Monday Cardinal Couple -- Cards face Tennessee State

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville in final pre-conference game New Year's Eve.

- Brackemyre injures knee.

Jeff Walz's Louisville Cardinal basketball team engages Tennessee State Monday night at 6 p.m. in their final tuneup before BIG EAST conference play begin. The foe is 4-7 on the season, with wins over Cumberland, Samford, Idaho and Lipscomb and losses to South Alabama, Kansas State, UAB, Montana, Montana State, Cleveland State and E. Illinois.

For Louisville, the challenge is to resume the intensity that they showed against Washington State and Wagner. Ten days off for a team is never really something that a coach desires...but through individual workouts and a few team practices...the Cards should be ready to go against a team which has lost four out of their last five.

It's a chance to improve the Cardinal record to 12-2 before heading to Chicago to face dangerous DePaul, always tough Rutgers in the KFC YUM! and pesky Providence on the road all in one week's span, starting January 5th. 

The overall series against the Lady Tigers is 2-2, with Louisville losing to the Nashville school last time out on
Feb. 14th, 1987...78-65. TSU is the fourth Ohio Valley Conference school Louisville has played this season...the Cards winning against Eastern Kentucky, UT-Martin and Austin Peay earlier this season.

The nation's "fiscal cliff" aside, the Cardinals face a cliff of thier own, beginning in early January. Hopefully, they'll have their ropes in place and climbing gear in order to navigate the climb back into the nation's top 10.

We'll have the recap in the Tuesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE.

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Future Cardinal target Sydney Brackemyre suffered a knee injury Saturday night and will undergo an MRI Monday to determine the extent of the damage. Our thoughts and hopes for a good diagnosis and speedy recovery go out to the top-rated 2014 prospect.

The Clinton-Massie junior has impressed college coaches greatly over the last year and Louisville, Dayton and Michigan are the final three schools in the hunt for her services, according to most reports. Clinton-Massie was playing Wilmington when the injury occured and ended up losing 46-35.

She had 32 points on 11-22 shooting and 13 boards in the semifinals of the Clinton County tournament Thursday night against East Clinton.

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Monday Cardinal Couple - A Big East update

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- BIG EAST ROLLING ALONG IN NON-CONFERENCE SLATE

With the start of BIG EAST conference play less than two weeks away, we thought we'd take a look at how the 15 teams are doing so far. Here's the latest standings:

UConn     10-0                          Georgetown  7-4
Syracuse  11-1                          Pittsburgh    7-4
N.D          9-1                           Marquette     6-5
Villanova  9-1                           St. John        5-5
Louisville 11-2                          Seton Hall     5-5
USF          9-2                           Providence    3-8
DePaul     10-3
Rutgers    8-3
Cincy       7-3



No real surprises at the top of the leaderboards...although Villanova at 9-1 is mildly surprising. They've also held opponents to 50 or less points in seven of their ten games.

Superstar Skylar Diggins returns for Notre Dame

The BIG EAST is 117-50 in games so far and Muffet McGraw recently got her 800th. career win. Agnes Berenato (Pitt) also recorded her 159th. win, tops in Pittsburgh women's basketball history.

After Tennessee State on 12/31/12, the Cards will go into conference play on the road at DePaul on Jan. 5th. Rutgers visits the YUM! Center on Jan 8th., Louisville hits Providence on Jan. 12th. and UConn on the 15th. A tough start to the conference for Louisville...but none of the games in the BIG EAST appear to be easy this season.

Katherine Harry controls the boards for DePaul

Louisville was a combined 1-4 against these four BIG EAST schools in the regular season last year...the lone win coming against DePaul 75-62 in the YUM! Center. DePaul has Brittany Hrynko, Katherine Harry and Anna Martin back from last year's 23-11 squad that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cards are on a few days of Christmas break currently. Although there aren't any scheduled practices until a few days after Christmas, Coach Walz and the staff have asked the girls to run and get some shots up while at home. We like the idea that they do get to spend some time with their loved ones this time of year and wish all the Louisville Cardinals...along with our readers...a very Merry Christmas!
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Lady Cards fall to Rutgers

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SUNDAY WITH THE COUPLE...

-Cards need to use Rutgers loss as a building block

-BIG EAST Saturday results.

"Big shot" Becky played
45 minutes yesterday.

The University of Louisville women's basketball team was no doubt heartbroken after losing a close contest in overtime on the road to Rutgers yesterday. Louisville led at the half, led by 13 in the second half and had a great chance to win at the end of regulation. Some circus shots by Rutgers and untimely miscues by the Lady Cards took them to defeat, though. A solid effort from Walz's crew, but people don't read "solid" into box scores and W/L records.

The team needs to use the loss as a important building block to future success. What should Louisville "takeaway" from this one? (A term our buddy Howie Lindsey loves to overuse...takeaway.)

-Yes, Louisville..you can play a zone effectively. The Lady Cards were in a 2-3 zone defensively against Rutgers. It worked most of the time. Zones are designed to make an opponent shoot from outside. Rutgers has had problems with outside shooting this season. Erica Wheeler had a career game yesterday against Louisville, other than that...the zone did what it was intended to do. We'd like to see the Lady Cards in it more often.

Louisville plays Rutgers
to within three with just
five points from Shoni.
Who'd thunk it?

-A rotation that works. Walz used Smith, Burke, Shoni, Vails, Dyer and Warren extensively yesterday. It worked. Louisville substituted less than at any other time this season...Jude, Hammond and Harper seeing spot relief and Slaughter and Taylor no time. Whether it was just a one game deal or not obviously remains to be seen...but players build continuity and togetherness when they're on the court together. Witness Rutgers yesterday. Four players had 68 of their 71 points. This time of year, you need combinations that work well together.

