Friday Cardinal Couple -- A bigger matter

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- UofL WBB "bigs" need to be BIG in next five games.

- Softball opens early in the Jacksonville Classic

                   
                  ********** GAME REPORT **********

Cards up 7-1 in sixth against Bethune-Cookman and still batting. Five run inning so far. Connell tossing a four-hitter. Cards go on to win 8-1 to go to 6-1 on the year.

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Louisville 8 - Stony Brook 0.  The Cards got a complete game and just three hits  allowed pitching performance from Rachel LeCoq and produced 14 hits in the win this morning. They face Bethune-Cookman at 11:45. We'll have a report on that one later and a full recap of both in the Saturday C.C. edition.

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When you look at the current University of Louisville women's basketball roster, the nine players currently available to Jeff Walz consist of six guards, a center and two forwards. The starting lineup of late has consisted of Sherrone Vails, Bria Smith, Shoni Schimmel, Sara Hammond and Nita Slaughter...the "S" troops, as we like to call them here at CARDINAL COUPLE. The way we see it, Louisville actually has four "bigs" available for front line play currently, with Slaughter...listed as a guard, seeing a lot of time at the "4" or power forward position. Along with Vails, Cortnee Walton and Hammond, they are the "bigs" Walz has available to battle with the front lines of the next five opponents left on the regular season schedule.

DePaul, USF, Villanova, Seton Hall and Syracuse. The first (USF), second (SU) sixth (DePaul), fourteenth (Seton Hall) and fifteenth (Villanova) ranked rebounding teams in the BIG EAST. DePaul, we know from an earlier encounter. Katherine Harry is a rebounder extraordinaire. By far the best missed shot-grabber in the league. USF's Alisha Jenkins has shown she can track down mis-fired attempts as well. Villanova has Laura Sweeney to grab the caroms off the back-board. Syracuse looks to Kayla Alexander, Elashier Hall and Carman Tyson-Thomas to clean the glass. Seton Hall is pretty much rebound-by committee with no one player in the BIG EAST top twenty, like all the players listed above.

How many Louisville players are in the top-twenty in rebounding in the BIG EAST? One. Sara Hammond, 13th. with slightly over six a game.

Not big numbers for the Louisville "bigs". Against BIG EAST competition, Louisville is tenth in the league in rebounding offense and sixth in rebounds allowed. As of 2/7/13, the Cards had a +0.6 margin in rebounding against BIG EAST foes in nine games. Given the lopsided numbers in the Notre Dame game, that's probably no longer a + number.

It's time for the Louisville "bigs" to step up big. If you look at the 200 minutes per team that you have on the court in a game ( 5 players @ 40 per player), Hammond averages 23.8 minutes a game, Slaughter 25.6, Vails 14.6 and Walton 12.6. Since Slaughter spends some time at wing...out of the three main paint players for Louisville, only Hammond sees more than half the game in the paint.

Of course, different factors can come into play in any given game. Hammond is foul prone, yet she leads the team in rebounds. Vails is third in fouls (Smith is second), but plays 10 minutes less a contest than Hammond does.

For Louisville to break the .500 mark (3-2) in the next five games, the "bigs" are going to have to increase efficiency and get some stops inside. Believe it or not, a guard (Smith) lead the team in blocked shots.

There's no doubt that without Taylor, Dyer and Mo available currently for Walz...the three best rebounders on the squad are watching from the bench. It's time for the other "bigs" to step it up. The balance of the season and conference tournament seeding hangs on how well or poorly they perform.

Players are going to miss shots in games...we all know that. Louisville is shooting  45% on the year, which means they miss a little over half the shots they fire up. 

The difference in winning and losing is which team comes up with the ball after they...or the opponent...misses shots. Not surprisingly, in four of the five losses for Walz's team this season, they have been out-rebounded. Kentucky grabbed 37 rebounds, UofL 34. Colorado won the boards battle 44-32. At Hartford, it was Huskies 46-39 on the misses, Notre Dame controlled the backboard 44-23. Only against DePaul have the Cards won the boards battle but lost the game...a stunning 45-32 edge for UofL.

Control the boards, control the game.


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They get things poppin' early down in the Sunshine State.

Louisville softball opens play in the Jacksonville University Softball Classic at the yawning and stretching time of 9:45 a.m. against Stony Brook today. The sluggers go into their next contest right after that with a 11:45 tilt against Bethune-Cookman.

At 4-1, it's been the Cardinal offensive attack that has been the reason for winning. They set a school record with 21 hit against Minnesota on Sunday and plated 16 runs.

