Coach Charlie Strong and the Cards will return Aug. 31.

Louisville vs. North Carolina
After cruising to two victories over inferior talent against Kentucky and Missouri State, Louisville had it’s first test of the season when North Carolina out of the ACC came into town.

Leading 36-7 at halftime behind quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and up by 25 early in the fourth quarter, Louisville survived a 20-point rally by Tar Heels Quarterback Bryn Renner, who passed for five touchdowns.

Louisville went from cruising to 3-0 to desperately trying to remain undefeated.

Andrew Johnson deflected a fourth-down pass in the end zone by North Carolina’s Renner with 1:53 left to give the Cardinals a 39-34 victory against the Tar Heels.

We had to come up with a big-time play in a big-time game,” Johnson said. “I saw Erik Highsmith jump and I knew I would out jump him, so I got my hand on the ball and tried to strip the ball. … But with (losing) such a big lead, no coach should be happy.”

“At the end of the day we still won the football game,” Strong said. “We have us a good team and we just need to learn how to finish.”

Louisville scored on its first six possessions thanks to three first-half touchdowns and 218 yards by Bridgewater. He finished 23 of 28 for 279.

Louisville vs. Rutgers
Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t take a snap from center because of a broken wrist, and had a hitch in his step because of a sprained ankle.

The Louisville quarterback was too banged-up to start, but more than well enough to finish off Rutgers and send the Cardinals to the Bowl Championship Series.

Bridgewater came off the bench to throw two-second half touchdown passes, and John Wallace kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:41 left to give Louisville a 20-17 victory against Rutgers on Thursday, November 29th in the de-facto Big East Championship game in Piscataway, New Jersey

Rutgers is bracing for a move to the Big 10 while the Cardinals are preparing for a jump to the ACC.

Bridgewater didn’t start less than a week after getting roughed up in a loss to Connecticut. He broke his left wrist and sprained his right ankle. He entered for the first time against Rutgers in the second quarter and finished 20 for 28 for 263 yards and threw a pair of TD passes in the third quarter to wipe out a 14-3 deficit.

Rutgers’s last chance ended when Gary Nova threw deep, but his receiver stopped short. Terrell Floyd made an over the shoulder interception with 1:06 left.

Rutgers was up, 14-3, at the half after Nova hooked up with his big receivers for two long TD passes — an 85-yarder to Brandon Coleman and a 68-yard play by Mark Harrison. Nova finished 13 for 28 for 284 yards.

Later in the game, on a kick off, Cardinals linebacker James Burgess launch into Jeremy Dearing in the chest, forcing a fumble recovered by Calvin Pryor. Bridgewater went right to work, floating a deep ball to DeVante Parker for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Just like that, it was 17-14 and Scarlet Knights fans fell silent.

Louisville vs. Florida, Sugar Bowl
In one of the more stunning outcomes in the BCS, the Cardinals pulled off a program-building win by beating SEC power No. 4 Florida 33-23 in the Sugar Bowl on January 2nd before a Louisville-heavy crowd in the New Orleans Superdome.

Experts, like Kirk Herbstreet called Florida “disinterested.” However, the 34 Florida natives on the No. 23 Cardinals (11-2) roster didn’t care if they were disinterested or playing the game like it was their Super Bowl. They knew this was their chance to show the Gator players that many of them played with growing up that they were ready to play.

Cornerback Terell Floyd intercepted a tipped pass on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. The Cards would never look back.

“They kind of thought we were going to come in and lay down and give them the game,” Floyd said. “But Coach (Charlie) Strong always preaches that we’re better than any team in the nation if we come out and play hard. Coach Strong believed in us and our coaching staff believed in us, and we came in and believed in ourselves.”

Receiver Eli Rogers converted a third down on the Cards’ first possession with a 25-yard catch. On the same drive, defensive end B.J. Butler (Kissimmee) lined up at fullback and made his first career pass reception, rumbling 23 yards to the 1-yard line.

Senior running back Jeremy Wright ran in from there to make it 14-0.

Senior receiver Andrell Smith recovered the Gators’ onside kick to start the second half. And two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties against Florida on the play set U of L up at the Florida 19.

From there, Damian Copeland  hauled in a 19-yard reception from Teddy Bridgewater (Miami) to give the Cards a touchdown on the first snap of each half. That made it 30-10, and the Cards could begin to believe their lead would hold up.

