A tale of two halves last night in Charlottesville, the Cards women's basketball team stumbling through most of the first half and trailing 25-28 after 20 minutes but waking up in the second half with a 46-21 advantage over the final twenty minutes to get the 71-49 win. For those crazy ACCNE announcers, Evans excellence and long range bombing, let's call in Colombo, Matlock, Perry Mason and NCIS to find out just who was wearing those Cardinal uniforms for most of the first half and sleuth over to:
FIVE THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME
5) Not our finest hour. Louisville looked sluggish, disorganized and complacent in the first half. The threes were not falling (3-16), rebounding and second chance opportunity were severely lacking and the Cards trailed by 10 at one point before staged a late second quarter rally to get within three. The first time this season UofL has trailed at the half. Trailing to a team they beat by almost 50 in Louisville a month ago. One can only imagine what Walz's halftime speech was like, but, it probably wasn't complements on shooting, awareness, efficiency or going to the boards.
4) "Firing Sam" The trained chimps that passed as the ACCNE announcers called Sam Fuehring Sam "Firing" at one point of the action. They also made the broadcast a two-hour infomercial for Virginia basketball and lauding to oh,so, great color analyst and former Cavalier player Lauren Moses. I guess you have to expect this. And, Sam wasn't "firing" too well in the first half. But, starting with the first play of the second half, Sam got better and ended with a stout 11 points and eight boards. I rescind the previous decision. Sam, you are not fired. You are employee of the week.
Somewhere, my buddy Don Russell is shaking his head and clutching his pronunciation guide.
3) These were good numbers. Louisville got 20 points off turnovers. UVA two. Louisville forced 18 turnovers against a Wahoo team that collapsed in the second half. Yes, the press had success. 12-2 on fast-break points for UofL and eighteen assists on 27 made baskets. 66.7% shooting for Walz's bunch in the game-changing third quarter and 50% marksmanship in the fourth. Five Cards in double figures and Kylee Shook went 4-5 in her 17 minutes. The Cavaliers were very tired at the end of this one and Louisville used that to their advantage.
2) mi Kasa es su Kasa I was very pleased to see Kasa Robinson get extended minutes and make the most of them. Five rebounds, which were a result of her non-stop hustle and solid defense. This freshman from Ashland continues to impress with her quickness and tenacity. She hasn't become a shooting threat yet, understandable on a squad that has a bunch of "makers" but she's doing the "non-stat sheet" things that are earning her the time and paying off for UofL. She is that key "eighth" player and depth in numbers is good to have as the season rolls on.
1) J.J. Airlines. She had a stretch in the third quarter where she grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup and then got a steal and made another layup. That's the Jazmine Jones we all know and love and need the rest of the year. And she was turnover free in her 16 minutes. The Cards committed just six turnovers in the game and Dana had three of them. Dana was the leading scorer, though with 5 for 10 shooting and three long range threes. Evans excellence is always good to see. Coach Walz got one of those few errant Evans passes on the sidelines but wasn't in a shooting mood last night.
I'll take this win and pretend the first half didn't happen. I won't go back and watch the first half either. Maybe it was an underestimation and lack of respect for the foe. Maybe it was just a spectacular first half effort from UVA. Whatever this was, it was a "W" and the Cards go to 24-2 and share first place in the ACC with UND, since Va.Tech pulled the upset over Miami last night.
(Happy birthday Paulie. I cannot imagine life without you, or want to.)
-- Sonja --
FIVE THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME
5) Not our finest hour. Louisville looked sluggish, disorganized and complacent in the first half. The threes were not falling (3-16), rebounding and second chance opportunity were severely lacking and the Cards trailed by 10 at one point before staged a late second quarter rally to get within three. The first time this season UofL has trailed at the half. Trailing to a team they beat by almost 50 in Louisville a month ago. One can only imagine what Walz's halftime speech was like, but, it probably wasn't complements on shooting, awareness, efficiency or going to the boards.
4) "Firing Sam" The trained chimps that passed as the ACCNE announcers called Sam Fuehring Sam "Firing" at one point of the action. They also made the broadcast a two-hour infomercial for Virginia basketball and lauding to oh,so, great color analyst and former Cavalier player Lauren Moses. I guess you have to expect this. And, Sam wasn't "firing" too well in the first half. But, starting with the first play of the second half, Sam got better and ended with a stout 11 points and eight boards. I rescind the previous decision. Sam, you are not fired. You are employee of the week.
Somewhere, my buddy Don Russell is shaking his head and clutching his pronunciation guide.
3) These were good numbers. Louisville got 20 points off turnovers. UVA two. Louisville forced 18 turnovers against a Wahoo team that collapsed in the second half. Yes, the press had success. 12-2 on fast-break points for UofL and eighteen assists on 27 made baskets. 66.7% shooting for Walz's bunch in the game-changing third quarter and 50% marksmanship in the fourth. Five Cards in double figures and Kylee Shook went 4-5 in her 17 minutes. The Cavaliers were very tired at the end of this one and Louisville used that to their advantage.
2) mi Kasa es su Kasa I was very pleased to see Kasa Robinson get extended minutes and make the most of them. Five rebounds, which were a result of her non-stop hustle and solid defense. This freshman from Ashland continues to impress with her quickness and tenacity. She hasn't become a shooting threat yet, understandable on a squad that has a bunch of "makers" but she's doing the "non-stat sheet" things that are earning her the time and paying off for UofL. She is that key "eighth" player and depth in numbers is good to have as the season rolls on.
1) J.J. Airlines. She had a stretch in the third quarter where she grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup and then got a steal and made another layup. That's the Jazmine Jones we all know and love and need the rest of the year. And she was turnover free in her 16 minutes. The Cards committed just six turnovers in the game and Dana had three of them. Dana was the leading scorer, though with 5 for 10 shooting and three long range threes. Evans excellence is always good to see. Coach Walz got one of those few errant Evans passes on the sidelines but wasn't in a shooting mood last night.
I'll take this win and pretend the first half didn't happen. I won't go back and watch the first half either. Maybe it was an underestimation and lack of respect for the foe. Maybe it was just a spectacular first half effort from UVA. Whatever this was, it was a "W" and the Cards go to 24-2 and share first place in the ACC with UND, since Va.Tech pulled the upset over Miami last night.
(Happy birthday Paulie. I cannot imagine life without you, or want to.)
-- Sonja --