-Go big, go big. The "bigs" had 40 of Louisville 68 points yesterday. Getting the ball inside worked. Combine that with Smith's ability to drive and either score or go to the line and Louisville actually won the points in the paint battle 34-30 against a brutal Rutgers front line. Yes, Shoni had a "off" shooting game. That won't happen often. We were impressed with Vails, Dyer and Warren's work inside the paint. WE hope it continues to improve. If opponents continue to employ the "stop Shoni" strategy...Walz has a remedy.

-Finish the game. Louisville had Rutgers on the ropes with a 41-28 lead in the second half. Teams like Notre Dame and UConn take situations like this and drive the final nails in the opponent's coffin. Louisville let Rutgers go on a 11-2 run to climb within four. For Louisville to become a Notre Dame or UConn, they have to develop a killer instinct. And, play effectively against a press.

Even though yesterday's game goes into the "L" column, we're still encouraged about how the Lady Cards played on the road, in a hostile environment and against a top ten team. Something they can use when on future road trips to Georgetown, DePaul and West Virginia...where the crowds will be less, the competition good but not top 10 quality and we get television on two out of the three.

SONJA SAYS...

Who knew about Erica Wheeler? Her best game of her career. A falling down, shot clock beating 3 when Louisville had two chances to get the ball and preserve the lead late. Karma's a &^%$# sometimes. I hope that yesterday's effort continues. I hope that Asia, Sara, Nita and Jude don't get discouraged by their lack of playing time yesterday. You know Shelby won't. Their times will come. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (I think Spock said that in "Star Trek") and Louisville had good chemistry yesterday.

PAUL:

From 14 at the start of the year, to 11 and down to six yesterday. The Louisville coaching staff knows so much more than we, the fans do, about this team. Jeff Walz out coached C. Viv yesterday. Erase two key turnovers late in regulation yesterday and the Lady Cards leave with a win. I'll agree with Sonja that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. And, you never know. Wednesday night could be a breakout game for Sara Hammond. We know Asia Taylor can rebound and play defense. We've seen Jude handle the point with skill and Nita has had great perimeter shooting games. Shelby the Yorkie is a threat anytime she hits the hardwood. You go with your current strengths and that's what the Lady Cards did yesterday. Tomorrow, it could change. If the ones who didn't play much want to play more, they must challenge those in front of them for playing time.

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An upset, a closer than expected game and a few blowouts highlighted the rest of the BIG EAST women's basketball schedule yesterday. Here's what went on.

-- UConn got 22 points from Tiffany Hayes in a 72-49 rout. This one was actually close for awhile...the Wildcats led 16-11 in the first half and closed it to 41-36 in the second half before the Huskies took over. UConn played a five guard lineup at times. Hmmm....

--Providence turned a ten point halftime deficit into a three point win against WVU with a 51-48 win. Surprise, surprise...Barnes had 19 for the Friars. The Rhode Island college comes to Louisville on Wednesday. Rut, row....

-- Notre Dame got 21 from Lexingtonian Natalie Novosel and 17 from Deve Peters in a 76-50 slashing of Cincy. UC had their highest attendance of the season thanks to the Novosel fans heading up 1-75 to see her play.

-- DePaul also got a big game from a Lexingtonian...Anna Martin tossed in 29 against Pitt to lead the Blue Demons to a closer than expected 86-83 win. Pitt was down 12 before roaring back to make it 84-83. Martin hit two insurance free throws with 19 seconds left to preserve the win.

--South Florida got another big game from the Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova and their other two talented guards in a 68-49 win over hapless Seton Hall. Inga tossed in 20, Jazz Wynne added 14 and "shootin' Saunders" contributed 10 for the improving Bulls. Said it earlier and will say it again, Jose Fernandez's squad is going to pull off some upsets the rest of the way....

SUNDAY ACTION...

Syracuse and Georgetown
Marquette against St. John's

We'll take...the Hoyas and the Red Storm in these. Both will be close.

How are we doing?

We went 4-1 yesterday...Providence's win over WVU the only incorrect pick. Only loss of the week...so far. We'll see if we can finish 8-1 for the week.

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We had a lot of very good picks in the Rutgers "name the score and winner" contest. 42 of us participated and we could grumble about the game going to O.T. but we won't. Your winner was "Uncle Miltie" Milt Strasberg....who offered 70-66 Rutgers.

We'll do it again when we can get more gifts cards out of Panera. It's like trying to climb Mt. Everest in a speedo, but they eventually come through...
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Lady Cards lose in overtime 71-68 to Rutgers.

GAME REPORT:

-Louisville loses by 3 in overtime.

Erica Wheeler hits a desperation 3 with the shot clock running out in overtime to give the Scarlet Knights a 70-68 lead with 1:13 left to give Rutgers a lead they would not relinquish. Louisville could not score on their final possession, Bria Smith missing a driving layup, Shawnta Dyer rebounding the miss but is stripped by Khadija Rushdan, who is then fouled by Becky Burke. Rushdan hits a free throw for the final margin with 1.3 left.  Louisville could not get a shot off on the inbounds play.

The action was fast and furious from the opening tip. Burke nailed a three to give Louisville the early lead but five straight Rutgers points gave them the lead. A Sherrone Vails layup tied it at 5-5 but the Scarlet Knights responded with 5 straight again to lead 10-5 with 15:45 left. Louisville rallied back with Shawnta Dyer inside and regained the lead 15-14 in Shoni Schimmel's only basket of the first half. The Cards would stretch that out to 23-17 after two more Dyer baskets, A Cierra Warren layup and score from Vails inside.

