FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-For the "Blonde Blur" it went by way too fast

(David Watson hosts today's CARDINAL COUPLE. He takes a look at one of the most popular Lady Cards to wear the Red and Black...or grey and white...Shelby Harper.)

For Jeff Walz, it was a decision based on attrition. With barely enough guards available to hold practice, the third-year Louisville head women's basketball coach turned to the bench and saw injuries and a diminutive freshman guard that had walked on the team near the start of the fall to help out with practices and to fill a chair on the Cardinal bench. Attention Cardinal fans --this lineup change -- Shelby Harper is now your starting point guard.

The freshman from Allen County-Scottsville, near Bowling Green, KY. had delivered a solid high school career and a couple of the current Lady Cards were familiar with her mad dash, up and down the court style of point-guardmanship. They got quite used to it the majority of the 2009-10 season, for the former walk-on began starting in January and was in the starting lineup for 17 games. She ended up second on the team in assists and second in three-point shooting percentage.

The 2009-10 team took their lumps and ended up with a 14-18 record. It was a season of being out-numbered at times but the squad will probably be one of my favorites for a long time because they battled against adversity, low numbers and injuries and never gave up.

One wondered how Harper would fit into the 2010-11 Cardinal women's basketball plans. Stellar guard Shoni Schimmel had arrived on campus and Becky Burke and Tia Gibbs were available to give the Cards good strength in the backcourt. Harper returned to the bench but appeared in 27 games for UofL as a valuable substitute. She continued to draw oohs and aahs and applause from the Cardinal fan base for her helter-skelter, continual hustle appearances and Louisville came back from the depths of despair to record a 22-13 season and advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

More guards unloaded their baggage in the UofL dorms in 2011-12. Jude Schimmel and Bria Smith proved their mettle and Harper continued her role as an off-the-bench spark for the Cardinals. This Cardinal squad was beset by the injury bug again but managed to go 23-10. Harper saw action in 30 games and fans delighted in seeing her and Jude as a backup guard tandem on the court together. Both barely tall enough to get on the adult rides at the State Fair but delivering large performances whenever they entered games.

We see Shelby Harper as a senior this season and the spark plug, motivator role continues. A rare start on senior night, a season of providing brief stretches of inspired, hard-working minutes for a Cardinal squad that will play its (hopefully) final TWO games in front of the faithful at the KFC YUM! Center on Sunday and Tuesday.

Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday she was bringing Cardinal fans to their feet with her five-threes made against Cincinnati. 

Her take? Her advice to those that will remain after she graduates?

"Enjoy every minute of it. Try as hard as you can. It goes by way too fast."

It's gone by way too fast for us also, Shelby. Hard to believe we won't see that face -- showing that look of determination when on defense -- next season on Denny Crum Court.

Coach Walz summed it up pretty well when she said:

"I told her parents that if my daughters grew up to be like Shelby, I'd be quite OK with that."

Shelby will never get any taller. She will, however, have a large spot in the hearts and admiration of UofL Women's Basketball fans forever and that spot will grow as years go by.

Blonde Blur? Love her.

David Watson


(Editor's Note: Some of the photos used in this article are from Charlie Springer. www.uoflcardgame.com  The best ones, of course.)


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Still plenty of time to get those tickets for UofL WBB in the KFC YUM! Center for Sunday and (we just know it...) Tuesday action in the NCAA Tournament.

Ticketmaster, KFC YUM! Center Box Office, from that shady guy standing on the street corner...whaever it takes. Man up, buy a ticket and support the Lady Cards. You don't want a Blue Raider in the lower bowl of the YUM! do you? Yikes!

Also, don't forget to try your luck in the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Women's Tournament Pick 'Em Contest.

25 entries in as of 7 a.m. today. Take a chance, fill out your dance card for a chance at a $25 Chili's Gift Card. The prestige of being the best. Totally awesome, dudes. Your not a scaredy cat, are you?

Leave your picks in the comments section of today's article or you can e-mail them to:

cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

Don't delay. The tournament is just a day away. Make your day. Have a say. C'mon and play. OK?



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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Seton Hall visits KFC YUM! Center

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


(Game Report -- Louisville defeats Seton Hall 72-62 on Senior Night in the KFC YUM! Center. Nita Slaughter with 17 points and Shoni Schimmel 15. Jenny's report on the win coming shortly...)


-Cards say goodbye to Harper and Reid on Senior Night.

-Cards look to secure double bye in BIG EAST Tournament with win over Seton Hall

Ahoy, mateys...there be Pirates comin' up the Ohio River. Actually, that isn't exactly true...they'll probably fly in Louisville International Airport....but Anne Donovan's team is scheduled to be Louisville's opponent Wednesday night in the KFC YUM! Center at 7 p.m.

It's Senior Night, and the Cards and fans will say goodbye to two very good and popular ones in a pregame ceremony.

Monique Reid is the last direct player connection to the 2008-2009 National Runner-Up team and she's had a spectacular career here at UofL. She was a starter on the team that went to St. Louis and has scored 1657 points in her career at UofL. That puts her fifth all-time in UofL women's basketball history...she needs 92 to advance to fourth and pass Kristin Maddox (1992-1996).