Jacksonville is also home of the world's greatest southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Let's hope UofL can fly like Free Bird's over the competition, doesn't Gimme Three Steps to any base-runners and has a safe trip back through Sweet Home Alabama. They'll also play in a Saturday Night Special against Ohio State and Jacksonville...ending on Sunday against Stony Brook again. What's Your Name, Little Girls? Why it's CARDINAL SOFTBALL! Tuesday's Gone...time to win some games! Even a Simple Man can tell that Louisville Softball has more power than LG&E... 

(Apologies for all the Skynyrd song references...listening to their Greatest Hits CD this morning...)


-Paulie

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Saturday Cardinal Couple - Colo 70 - UofL 66

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards fall in wild finish 70-66

A crazy final two minutes in this one tonight, Louisville down 64-51 and roaring back to cut it to two with 11 seconds left before falling on the road to Colorado tonight 70-66 in Boulder. A missed free throw by Chuckie Wilson gave the Cards a chance to get possession and possibly tie or take the lead...but Colorado's Jennie Reese grabbed the loose ball and stuck it in to secure the win.

Louisville started Sherrone Vails, Shawnta Dyer, Nita Slaughter, Shoni Schimmel and Megan Deines tonight against CU and had their way early against the Buffs. A Slaughter three put Louisville up 3-2 and two Monique Reid free throw gave the Cards a 11-6 lead with 14:58 left in the first half.

Two Shelby Harper free throws had UofL leading 16-12 with 12:03 to go...but the wheels fell off the cart for the Cards after that. A 6-0 Buffs run gave them a two-point advantage with 10:20 on the clock. They would push that lead to 21-16 after a three and led 23-16 before a Deines score stopped a four-minute scoreless streak for Louisville. The Cards fell behind 30-22 after a Chucky Jeffrey three...but a Slaughter jumper, two Dyer inside scores and two Slaughter free throws made it 34-30 with 23 seconds left in the half. CU's Hargis hit a jumper with five seconds left for a halftime score 36-30 Colorado. 

Slaughter led the Cards with nine first half points, Dyer added eight and Deines and Reid contributed four each. Smith and Harper finished with two each and Jude Schimmel and Cortnee Walton produced one point. Shoni did not score, nor did Vails. The Cards were out-rebounded 19-12.

Louisville started strong in the second half and Shawnta Dyer was the catalyst, scoring three baskets in the first six minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 41-40. Louisville got a three from Slaughter to make it 48-46 Colorado with 9:40 remaining...but the Buffs put together a 14-3 run over the next six minutes to lead to lead 60-49 after a Wilson basket for Colorado at the 3:30 mark. It looked like it was over for the Cards...falling behind 64-51 before Reid scored with 1:53 left.

Louisville went ballistic over the next 41 seconds. Deines hit two free throws, Shoni scored on a steal, Deines added two more free throws and then hit a jumper to make it 64-61...a 10-0 run for the Cards. Deines' foul sent Wilson to the line and she converted two with 1:10 left. Two more Buff free throws made it 68-61 with 1:04 to go and it looked like, once again, it was over for UofL.

Not quite.

Slaughter's three cut it to 68-64. A Slaughter layup got it to 68-66 with 12.5 left and when Wilson missed two free throws at 11.1 on the clock...it looked like Louisville had another ghost of a chance..but an improbable bounce off the rim fell in Reece's hands and her putback ended it. Louisville didn't get a shot off in the final possession.

Slaughter finished with 19, Dyer 14, Reid 12 and Deines 11 for the double figure scorers for Louisville. Shoni had 4, Harper and Smith 2 and Jude and Walton finished with 1 each. 

Chuckie Jeffrey led all scorers with 22 for Colorado

-Colorado out-rebounded the Cards 44-32.

-The Cardinal guard contingent of Jude, Shoni, Bria and Shelby totaled nine points tonight.

Tough loss in front of about 3700 fans in the Coors Arena. A valiant comeback....twice, in fact...but the Cards never led in the second half.

Missing Sara Hammond? Probably, but you have to play with who is there and Dyer, Reid and Slaughter fought hard...but it's tough to win when the opponent beats you by 12 on the boards.

Shawnta Dyer nailed it on the head when she mentioned after the game that the Cards missed out too many chances to block out.

Walz called rebounding the key before the game and he was right.

Louisville comes home to face Washington State Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Things We Liked


1) Shawnta Dyer. Stepped it up with 14 points and a great start to the second half.
2) Down the stretch they come! Down by 13 with two minutes to go, the Cards fought back and had a chance to win. Showed some heart.
3) 'Slaughtered' them. Nita with a season-high 19. Had the team's only threes. Improving every game.
4) Go Mo Below. Eight second-half points for the senior. Using her highly sucessful post up on the block and score.
5) Denies delivery. She was responsible for six of the Cards points in the late, last gasp run by Louisville.