The 2-3 Louisville zone was confusing the Scarlet Knights but they went on another 5-0 run to tie it on a Wheeler 3 - her second of six in the game. The final 2:23 of the first half belonged to the Lady Cards, though...Warren with a put back, and then a layup on a Shoni feed. Becky Burke's three had UofL up 30-23 and two Shelby Harper free throws made it the Lady Cards by nine. Cierra Warren missed the first of a 1 and 1 with .02 left in the half...but the Cards took a 32-23 lead into the locker room.

Dyer led Louisville with 10 points, Warren and Burke had six each, Vails 4, Smith, Shoni and Shelby (the "S" squad...) 2 each. Sara Hammond played in the first half but did not score. Jude Schimmel, Nita Slaughter and Asia Taylor did not see action in the first twenty minutes. Rutgers was led by Monique Oliver's 10 points.

Louisville pushed the lead to 11 when Warren hit the opening bucket of the second half an held a 41-28 advantage with 16:30 left  in the game when Burke hit three free throws after being fouled on a three point attempt. Rutgers responded with a full court press, though and it seemed to rattle the Cards. The Scarlet Knights took off on a 11-2 run to close within 43-39 after a April Sykes jumper with 11:52 to go. 

A technical foul was called on Rutgers' Monique Oliver for taunting at the 10:36 mark and Shoni hit 1 of 2 free throws...but Rutgers took off on a 11-4 run to grab the lead at 50-48 when Sykes hit two free throws with 6:41 to go. Louisville tied it on two Smith free throws and the game went back and forth in lead changes for the next four minutes...Sykes canning a three to put Rutgers up 58-56 with 2:53 remaining. Smith tied it with two more charity tosses at the 1:58 mark, after a Scarlet Knight free throw following Vails fifth foul. Two more free throws from Smith gave Louisville a 60-59 advantage with 29 seconds left. Wheeler tied it with 1 of 2 free throws and 16 seconds on the clock. A Shoni errant pass gave the ball back to Rutgers with 8.7 left but they could not score on two attempts and it was 60-60 at the end of regulation.

The Lady Cards drew first blood in overtime when Warren connected in the paint. After Oliver countered with a jumper, Warren put back a missed Cardinal shot and UofL led 64-62.

Sykes was effective for the Scarlet
Knights in the second half.

Sykes bombed a three with 3:15 left to make it 65-64 Rutgers but Burke nailed both charity tosses with 2:26 left to give the Lady Cards a 66-65 lead. Oliver hit another jumper to make it 67-66 but a Dyer putback had Louisville on top 68-67 with 1:43 to go. That set the stage for Wheeler's heroics and Louisville loses by three in overtime. 

The Cards shot 43% for the game but went just 2-9 from three range, both hit by Burke. Rutgers shot 39%, hit a season high 9 of 17 three pointers (6 from Wheeler, 3 from Sykes) and outrebounded the Cards 40-33. Louisville did hit 20-22 free throws. They committed 18 turnovers. 21 points from the "killer B's" today (Burke and Bria) and Smith had the final four Cardinal points in regulation.

Dyer led Louisville in scoring with 16 points. Warren had 14, Burke 11, Vails 10, Smith 10 Shoni 5 and Harper 2. Hammond and Jude played but didn't score. Taylor and Slaughter did not see action. For Rutgers, Wheeler led all scorers with 23 points (17 in the second half), Sykes had 19 (17 in the second half) and Oliver finished with 17. Rushdan had nine for R.U.

WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THE GAME:

-Big effort from the "bigs". 40 points from Vails, Dyer and Warren. Some excellent passing from Shoni and Smith to set them up, but a lot of hard work from the trio against the talented RU front line.

-Smith at the line. The freshman showed nerves of steel with 6-6 free throw shooting in the final 6:39...when Louisville needed her.
Her drives to the basket resulted in missed shots but free throw attemps...which she cashed in on.
THINGS TO WORK ON...

-Rebounding. Louisville was killed time and time again on Rutgers putbacks and Oliver and Sykes did most the damage. Rushdan was effective as well.

-Shoni shutdown. The Scarlet Knights kept Shoni from creating...just five points in 45 minutes. She did find others open and they benefited...but when was the last time she played a game without hitting a three and got shut out in the final 13 minutes of a game?

All in all, a heartbreaking loss that the Lady Cards suffer. A great effort by Rutgers in front of 5,500 fans to overcome the Louisville second half lead and win. A team that was second worst in the league in three point percentage gets hot today. Defense was the difference... and Rutgers played it better.
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Rutgers next for Lady Cards

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville faces tough road test against the Scarlet Knights.

-Saturday action and predictions...WBB

Jeff Walz's University of Louisville women's basketball team returns to the east coast for hoops action today...visiting the 14-2, 3-0 #8 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Game time is 2 p.m. Programming note...the radio feed locally will be on 1080 AM. WHAS and WKRD are slotted for Cats and the UofL men's team. Hey, 1080 is better than hard to pick up 101.7 FM. Thanks, UofL!

Ok, girls...back to practice. We know you're cute and witty...