A scorer from anywhere in the paint, Mo led the team in scoring in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Knee problems have been a constant problem the past two years...limiting her time on the court...but she will remembered as one the Cardinal WBB greats of all time and a tough competitor.

Shelby Harper joined the squad as a walk-on in the 2009-10 season and ended up starting 17 games at point-guard. Known for her excellent ball-handling skills and tenacious defense, Harper has become a crowd favorite over the years and a player that Jeff Walz knows he's always to get 100% out of on both ends of the court.

She's been a key reserve off the bench since her freshman year and has been a hustler...full of energy, fast and ready to take on any defensive assignment. The 'blonde blur' has brought a special kind of excitement and love to the Cardinal WBB fans these past four years and her dedication and energy will be missed.

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Seton Hall (9-18, 4-10) has surprised many by staying out of the BIG EAST cellar this year and although they are coming off a 60-point loss to Connecticut on Saturday...will look to pull they major upset if possible against the Cards. They did break a five game losing streak last week win a impressive 72-56 win over Providence and have wins over Rugters, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati as well in the BIG EAST this year.

Senior Brittany Morris has led them in scoring this year and averages about 13 points a game. Anne Donovan has done a great coaching job with them....given the circumstances.

Ka-Deidre Simmons is a proven scorer as well and the Pirates can drill the three effectively at times...eighth in the conference in percentage.

Last time the Cards and Seton Hall met....Louisville won in South Orange 63-53. Shawnta Dyer's 22 points paced the Cards and Becky Burke added 11.

Louisville leads the all-time series 7-0 and Coach Walz is 5-0 against the Pirates.

Louisville should go to 11-4 in the BIG EAST without a lot of trouble against SHU...if they do, they would technically be in 3rd place in the BIG EAST. Syracuse is at 10-4 after losing to Notre Dame last night. St. John's is 9-4 and plays at Villanova tonight.

The Cards end the regular season against Syracuse next Monday. The 'Cuse has Villanova Saturday and St. John's plays Seton Hall and DePaul in their final two.

Programming note: The game will be on 1080 AM, the guys will be on 790 tonight.

  

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Lady Cards go on spree against Austin Peay.

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville WBB "Slaughters" Austin Peay 90-52

The University of Louisville women's basketball team overcame a shaky start to roll past the Austin Peay Lady Govs by 38 points on Thursday night in Clarksville, TN.  

With four turnovers in their first four possessions, the Cards hardly looked ready to protect their #8 ranking. Fortunately, Austin Peay was nearly as bad and it was 2-0 Govs when Nita Slaughter came in the game.

The junior guard proceeded to nail two straight three-pointers and started a three point frenzy that saw the two teams hit a combined nine trifectas in the first eight minutes. It was 20-17 Louisville with 11:39 left in the first half...but after the under 12 minute timeout...the Cards went to work.

A 10-0 run, fueled by eight Monique Reid points and two Shoni free throws had the Cards up by 13. Shoni's free throws put her in the 1,000 career point club.

Peay had one last gasp left in them, though, and went on their own 10-0 run to cut the Cardinal lead to 30-27 with 7:37 left in the first half. The Cards responded quickly. A Sara Hammond free throw, Bria Smith layup, Megan Deines three, free throws from Shelby Harper and Hammond, a Shoni three and Reid layup produced 14 straight UofL points and the Lady Cards had forged ahead 44-27 with 2:18 remaining.

The Lady Govs narrowed the margin to 13 but Cortnee Walton's putback with five seconds remaining had Louisville in the locker room owning a 48-33 halftime advantage. 

Reid's 14 points in ten minutes led Louisville in the first 20 minutes. Slaughter's three threes gave her nine points, Shoni added seven, Deines had six, Hammond and Smith scored four each and Harper and Walton contributed two apiece. Jude, Shawnta Dyer and Sherrone Vails played but did not score. The Cards were 15-31 for 48% from the floor and 6-14 from beyond the arc. Louisville held a 25-15 edge in rebounding. 

Louisville returned the starting lineup of Dyer, Smith, Shoni, Deines and Hammond to begin the second half and started working the inside game. Dyer started the scoring off a feed from Smith and she added two free throws after a Smith jumper to give UofL a 54-38 advantage after three minutes of action.

Those 38 Austin Peay points remained unchanged for the next seven minutes...Louisville taking flight with a 17-0 run that saw Shoni nail a three and a lay-up...and Dyer, Vails, Hammond and Walton all score inside the paint. It was 69-38 with 10:58 to go and the Cards had outscored Austin Peay 21-5 in the second half.

This one was history.

Despite the referees insistance on whistling fouls on Louisville every time they went on defense (or so it seemed), the Cards were rolling.

Walz used Harper, Jude, Walton, Vails and Dyer as the core group for the remainder of the game...spelling them as needed. The Cards hit the 80-point mark on a Jude layup with 5:57 to go. Louisville enjoyed their largest lead after a Harper jumper made it 88-44 with two minutes remaining. The Cards coasted in from there...A.P.U. actually outscoring them 8-2 the rest of the way... and won 90-52. 

