Showing posts with label USA Women's Basketball Olympic team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA Women's Basketball Olympic team. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Featuring Sandy's weekly escape from Cardinal Couple Headquarters

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

  Sandy Walker with tidbits on The 
Olympics, soccer, Ms. Solo. boxing and rowing. Have some ! 
Photo by Mott the Hoople


OLYMPICS


The Olympics are now past history but with plenty of new history also now in the books.
ü  For the first time, every country that brought a team included at least one woman on that team – 5000 women representing over 200 countries – including Saudia Arabia participated in the games.
The United States women (earlier coined as “Team Title IX”) while good in the past, have experienced a break-through year in 2012.
as the player who lead the team to Gold.

                                    

ü  Gymnastics now has the team gold medal

ü  Women’s doubles beach volleyball duo of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings now possess a record 3 consecutive Gold medals.
Picture by Richard Mackson USA Today Sports

Add Women’s Soccer, swimming track, boxing, judo… 29 of the US total 49 gold medals and with the exception of China and Great Britain, the women have won more gold than the totals for any of the remaining countries.

As a break-through year for women in general and the attention they have received -- younger girls around the world are seeing them as examples of what is possible but there will always be challenges ahead.  Next, in addition to adding an even greater % of female participants in Rio – we also need to conquer the International Olympic Committee itself whose membership should look like the population it represents.  The current 22 women spread among the 109 Olympic Committee members does not reflect the population of participants but this change should be a piece of cake compared to what has already occurred.

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ROWING HIRES NEW ASSISTANT COACH

Sarah Zelenka pretty much left her Olympic rowing position in the women’s pair event which was held just last week and jumped into a new position as assistant coach of the Cardinals.  She rowed during college at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich where she was named MVP in 2008 and 2009.  She has been a member of the US Rowing senior national team during the last two years and was a member of the U-23 team in 2009.
Picture by US Rowing.org
Courtesy of Garett Wall, UofL

After the announcement of her hiring, Sarah was quoted as saying “The reputation of the Cardinal athletic department is second to none and it is a great privilege to be joining their family. Derek has shared his passion for the sport of rowing with me and I am looking forward to assisting on his coaching staff. I hope to be a positive influence on these student-athletes and help push them to new levels.”



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SOLO ON SOLO

Hope Solo’s new book, “Solo: A Memoir of Hope” is set for release today.  Love her or hate her, it seems that no one says Hope Who? and that everyone has an opinion. 

Bing.com\images

 The social media sites appear to attract some pretty severe extremes of thought.  That’s OK , at least they are talking and it always includes her involvement in women’s sports so we all win.

Like Ginger Rogers, she does everything the men do except she does it going backwards and in heels!

Adam Taylor ABC

( Editor note: Solo is a soccer goalkeeper who has been on the
USA women's soccer team since 2000.  Whether or not she plays soccer in heels or not is probably subject to debate, but her news/media coverage has spiked again since the Olympics have surfaced. USA's exciting win over Japan to win the Gold in London shows how the Americans have maintained a strong, exciting and successful program in a sport that has had European domination in past years. The American women won the vast majority of Team USA's medals in the 2012 Olympics. WE approve of this. What we'd like to see is increased coverage of all women's sports on a regular basis. We're doing our part.)

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WOMEN’S OLYMPIC BOXING

Tickets to the women’s boxing matches were reported to be almost as difficult as those for women’s beach volleyball.   The unveiling of the women’s tournament received enthusiastic reviews from fans, boxers and Olympic officials who loved the sold-out crowds and the emergence of new heroines.  US teenager and Gold Medal winner, Claressa Shields
Patrick Semansky AP Photo
drew attention by answering an interview question by answering,  “I just like to hit people”.

(Sandy Walker is a featured columnist for CARDINAL COUPLE and you can watch her sort out the laundry each Tuesday here at the site, in addition to other small loads she'll be handling throughout the upcoming UofL sports seasons. She's a favorite of Timmy the Intern...that is scary.)
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Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday Cardinal Couple -- WE look at Tia Gibbs and USA Olympics

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Our 2012-13 WBB player preview continues with junior Tia Gibbs. 

-USA WBB fries the French 86-50 for Gold

If you look at the box score for the 2008 Ky. High School Girls State Championship, you'll see that Butler High School won the title. You'll also see that the name Tia Gibbs is missing. A further look shows she was the Most Valuable Player in the Sweet Sixteen Tournament. A concussion in the morning semi-finals kept her out of the title game, but it only took three games to show the coaches that the all-time leading scorer at Butler was the cream of the crop.


The concussion must have had lingering effects, because Gibbs ended up at Vanderbilt University her freshman year of college instead of UofL. While the Cards were marching to a Final Four appearance, Gibbs was sitting the bench at Vandy, a non-starter averaging about twelve minutes and five points a game. There was also shoulder trouble for the 2008 Miss Kentucky Basketball. Eventually TG decided that there's no place like home sweet home, and returned to the 'Ville and transferred to Louisville.


Sitting that first season at Louisville because of transfer rules must have been rough for Tia, the Cards struggled because of lack of depth at guards and when 2010-11 rolled around Gibbs was ready and anxious to get back on the court and show Cardinal fans those All-State skills. And, the skills were still magnificent. Back in her #25 jersey, Gibbs started all 35 games for the Cards and Louisville returned to the NCAA Tournament...Gibbs sparking an upset of Xavier in Round 2 action with 12 points and 6 assists. She also tallied 19 against her former teammates at Vandy in opening round action. 