Strong, who spent the previous 15 seasons as a Florida assistant, who was passed up countless times for head coaching jobs, stood above all that night in New Orleans. He took a program that was left for dead from the previous coach to an ACC bid and a national championship contender in only three years time.

Strong, who downplayed the media hoopla during the week, was secretly confident in his team.

“We physically matched up and were able to overpower the No. (4) Team in the country,” he said. “I told them, ‘Don’t worry about who we’re playing. Win every play.’ They weren’t a team that produced a lot of points. … We knew we had to make them drive the ball down the field.”

Charlie Strong credits the fans as he led the Cards to their first Sugar Bowl trophy, and two bowl wins in his third year as coach.

Louisville faced a similar situation on third-and-goal from the 9. Butler, who lined up at tight end, bumped into teammate Nate Nord (Boca Raton) on a crossing pattern, throwing off the timing of Bridgewater’s pass to Nord.

But on the Cards’ ensuing possession, Bridgewater’s timing was just fine as he connected with DeVante Parker for a 15-yard touchdown and a 24-3 lead.

And just like the Scarlet Knight fans, Florida fans could do nothing but watch in dismay. The Gators couldn’t match up with the Cardinals, not on that day.

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Photo by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

Junior QB Teddy Bridgewater and his Louisville Cardinals look to be more than an underdog this year.

Big East champions, Big East Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Sugar Bowl Champions and all with only a handful of seniors. The 2012-2013 Louisville Cardinals football team was special; the 2013-2014 squad will be scary.

Last year’s squad came into the season with expectations of a Bowl Championship Series game appearance. They more than met those expectations with an 11-2 record and a 33-23 victory over the University of Florida in the biggest BCS bowl upset in Las Vegas odds making history.

Led by now junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater who threw for 3,718 yards and 27 touchdowns. Returning is almost the whole receiving core including leading receivers Damian Copeland, Eli Rogers and DeVante Parker who combined for 1,458 yards and 16 touchdowns. Coming to join the rotation is local talent out of Trinity High School James Quick who is ESPN’s 79th overall rated player in the country and the No. 10 receiver.

While leading rusher Jeremy Wright has graduated the big bruising senior running back Dominique Brown returns to the field for the first time in over a year and accompanied by red shirt freshman Brandon Radcliff. The duo will wear down and punish defenses while senior Senorise Perry recovers from last year’s season ending torn ACL. He went down in week 10 while leading the team in rushing with 739 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The defense returns 10 of the 11 starters from last year’s squad including the leader in tackles senior middle linebacker Preston Brown who had 109. Free safety Calvin Pryor III and strong safety Hakeem Smith return, the tandem combined for 173 tackles and every player to record a sack returns as well.

Head Coach Charlie Strong turned down offers from Tennessee and Auburn to sign an extension with U of L that will keep him head coach of the University of Louisville football team until 2020.

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Photo by AUstin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

Men’s Basketball NCAA National Champions

The team celebrates their National Championship.

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team enters the 2013-14 season as the defending National Champions.

A team that set the school record with 35 wins in a single season returns three starters, 75 percent of their scoring, 72 percent of their rebounding, and 72 percent of their minutes.

Russ Smith decided against foregoing his senior year, he averaged 18.7 points per game and will be a preseason favorite for the Naismith College Player of the Year.

Juniors Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear are the other returning starters. Behanan is the leading rebounder and second leading scorer returning, he averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season. Blackshear added 7.6 points per game in 2012-13.

Louisville returns one captain from the National Championship team, senior forward Luke Hancock returns after being named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player and averaging 8.1 points per game throughout the year.

Sophomore forward Montrezl Harrell averaged 5.7 points per game and should see expanded minutes in 2013-14 with the departure of Gorgui Dieng.

Kevin Ware will continue to rehab during the summer months with the prospect of returning in the late fall.
The Cardinal 2013 recruiting class ranks in the top 10 in every major site, bringing in elite talent to create a deep back court despite the loss of three year starting point guard Peyton Siva.

Point guard Terry Rozier headlines the class, he holds a five star ranking and graded as the third best point guard on Scout.com.

The top Junior College point guard Chris Jones comes to Louisville to potentially replace Siva. Four star shooting guard Anton Gill and three star center Akoy Agau round out the four member class.

The 2012-13 season marked the formal ending of the traditional Big East conference, with this, Louisville enters into a one year stint in the American Athletic Conference before moving to the ACC in 2014.