Reid's 14 first-half points held fast for game high for Louisville. Walz held her out of second-half action with her approval...no need for her, really...with the Cards having three games in three days in Mexico beginning next Tuesday. Shoni had 12 points and 10 assists for a double-double. Shawnta Dyer joined the double figure club with 12 points, all in the second half. Slaughter finished with her first half nine points and Smith and Vails added eight each. Walton produced seven points, Hammond and Deines six each. Harper and Jude ended up with four each.

Louisville was 34-59 from the court for 58%. They hit 7 of their 19 threes and went 15-23 from the foul line. The Cards won the battle of the boards 46-30 and had 15 steals. 

FIVE THINGS WE LIKED

1. Another run-away win. Louisville used second-half runs of 17-0 and 12-0 to increase a 15 point first-half advantage into a 42 point lead. No backing off tonight. You blow out the opponents you're supposed to. It's what you expect top-10 teams to do.

2. Reid effectiveness. Mo's a scorer. Ask her, she'll tell you that's what she does. She also got five rebounds tonight in 10 minutes and drew a great charge under the Govs basket. Imagine how effective she could be with a 100% healthy knee...

3. Playing the bench. Once again, "the bench" is subject to debate at times, we know...but the Cardinal "non-starters" outscored the Lady Govs bench 46-9.

4. S&S attack. Shawnta and Sherrone had 20 second-half points. Add in Walton's five and that's 25 points from the Louisville "bigs" in 20 minutes. Not counting Hammond or Reid.

5. "Shake 'em" shakes them up. Shoni played a smart, efficient game tonight. Assists, scoring, distribution and recognition. The Cards may be looking for a vocal leader on the court, but there's no doubt who the floor general is when Shoni's in the game.

FIVE THINGS TO WORK ON

1. Sputtering out of the gate. The first two minutes were painful to watch and listen to. Fortunately, it was only 2-0 A.P.U. during that stretch. Against Notre Dame, it probably would have been 12-0. Playing UConn...well, you get the picture. Early consistency needed, please.

2. Free throws. 15-23 is better (65%) but it's not the 70% Coach Walz would like to see his team achieve.

3. Keeping the hammer down. The Cards saw a 13-point first half lead dwindle to three in a three minute stretch. They responded well, but 10-0 from Austin Peay? Seriously?

4. Slow starts for Shawnta and Smith. Early turnovers by Bria got her a seat early. Shawnta failed to score in the first half. Need it clicking from the tip-off.

5. Matt Andrews' player recognition. I almost fell off the couch when the affable UofL play-by-play radio announcer credited Asia Taylor with a rebound. Got my hopes up for a brief, few seconds before he corrected himself...while A.J. chuckled in the background. C'mon, man! Hopefully, he'll be able to credit A-Tayy with all kinds of stats before long.

FINAL SUMMATION

It was about what we expected against the OVC foe. Hoped the Cards would get the inside game rocking...and they did...with Mo in the first half and the S&S front line storm-troopers in the final twenty minutes. The Cards even tossed in seven threes (and we love it when Nita goes on one of those successful, successive bombing runs from beyond the arc). Also, the Cards increased on a comfortable first half lead and they did it with and without the starters.

3-0...and three in a row starting next Tuesday in Mexico. Don't drink the water, girls...but soak up some sun, rebounds, steals, points and assists and come back stateside 6-0.

No TV for the tournament scheduled (that we know of) but the UofL radio crew will be there and provide coverage. The first game will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST against future BIG EAST member Central Florida.

POST GAME WALZ

We didn't get to listen to all of Jeff's post-game radio remarks but he was pleased overall with the effort tonight. He wasn't very happy about the Cards slow start.
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Media Day at the YUM!

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MORE TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

******BREAKING NEWS******

ALEXIS MONTGOMERY HAS  COMITTED TO LOUISVILLE!

Just got the tweet...Talented Oregon player is a Cardinal!

She's Mercedes Russell's best friend. Does it mean what we all hope it means?

Russell announces at 5:30 p.m.

The champagne is chilled.

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The University of Louisville women's basketball team had their Media Day today at the KFC YUM! Center and Coach Walz, the staff and players were on hand to speak and answer questions.

Jeff Walz addresses the media Tuesday

Shortly after noon, Coach Walz opened up the floor to questions and spent about a half hour answering them.

-- Walz spoke of the effort that Megan Deines, Sara Hammond and Bria Smith had put in over the summer...commenting that he'd never seen three players put so much work into their games in the offseason.

C.B. and Nicole set up chairs.

--Things he will be watching against Eckerd College tomorrow night are rebounding and defense. Reluctant at first to name a starting lineup, he eventually suggested that fans would see Shoni, Bria and Sara probably start and it was up for grabs after that.  

--Walz has been impressed with the freshmen so far and indicated that Deines would see significant time at the wing. He also mentioned that they'd been bringing Cortnee Walton along slowly the last two weeks because of a heel bruise.

Team lines up fo team photo

--He's hoping to have Asia back out on the court by Thanksgiving and Mo at 100% by the start of BIG EAST play.

