It just might have been better for the Blue Raiders if they'd missed the I-64 West exit off of I-65 and gone to Indiana to play someone. In a contest where the Louisville WBB held MTSU to either 6 or 7 points in all four quarters and the visitors obliged by shooting just 20.5% for the evening, the Walzian Wonder Women went to 11-0 by applying defense for 40 minutes and never letting up during the 40 minutes of the 54-point win.
You almost wished they had a continuous running clock on a night like this for the visitors, who were without two key guards and played like they had visited the Bourbon bar underneath the YUM! Center stands for several hours before taking the court.
" I challenged them." Walz stated in the post-game presser. "I knew we could do it. Could we put three or four quarters together? Now I know we can."
Scratch that one off the Christmas list as done, Coach.
For super superlatives, sad scenarios and somewhat sequenced statements...read on.
-- One point away from a record. The 26 points MTSU mustered were one over the lowest total that a UofL foe had registered in Cardinal women's basketball history. Tennessee State managed just 25 against a Louisville WBB squad back on New Year's Eve back in 2012 and Centre College did the same to open the 1977-78 campaign. A free throw from Katie Collier with 40 seconds left in the contest saved the Blue Raiders from joining that ignominious club.
The Cards play Tennessee State U. next. On Tuesday. Anyone wanna take a wager on whether the Tigers can get to 30?
-- The agony of defeat. As we walked back to the media room for the post-game interviews, MTSU head coach Rick Insell was standing outside the visitors locker room by himself, resplendent in his bright blue coat but looking like a man who had just gone 12 rounds with George Foreman. Paulie patted him on the shoulder and offered a few words of encouragement. A barely audible "Thank You" was returned. A member of the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame had just been bombed, battered, blasted and beaten badly. You just had to feel little bit of empathy. I'm pretty sure that bus ride back to Mufreesboro was pretty quiet.
-- Get the ball to Jess! The Cards have ten eligible players available for duty these days. All scored at least three points except for guard Jessica Laemmle. She didn't get a shot off but did distribute two assists and grab two rebounds in 16 minutes. This aggression will not stand, man... to quote 'The Dude' from the movie The Big Lebowski. Get our favorite attack Yorkie a look, teammates.
-- Best tweet of the Night. Our pal Worldwide Jeff McAdams from Cardinal Couple sent this classic out near halftime. We gotta do something about #35 (MTSU sophomore Charity Savage). She's killing us. Has half their points. Savage had six at the time. The score was 54-12 at the time.
-- I'll pass it, you make it. Louisville made 27 baskets in the game. They had 26 assists. That's a incredible ratio. The only non-assist score was from an offensive rebound put-back.
-- Back to Twitter: Round II. Don't remember who sent this one but it centered around MTSU guard Katie Collier screaming during the third quarter: "Will someone please help me?" And, that, pretty well sums up the night for the Blue Raiders.
-- In the presence of royality. Legendary ESPNW columnist Graham Hays was Denny Crum courtside last night. Very few recognized him, but yours truly sat next to him during the game. Graham doesn't say a whole lot but does type furiously on his laptop during contests. I did see him chuckle a few times when he overheard some of Paulie's comments to "mayor for Life" Jerry Abramson. And, Graham did bolt out of the media room with surprising speed for a "big" after Walz's post-game chatter to follow the coach for, I suppose more conversation and remarks. I'll check later to see if he built a article or column around his visit to the 'Ville. Or maybe he chased his good friend Jeff out into the hallway to get Final Four reservations in the team hotel. Graham is a writer that I admire a lot. I hope ESPN doesn't "86" him, like they've been doing with platoons of others lately.
-- Not my job, do it yourself. Referee Katherine Lynch has done her share of games here in The KFC YUM! Center. I don't know if she's ever run into this, though. An errant MTSU pass ended up at the feet of one of the Courtsiders, who occupy the seats on the floor. This particular attendee just looked at the orb by her feet. Kathleen called for the ball. Nothing. Finally, she had to run over, get it herself for the Louisville in-bounds possession. Thus followed the remark, "She thought it was a souvenir, like a foul ball in baseball....Katie." Even the usually stoic Lynch cracked a smile.
-- Pay attention, please! An "oops...my bad" extended to the lady in that stands that caught a bag of in-shell peanuts right in the kisser during the cheerleaders' toss of the legumes. She was busy on her smartphone at the time. All reports indicate she was not injured, just startled. You gotta be aware at all times that close to the court. And a big thumbs up to the cheerleader with the accurate arm. Report to Sandy Pearsall's office for a softball jersey and practice time schedule.
Normally, I'll fill my entries here with a lot of numbers, stats, individual player efforts and crucial situations breakdowns in a contest. There was not a lot of drama last night, though. It was just an old-fashioned, grab-a-hickory switch and take-you-to-the-barn whuppin' last night. Heal well, MTSU. You ran into a firing on all cylinders and inspired Cardinal club last night.