The Scarlet Knights handled Pittsburgh last time out pretty easily 63-39. Senior Khadijah Rushdan scored a game-high 14 points against the Panthers and junior Monique Oliver added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. In the game, Rushdan scored 12 of her points in the first twenty minutes, leading RU to a 37-24 advantage. Senior April Sykes had nine first half points and finished with 11. She is getting close to the career 1000 point-mark with 980 currently on the books. It also seems she's picked up a bit of maturity in her senior season. Lady Cards fans might remember her cheap, flagrant foul last year as the game ended in the KFC YUM! Center. Louisville won 56-45. Sykes had 20 points in the contest, launching nine 3-pointers against UofL and hitting three.

The Scarlet Knights dominated Pitt offensively, outscoring them 40-12 in the paint. They also dominated the second chance points 20-6. The defense was there for C.Vivian Stringer's squad as well...Pitt did not score inside until 3:34 remained in the first half. Rutgers scored 29 points off 21 Pitt turnovers. 

Only Miami and Tennessee have hung losses on RU this season. Rutgers is seventh in the BIG EAST is scoring offense (65.7) and third in scoring defense (51.7). 

Sykes (no relation) can take over
games.

Rutgers gets it done with the team concept. Sykes (14.4) and Rushdan (12.4) are the leading scorers, Oliver leads in rebounds (8.2) and also shoots 55% from the floor. Erica Wheeler is the theft leader, with 34 in 16 games. She also leads in blocked shots with 30 this season...fourth best in the BIG EAST. Wheeler and Sykes are the three point threats.

Impact players for the Scarlet Knights also include Betnijah Laney and Briyona Canty. Rutgers will try and use their incredible strength in the paints and Stringer's dreaded "55" defense to keep the Lady Cards off balance and away from the boards today. WE don't expect a high scoring affair in the RAC. We hope that the "stripes" don't get whistle-happy either, but with the physical play of C. Vivian's squad...it could happen.

Louisville simply MUST get some sort of positive production out of the combination of "bigs" Warren, Vails, Dyer, Taylor, Hammond and Slaughter. Rutgers will try to contain and shut down Burke and Shoni Schimmel's outside shooting and Smith's penchant for driving the baseline and scoring. Whether or not Jude Schimmel and Shelby Harper can have much of an effect on the talented RU guards remains to be seen.

We'll have a full recap of the action for you here at CARDINAL COUPLE later today.

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Besides the Lady Cards and Rutgers...five other BIG EAST contests are taking place today. Here's who is playing and who we pick...

West Virginia at Providence. A good matchup. WVU is 3-1 in conference, Providence 1-3. The home court advantage for the Friars won't be enough...WVU goes to 4-1.

UCONN at Villanova. Another Husky blowout. Yawn. Next?

Notre Dame at Cincinnati. The Irish may get a tough test from the under-rated UC guards but the Irish prevail here by 20 or so.

USF at Seton Hall. We think the USF guards will have another field day. They should handle Seton Hall by double digits.

Pittsburgh at DePaul. Even without Keisha Hampton, DePaul is still a top five BIG EAST team. They'll handle the 0-4 in BIG EAST Panthers with little problem.

WE are split on the Louisville v. Rutgers game...Sonja picking the LADY CARDS and Paul choosing Rutgers...so we're not making this one part of the prediction thread. GO GET THE UPSET, LADY CARDS...

How are we doing? Quite well, thank you. 7-0 on the week. We expect to be 12-0 after today.
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Cards play first of three on the road against UC tonight

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CARDINAL COUPLE WEDNESDAY EDITION

-UC, Louisville open BIG EAST play tonight

-Tennessee outlasts Rutgers

#13 Lady Cards open the 2011-12 BIG EAST Conference campaign with a trip to Cincinnati tonight. The Cards are coming off a 92-27 romp over Gardner - Webb...UC a loss on the road to Marshall.

Cierra Warren, the
Cards leading
rebounder

Louisville (8-2) is led in scoring by senior Monique Reid, who is averaging 14.6 points a game. The Lady Cards have three others in double figures...Shoni Schimmel (13.5), Becky Burke (11.7) and freshman Bria Smith (10.9). Schimmel leads the Cards in assists (5.1 a game) and Cierra Warren is the leader in rebounding through 10 games.

Shoni needs to perform her wizardry
tonight in Cincinnati

With the probability of the Bearcats starting four guards most of the season, will Jeff Walz tinker with the starting lineup from the Gardner Webb game? Walz started Shoni, Smith, Warren, Burke and Asia Taylor last time out. Although we doubt Walz will bring senior forward Reid into the starting five mix, he could possibly call on one of his reserve guard tonight to begin the contest to replace Taylor and give the Cards quickness to match that of the Bearcats. Maybe a Schimmel/Schimmel beginning?

Louisville has produced both of their losses on the road this season...at Texas A&M and Kentucky. In both contests, the opponents used huge first half runs to put the Cards at a deficit that they could not overcome. A fast start would be beneficial to the Louisville squad tonight...UC likes a little slower pace and works the half court set when they can.



This is a real bearcat



Rebounding and blocking out have been the prime objectives of the coaching staff and players since the Kentucky loss. Although improvements were noticeable in the win of Gardner Webb, where the Cards enjoyed a 15 rebound advantage over the smaller Bulldogs, the substandard quality of the opponent was a benefit for Louisville. A huge game from center Cierra Warren tonight would be a good step in the objective to get UofL more active in the paint.

This is the mascot version

Although we think Louisville will win tonight's contest, it may not be by the numbers that the Lady Cards handled the Gardner Webb crew. Even though the Bearcats have been a cellar dweller the last few years in BIG EAST conference play, the addition of transfer Daveesha Hollins and guard play from Bjonee Reaves and Kayla Cook have bolstered the UC backcourt and UC probably should have won at Marshall...leading by as many as eleven in the second half before falling to a hot-shooting three point effort by the Thundering Herd...when they sank (6) treys en route to a 55-47 win.