A lot of "new" media in attendance today and some questions asked that all Cardinal Couple readers have known the answers to for months.

We hit the floor about 12:30 and the players started trickling out onto the court after that. First out was Monique Reid, who was surrounded by the TV guys and patiently answered questions about her injury, her hopes, her role and amount of playing time.

I decided to take a different approach and went around and asked some of the players some fun and different questions. I think they enjoyed it. Here we go...


What would you go trick-or-treating as?


Shelby  - A witch
Megan  - Cat Woman
Tia - Beyonce
Mo - A vampire
Bria - A fairy
Nita - Kim Lee (which drew a round of laughter)
Asia - Jeff Walz
Sara - Captain America
Coach Cam - Mr. Jeff Walz. 

Which Candy would you look for first in your trick-or-treat bag at the end of the night?

Shelby - Sweet Tarts
Megan - Twix
Tia - Reese's Cups
Mo - Bubble Gum
Bria - Sour Patch
Nita - Skittles
Asia - Sour Gummi Worms
Sara - Kit Kat
Coach Cam - Milky Way

Which KFC YUM! Center concert would you attend this weekend...Justin Bieber or Bruce Springsteen?


Shelby - Justin
Megan - Justin
Tia - Biebes!
Mo - Never heard of Bruce and doesn't like Justin, so she'd stay home.
Bria - Justin. Hands down! 
Nita - J.B
Asia - Who's Bruce Springsteen?
Sara - Justin
Coach Cam - Bruce Springsteen, without a doubt. Seen him before and go definitely go again. 

If you could steal one of your teammates skills, what would it be?

Mo - Nita's shooting ability
Bria - The way Nita shoots
Nita - Asia's jumping ability
Asia - Sherrone's shot blocking
Sara - Shoni's passing skills.

We'll be back later with recruiting news. We're hearing that Alexis Montgomery is announcing at 4 p.m. Eastern today...
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Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE -- Shelby Harper

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Senior Shelby Harper


-Demling leaving the Courier-Journal?


Today at Cardinal Couple we look at one of the three seniors on the Louisville womens' basketball team. Our tentative plans are to take a look at a Louisville WBB player once a week until we cover them all.


For Scottsville, KY. native Shelby Harper, it's been a journey that has been fun, a lot of work and a career that has seen some pretty wide swings in playing time over the last three years. 


"The flying, blonde ball of energy that just flew by you is Shelby Harper. See how the crowd reacts to her when she steps on the court?" 

Explaining Harper to a first-time UofL WBB watcher isn't easy. Where do you start? By pointing out her tenacious defense on opponents that are usually six inches taller than her? Telling the viewer to watch how quickly she advances the ball down the court and gets it to the wing or paint? Remarking on her intense game demeanor and serious facial expressions...a complete opposite of the smiling, almost shy Harper off the court?  


My friend looks around the KFC YUM! Center. The little girls in attendance are screaming Shelby's name as if she were a pop diva spotted in public. The parents smile and remark to each other that she never seems to be stationary. Always moving, a small worker bee buzzing around the hive non-stop. 

The Shelby Harper story, by statistics and number, doesn't reveal the true nature of her importance to the UofL squad in many ways...but it's a place to start.


Harper arrived on campus in the fall of 2009. A talented high school basketball and softball player at Allen County-Scottsville...she wasn't part of the 2009 Walz recruiting class. Just another co-ed freshman on campus. The 2009-10 team, however was decimated by graduation and injuries. Some of the players remembered her from Club ball and her days at Allen County-Scottsville. The student turned into a walk-on for Jeff Walz's club and a starter in the back court by January. 

The 2009-10 season wasn't the best year that UofL WBB has experienced...far from it, with no NCAA Tournament appearance and a sub .500 record. Harper, though was one of the highlights for Louisville and quickly had become a fan favorite. Brave efforts each night against more talented guards and her 29 appearances included five three-pointers against Cincinnati and seven rebounds against WVU.


They ought to put up a statue, monument, plaque or sculpture for the players on that team. It would need to have Shelby portrayed with her shoulder length blonde hair flying in the wind behind her and in the process of passing the ball to Monique or Becky. Live action, as Turtleman likes to say.

The 2010-11 season saw a platoon of new guards on campus. Highly heralded Shoni Schimmel, cagey and crafty Tia Gibbs, long range bomber Nita Slaughter and... suddenly Jeff Walz had depth at the guards spots. Harper was still the spark off the bench, though. Energizing and electrifying the KFC YUM Center when she left the bench and entered the game. The playing time had diminished dramatically but the role was clearly defined. Few players have the ability to spark and motivate a team just by coming into a game. Harper is one of those. 

Last year, with the proliferance of "Cards guards", Harper found herself discussing strategy and and being a cheerleader with Jude Schimmel. She still appeared in 30 games, averaging about eight minutes a contest and was a clutch free throw shooter with 13-16 numbers. She was one of the 10 Lady Cards that jelled at the end of the season, becoming a cog in a highly defined and powerful machine that rolled into the NCAA Tournament, dismantled Michigan State and took Maryland to the final buzzer. 