Things to Improve On


1) Schimmeled. Going back to the second half of the UK game...Shoni's been a no-show offensively. That has to change.
2) Bored? Rebounding (or lack of it) a major contributor to the loss Friday night. Sure, Sara wasn't there...but there are five other Lady Cards who see time at the "4" and "5". They need to step it up on the boards.
3) Intensity for 40. The Cards seemed lackadaisial in the 10-1 Colorado run from the 7:03 mark to 3:30 mark. You have to play 40 minutes. Those 3 1/2 were hard to watch.
4) Mental errors. Cards had two late on Deines' foul and failure to block out on the final Buffs free-throw. The full hearts were there. The clear minds took a siesta.
5) Internet feed. This was rough to watch, with the freeze-ups and 15 second delay from the Louisville radio call to screen picture. Ended up bailing out on Matt and AJ and listening to the Buffs guy. Sorry guys. Technology needs to step it up.

Summary

We mentioned in the Friday article that this game had the feel of the game in 2009 when Louisville travelled to a fired-up Nevada gym to play a team eager to pounce on a top-Ten opponent. The Buffs wanted this win more than Louisville did. To reach the rare air of teams like UConn, Stanford and Baylor...Louisville has to learn how to go into away situations and not get caught up in the fan's fervor. Play like champions.

The Shoni situation is also disturbing. Maybe opponents have figured her out, now that's she's a junior. She's had some athletic guards putting the defense on her lately, too...but the most heralded player on your squad must do better than six points in five halves of basketball.

The loss a tough one to take, but Coach Walz will tell you that you have to let it go after a final look at it and get ready for the next one. Puzzling that Louisville, seemingly in command for the first eight minues of this one, suddenly became lifeless and apathetic for a couple of stretches. Bria needs consistancy, Sherrone looks lost at times on the court, and if Megan Deines hits any of her first four free throws...this one could have turned out differently.

Starting line up change needed? Hard to say, but we'd like to see an opening tip-off, five or six minute run with Shoni, Jude, Sara, Shawnta and Mo against Washington State.

There's our thoughts on it. Go ahead and let us have yours in the comments section.

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Finally, in closing...remember NCAA Volleyball final game tonight in the KFC YUM! Center featuring Texas and Oregon. Head on over and see some great volleyball and two highly different methods of style and play. First volley around 7:00 p.m.

We'd obviously like to see this event return here down the road. A large local attendance will help convince the NCAA we are worthy, so head downtown after MBB beats Memphis, grab a bite to eat and go have some fun. We're hopeful columnist Jeff McAdams will have some additional on this today or tomorrow.

Also, a great read on the demise of the BIG EAST. Link below:

BIG EAST DEMISE
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Basketball returns home

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Cards to ACC!

-Cards to face EKU in KFC YUM! Center Wednesday

-Cards WBB prospect scores 33.

The University of Louisville is the newest member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cards were voted in Wednesday morning in a teleconference among ACC officials.

Bye, bye DePaul, Marquette and Seton Hall. Hello UNC, Duke and Florida State!

Tom Jurich...doing work. Lobbying. If there is a better A.D. in the universe, show me. 

Sixth member of the BIG EAST to bolt. Cards supposed to be out by 2014. We'll see. The buyout is chump change. A possibility of an early exit? And, unlike WVU...we don't need to hit the member schools up for $1 mil each to cover the tab.

We'll miss the challenge of not playing Tulane, Memphis and East Carolina in women's basketball.

ROTFLMAO.

The ACC, in case you were worried...does allow alcohol sales in arenas. Go ahead and renew your season tickets Mondo Vendo and Bread Boy...  

The Cards will replace Maryland, who heads to the BIG TEN. At a cost of $50 million.

After the disappointment of seeing West Virginia go to the BIG 12 instead of Louisville, this is cause for celebration.

For womens' sports...hello to top competition in field hockey, softball, volleyball, soccer, women's basketball and lacrosse. We'll miss Geno and C.Viv on the KFC YUM! sidelines...but Sylvia and Coach P. should be just as entertaining. And, there's always "Q"...

Time for some new hoodies and gear...


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(CARDINAL COUPLE staff columnist Jenny O'Bryan gives us the scout on Louisville's next opponent and her thoughts on tonight's matchup)

Louisville Women’s Basketball returns home, after a 5 game road trip, to play Eastern Kentucky University today at 7:30 p.m.    The Cardinals return home 7-0, the best start for the team under Coach Walz, and look to extend that to 8-0 this evening.