UC holds opponents to 49.5 points per game. We think the Cards will surpass this number...but we're not looking for an 80 or 90 point Cardinal effort. If the Cards can get significant production out of the fearsome foursome of Shoni, Mo, Bria and Becky and Nita Slaughter can continue her re-born outside shooting touch...we can see Louisville winning tonight's contest by 20+...We'll call it 76-56 Lady Cards.

WE'LL HAVE A FULL RECAP FOR THE ACTION LATER TONIGHT HERE AT C.C. and a report from Cincy by contributing writer Sandra Walker...who will be in attendance. Be sure to check out CARDINAL COUPLE shortly after the game for our report, thoughts and analysis.  
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April Sykes has evolved from a dirty tactics punk
to a leader of C Viv's squad this year

Exciting action last night in Piscataway, NJ as the Tennessee Vols and Rutgers Scarlet Knights engaged in a back and forth battle in the RAC. UT looked like they were going to blow Rutgers out of the water early...leading by 13 a couple of times in the first half...before a furious Rutgers comeback led by senior April Sykes cut it to five at intermission.

Rutgers gained the lead in the second half, looked like they were poised to spring the upset...but the air went out of the ball for C.Viv Springer's ballers during a eight minute stretch late...no points...Tennessee racing to a 10 point lead and then surviving one last try by the Scarlet Knights to win 67-61.

Rutgers deserves their #10 ranking. Their ferocious "55" defense creates havoc when an opponent tries to advance the ball up the court. They have legit scoring threats in Sykes, Rushdan and Oliver...and a very talented group of freshmen....led by Laney. Still, we wonder why Tennessee kept trying to pound the ball in the middle time and time again when it was closed. Turnover after turnover and deflections. UT has very good outside shooting when Simmons and Spani are "on"...but the Vols seemed content to keep going to the "bigs" with less than desirable results.

Louisville will have their hands full with the Scarlet Knights down the road. They swarm to the boards and rebound well. Sykes can beat you inside and deep. She resorted to cheap shot tactics last year against the Lady Cards in the Rutgers loss in the KFC YUM! Center. This year, her shooting and hustle are doing the talking. Looks like a bit of maturity and senior leadership have been acquired.

And...that should worry Lady Cards fans.
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Tonight's game will be on 790 WKRD, or http://www.uoflsports.com/ Also, CatsVision will show it live, over at the UC website. http://www.gobearcats.com/ You can purchase a monthly subscription for $9.99 to view it.

We're sticking with the radio. Once you purchase one of those subscriptions for another school, they're darn hard to get rid of. We did it once last year to
watch Louisville play Villanova. Three months later, we were finally able to get it cancelled (they automatically renew it and charge your credit card) and eventually saw a refund.

We'll just spend the $9.99 on pizza and listen to the excellent call from the Cards Matt Andrews on play-by-play and A.J. with her impeccable analysis and commentary. Listening to Matt call a game on the radio is almost as good as having front row seats for the contest and he and A.J. are worlds better than some of the radio crews we've heard at other college campuses.

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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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Cards "Mo" prevails...Louisville 56 - Rutgers 45

REID HAS 17 in 11 point
LOUISVILLE win.

In a game that could have been pre-billed as the 'battle of Mo'...Louisville's Monique Reid scored 12 second half points and Louisville went on an improbable but exciting ten minute 17-0 run late in the second half to defeat Rutgers in the KFC YUM Center Saturday night before 15061 fans.

Monique Oliver, talented post for C.Vivian Stringer's Rutgers squad, was held to eight points...two in the final twenty minutes of play. Stringer is pictured here, dejectedly leaving after the loss.

Louisville trailed 42-39 with 11:21 to go in the game, following an April Sykes 3 pointer. The Scarlet Knights would not score again until 1:33 remained in the contest...another Sykes three that pulled Rutgers to the final margin of 56-45. The ball simply wouldn't go through the net for Rutgers...as they missed seven shots in the almost ten minute span...six of them 3 point attempts. They also committed five turnovers in that stretch.

It was the 3 ball that had Rutgers rolling and in the lead prior to that. Using a three from Erica Wheeler to take an early lead...the Scarlet Knights went a torrid 11-17 from the field in the first twenty minutes (64.7%) and led by as many as seven during the first half before a 11-4 Louisville run gave the Cards a 19-18 lead with 6:20 in the first half. The half found the Cards down by two...Shoni Schimmel missing two three point attempts in the final five seconds when she probably could have gone to the hoop for a layup. April Sykes torched the Cardinal defense for 12 first half points...and Louisville produced an anemic 26.9% (7-26) shooting...lucky to be down by only two at the intermission. Tia Gibbs led the Cards with eight first half points.

At halftime, Jeff Walz preached defensive intensity and promised his squad that if they turned up the pressure...56 points would be enough to win the game. He ought to play the lottery tonight...the Cards finished with 56 exactly and Louisville forced Rutgers into 13 second half turnovers and out rebounded the Scarlet Knights by three.

The 17-0 run was a deceptive thing of beauty. Following Sykes's three, Antonita Slaughter returned the favor to tie the score at 42 all. Reid put the Cards ahead to stay on a layup with a Shoni Schimmel assist. Becky Burke canned a three on the next Cards possession and a Rutgers turnover provided Monique Reid a layup that made it 47-42. Another Rutgers turnover gave Reid another layup and a deep Scmimmel three had the Lady Cards up 52-42 with six minutes to go. That stretch may well have been the loudest the KFC YUM Center has been for a womens' game this year. Louisville got a layup from Keshia Hines and a Burke jumper over the next four minutes to hold a 14 point lead before Sykes's three broke the spell.