The Shelby Harper off the court is a engaging, serious student that knows professional ball after graduation probably isn't going to happen...but a career awaits. She's spent this summer as an intern for a physical therapist. She aims toward a career in hospital administration. Helping people. Giving of herself for the betterment of others. The activities off the court match her three years of effort on the Denny Crum hardwood.


Goals for her senior season as a Lady Card are clear and defined. Becoming a leading assist and steals guard. Improving her ball handling. Helping the team push the ball in transition. Working hard.  

This is the best I can do in explaining the Shelby Harper Louisville fans have come to know, love and cheer for. She's not the powerful, paint monster that Shawnta Dyer is. Not the magician, quick off the draw gunslinger Shoni Schimmel is. No one will ever mistake her for the tall, rangy all-over-the court wing Nita Slaughter. 


But, if you see her once, you'll never forget her.

I asked my friend after the first UofL game he had ever seen his impressions. He talked about his previous and original impressions of women's basketball had been altered and how much fun he had. He planned on returning and bringing the wife and family to see the Cards the next time they played at home. And then, he looked at me and smiled...saying:


"Y'know...if they could harness that energy and effort Harper brings when she's in the game...it could light up Main Street." 


And that is exactly correct. The power source in the KFC YUM! Center at 2nd & Main isn't LG&E. It's Shelby Electric.


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The rumors are out there. Internet chatter about Jody Demling, one of our favorite (and one of the few left) Courier-Journal writers leaving the C-J and taking over Scout in Louisville?


Inside the Ville leaving Scout and going to 24/7? 

No official confirmation on this yet, but reliable sources are reporting that all this is about to go down. 


I guess they've all been watching the conference re-alignment sagas. 


With tongue firmly planted in cheek, here's how we see it all developing: 


7.9.2012 -- Demling leaves the Courier-Journal and takes over Scout. Inside the Ville leaves Scout and goes to 24/7. Little Darius Wilson leaves the Beechmont Pirates and signs with the Fern Creek Rangers.

7.10.2012 -- Cardinal Couple is approached by the Courier-Journal to take over the Sports Department. In a closed staff meeting, the vote is 7-2 to decline the offer. Co-Co covers the inquiry in banana pudding and Bill the Goat consumes it. Jenny refuses to vote on the proposition but calls three UofL women's basketball recruits and tells them that Cardinal Couple is changing into a home and garden tips web site. 


7.11.2012 -- Demling merges Scout with Kentucky High School Hoops and Jenny leaves Cardinal Couple to join forces with Shannon Ruffra at Cardinal Dominance. Darius Wilson goes 3 for 5 in his first apperance with the Fern Creek Rangers and announces he's leaving the Rangers for the New Albany Rivermen.

7.12.2012 -- Rivals guru Howie Lindsay declares war on all Louisville sports websites that have the letter "S" in their title (including his own site -- Rivals) and secretly contacts Card Game, Cardinal Couple and Lt. Gov Jerry Abramson about hosting a telethon on WDRB. He declares himself sovereign King of Greater Louisville and purchases the castle on US 60 near Versailles for his headquarters. Darius Wilson strikes out three times in four at-bats for the Rivermen and complains about lack of team unity.


7.13.2012  -- Cardinal Couple trades Co-Co, Tommy Boy and Sandra Walker to Card Chronicle for three staplers, a sideline pass for UofL lacrosse and $15 in Wendy's coupons. The Rivermen trade Darius Wilson to the Fairdale Rattlers. 

7.14.2012 -- Commish Mark declares a state of emergency for all media outlets that cover Louisville sports and announces he's resigning to go and ride bulls in Okinawa. Darius Wilson joins Cardinal Couple as a staff writer and punches out Timmy the Intern in the break room hours after arriving. Paul declares that Cardinal Couple is "just a errand boy, sent by clerks, to collect on a bill". Louisville leaves the BIG EAST to join the ACC. 


We know that the losses at the Courier-Journal have rocked their sports department harder than Sammy Hagar liquored-up and on stage in Philly. If Demling does jump ship, as one writer posted...


"Will the last one to leave the Courier-Journal sports department please turn the lights off?" 

From what we are hearing...
Some of the readers at ITV aren't exactly
thrilled about the possibility of Deming
taking over Scout. 

Honestly, raise you hand if your regularly read the Sports section at the Courier-Journal. Raise the other hand if you can name three writers there. I'm not seeing many hands in the air. I grew up on Courier-Journal Sports as a kid. Names like Dave Kindred, Billy Reed and Mike Barry used to grace those pages. I used to write Pat Forde letters criticizing every word he wrote. He'd send them back with all the spelling and punctuation errors circled. I seriously didn't like him until I actually met him. I wisely realized that he's just like anyone else in the world but his job performance is evaluated by thousands of people who aren't his employers and I've made my peace with Pat. Maybe it is because I've received a few slamming e-mails since we started Cardinal Couple. Takes one to know one, right? I'd probably sit down and have a beverage with him. And, might even buy. 


Now, the Courier-Journal is a bunch of guys named Phil and Jennie Rees. 