The Cardinals had a dominant road trip leading the way most of the time and holding their opponents to under 23 points for 5 consecutive halves.    The Cardinals have had some outstanding stats, different leaders stepping up on any given night, and some outstanding defense over the recent road trip.  Two glaring issues Cardinals are likely working on are valuing every possession/minimizing turnovers and playing a full 40 minutes, with no mental lapses.   Controlling turnovers seem to always be a work in progress for the Cards, but regardless, they are taking care of business. 

Cardinals won at EKU last season, easily 77-53.  The Colonels return a veteran squad with 6 seniors and 3 juniors.  They also return 4 of the 5 starters from last year’s game.  Expect a starting line up of Alex Jones (senior forward), Jade Barber (senior center), Raechele Gray (senior guard) and Marie Carpenter (junior guard), all who started last season against the Cards.  The fifth starter is likely to be Brittany Coles, also a senior guard. 

The Colonels are led in scoring by Carpenter who is averaging 27 ppg, followed by Barber at 13 ppg and Coles, 12 ppg.  Cardinals have a height advantage with the tallest on the Colonel roster checking in at 6-2. 

EKU is 3-2 on the season, losing two in the San Juan Shootout to Florida State and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

On paper, this should be a win for our Cards.  Though, one can never take any opponent for granted.  For this game I would like to see our team minimize turnovers and get the inside game going.  With a height advantage over UT Martin, the Cards seemed to struggle with the inside game and relied heavily on guard play.  I would like to see our post players have a dominant game, thus heading in to the next big challenge, UK, with confidence.   Specifically, I’d love to see Shawnta Dyer have a great game.  WE all know she has it in her, dominating the paint and boards at the end of last season.   I am ready for that player to make her appearance this season.  

So, Cardinals, suit up and take care of business and keep this winning record going!  

( We agree with Jenny that 40 minutes of consistency would be a great thing to see Wednesday night. The Cards have the defensive skills and offensive firepower to do it night after night. Time to put the potential to work. )

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2014 Lady Cards target Sydney Brackemyre had a very successful night for Clinton-Massie. Link below.

(Hey, Sydney...we're headed to the ACC! How do you like us now?)

Sydney scores 33



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Monday Cardinal Couple -- Dyer aspires higher for Cards this year...Field Hockey gets first win.

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Epps commits to UK

-Shawnta Dyer looks to build on freshman debut

-Field Hockey bests Miami (OH) 3-1

CARDINAL COUPLE SPECIAL REPORT

It looks like Makayla Epps has committed to UK following her visit to the campus today. Epps is considered the best point guard in the 2013 Class in Kentucky and had previously verballed to Louisville. 

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( We've been previewing the UofL WBB squad the last couple of months and we've reached the sophomore class. First up for us, red-shirt sophomore forward Shawnta Dyer.) 

For Shawnta Dyer ( to borrow a line from Tom Petty) the waiting had to be the hardest part. Part of the heralded class of 2010, Dyer looked to be a freshman that could impact the Cardinal front line right off the bat and had a successful debut in the 2010 exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan. 

Then, a fractured heel beset the Marion, OH star and brought an end to the season. A season of analyzing and critiquing certain areas of the game. Cheering from the sidelines as the Cards marched to the Sweet Sixteen. 

After a season of rehab and waiting, she returned to the 2011-12 Cardinal contingent and became the leading rebounder for UofL. An inside force that got plenty of chances to impact the Cardinal scoring and rebounding game inside with Monique Reid on the shelf for a year. 

Improvements for 2012-13? Dyer will tell you that she wants to become a better student of the game. That basketball isn't simply putting the ball in the basket, but strategizing and coming up with a game plan to outsmart the opponent. 

She's been busy over the summer working on her individual skills. Ball handling, jump shots, free throws. As part of a deep and experienced Cardinal squad, Dyer will be counted on to continue her inside scoring abilities and rebounding prowess on both ends of the court. 

Ask Shawnta about the team and you'll get this reply:

"We've been working hard this summer on our individual skills, taking classes and building on our team chemistry every chance we get. We are making improvements in the off season, not only to become better basketball players...but also to become better people." 

The 2012-13 season looks to be one where the Cards will make a huge run to dispose Notre Dame and Connecticut as front runners in the BIG EAST. Shawnta Dyer will be one of the prime components in an essential area...rebounding and inside scoring. 

Hoping to become an elementary teacher after her days as a Cardinal are finished, Dyer will be "schooling" opponents this season on the boards and in the paint. We think she'll continue to be at the head of the class. 

