsequent technical to go up 56-50 with 6:57 to go. The call was questionable on the Louisville freshman and emotions got the best of her after the whistle. From there, Louisville outscored the Panthers 29-12 the rest of the way.

3-point shooting took a day off for the Cards...the 5-19 effort equally bad in each half. Burke went 1-5, Schimmel 2-9 and Gibbs 0-3. Pitt, on the other hand, got key threes from Scott in both halves and three clutch trifectas from Taneisha Harrison in the final twenty minutes. Pitt out rebounded Louisville 38-33 on the afternoon...marking the first time this season that Pitt has lost a game despite winning the rebounding battle. Chelsea Cole and Scott, in particular...schooled Louisville on the boards...with 10 and 11 respectively.

A nice Sunday crowd of 9577 was instrumental in the late second half rally by creating a loud and frenetic atmosphere in the KFC YUM Center when Pitt was on offense. The attendees went nuts when Reid knocked home an off balance jumper to put the Cards up 72-66 with 1:39 left in the game. The Cards scored their final seven points of the game from the foul line...Reid going 4-4, Burke adding two and Schimmel 1.

Louisville was led by Reid's 29 points in 38 minutes of play. Schimmel added 15 points despite 6-16 shooting and Keisha Hines battled the tall Panther front line for 10 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. Slaughter and Gibbs finished with eight points each and Burke added seven for Louisville...who shot 50% for the game. (28-56).

The Panthers got big efforts from Scott (17 points and 11 boards), Harrison's 18 points...sixteen in the final twenty minutes and Jania Sims 13 points (but a woeful 4-16 from the floor). Cole reached double figures on the boards with 10 and 9 points...seven in the second half.

A good and inspired come from behind win for Walz's crew today...but an up and down, uneven effort like this will translate into losses at Notre Dame and UConn next week. The 3-point shooting probably won't be that horrendous in the next two and Louisville can ill afford being schooled in 2nd chance points by 13 at either venue...but give credit to the Cards for showing that they can mount late game rallies against a top caliber foe...and hit the free throws down the stretch.

Previewing Pitt

SATURDAY @ THE COUPLE:.


-PITT PAYS A VISIT TO YUM..

The University of Louisville Lady Cards put a three game winning streak on the line Sunday when the University of Pittsburgh comes to town for BIG EAST women's basketball action in the KFC YUM Center. Game time is noon.

Pitt (8-6, 0-1) returns four starters from a tean that went 16-15 last season and split the matchups against Louisville. The Panthers defeated the Cards 72-69 in the Peterson Event Center during the regular season...but Louisville got revenge in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament...winning 79-71. Agnes Berenato's squad went to postseason play in the NIT but bowed out in the first round. Berenato begins her ninth season as the Panthers' skipper and is 138-95 as the head honcho of Pitt. She's also one of the most friendly and engaging coaches in the BIG EAST...two years ago when the Panthers lost in Freedom Hall 75-71 to the Cards...she greeted everyone on press row, the scorers table and just about everyone but the popcorn vendors.

This year's version of the Panthers is led by several returning and talented players. Brittaney Thomas is putting up 15.2 points per game for Agnes' bunch. Jania Sims averages 14.5 for Pitt.

Taneshia Harrison chips in with 13.4 a game. Chelsea Cole contributes 9.7 a game and grabs 10.4 boards a contest. Shalya Scott's numbers are 9.1 a game and 7.3 boards. Cole, Harrison, Thomas, Scott and Sims all battled against the Cards last year.

The Panthers have defeated Youngstown State, Radford, Loyola, Mt. St.Mary, Valparaiso, UT-Arlington, Austin Peay and Central Michigan this year. Losses have come at the hands of Minnesota, Duke, St.Francis, DEPAUL, Texas Tech and Duquesne.

The Panthers average 72.2 a game and allow 63.4 points. Cole is second in the BIG EAST in rebounds and also has seven double-doubles on the season. The Panthers are 5-2 at home and 3-4 out of "the Pete".

SONJA SEES IT:

Louisville will find the rebounding against Pitt a challenge. Keisha Hines, Sherrone Vails, Monique Reid and Asia Taylor will need to go to the boards strong and avoid fouls in the paint that an experienced team like the Panthers can draw you into. The Cards would be best served by opening up the tight Pitt defense with long range bombing and then working the frantic full court transition game that has served Louisville well in the last three wins.
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Louisville could win this one rather easily if the Cards can follow the blueprint that DePaul used to beat the Panthers in Pittsburgh 67-51 earlier this year. The Blue Demons allowed the less than stellar Pitt guard outside shooters to go 4 of 27 from 3-point range and used a 21-11 first half run to build an insurmountable lead. DePaul guard Sam Quigley had 15 against the Panthers and there's no reason Shoni Schimmel can't do the same. DePaul went 7-21 from deep against Pitt...Louisville may attempt more trifectas than that...
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The game will be televised on ESPNU and Jim Kelch and Paul Sanderford will have the radio call on Cards Radio WKRD 790 AM / 101.7 FM. Show up and bring a poster in support of the Cards. A poster contest is being held and the winner gets 2 floor seats to a LADY CARDS game.
How about...
(E)nter
(S)chimmel...
(P)itt's
(N)ightmare...??