The American Athletic Conference will include Louisville, Rutgers, Central Florida, Temple, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Cincinnati, UConn and South Florida.

Expectations will remain high for the 2013-14 season, the Cardinals will likely debut in the preseason top 10 in most media polls for the third consecutive year.

Women’s Basketball NCAA National Runners-up

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team looks to respond after their historic 2012-13 season, the team finished 29-9 and appeared in the National Championship game.

The Cardinals return 88 percent of their scoring and 87 percent of their rebounding from a team that finished with the second most wins in school history.

U of L returns a majority of their roster, including leading scorer Shoni Schimmel, who averaged 14.2 points per game. The team’s leading rebounder Sara Hammond will return for her junior year, she averaged 6.4 rebounds to go along with 10.8 points per game.

Antonita Slaughter averaged 10.1 points per game and the second leading made three point field goals for the team.

Bria Smith’s 78 steals led the team and she also averaged 9.5 points per game. Smith transitioned to the point guard spot during Big East play, she returns for her junior year in 2012-13.

Jude Schimmel saw an expanded role from her freshman year, and as a sophomore averaged 5.7 points per game while finishing behind Smith with 74 steals.

Starting center Sheronne Vails averaged four points per game. Guard Megan Deines received meaningful minutes throughout the year and averaged 4.9 points per game, while forward Cortnee Walton added 2.8 points per game.

Through six years, U of L head coach Jeff Walz is 148-65, owning the second most wins in program history.

The 2012-13 season lost key players due to injuries, senior to be Tia Gibbs struggled with a shoulder and hip injury, while Shawnta Dyer played the first 11 games before tearing her ACL.

The Cardinals add freshman guard Emmonnie Henderson, an ESPN HoopGurlz top 50 recruit. Transfer guard Monny Niamke will be eligible to play the 2013-14 after sitting out one season.

The 2012-13 season marked the formal ending of the traditional Big East conference. With this, Louisville enters into a one year stint in the American Athletic Conference before moving to the ACC in 2014.

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Photos by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

Terry Rozier stands at 6-1 and weighs 165 pounds.

After a remarkable run to win a national championship, the University of Louisville men’s basketball will build a team to hopefully enhance its chances to reach a third final four in a row for the 2013-14 season. Cardinal fans wiped their foreheads in relief after junior guard Russ Smith opted out of entering the NBA draft to return for a senior season. The Cards will look to him as their primary offensive weapon and unveiled the position to him as leader. Louisville will have all of their players returning from the championship team besides Peyton Siva who will be graduating and Gorgui Dieng who will enter the NBA Draft. The question is who has Coach Rick Pitino brought in for next season to add to the talent he already has?

The Cardinals will be getting some dynamic players in the backcourt. Chris Jones, Terry Rozier, and Anton Gill are at the pinnacle of the recruiting class. Chris Jones from Northwest Florida State College in Memphis Tennessee is listed at 5 feet 10 inches, 195 pounds and is the number one ranked Junior College player in the nation. Jones likes to push the tempo on the offensive end, attributing to the style of play Pitino is accustomed to. He seems to be the perfect replacement in terms of talent for Peyton Siva. A slight advantage he may have is his strength. Jones played high school basketball with Kevin Ware. As prayers continue to go out to Kevin for a speedy recovery, there should be plenty of harmony and cohesion from these two when he returns to the hardwood.

Terry Rozier from Hargrave Military Academy in Shaker Heights, Ohio is a five-star recruit according to ESPN. He is 6 feet 1 inch, 165 pounds. Rozier is a gifted player who plays with heart and sure will. He has great athleticism and an incredible scoring ability for a point guard. He will certainly spark enthusiasm for the team as a freshman; he displayed an impressive performance his last visit to Louisville scoring 68 points. After a year of prep school, Rozier went from being a four star recruit to being a Top 20 prospect. With mild concerns in decision making and strength, the coaching staff will equip Rozier to fit perfectly in the system.

Left-handed shooting guard Anton Gill stands at 6-3.