Dyer numbers

     Games played  Games Started Min. Rebs. Pts. PPG
2011-12    33              4               17.8  165  242   7.3

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Louisville Field Hockey captured their first win of the season Sunday with a 3-1 win over Miami (OH) in the consolation game of the Sherrill Brakemeier Classic at Trager Stadium. 

The Cards showed improvement in their passing, transferring and offensive attack...according to head coach Justine Sowry. 

UofL (1-1) opened the scoring in the first half when Erin Schneidtmiller netted her first goal of the season at the 9:22 mark. Louisville dominated the first half with a 12-0 advantage in shots. 

70 seconds into the second half, the Cards increased to lead to 2-0 when Becca Madock sent one past Miami goalie Sarah Mueller. Miami managed to cut the Cardinal lead in half a few minutes later, but Haley Jurich notched the Cards' third goal when she corralled a rebound from her first shot on goal and found success the second time around. 

Goalie Erin Conrad had two saves and Louisville outshot the RedHawks 20-6. 

The Cards take to the Trager Stadium turf again on Saturday when they host Davidson. They'll also face off against Ball State on Labor Day. Both are 2 p.m. starts.
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Louisville's Bracket Selection viewing at PNC Club a big hit.

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Lady Cards will face Michigan State in NCAA


-Softball goes to 20-0 with double-header win over Illinois State 


-CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket Challenge is open for picks (and rolls and double screens). 

The University of Louisville women's basketball team will travel to College Park, Maryland, home of the Maryland Terrapins, to face Michigan State University in first round NCAA Championship action. Louisville is a #7 seed. Michigan State a #10 seed. The game will tip at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Winner gets the victor of the #2 Maryland vs. #15 Navy tussle.


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CARDINAL COUPLE staff writer Jenny O'Bryan and CARDINAL COUPLE Commish Mark Schneider were there and we've combined their reports and posted plenty of their pictures for you...

A large and enthusiastic crowd filled the Bracket Selection Party that the University of Louisville held for Cardinal fans at the PNC Plaza at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for the showing of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. Womens' hoops party at a football stadium but the excitement reached the fevered pitch of a women's game at the KFC YUM! Center as the announcement time drew near.

The Cardinal player were on hand in full force and graciously signing autographs for eager fans. The hand had been tipped a bit earlier on who the Lady Cards would face...t-shirts were available for sale with Louisville vs. MSU on the front. Scores of UofL fans chatted with the Cardinal Faithful and plenty of Cardinal merchandise was available for purchase. 

A Tayy !!!!!

Shortly before the Selection Show began, Louisville head basketball coach Jeff Walz went to the podium to address the audience. He spent a good deal of time thanking the crowd and all Cardinal fans for their attendance and support of the program.


Walz also told the crowd that he always reminds the team of how lucky they are to draw the crowds to home games the size and number of those who attend Lady Cards contests at the KFC YUM! Center. He mentioned that the Cards sometimes play in front of 200-300 fans on BIG EAST road trip games, including the home team's coaches, players and pep band. 

Laura Terry, Derty Bird, and Shawnta

Walz told the crowd that Louisville was #2 in the nation in total attendance and that next year's objective was to become #1. He like to see the season ticket base increase from 8000 to 10000. He also revealed that the Lady Cards would home the home schedule next year against Texas A&M and the game would probably be on a Friday night. 


Walz also caught Becky Burke off-guard and called on her for an impromptu speech. Burke handled it well, though and expressed her appreciation for the fans, her teammates and her chance to play for the program. 

Walz seemed happy with the tournament draw and talked about how good a team Michigan State was.


He acknowledged that Maryland could be the net opponent for Louisville and spurred the crowd on by reminding them what Louisville did to them the last time the two teams faced. (That, of course was during the Cards march to the NCAA Championship game...when Louisville knocked them off to reach the Final Four.) 

After the gathering and media obligations this evening, Walz said he'd be busy with his staff watching film of the Spartans in preparation for the Saturday game. The team will practice Tuesday. 


E-mails received here at CARDINAL COUPLE have been mostly positive about the venue and the atmosphere. Here's a few comments...

"The fan-friendly nature of the event is a step above the days when the team was crowded into the Parrish House and no food was available"


"We had a wonderful time at the PNC Club and my daughters got to talk to several of the players, including Shelby Harper -- her favorite. I hope they go there again next year." 

"...Much better than having it at Cardinal Arena. Player interaction with the fans is a must if (Walz) wants to get 10000 season ticket holders." 




"Although the family and I had a great time last night, I do think this annual celebration of Cardinal basketball should be held in a basketball-type setting, not a football one. I would suggest that they go to the KFC YUM! Center next year." 