Things looked bright for the Lady Cards and Gibbs for the 2011-12 season. But, in the first half of the Cards opening game against Missouri State, Gibbs gets fouled with 16:10 remaining. Hitting her second free throw, leaving the game in obvious pain. A right shoulder injury again, this time a torn labrum with bone fragments effectively ending her season.  

After another season of rehab, Gibbs is ready to return to the floor...rejoining a Cardinal squad that looks strong, deep and very talented. A conversation with her at the Cardinal Caravan at Captain's Quarters reveals that she's fully recovered, ready to go and excited about the Cards chances. With Gibbs available at guard, the Cards have depth, talent and experience that is unprecedented in Coach Jeff Walz's tenure as Cardinal WBB head coach. 

Her defense, scoring and hustle will be an integral part of the Louisville attack in 2012-13. The Cards will try to get her an extra year for 2013-14 as well, because of the injury status. 

For now, though...it is the immediate task ahead for Tia and her UofL teammates. Gibbs ready to fulfill whatever role Jeff Walz has for her on the Cardinal squad. Despite setbacks and adversity, Gibbs retains her engaging personality and optimistic view. Eager to help the younger players. Ready to resume her own goals and desires on the court. Focused on the team and comfortable with whatever role she plays on it. 

You could say that Tia might have a lot of responsibility on her shoulders this season...here's hoping the shoulder(s) stays strong. 

The Gibbs Numbers

                                                   GP       GS    Pts    Reb    Avg

2008-2009       (Vandy)             29          0     147    71       5.1
2010-2011      (Louisville)         35         35    307   135      8.8
2011-2012        "  "  "  "              1          1         1      1       1.0                


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USA takes Gold in the Olympic WBB competition, disposing of France 86-50 in the championship game. Taking a 12 point half-time lead and expanding upon it  to once again prove their dominance in a sport that has been very good to the USA over the past five Olympics. 

Candace Parker providing the spurt, eight straight points in a 13-2 USA run that provided an insurmountable lead. 

Angel getting token playing time...11 minutes, seven points, three steals. 

After a brief respite, the "Ladies of London" return to the WNBA wars...where Angel will get the chance again to improve on her WNBA leading scorer stats and be an opponent, instead of teammate, against Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Parker, Big Syl, Lindsey Whalen and the other USA stars. Geno can't gum up the works this time. 

First of many Olympic appearances for our Angel. Hopefully, a new skipper in 2016. And a few less UConn alumnae.
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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- USA WBB rolls again in Olympics.

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Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE


- USA rolls again in 88-61 win over Czechs


- 2012 USA Women's U17 World Championship roster announced. 



Angel held to eight points by the Czechs.
( Not really...she was Angel the rebounder
Friday.)
It's becoming predictable. USA gets off to a horrible start, has a rough first quarter and proceeds to blow away the opponent.  


It was the Czech Republic's turn to take the "L" Friday...jumping out to a 10-0 lead early against the USA and actually leading 26-24 at the end of the first quarter. 


Didn't last.


USA, driven by Geno's request to concentrate on rebounds, pulled down 62 for the game once the Czech shooting went south. A team record. Angel with 11 of them and eight points in 18 minutes. They outscored the Czechs 64-35 over the final 30 minutes...Diana Taurasi finally woke up and nailed a few threes and led the way with 18 points. 


Job accomplished as all expected it would be. 


DePaul's Doug Bruno is Geno's assistant in London.
How hard is that job? Dire Straits sang it the best...
"Money for nothing and the chicks are free."
The slow starts have become predictable. Geno even tried a shake-up in the starting  lineup, inserting Maya Moore for Candace Parker.


Didn't work. 


USA (4-0) gets China Sunday. Maybe they'll get flatware and kitchen accessories Monday. One thing is for certain. They won't receive a loss. 


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The 2012 USA Womens' U 17 World Championship team roster is out and it includes some pretty impressive class of 2013 players. 


Lindsay Allen      G    5'8"      (verbal to Notre Dame)
Oderah Chidom   F    6'3"      (undeclared)
Kaela Davis        G    6'2"      (undeclared)
Diamond DeShields G  6'1"   (verbal to UNC) 
Becca Greenwell G   6'1"      (Leaning to Duke or ND)
Linnae Harper     G   5'7"      (undeclared)
Kai Jones            F   6'4"      (verbal to Tampa)
Erica McCall        F   6'3"      (undeclared)
Taya Reimer       F   6'3"      (verbal to ND)
MERCEDES RUSSELL C  6'5" (Louisville or Tenn?) 
Jessica Washington G  5'8"  (verbal to UNC)
Brianna Turner   G-F  6'3"    (Class of 2014-no verbal)


Our guess is you could enter this lineup in the 2012 Summer Olympics and do quite well with it. The under 17 World Championships should be a breeze.


We like Becca Greenwell. Almost as much as Mercedes. Wouldn't bother us at all to see them 1-2 in scoring for this squad. When you have half your squad 6'3" or taller...rebounds shouldn't be a worry. 
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