At the shooting guard position, 6 feet 3 inches, 185 pounds. Anton Gill is ranked number 44 in the ESPN Top 100. The lefty is the 10th ranked shooting guard in the nation. Gill will come off the bench for Russ Smith and Kevin Ware. He is an above the rim player and appears as if he is jumping off a trampoline when dunking the basketball. Gill is a great ball handler and can push the ball in transition. One of his weaknesses is his shooting ability. Anton is from Raleigh, North Carolina and played basketball with Rozier at Hargrave Military Academy. The two have chemistry and Gill embraces the harmony with his teammate, “I know for me personally, he pushes me everyday. In practice we push each other, we always working. He’s really helped me push myself”. It’s an advantage for these two recruits to be playing together right now as they soon become Cardinals, “I think it would be good for us next year. We both are going to be freshman and come in and play a lot of minutes. The better our chemistry is now, the better chance we have to be successful next year. We really know how to make each other’s job easier. Hopefully we can transition that to next year, to help out with the team they have now.”

The Cardinals will add more size in the front court with 6 feet 9 inches, 240 pounds. Akoy Agau. The power forward is from Omaha, Nebraska and played high school basketball for Omaha Central High School. He also is ranked in ESPN Top 100 at number 76. Agau will contribute to the front court with his rebounding ability. He confidently shoots a 15-19-feet jump shot as well. Agau is a champion winning four straight Class A state championships in Nebraska. That experience and mindset should fit well with the defending national championships.

Forward Akoy Agau from Nebraska towers at 6-9.

The Cardinals have the eighth ranked recruiting class in the nation according to ESPN. The team is experienced and will look to implement the incoming recruits into their recent success. In-state arch rival Kentucky has arguably the best recruiting class in history; stirring up to be an epic rivalry game in Rupp Arena. Louisville has a strong bid to be ranked preseason Top 5, and prepares to defend their title.

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Photos courtesy of espn.com

The University of Louisville women’s tennis tam defeated DePaul to secure an undefeated regular season.

The University of Louisville women’s tennis team escaped a close call by DePaul on Sunday, April 14 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center to maintain its unblemished record at home with a 4-3 win in the season finale.

“This was a great win. The best win of the year,” said U of L head coach Mark Beckham. “For it to be the most important match this season too, well, I just can’t say enough about this team. We are not a team that makes excuses, but we are playing through some injuries. Yet, we are still able to compete and win against some really good teams.”

Beckham hopes this win will be a stepping stone into the Big East Championships in Tampa, Fla.

“Hopefully this win will get us the highest seed possible,” said Beckham. “We want to be positioned to move as far as we can in tournament play.”

The Cardinals, the third seed, will be chasing the number one seed Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the second seed South Florida Bulls, who are hosting the tournament on their home campus.

U of L, with a record of 15-7, took the doubles point as the pair of Mandy Brown and Manuela Vasquez paired to win at No. 3 with an 8-6 win over Zaina Sufi and Jarret Fisher. The No. 1 pair of Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine pulled out an 8-5 win over Matea Cutura and Ana Vladutu to win the point.

As the Cardinals moved to singles, No. 6 singles player Becky Bodine won 6-0, 6-1 over Zaina Sufi to put U of L up 2-0. Julia Fellerhoff took the top match at No. 1 with an 8-5 win over Cutura. The Blue Demons were not done, though, as they took the No. 4 and No. 5 slots, leaving Velasquez and Shine to battle for the clinching point. The sophomore from Kew Gardens, N.Y. won the first set 7-5 and then, after being tied at three points in the second.

In other exciting news, Fellerhoff was named Big East Player of the Week in women’s tennis during the 13th weekly awards of the spring 2013 season.

Fellerhoff went 2-0 at No. 1 single and 2-0 at No. 1 doubles to help the Cardinals defeat the Golden Eagels of Marquette (5-2) and the Blue Demons of DePaul (4-3). The junior beat Ana Pimienta of Marquette 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 and No. 84 Cutura of DePaul 6-4, 6-3. Fellerhoff was paired with Shine in doubles and they swept Aina Hernandez Soler and Ali Dawson of Marquette 8-0 and defeated Cutura and Vladutu of DePaul 8-4.

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Photo by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

Kevin Ware has gained wide recognition since his injury in the NCAA tournament. The White House dinner will be on Saturday, April 27.

At the beginning of the year if you had told sophomore guard Kevin Ware how popular he would be by the end of the year, he would have said “No way.” But Ware has become an international inspiration given his heroic handling of his injury on the sideline of the Elite Eight matchup versus Duke. Since then, he has been nationally recognized, reaching people far beyond the realm of sports.
Ware has been invited to attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday, April 27 in Washington, D.C. The opportunity made possible by an invitation from CNN.