(Have a take on the event last night? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an-email. Due to Sonja's work schedule and Paul being out-of-town, we unfortunately had to miss the event.) 


cardinalcouple@insightbb.com


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Louisville Softball goes to 20-0 in the battle of the Birds (Redbirds vs. Cardinals) yesterday at Ulmer Stadium. 


The start was delayed a couple of hours due to storms, but the soggy conditions didn't dampen the UofL attack once things got underway.


GAME 1


Louisville jumped to an early 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Kristin Austin singled and scored on a Katie Keller single. Keller reached the plate on a wild pitch.


The Cards added four more runs in the third inning. Taner Fowler and Alicja Wolny registered back-to-back doubles to plate a run. Jordan Trimble took first base on a Redbird error, and Hannah Kiyohara cleared the left field fence with a 'goodbye Mr. Splading' to make it 6-0 "Ville". 

The Redbirds notched a run in the fourth and fifth innings. Louisville retaliated in the fifth when Fowler smashed her second double of the game and made it home on a Trimble single. Louisville concluded the scoring in the sixth when Austin singled and made it 8-2 on a Wolny fielder's choice.


Torrid Tori Collins (9-0) went the distance for Sandy Pearsall...allowing two runs on eight hits and striking out eight. 


GAME 2


Louisville hit the scoreboard in the first when Austin singled and scored on Wolny's single. The Cards added five runs in the fourth. Kiyohara's single started it off. She was replaced by pinch-runner Kirsten Straley, who scored on a Whitney Arion double. Esteban reached on an error and scored on a Austin hit. Austin got home on a double steal to make it 3-0.
After a Keller single, Wolny parked a blast over center to put Louisville comfortably ahead 6-0


The Cards ended it with the run-rule in the fifth. Kayla Soles doubled, Kiyohara drew a base on balls and an Arion single sent Soles to greet the home umpire. Kiyohara got the final run on a RedBirds fielding error.

Caralisa Connell (6-0) gets the win, allowing one hit in 2.1 innings of relief. Starter Chelsea Leonard went 2.2 innings and struck out six while allowing just two hits.


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Brackets are ready to be filled out at YAHOO! for the Cardinal Couple Bracket Challenge. Go get some! Our info is 814 and the password is ladycards


Choose wisely and may the hand guiding the mouse be firm and accurate. Not signed up yet? Well, get crackin' man! (or woman). Linkie below:


CARDINAL COUPLE BRACKET CHALLENGE

Commish Mark has banks of laptops set up deep in the secret lair of the CARDINAL COUPLE world headquarters and has our CARDINAL COUPLE staff chimps on the phones to each of the 16 first-round sites for breaking news, trends, off-color jokes and influence-peddling. (Except for Co-Co, who is trying to get her Etch-A-Sketch hooked up to the Internet.) 


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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Lady Cards 63  - Seton Hall 53


-BIG EAST Monday Action


-FINAL BIG EAST STANDINGS & Tournament matchups.


-Bracket for 2102 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT


Louisville defeated Seton Hall in South Orange, NJ tonight behind the 22 point effort from red-shirt freshman forward Shawnta Dyer. The Cards led by 17 with 8:19 remaining but had to withstand a late, furious Seton Hall run --aided by plentiful Cardinal turnovers -- that cut the Louisville lead to six with 45 seconds. Free throws by Becky Burke and Bria Smith in the final 30 seconds preserved the win.


Louisville will play Saturday @ 6 p.m. in the BIG EAST tournament against the winner of the Friday 6 p.m. Villanova vs Seton Hall match up.


STARTERS: Burke, Vails, Taylor, Shoni, Smith 


The Cards jumped to a 6-0 lead on two Becky Burke three's and held the Pirates scoreless for the first six minutes until  Terry Green hit a three for SHU. The Cards defense was forcing the Pirate offense into wild and pressured shots. 

Bria Smith picked up her second foul with 15:40 left in the half and Antonia Slaughter replaced her. Louisville got a jumper from Shoni Schimmel and a layup from Shawnta Dyer off a nice feed from Shoni to lead 10-5 with eight minutes gone in the half. 


Louisville extended the lead to 20-12 after Becky Burke drilled her third three of the game and then sank three free throws 30 seconds later after being fouled on a long range attempt. Asia Taylor drove the lane for a layup with 7:40 left. After two Dyer free throws, Louisville led 22-12. Slaughter's putback of a missed Taylor shot gave Louisville a 24-14 edge. 


Louisville held a 24-17 lead after Shoni missed two free throws with 4:46 remaining. She made up for it, though... by scoring the next five points for Louisville -- including a three -- to give Louisville a 29-17 lead and 3:05 on the clock.