This one is just heating up, folks. Stay tuned.


Thanks for reading today and enjoy Sunday with Sonja tomorrow. 


-Paulie
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Second half rally leads Lady Cards past WSU 75-71

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Shawnta Dyer with 16 in "cardiac" Cardinal comeback

-Stats and analysis of the game

What a night...

Andrews switched
to cell phone after the
feed died.

Gametracker was freezing up, WKRD lost the radio feed and Matt Andrews ended up calling the final minute of the game on his cell phone back to the station in Louisville...but the Cards created even more excitement (and frustration) than that by rallying over the last six minutes to beat the Cougars by five.

A bizarre ending to this one tonight. WSU's Sage Romberg nailed a three with 12.9 seconds left to cut the Louisville lead to 73-71...but a WSU foul on Shawnta Dyer and subsequent technical foul on WSU's coach June Daughtery for calling a timeout with none left gave Louisville a chance for four free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining.

Shoni Schimmel cashed in on the technical shots to make it 75-71 but Dyer missed hers and then a foul was called on Jude Schimmel with 0.3 on the clock...putting WSU at the line. Fortunately, they missed and the Cards had survived a nail-biter. Here's the rest of the wild night in Pullman...

CARDINAL STARTERS: Asia Taylor, Shoni Schimmel, Bria Smith, Sherrone Vails and Becky Burke. The same starting line for the last three games now.

Burke saddled up and nailed a few threes when the
Cards needed them...

Louisville took the early lead on a Becky Burke putback and after a Schimmel jumper, the Cards led 4-0 at the 18:26 mark. Following a Cougar three...Louisville ran off eight straight points to lead 11-3 when Cierra Warren connected inside with 15:53 left in the first half.

It was the largest Cardinal lead until late in the second half.

The Cougars rallied with a 7-0 run to cut it to 11-10. Louisville countered with a 8-4 run and a Shoni layup had the Cards enjoying a 19-14 lead with 11:03 left in the first twenty. 

Romberg hit a big three late

Then, the wheels fell off. WSU ran off seven straight to take their first lead at 8:57 when Ireti Amojo sank a three to make it 21-19. After the two teams traded baskets, WSU took off again with seven straight and held a 30-23 advantage with 4:07 left. That increased to 35-25 with 1:28 remaining...Antonita Slaughter sank a free throw with 54 seconds to create a halftime score of 35-26 Cougars.

Louisville had managed just three points in the final 6:38 of play.

Play that had been delayed for five minutes while officials checked a TV monitor to figure out a foul sequence that occurred with 7 minutes to go and ended up assigning a technical foul on WSU's Hannah Potter for elbow swinging. Sure shot Becky Burke went to the line for two...and missed them both.

 

Dyer a game high 16,
eight each half.

Poor shooting plagued Louisville in the first twenty. They were 11-34 for 32% and a sad 1-10 from three point range. Shawnta Dyer's eight points led the Lady Cards...Burke had five, Shoni and Warren four each, Smith and Vails contributed two each and Slaughter had one.

The Cougars were 14-35 for 40% and an impressive 5-10 from deep. Jazmine Perkins has 12 to lead the WSU assault.

The Cards were lacking energy, passion and needed a spark.

They found it early in the second half from Bria Smith. She scored the first seven points for Louisville but the Lady Cards still trailed 39-33 with 16:47 left in the game. Taylor and Dyer went to work inside over the next couple of minutes...still, it was WSU 46-38 at the 13:05 mark. Louisville was
needing a spurt...and they found it in Jude Schimmel.

After two Bria Smith free throws, Jude got free on fast breaks and hit two consecutive layups. The Cards were within two. Cierra Warren tied it at 46-46 but WSU forged back ahead to lead 50-46 with 10 to go. Who would step up next for Louisville?

It was Becky Burke. Back to back threes by "Bigshot" gave the Lady Cards a 52-50 advantage. Then, up 54-51...Louisville head coach Jeff Walz gets a technical for protesting a foul. Three free throws tied it at 54-54. WSU snuck back ahead 57-55 but Warren hits a jumper...starting a 10-0 Louisville run, aided by threes from Shelby Harper and Burke, to lead 65-57 after Dyer connected on two free throws. She had 14 points, the Lady Cards were up by eight and 4:41 remained.

This one was far from over, though. WSU cut it to 65-60. Then, radio communication died and Sonja went scrambling to the laptop to access GAMETRACKER while I listened to the Cardinal Fight Song about a dozen times on WKRD. (They REALLY need to get a better version of that to play when their fixing glitches and gremilns...). We were able to piece things together slowly. The Cards were up 69-65, thanks to four points from Shoni. Then 69-66. Then GAME TRACKER froze up.

An anxious moment later, it started again and the voice of Matt Andrews crackled back over the radio. 71-68 Cards. Dyer gets loose on a fast break (I think he said...) 73-68. Romberg bombs a three. 73-71. He's calling the game on his cell phone and it sounds like the game is being played in a bar...

And, then the wild chain of events that we described in the opening paragraphs ended it. 75-71. Cards win, Cards win!