Ware will be amongst the nation’s top newsmakers, members of the Washington press corps, congressional leadership and none other than President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama.

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Photo by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team has won its first national championship since 1986.

Two decades ago this city looked at Coach Pitino as an entirely different human being, maybe the worst kind: the head coach of the University of Kentucky. He won his first national championship in 1996 while coaching at UK. Now, almost 20 years later, he has become the first coach to win a national championship at two different schools and he has a more Louisville-friendly ring to start wearing around the city.
The University of Louisville went 35-5 and won its third national championship in school history in 2012-2013. Heading into the season there were expectations as there always are in this city. Even though they had come off  a Final Four loss the season prior, not many were thinking about Louisville outside the heart of basketball country.

Pitino didn’t have any of the “top” freshmen in the nation joining the team. He didn’t have “the top player in the country” that everyone was so excited to see. No, Louisville sat comfortably at their preseason No. 2 ranking while all the attention went to No. 3 Kentucky, and Nerlens Noel, and No. 1 Indiana and Cody Zeller. Though, neither of those two players were the topics of discussion come April.
The season starting line-up consisted of senior guard Peyton Siva who broke a school record with 90 steals this year. Junior guard Russ Smith broke a school record by getting to the free throw line 276 times. Sophomore forward Chane Behanan won Dunk of the Year for what he did to the poor fellow up at DePaul and sophomore forward Wayne Blackshear had 45 three-pointers and 122 rebounds. Junior center Gorgui Dieng, with his team-high of 310 rebounds, took a stab at breaking his own shot block record of 128. He missed a month due to a broken wrist, holding him to just 83.

This team hit the season rolling; their identity was clear: they weren’t a team that was going to out score you, they weren’t going to slow the pace and wait until the end of the shot clock. They were quite the opposite. The Cardinals  were all defense and all too athletic. Stats don’t do them justice; this team was one of the greatest defenses in college basketball history. The Cardinals won the national championship because they were at any moment of the season able to impose their will on the opposition.

They forced 18.3 turnovers a game with a turnover margin of +5.9. When they needed to turn the ball over — it didn’t matter who the competition — the ball was turned over. They set a tournament record with 20 steals in the first round against North Carolina A&T and they stole the ball 10 times from Coach K’s Duke team in the Final Four. It truly was something special to watch the defense in person. They had 10.8 steals a game and had 430 on the season, plus168 blocked shots and hundreds of deflections. In the first round of the Big East Tournament against Villanova, they had 58 deflections.

Every team had to be worried about playing Louisville, because when it came down to the end of the game, it was opposition that were holding their knees, giving up easy points and missing free throws from  exhaustion.

A deep rotation of talented back-ups that could be starting elsewhere was the key to the success. The up-tempo play and constant pressure could lead to exhaustion or more so foul trouble for Louisville, but important players like sophomore guard Kevin Ware, senior center Stephan Van Treese, freshman forward Montrezl Harrel and junior forward Luke Hancock came in periodically throughout the season and did more than their part to help ensure a Cardinal victory. Hancock came in off the bench to be named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player for his 42 points and eight three-pointers  that he made in the two biggest games of his life. Harrel led the team with 20 points and seven rebounds in the 16-point comeback against Syracuse to win the last Big East Tournament.

Van Treese came gave priceless contribution in every game as Dieng’s trusted back-up. Kevin Ware’s sturdy play as the third guard was nothing compared to the strength and inspiration he displayed after breaking his leg in the Elite Eight victory over Duke. This team wouldn’t have won if Ware hadn’t  focused the team on going back and winning despite the bone sticking six inches out of his skin. The Cardinals won it for Ware and he was the last to cut the nets down in Atlanta.

The defensive effort is what led to the offensive game plan. Most  people would have guessed the game plan was to give Russ Smith the ball and see what happens. Smith averaged 19 points a game and led the Cardinals in scoring in 26 of the 40 games played. His highest was 31 points against Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen victory. He scored at least 20 in every game of the tournament except for the national championship. Smith had 134 points in the six games of the tournament and 614 in the season before that. He also had 116 assists with 83 steals. But Smith’s contributions to the team were only half of the work done by the best backcourt in the country.

On his other side was senior guard Peyton Siva, who along with Billy Donovan is one of the two best players Pitino has ever coached. The Seattle native was the unquestioned leader of this team, and it was his constant pursuit of perfection that had his team cut down the nets at the end of the year. Siva all around did what his team needed him to do; he led them with 228 assists, 90 steals and 401 points. In the national championship game, he had 18 points, four steals and five assists.