The Cards would get a Burke free throw with 90 seconds remaining in the first half and take a 30-21 lead into the locker room. 


Burke led the Lady Cards with 13 points. Shoni had seven, Dyer six, Slaughter and Taylor two each. All ten of Walz's players saw action in the first twenty. Louisville was 4-9 from 3-point range, 9-23 overall for 39.1%. Taylor had seven rebounds and (sit down before you read this) NO first half turnovers for Shoni. Smith never returned in the first half after drawing her second foul. The Cards had six first half turnovers, Seton Hall seven.

Louisville was ragged at times but was doing the job defensively and getting big numbers out of "Big Shot." Seton Hall out-rebounded Louisville by two. The Cards did not hit a basket in the final 3:51. 


Bria Smith returned to start the second half and hit two free throws to open the scoring. A 4-0 Pirate run cut the Louisville lead to 32-25, but a Taylor putback and then eight straight points from Dyer gave Louisville a 42-29 lead with 14:59 left.


Two free throws from Burke and one from Smith had Louisville up 45-29 with 12:55 on the clock. Taylor's layup on a feed from Smith had Louisville up by 18. Louisville was pulling away and on a 10-2 run. Would it be a blow out against the 1-14 Pirates? 


Sara Hammond got her first two of the game on a Taylor feed to give Louisville a 51-34 advantage with 8:19 to go.  
Dyer got to 18 points for the game on a pass from Hammond to make it 53-38 Louisville and 6:36 remaining. Dyer got to 20 points when Shoni found her with a pass and 4:25 left. 

Seton Hall would put together a rally and cut Louisville's lead to 55-43 after a 3-pointer by Green with 3:47 left. Tajay Ashmeade's jumper cut it to ten and Crew's score inside had the Pirates within eight and 2:26 remaining. 


Dyer broke the Pirate run with a jumper but Crew countered with a score. Smith pushed the Cardinal lead back to 10 with two free throws at the 1:30 mark but Johnson got it to 59-51 after a Johnson jumper. After Shoni missed the first of a one and one from the line, Brown made it 59-53 with 45 seconds left. A Burke turnover gave Seton Hall the ball back...but they couldn't convert and fouled Burke when Louisville rebounded a missed Johnson shot. Becky hit two this time and Louisville led by eight. Bria Smith's  two free throws with 14 seconds completed the game's scoring and Louisville gets a 63-53 win. CARDS WIN! CARDS WIN! (Whew!) 


Even though the Cards did not hit a shot from the floor in the final two minutes, they converted the free throws when needed to preserve the win. Seton Hall's full court pressure over the final minutes led to 13 Louisville second half turnovers....19 for the game The Pirates turned it over 13 times. Louisville went 4-15 from 3-point range, Seton Hall 4-20. 


The Cards came back to win the rebound battle 39-37. Official attendance was a bleak 522. For senior night? C'mon Seton Hall. Gotta do better than that. Louisville had a sizable amount of fans in the stands...mostly friends, family and followers of Queens native Bria Smith. 


Dyer led all scorers with 22 points...16 in the second half. It was her highest scoring game of the season and it couldn't have come at a better time.  Burke finished with 17. Shoni had seven, but no points in the final twenty minutes. Bria Smith had seven second half points after getting none in the first half. Asia Taylor added six points and a team high 12 rebounds. Slaughter and Hammond scored two each. Vails, Harper and Jude played but did not score


A win, but a shaky one. Seton Hall used a late 13-4 run to get within six but the Cards held the Pirates scoreless over the final 45 seconds. The dribble drive from Seton Hall and defensive pressure was impressive, though. Especially from Jasmine Crew, who finished with 20 points for Anne Donovan's squad. 


Tough beginning for Bria in front of her posse. She did improve in the second half and her free throws late ( 7-8 for the game) helped clinch the win. For Shoni, only nine shots in 35 minutes. She did contribute in other ways, though...five boards, a team high seven assists and two steals. Asia was very impressive on the boards, especially on the defensive end...where she grabbed 10 out of her 12. 34 minutes for A-Tayy Monday night and only 2 fouls. Proud of ya...#31! 


Vails saw only eight minutes and never seemed to be able to get untracked. No points, rebounds, a foul and a turnover...but she did have two shot blocks. The final starter, Becky Burke, blistered the nets early with the first six points and went 8-9 from the charity stripe. Only four second half points, but all were clutch free throws. 3-8 from the field, all 3-pointers. 