Sonja (with Paulie typing skills and input included because I'm, like, REALLY slow on the keyboard and didn't want to be here until 1 p.m. NFL kickoffs.)
You almost wished they had a continuous running clock on a night like this for the visitors, who were without two key guards and played like they had visited the Bourbon bar underneath the YUM! Center stands for several hours before taking the court.
" I challenged them." Walz stated in the post-game presser. "I knew we could do it. Could we put three or four quarters together? Now I know we can."
Scratch that one off the Christmas list as done, Coach.
For super superlatives, sad scenarios and somewhat sequenced statements...read on.
-- One point away from a record. The 26 points MTSU mustered were one over the lowest total that a UofL foe had registered in Cardinal women's basketball history. Tennessee State managed just 25 against a Louisville WBB squad back on New Year's Eve back in 2012 and Centre College did the same to open the 1977-78 campaign. A free throw from Katie Collier with 40 seconds left in the contest saved the Blue Raiders from joining that ignominious club.
The Cards play Tennessee State U. next. On Tuesday. Anyone wanna take a wager on whether the Tigers can get to 30?
-- The agony of defeat. As we walked back to the media room for the post-game interviews, MTSU head coach Rick Insell was standing outside the visitors locker room by himself, resplendent in his bright blue coat but looking like a man who had just gone 12 rounds with George Foreman. Paulie patted him on the shoulder and offered a few words of encouragement. A barely audible "Thank You" was returned. A member of the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame had just been bombed, battered, blasted and beaten badly. You just had to feel little bit of empathy. I'm pretty sure that bus ride back to Mufreesboro was pretty quiet.
-- Get the ball to Jess! The Cards have ten eligible players available for duty these days. All scored at least three points except for guard Jessica Laemmle. She didn't get a shot off but did distribute two assists and grab two rebounds in 16 minutes. This aggression will not stand, man... to quote 'The Dude' from the movie The Big Lebowski. Get our favorite attack Yorkie a look, teammates.
-- Best tweet of the Night. Our pal Worldwide Jeff McAdams from Cardinal Couple sent this classic out near halftime. We gotta do something about #35 (MTSU sophomore Charity Savage). She's killing us. Has half their points. Savage had six at the time. The score was 54-12 at the time.
-- I'll pass it, you make it. Louisville made 27 baskets in the game. They had 26 assists. That's a incredible ratio. The only non-assist score was from an offensive rebound put-back.
-- Back to Twitter: Round II. Don't remember who sent this one but it centered around MTSU guard Katie Collier screaming during the third quarter: "Will someone please help me?" And, that, pretty well sums up the night for the Blue Raiders.
-- In the presence of royality. Legendary ESPNW columnist Graham Hays was Denny Crum courtside last night. Very few recognized him, but yours truly sat next to him during the game. Graham doesn't say a whole lot but does type furiously on his laptop during contests. I did see him chuckle a few times when he overheard some of Paulie's comments to "mayor for Life" Jerry Abramson. And, Graham did bolt out of the media room with surprising speed for a "big" after Walz's post-game chatter to follow the coach for, I suppose more conversation and remarks. I'll check later to see if he built a article or column around his visit to the 'Ville. Or maybe he chased his good friend Jeff out into the hallway to get Final Four reservations in the team hotel. Graham is a writer that I admire a lot. I hope ESPN doesn't "86" him, like they've been doing with platoons of others lately.
-- Not my job, do it yourself. Referee Katherine Lynch has done her share of games here in The KFC YUM! Center. I don't know if she's ever run into this, though. An errant MTSU pass ended up at the feet of one of the Courtsiders, who occupy the seats on the floor. This particular attendee just looked at the orb by her feet. Kathleen called for the ball. Nothing. Finally, she had to run over, get it herself for the Louisville in-bounds possession. Thus followed the remark, "She thought it was a souvenir, like a foul ball in baseball....Katie." Even the usually stoic Lynch cracked a smile.
-- Pay attention, please! An "oops...my bad" extended to the lady in that stands that caught a bag of in-shell peanuts right in the kisser during the cheerleaders' toss of the legumes. She was busy on her smartphone at the time. All reports indicate she was not injured, just startled. You gotta be aware at all times that close to the court. And a big thumbs up to the cheerleader with the accurate arm. Report to Sandy Pearsall's office for a softball jersey and practice time schedule.
Normally, I'll fill my entries here with a lot of numbers, stats, individual player efforts and crucial situations breakdowns in a contest. There was not a lot of drama last night, though. It was just an old-fashioned, grab-a-hickory switch and take-you-to-the-barn whuppin' last night. Heal well, MTSU. You ran into a firing on all cylinders and inspired Cardinal club last night.
Sonja (with Paulie typing skills and input included because I'm, like, REALLY slow on the keyboard and didn't want to be here until 1 p.m. NFL kickoffs.)
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