The starting frontcourt of Dieng and Behanan combined for 564 rebounds with 821 coming from the other 12 players. Defense wins championships. Rebounds win championships. Free throws win championships. And the Cardinals won the championship.

Rick Pitino had a special group of guys this year, not egos, but characters. He had a lightning-quick scorer from Brooklyn, a suave Seattle Samoan who’s priorities were God first and the team. He had a Virginia mountain man who knocked down shots and whose quiet strength helped  Kevin Ware through the scariest moment of his life. And of course, he had the world’s most loveable African giant, the boy from Senegal who leaves as a man and whose life experiences outlook on  kept everything in perspective.

This was a special team, and this was a special year. The city of Louisville has only seen two men coaching their basketball team in the last 42 years. They’ve also seen both of those men have Louisville on top of the world, and until that first whistle of the 2013-2014 season, on top of the world is where Louisville is going to stay.

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Photo by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

By Xavier Bleuel–

Sara Hammond came out with a quick three pointer and Louisville jumped out an early four point lead in the first half but Connecticut’s 19-0 run extended their lead to 29-14 at the 8:48 mark in the first period. This was too much to overcome for the Lady Cards as UConn (35-4) won the eighth national championship in program history, tying the University of Tennessee for first all-time.

Connecticut’s freshman phenom, forward Breanna Stewart was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points in addition to nine rebounds.

“You gotta give credit to her,” sophomore forward Sara Hammond said after the game. “She’s a tremendous athlete. She’s a freak of nature. She’s got the wingspan of Brittney Griner I think.”

Hammond, who had the tough matchup of guarding Stewart, was the only player to finish with double digits for the Cardinals (29-9) with 15 points and only five rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

Louisville was the lowest seed to suit up for the National Championship as a five seed. Their monumental and program-changing victories over Baylor and Tennessee made the loss little more bearable.

The most telling stat of the game was Connecticut’s three-point shooting. The Huskies connected on half of their attempts from behind arc, making 13. It seemed as if the Huskies didn’t miss a shot the entire game. They finished shooting 53 percent (35-66) from the field, including a staggering 63 percent (17-27) in the second half.

“I told our players, we’re going to have to try and make someone shoot the ball that normally might not,” Louisville head coach Jeff Walz stated. “But the problem is when you go 13 and 26 from the three-point line; it makes it tough to defend you.”

Louisville came out with a spark, knocking down a couple of threes but Huskies senior guard Kelly Farris stunted all momentum with two of her own.

“I thought Kelly Farris was great for them,” Walz said. “I think we started off in the second half and made a little run and she comes down and hits back-to-back threes to counter any kind of run we were trying to make.”

Connecticut’s head coach Geno Auriemma’s plan going into the game was to neutralize Cardinals star guard, Shoni Shimmel.

The plan worked flawlessly, Schimmel scored nine points off of 3-15 from the field.
When asked about the familiarity of the two teams and how ready Connecticut was to guard her, Schimmel stated, “Playing in the Big East, you kind of know each other; they knew what to do to stop us, to limit my touches.”

In her last game as a Cardinal, Monique Reid had five points and four rebounds.
“It was a special run and I’m glad I was able to do it with them team in my second national championship,” Reid said after the game. “We beat some great teams, and I’m so glad I was able to do it with these girls.”
Louisville looks to be a pre-season top-10 team next season. The Cardinals return top-scorer Shoni Schimmel, top rebounder Sara Hammond, as well as guard Bria Smith.

The devolvement of Jude Schimmel and Antonita Slaughter is a big plus for this team. Injuries also affected the Cardinals to a certain extent. Louisville lost three contributors of the previous year including starting forward Shawnta’ Dyer.

“I’m really excited about that,” said Walz when asked about the potential his team has next year. “But at the same time I’ve got to make sure my players understand that we just went on a pretty special run.”
Bria Smith added, “I’m extremely excited knowing that so many of our teammates are still going to be there. We are losing Shelby Harper and Monique Reid, but we are just going to have to keep on working and we will be here again, hopefully.”

The city’s celebration of the team’s success has the players feeling greatly appreciated.

“It means the world,” said Smith. “It just shows that everyone back home has been supporting us and it feels great.”