Dyer led the Lady Cards with 16, followed by Shoni and Burke with 14 points. Smith hit double figures also with 11. Warren finished with eight, Jude and Shelby four each, Vails two and Slaughter and Taylor one each. Sara Hammond played but did not score. Monique Reid's left knee will be evaluated again when the Lady Cards return to Louisville. She sat out this one.

For WSU, 22 from Ireti Amojo and 19 out of Perkins led the way.

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Let's not underestimate this Cougar team and the hard effort they gave last night. They beat BIG EAST member Marquette earlier in the season. They fell just short against Gonzaga, who knocked off Georgia last night. Their match-up zone was effective on bottling up Shoni for most of the game and they did have nine steals. Perkins and Amojo are quality players that will have some big games against PAC 12 opponents this season.

-Louisville narrowly won the rebounding battle 39-36 last night. A team effort...no Lady Card had more than five (Shoni and Warren).

-The Cards cut back on turnovers with only 14. They forced the Cougars into 17. Bria Smith guilty of four - no other UofL player had more than two.

-Louisville's three point efforts improved dramatically in the final twenty minutes...going 4-7. For the game, the Cards were 5-17.

-Missed free throws were a factor...Louisville obtaining only 57% accuracy from the line (16-28). The Cougars slightly better with 16-24 shooting (66.7%)

-Only one player fouled out, and that was WSU guard Tia Presley. Warren picked up four for Louisville.

-Walz played all eleven available for duty...Shoni seeing 38 minutes and Burke 35. Dyer and Smith logged 25 each, Jude 19 and Taylor and Warren with 16 each. Vails saw 10 minutes, Harper seven, Hammond five and Slaughter four.

-2019 watched this one, pretty much evenly divided between Coogs fans and Schimmel/Lady Cards backers. I'm convinced Louisville could draw record numbers to Ice Station Zebra in the South Pole, if Shoni and Jude were playing. 77 penguins, 11 polar bears and a few whales...

WHAT WE LIKED:

-It's not over till we say it's over...Louisville battled back from an early eight point second half deficit to take the lead for good with six minutes left in the game. The eight point advantage with 4:41 left - capping a 10-0 Lady Cards run - was fool's gold, though...the Cougars came back and cut it to three several times and two with 12.9 seconds left. Louisville never relinqushed the lead, though...and took WSU's best efforts and shots.

-Hiya, Harper! Shelby gave Louisville seven key minutes, all in the second half. Her free throw gave Louisville a 55-54 lead after WSU had tied it after
cashing in on free throws after Walz's technical. A Harper three with six minutes left gave the Cards the lead for good. 

-Big shot Becky. Burke's three second half threes all came at critical points in the game. Two in a row erased a four point Cougar lead. Her final of the half put Louisville up by six with 4:56 left. Senior stability and leadership at work.

-Dyer circumstances. WE like the way Shawnta Dyer has stepped up her game on the west coast swing. Louisville needs a dependable "big" to go to and take some of the pressure off Shoni and Becky. With Monique Reid hobbled, looks like Dyer is applying for the job. Hired.

THINGS TO IMPROVE ON

-It's a forty minute game. Louisville appeared very out-of-sync and dis-jointed near the end of the first half. Three points in the final 6:21 of that half very seldom puts a team in a winning position. The Cards need to improve on the continuity and finding someone to step up and prevent lapses like this.

-Again, it's a forty minute game. Louisville had a seemingly sufficient 73-68 lead when Shoni found Dyer with a fast break pass with 21 seconds left. Then, a defensive lapse allows the Cougars' Romberg to nail a three. Louisville has it won when Jude inexplicably fouls Rosetta Adzasu as time expires and the Cards have a 75-71 lead. Two shots from the line. One make and a desperation three on a miss ties this thing. Fortunately, Adzasu misses the first.

The foul was not needed. Freshman error...hopefully, she'll learn from it.

With the win, Louisville improves to 11-2. They'll take a few days off to spend the holidays with family and re-assemble for two-a-days before facing Tenn-Martin next Wednesday. Rest up, ladies. After the break, it gets a whole lot tougher.
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Governors looking for respect Tuesday vs. Louisville

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Noon tipoff for Tuesday WBB game

-Whatever happen to?

-Rapid Redux wins 24th. race in a row

Even though the November political races have been over for several weeks, a
particular group of Governors will visit the KFC YUM! Center campaigning for a signature victory. We're not talking about Steve Beshear, John Kasich or Mitch Daniels - these governors are the Austin Peay women's basketball team and they're 2-0 on the young season.

Handley gets it done
handily...

Led by Whtney Hanley, a 5'8" senior guard from Mt. Washington, KY. (Bullitt East H.S.), Austin Peay handled Southern Illinois in their season home opener 76-70 and then went on the road and overcame a 20+ point first half deficit to down Lipscomb on the road 61-58.

Handley is averaging 24.5 points per game, 39.5 minutes a contest and shooting .457 from the hardwood. She's deadly from the foul stripe (13-15) and goes to the boards also...14 rebounds in two games...with 12 of those on the defensive end of the court. Nicole Olszewski, a 5'7" sophomore guard, is also in double figure with 11.5 p.p.g. and has a team high eight steals.