Things got a little ugly with 33 seconds to go when Sykes shoved Reid to the floor following a missed Rutgers 3 point attempt. Cardinal teammates restrained Reid from retaliating and the game ended with a half court Schimmel three falling short at the buzzer.

Reid was comical about the incident after the game.

"Yeah, she (Sykes) shoved me down for no reason and I was cool about it...but I had to go after her to show her I'm not a punk...but Shoni and Nita were stopping me...laughing...reminding me we were up by eleven."

Reid led the Cards with 17 points and a hard fought six rebounds in 36 minutes of play. Schimmel added 12 with five boards and Tia Gibbs finished with eight points and seven rebounds during 38 minutes on the court. Sykes led all scorers with 20 points...Erica Wheeler drilled three 3 balls for her nine points.

The win pushes Louisville to 14-8 and 5-3 in the BIG EAST. Rutgers takes their second straight BIG EAST loss and falls to 12-8, 5-2. Louisville returns to action Tuesday Night when Georgetown comes to the YUM for a 7 p.m. tip off.

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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Monique faces Monique on Saturday

FRIDAY @ C.C.

-Rutgers visits the Bucket Saturday

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-LIT action/results

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Monique is coming to town. As in Monique Oliver, the sophomore center for C.Vivian Stringer's Rutgers womens' basketball team.

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Monique is already in town and waiting. As in Monique Reid, junior forward for Jeff Walz's Lady Cards.

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The Saturday matchup at 6 p.m. will be a good one. The Scarlet Knights, fresh off a loss to visiting Connecticut 63-44 on Wednesday, are looking for their sixth win in seven BIG EAST contests. Louisville...who fell by eleven on the road to Marquette...is hoping for a win to keep from going to 4-4 in conference play. For the Cards to be successful, they'll need to stop Monique and get a big game out of Monique. Let's look at the visiting Monique...

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"She's going to be a big time player," head coach C.Vivian Stringer notes. "I knew the minute she signed with us. I don't normally make that kind of comment about a player. She was sharing time last year. She knows it's her time now."

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And, she has responded. A 27 point performance at Syracuse against standout center Kayla Alexander in a Rutgers win. 21 points and 17 rebounds in another upset win over Georgetown.

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"She realizes that she can take over a game now." says junior guard Khadijah Rushdan. Her sophomore year has brought a knowledge and maturity that benefits the Scarlet Knights.

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"Last season, I was just trying to get to know the program and do what coach Stringer asked. This year, I'm more focused and confident." Oliver reveals. She's not the only Scarlet Knight that is on the improve, either.

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Guard Rushdan is averaging 14 points a game and 3 point specialist April Sykes (no relation) is in double figures also for Rutgers. Add forward Chelsey Lee to the mix and Rutgers can hurt you several different ways. They'll most likely try to use their power game inside and the pressure defense that is a staple of Stringer coached teams to control the pace against the free-wheeling Cards and keep the score in the sixties.

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Louisville will try to counter with the dangerous transition game that allows the Cards to score in waves against opponents. They must find a way to compete on the boards, however...something that Louisville has had trouble with in losses to Notre Dame, Connecticut and Marquette. Monique Reid will find the going tough in the paint against the aggressive Scarlet Knight front line and if the Cards are to pull this one out...the 3 point shooting of Becky Burke, Shoni Schimmel, Tia Gibbs and Antonita Slaughter will have to be clicking.

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Should be a fun one. It's "White Out" night...so if you go, dress accordingly.

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(some information for this article is from nj.com)

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Action continues in the Republic Bank LIT Tournament. Thursday's scores:

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#1 Manual 68 - Assumption 55

#2 Mercy 52 - Bullitt East 43

#10 Sacred Heart 57 - J'Town 42

#11 Butler 57 - Christian Academy 40

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Four games on tap for Friday.

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#2 Mercy vs. #.7 Marion County 4 p.m.

#10 Sacred Heart vs. #9 Scott County 5:30 p.m.

#1 Manual vs. Owensboro Catholic 7 p.m.

#11 Butler vs. #6 Boone County 8:30 p.m.

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The action is heating up...so head over to Knights Gym at Bellarmine today to catch four excellent matchups.

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Cards to face Notre Dame Saturday at noon

Taylor Swift performs in Louisville and appears to be "flipping off" a few Notre Dame fans in the audience. Just kidding. She's actually longing to be a Lady Cards basketball player and wanted Coach Walz to see how she looks in a Louisville jersey. Most of you guys out there probably approve.

Louisville goes into the second round of the Big East tournament with the Irish next on the slate. Louisville actually played the Irish close for most of their earlier match this year...tied at halftime and only 8 points down with 5 minutes left in the game. Although the Irish went on to win by 18, knowing that this wasn't one of those mega blowouts Louisville experienced from UT, UK and UConn has to help the Cards in the preparation for this one.

Skylar Diggins is a talented point guard for the Irish and it will be interesting to see how 'born again' Rachel Story does in defending her. The Irish are not a tall or overpowering team. They beat you with disciplined and accurate ball movement, lockdown defense and all the Irish have the ability to take you off the dribble, stop and pop from 10-12 feet and make you pay. Muffet McGraw may dress like a bargain basement fashion queen but she is one of the best coaches in the business.

Tough road for the Cards today against the #5 seed and #6 team in the nation. Game time is noon, which means I'll hear about half of it before it is time to enter the Hall for the Syracuse game. We'll recap it tonight.