From the bench, Dyer was the top performer. 30 minutes, eight boards to go with the 22 points. Tough, hard-working and was a scintillating 9-10 from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line. Nita Slaughter may have played the most invisible 20 minutes of the season for her. Two points, two rebounds and a block. 1-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Sara Hammond gave the Cards eight hard-working minutes and hit her only shot. A great assist to Dyer in the second half. Two turnovers and two rebounds. Jude Schimmel spelled Shoni for four minutes in the first half. A blank stat line except for a foul...but the offense didn't suffer or stagnate when she was on the court. Shelby Harper a minute of action. Not the type of opponent that she'd fare well against...the Seton Hall guard contingent of Morris, Brown and Crew very physical and pressuring. 


Louisville finishes tied for the sixth spot in the BIG EAST with Rutgers and Rutgers gets the tie-breaker. The Cards end the season 21-8 and 10-6 in conference. They'll face the winner of the Villanova vs. Seton Hall Friday game.


Louisville head coach Jeff Walz expressed frustration with the Cards careless turnovers at the end of the game.


 "We made some very poor basketball decisions late and they came back to bite us." Walz commented after the game. "We gave them 18 offensive boards. But...Shawnta Dyer worked so hard tonight and I'm proud of her. Shoni didn't score a lot but played a smart game for us and Becky got us off to a great start" 


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All 16 teams played Monday in the final day of the regular season. The results:


- Notre Dame defeated UConn in the XL Center 72-59
- St. John's handled Georgetown 54-45 in D.C.
- USF knocked off Providence 64-56 in Tampa
- Villanova downed Syracuse 68-60 in Philadelphia
- West Virginia won at home over Pittsburgh 60-42
- Louisville traveled to Seton Hall and won 63-53
- Rutgers defended the RAC with a 69-58 win over Marquette
- DePaul blasted Cincinnati 73-51 in Chicago




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Final BIG EAST regular season standings: 


Notre Dame    15-1                     USF           8-8
St. John's       13-3                     Villanova    6-10
Connecticut    13-3                     Cincinnati  6-10
Georgetown    11-5                     Syracuse   6-10
West Virginia  11-5                     Providence 5-12
Rutgers          10-6                     Marquette   4-12
Louisville        10-6                     Seton Hall  1-15
DePaul            9-7                      Pittsburgh  0-16


Notre Dame, St John's, Connecticut and Georgetown earn the double byes and will play Sunday. 


Notre Dame gets either DePaul, USF or Pitt. St. John's will face either Louisville, Villanova or Seton Hall. Connecticut draws from Rutgers, Cincinnati or Marquette. Georgetown faces either West Virginia, Syracuse or Providence. 


West Virginia, Rutgers, Louisville and DePaul receive single byes and will start tournament action on Saturday. The Mountaineers get the winner of Syracuse vs. Providence. Rutgers receives the victor of Cincinnati vs. Marquette. Louisville takes on either Villanova or Seton Hall. DePaul will tangle with the champ in the USF vs. Pitt game. 


Friday action and game times:


noon -- #12 Syracuse vs. #13 Providence
2 p.m. -- #9 USF vs. #16 Pittsburgh
6 p.m. -- #10 Villanova vs. #15 Seton Hall
8 p.m. --#11 Cincinnati vs. #14 Marquette


All games Friday will be shown on BIG EAST TV and can be watched at the official BIG EAST TV web site. www.bigeast.tv 


Personally, we love the Louisville draw. If they can get by either Seton Hall or Villanova...teams they beat in the regular season, they'd have a Sunday quarter-final game against St. John's. Most likely UConn would be the Monday opponent in the semi-finals if the Cards can down the Red Storm. 


Exciting basketball ahead! WE INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE in the Big East Tournament Challenge we're sponsoring here at CARDINAL COUPLE. 15 games, pick who you think will win them. Most wins gets the $25 gift card. PANERA or Wal-Mart. Tie-breaker goes to the player who has the most final four teams picked correctly. 

David woke up at
4 a.m. to make sure
he posted first.

We promised writer selections and here's the first one. David Watson e-mailed his picks to us at 6 a.m. He hopes to better last year's horrible performance where he had only two of the final four picks. Here's David's picks: 


Friday -- Syracuse, USF, Villanova, Cincinnati
Saturday -- West Virginia, USF, Louisville, Rutgers
Sunday -- Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville, UConn
Monday -- UConn, Georgetown
Tuesday -- UConn


Think you can top him? Send your picks to: cardinalcouple@insightbb.com by Friday noon.


Or, if you're as bold as David and want the CARDINAL COUPLE readership to see them, leave them in any comments section. A downloadable, printable bracket available at the BIG EAST Official site. www.bigeast.com
  

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