(From the Lady Cards Facebook page...)

Smallish in nature (only two players 6'0" or taller) Austin Peay has been getting it done with accurate shooting (41% on the season), aggressive defense (26 steals) and has forced their opponents into an average of 22 turnovers per game. Their tallest player, 6'3" freshman Kaitlyn Hall, has only logged one minute of playing time so far this year.

Louisville will probably get the services of Monique Reid Tuesday...according to Walz...for 10-15 minutes and Louisville will most likely try to take advantage of the superior height advantage against the OVC opponent.

If you go...be prepared for around 6000 or so grade school kids from around the Louisville area...a basketball field trip for them on their final day of classes before the Thanksgiving break. Let's see how loud they get compared to the regular Lady Cards home crowd...

WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE TUESDAY:

-The Cards get off to a fast start, like they did against Xavier on Sunday. The starting line up of Shoni Schimmel, Cierra Warren, Sara Hammond, Bria Smith and Becky Burke against Xavier gave Louisville height, defensive aggressiveness, quickness and inside punch.

Mo rejoining Becky today on court?

-Good bench play. If Walz elects to bring "Mo" in off the bench, we'd like to see her get the ball inside and often. Jude Schimmel will be counted on to apply solid defense, create shots for her teammates and Shawnta Dyer and Sherrone Vails rebounds and blocks. 

-Cierra Warren dominance. She's looked awfully good so far prowling the post for the Lady Cards this season and with a decided height advantage, odds are she'll be filling up the stat lines against the Governors. 

Other stuff...

-Louisville is 6-0 lifetime against A.P.U. and last met the Governors on Nov. 17th., 2008...a 72-42 win for the Cards. A heralded freshman by the name of Monique Reid led Louisville in scoring in the contest with 17 points and Angel McCoughtry added 15. Notable quote from "Mo"  after that game:

"It doesn't matter how many points I get, with Coach Walz...defense gets you playing time."

-Carrie Daniels, head Lady Governor coach, is in her 6th. year at A.P.U. and has a record of 63-95. Her team finished 15-18 last year...12-6 in OVC play...and Austin Peay is her first head coaching job.

-The Governors played previous UofL opponent EKU twice last year, defeating them by 10 in Clarksville and losing by 6 in Richmond.

-The official web site for Austin Peay sports is http://www.letsgopeay.com/ and a favorite chant of the A.P.U. fans is "Let's Go Peay!" (Sounds like...never mind...you know where I'm going with this.)

-No current Lady Cards players hail from Tennessee, where Austin Peay is located. Can you guess which current Lady Cards hometown is closest to Clarksville, TN. - where the Austin Peay campus is? (Answer below).

-In four games this year, the Lady Cards have had four players foul out - one per game. They are Cierra Warren, Sara Hammond, Asia Taylor and Antonita Slaughter. 

-Legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix was stationed in Fort Campbell, KY. (near Clarksville) and met future band member Billy Cox at the base's recreation center. They formed a group named The Casuals that played gigs on and off base - including frat parties at APU. Both moved to Clarksville after Hendrix was discharged from the Army in 1962 and it was there that Hendrix claimed he learned to play the guitar with his teeth.

-Austin Peay is one of two schools the Lady Cards will play from Tennessee this season. The other is Tennessee-Martin. Strangely enough, both games are at noon.

(answer to question...it is Shelby Harper, from Scottsville, KY. which is about a 90 minute drive from Clarksville.)

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Nikki Burton played for the Lady Cards from 2009-11 but a hip and other injuries kept her off the court for extended periods of time and made it necessary for her to take some time off, heal and re-evaluate her game. Glad to report that she's back on the court and doing some good things at DII Wingate University, in Rock Hill, S.C.

She was named the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Player of the Week. Burton scored 25 points and made nine-of-11 field goals, including three threes, in a 84-59 win over Winston-Salem State Friday night in the Queen City Classic. She followed up the performance with a 23 point effort the next night against Johnson C. Smith University in a close 73-72 loss.

The Bulldogs open their home schedule against UNC Pembroke tonight and travel to Lincoln Memorial University Wednesday. Although she's not battling the Notre Dame's and UConn's of women's college basketball anymore...WE'RE glad to see #22 back out there, shaking them off with the cross-over and tickling the nets.

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RAPID REDUX set a North American horse racing record last night with his 24th consecutive win...beating three opponents by 4 1/2 lengths in the eighth race at Mountaineer Park. With the win, the condition book darling passed Zenyatta's record.

24 in a row is impressive, no doubt, but the horses he's beaten hardly measure up to the competition and quality that Zenyatta put away during her time on the track.

We say...put Rapid Redux to the test by entering him against some quality horses. They could have brought him to Churchill or Keeneland this fall to really put the streak to a challenge...but the owners prefer to take him to obscure and out of the way places like Mountaineer.

For a comparison, picture the Lady Cards playing 24 straight games against the likes of Lindsey Wilson, Bellarmine, Campbellsville and Fordham. Easy to win when the foe is less talented....
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