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Other first round action in the tournament featured #14 seed Cincy upsetting the #11 USF Bulls. #10 seed Marquette advanced with a easy win over #15 Villanova. #9 Syracuse actually trailed #16 Seton Hall at halftime but rallied back to get the win.

I was 3 for 4 in my predictions for the first day...missing on the USF/Cincy contest. Second year in a row that the Bearcats have defeated a higher seed in first round of the Big East Tournament.

Saturday's action and prognostications below:

LOUISVILLE #13 vs. NOTRE DAME #5

The Cards will battle the Irish on the boards but probably won't be able to match yesterday's 59% shooting in the first half or 51% for the game. Notre Dame plays good team basketball and swarms their opponents on defense. Reid goes off for another 20 or so but the Irish prevail, probably by double digits and advance. I hope I'm wrong on this one. I hope Muffet leaves the leopard skin scarf in the hotel room. If she wears that gawdy neck wrap and it raises up and growls at Walz during the pregame handshake I'm calling Animal Control Services in Hartford. .

SYRACUSE #9 vs. PROVIDENCE #8

This will most likely be the closest game in the second round. Syracuse overcame a sluggish first half to win yesterday but they can't make the same mistakes today and expect to beat a very methodical and paitent Friars team. The Orange stays around and wins this one late to move on. The Friars did win the regular season match up by two in Rhode Island..but Louisville handed a 19 point thumping to the overrated Providence squad in Freedom Hall and lost to Syracuse on Denny Crum Court. Careful onthe sidelines, Quentin Hillsman. Don't want you blacking out and hitting the deck like you did in the 'Ville.

MARQUETTE #10 vs. DE PAUL #7

I'll pick the Blue Demons in this one because of their aggressive guard play and coaching experience. Doug Bruno is one of the best in the Big East and he can set up a wicked full court press that can fatigue an opponent and create turnovers. Could be another close one but remember that DePaul has defeated Marquette twice this year already..by 10 at home and by 9 in Milwaukee. Sam Quigley and Keisha Hampton, both second team All Big East picks, git 'er done for the Chicagoians.


CINCY #14 vs, RUTGERS #6

Cincy upset USF to get to the second round but the surprises stop today as the Bearcats face a powerful and physical Rutgers squad. The Scarlet Knights bruised and thumped their way to a season ending win over Louiville and Brittany Ray can score in bunches when needed to do so. The C.Vivian Stringer maulers rolled the Bearcats 44-33 earlier in the year. I expect the Scarlet Knights to shoot a little better in this one and double digit the Bearcats again. Beware...C.Viv likes to send them to the hoop with doubt digit leads at the end of the contest and the game clock running out.

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Louisville softball took a beating Friday against Oklahoma State...losing 7-2 to the Cowgirls. Melissa Roth was the offense for the Cards..slamming two solo shot home runs in the game, but Louisville could only manage four hits for the contest and a 5 run bottom of the second salted this one away for OSU. Kristen Wadwell took the loss for the Cards, who return to the diamond for two games today...Nevada at 11 a.m. and Oklahoma in the nightcap.

Written by Sonja
3/6/10

C.Vivian Stringer shows her true colors

C.Vivian Stringer howls in the background as Louisville defeats Rutgers in the 2008 Big East Tournament. Seems the Rutgers coach carries a grudge way too long...

You be the coach for a second. Your team is up 20 points over an opponent. You have the final possession of the game...shot clock off. Hold the ball and let the clock run out? That's what 99.9% of the coaches out there would elect to do. But, last night, in the Rutgers vs. Louisville game, Rutgers head women's basketball coach chose the opposite. Stringer motioned Rutgers guard April Sykes to go to the hoop and try to score. The result? A foul by Gwen Rucker on Sykes that led to a shoving match and two techincal fouls. A less than stellar ending to a game that Rutgers had wrapped up with 8 minutes to go.

Admittedly, Rutgers is on the bubble to make the NCAA Women's tournament. But, does two more points in a game long over impress the NCAA Selection Committee officials?

The original report on here made it seem as if Sykes decided to make the drive on her own. That is incorrect. The debacle was orchestrated by Stringer. I offer an apology to Sykes for the statements implicating her as the villian in our previous report about the game. Following coaches orders...what you are supposed to do. No apology, though, for Sykes's childish act of throwing the ball off of Monique Reid's turned back on the out of bounds play with .5 seconds remaining in the game. What in the world are they teaching those girls in Jersey? Did they go out and trash mailboxes and trip senior citizens after the game?

Way to wow them with good sportsmanship and class, C.Viv. What's next? Throwing chairs across the court? Tripping opposing players running down the sidelines? Wearing gaudy and mismatched outfits to games? (Oops, sorry...you already do that..)

Stringer and the Rutgers team was involved in a sorry incident a couple of years ago when celebrity Don Imus made a very unflattering remark about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Does that give Stringer the bully pulpit, though...to be a jerk also? The context and issue of good sportsmanship in college athletics is already beginning to become a sham and farce in some circles. Way to dump gasoline on the fire, Stringer. Maybe you'll get a Darth Vader costume and laser light for your next game.

A pointless and sophmoric gesture by a frustrated coach whose team had dropped the previous three games to the Cardinals. There were tons of elbows, shoves, aggressive fouls and emotions were on high during the contest last night. This game was ugly from a lot of views. Gwen Rucker with an elbow directly to Sykes's nose in the second half that wasn't neccessary...possibly unintentional...but it fired up the Scarlet Knights and the crowd. Rucker has a prior with Rutgers...remember the staredown last year in the Big East tournament with Kia Vaughn? Rucker also won't back down to intimidation tactics and neither will Rachel Story and the rest of the Lady Cards.