(Feel free to use this one...they frown on posters down on press row...so WE can't do it.)

Big East meetings: Whistling in the dark?

NOTE TO OUR DEAR READERS AND ALL YOU INTERNET BOTS. CARDINAL COUPLE WILL BE GOING DARK FOR A FEW DAYS. THE HAMSTERS THAT POWER OUR HARD DRIVE ARE HEADED TO THE ANNUAL RODENT AND PREDATOR CONVENTION/GAMES IN TRUCKEE, CA. WE HOPE THEY RETURN...

WE'LL BE BACK (WE PROMISE) BIGGER, STRONGER, STEROID AND CAVITY FREE. IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE AMUSE YOURSELF BY CHECKING OUT THE SITES WE RECOMMEND OVER ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SITE. OR, ORGANIZE YOUR SOCK DRAW. SEE YOU REAL SOON AND DON'T STOP BELIEVING. SOME ONE OUT THERE JUST MIGHT MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR YOU.

PAUL, SONJA, SCOOTER, RODNEY and MAX AND BERTIE..THE WONDER HAMSTERS.

Big East commisioner John Marinatto just might be feeling like General George Custer these days. The Indians are coming...masked as the Big 10...and they've got plenty of arrows (dollars).

Big East athletic directors and coaches headed to Jacksonville early this week to converge and confab on the league and the future. If the circumstances felt eerily similar to the meeting seven years ago when the league was raided by the ACC and Miami, Va.Tech, and Boston College left...consider the future.

The Big East will likely be raided by another war party in the future. This tribe is called the Big 10 and they are considering the scalps of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, UConn, Syracuse and Notre Dame. Although a snatch and grab of all these schools is unlikely, defection by two or more could have the grim reaper walking down the Big East sidewalk.

And, as it is so often anymore...it's all about the Benjamins. The green stuff. The coffer fillers. Member schools in the Big 10 fare much better financially than their Big East associates. The ESPN package is worth a bilion dollars. The Big East...well, not nearly as much.

We deal with women's sports here at CARDINAL COUPLE. A Big East defection will rock the men's basketball and football programs the most. But, consider Big East women's basketball without say...a UConn or Rutgers. Big East softball missing a Notre Dame or the league's tournament champion Syracuse? Track and field and swimming without the strong prescence of the Irish and the Orange? (As far as Pitt goes...don't let the door hit you in the backside on the way out. When's the last time Pitt won anything of consequence except for the Dave Wannstadt lottery?)High on the hill...staring down on what is definitely a pro sports town...Pittsburgh is the only away football tailgate trip I've ever been to where the NFL leather jackets and team jersey logos outnumbered the college team's.

When the battle begins, the Big East will return the favor and go shopping for replacements. It's hard to buy a Camry when you've been driving a Lexus but there are schools that are probably on the addition list.

Depending on the extent of pilfering, these schools would seem to rank as the (3) logical contenders to change affilitations and conference logos.

1) Memphis. The scorned lover back when the Big East expanded last time...the folks down on Beale Street still have an upside this time around. Strong TV market. Successful men's basketball program. A football stadium that can hold 70,000 fans. And Graceland. Ribs and Mud Island. Casinos nearby.

2) East Carolina. They love their football in Greenville and if football is the transmission to the Big East vehicle...you could do a lot worse by adding the Pirates to the drive train. Basketball...well, mediocre basketball teams in the Big East are a dime a dozen (see Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida. OK, you get the picture.) Adding another is a moot point at this juncture.

3) Central Florida. Media, media and location. Successes in football and a desire to grow. They are considered by some sources the "Louisville of the late ninties" a university on the verge of exploding into national prominence and growth. Whether they have a Tom Jurich type at the controls flying the athletic department plane is uncertain...but AD's are susceptible to career changes. Ask Wood Selig.

You may differ with these prognosticated picks. The Big 10 may decide schools like Missouri or Bellarmine are more lucrative. Aliens could land tomorrow and return Barack Obama to the mothership. But, something's going to happen down the road and, as usual...he who displays the most marbles usually wins the game. We'll see who the Big 10 adds to their pillage sack.

C. Viv Stringer and Geno Auriemma playing Northwestern and Illinois instead of Louisville and DePaul? It just could happen...