Was Stringer trying to punk Louisville and Walz at the end with her moronic move? Is this the example you want to set for your players? This game was over. Hold the ball, go to the bench at the buzzer and then go thru the parody of the postgame handshakes. Rutgers even screwed that up last night when assistant Rutgers coach Tasha Pointer got up in Walz face during the post game walk and shake and had to be led away by the other Rutgers coaches. Way to stay classy, Rutgers.

A shameful and sorry act from a coach I used to have respect for. I will not be cheering for any Rutgers success in the post season and if I end up in Hartford by some miracle Thursday for the Big East Tournament (current odds 99-1) you can guarantee that I will call Stringer out for her shameful and stupid act if I can gain access to her. I can get a little emotional and "in your face" also if warranted.

(Donations currently being accepted for the "send Sonja to Hartford" fund. All proceeds will either go to funding the trip or cheerfully refunded if I don't get there)

At least Imus eventually apologized to the Rutgers team for his indiscretion. I'll be pleased but very surprised if Stringer has the integrity and character to follow suit with an apology to Louisville and the people who saw the gaffe. Should make for some interesting innuendo when both teams travel over for the Geno Invitational in a couple of days. Here's hoping South Florida can defeat Cincinnati in the opening round of tournament play and knock off #6 seed Rutgers in the next round.

Here's hoping that some common sense and decency finds its way to Piscataway before the Scarlet Knights make the trip. Thanks for reading the rant and we'll breakdown the Big East Tournament pairings and offer some bold predicitions on Weds.

Here's hoping that if Rutgers makes the post season dance they get sent to Louisville for first round action and face Kentucky, Tennessee or Nebraska. I'll be directly behind the Rutgers bench and I won't be yelling "Go Scarlet Knights."

Written by Sonja
3/2/10

Lady Cards fall (and fight) at Rutgers 72-52

Foul trouble sends the talented sophomore to the bench for the final eight minutes in the first half. She wasn't the only one committing them out there..but seemed to be the only one getting whistles early on. The end of the game featured a shove-fest that drew two technicals with .5 seconds remaining in the game. Where's Tise when you need her?

Give the Lady Cards credit for hanging tough with Rutgers early on the road tonight. Keisha Hines battling in the paint against Rutgers. The Cards keeping up on the scoreboard. Tied at 9-9 after 4 minutes. Jeff Walz, battling the officials and getting a "T". 13-13 halfway thru the first half. Leading 18-15 with 8 minutes to go after a Becky Burke 3-ball. A chance to increase that but horrific officiating by Tina Napier after the Cards grabbed the lead...Rutgers players knocking Cardinals to the floor right in front of Napier and no whistles. Chelsey Lee and Hines wrestling in the paint on both ends of the court.

A typical Rutgers vs. Louisville slugfest.

Louisville regained a 3 point lead 20-17 after a Hines inside move but the Scarlet Knights tied it back up at 20-20 on a basket plus one by April Sykes with 6:00 to go.
Both teams creating and forcing turnovers partially because of the hectic defense. No scoring for three minutes by either team until Sykes drops a layup thru after a steal. Louisville turnovers and cold shooting contributing to a 12-0 Rutgers run before Asia Taylor connected on a couple of free throws with 1:45 to go. Louisville headed to the locker room down 34-23...with the Cards making just one basket in the final 8:40. 14 first half turnovers for the Cards, leading to 15 Rutgers points and Monique Reid sitting out the final eight minutes. Reid on the bench and one Cardinal basket.

Speaks volumes.

Louisville to the foul line only twice in the first half and Rutgers seeming to spend the latter part of the first half there. Big East officiating ineptitude at it's best. And, these two teams definitely aren't best of friends...

The second half start saw Reid return but Hines sitting on the bench with 3 fouls. A Burke three cut the lead to 36-27 with two minutes gone but Rutgers aggressiveness and Louisville careless ball movement and lazy defense helped put Rutgers up 43-27 at the 15:11 mark. After that, Rutgers used their speed and rebounding to continue to pull away from Louisville and lead 59-34 with 7:40 to go. The Cards managed to cut the lead to 63-46 with a Reid jumper at 3:28 but Rutgers ended up a 20 point victor.

A weird ending sequence to the game tonight. With time running out, instead of holding the ball...Rutgers' Sykes decided to drive to the basket with three seconds remaining and try a shot. She was fouled by Gwen Rucker who then was shoved by Rutgers sub Erica Wheeler. Rachel Story then shoved Wheeler and techincals were called on Story and Wheeler. The refs decided to give Rutgers the ball inbounds with .5 seconds remaining, with no technical or foul free throws despite Louisville having 10 fouls on them in the second half. Sykes then threw the ball off Reid's back from out of bounds on the ensuing play. More shoving followed before both teams were sent to their benches. Maybe Sykes was mad from the bloody nose received from a Rucker elbow midway thru the second half...but good sportsmanship dictates you hold the ball up by 20 with seconds left in the game. Also, the refs could have stepped in and prevented Wheeler from shoving Rucker. Despite being the top conference in women's college basketball, the Big East is seriously lacking in good officiating.

Sub Rachel Story led the Cards in scoring with 16 points and Monique Reid added 13. Louisville (13-16, 5-11) will draw the #13 seed in the Big East tournament, which begins Friday. They'll play in the first game Friday at noon against Pittsburgh.

Written by Paul
3/1/10