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Photo by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

By Sam Draut–

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team’s magical tournament run ended in the NCAA National Championship game with a 93-60 loss to the UConn Huskies.

The 29-9 Cardinals lost to the all too familiar foe Tuesday night in New Orleans.  Louisville is 0-13 against UConn since joining the Big East, including a loss in the 2009 National Championship game.

In an NCAA tournament where the Cardinals had gone against the trends, statistics, and logic, the final game played out in a convincing manner for the 35-4 Huskies.

Louisville led 14-10 with 13:00 in the first half, but UConn then ran off a 19-0 run to take control of the game.  The Cardinals went into half down 48-29.

In the second half, UConn remained in control, shooting 63 percent from the field.  Louisville cut the deficit to 16 twice, but UConn continued to respond.

Even with the most lopsided game result in championship game history, the fifth seeded Cardinals run remains remarkable.

“The run we went on was remarkable and something I’ll always remember.  We’re walking out with our head high and proud of what we’ve done,” U of L head coach Jeff Walz said.

Louisville defeated the No. 1 overall seed Baylor in the Sweet 16, led by legend Brittany Griner, then beating a national powerhouse Tennessee, and finally defeating another two seed California.

Shoni Schimmel had shined throughout the tournament, but only finished with nine points and four rebounds on 3 of 15 shooting against UConn.

Sara Hammond led Louisville with 15 points and five rebounds, the only Cardinal to score in double digits.

Bria Smith finished with seven points, six assists, and four rebounds.

UConn outrebounded Louisville 44-28, scoring 16 off of second chance points.

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Photo Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal

The Louisville Cardinals’ defense has much to improve looking forward to in their last season in the Big East.

The Cardinal defense under-performed in 2012, finishing 49th in stopping the run, and in the year prior, dropped 39 spots from 10 in the country. The one bright spot in the defense was the secondary; the passing defense finished 16th in the country.

However, the defense more than made up for any shortcomings during the season with a dominating performance against Rutgers and against Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Defense this year has the depth that was lacking in previous years. The Cardinals have plenty of playmakers at each position. Here are a few players to look for in 2013.

Defensive line:
Marcus Smith: 6-3, 252, Senior. The quarterback-turned defensive end has grown exceptionally since his transition to the defensive line. Although he didn’t bring eye-popping numbers in the Sugar Bowl, he was all over the field, making Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel’s day a miserable one. He has all of the physical tools to become a dominate end. Expect him to have an outstanding year.

Deiontrez Mount: 6-5, 234, Junior. The always giddy Mount is the charismatic leader on the defensive line — he’s also every bit as affective on the field. He is the complete package at the defensive end. If needed, he can play outside linebacker as well. His length, speed and strength make him virtually unstoppable. Mount played in every game in 2013 and had 26 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 4 TFLs and a pass breakup.

BJ Dubose: 6-5, 273, Junior.  Some call him Louisville’s most athletic defensive end. Dubose had 15 tackles, 0.5 TFLs, 1 pass breakup and a QB hit in 7 games during 2012. He was suspended in mid-season for disclosed reasons. Expect Dubose to return his junior year with something to prove to his teammates, coaches, and fans. U of L’s recently released depth chart listed Dubose at Defensive Tackle. It’s something to keep an eye on and he could remain on the outside when the fall comes around.

Lorenzo Mauldin: 6-4, 242, Junior. Lorenzo is a crowd favorite. The former tight end found a home as a full-time defensive end in 2012.  Mauldin had 22 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 2012. Two games missed due to injury put the defensive line at a disadvantage after Dbose’s suspension.

Sheldon Rankins: 6-2, 287, Sophomore. Rankins came into Louisville as a defensive end. With his great strength and size, it was an easy decision for the coaching staff to move him to the interior. He had a productive season in 2012, playing in nine games, registering seven tackles and a sack in the Sugar Bowl.

Linebackers:
Preston Brown: 6-2, 255, Senior.  As a junior, Brown led the Cards in tackles with 109 in 2012.  He played in all 13 games. Brown is the leader of the defense, starting as middle linebacker, the position characterized as the quarterback of the defense.

George Durant: 6-0, 235, Senior. Durant busted on the scene in the later stages of the 2011 season and followed up with a great 2012 campaign, playing in all 13 games and finishing sixth with tackles on the team. Work pays off.  Durant is currently Keith Brown’s backup but he will get adequate snaps on the field while competing with the sophomore linebacker.

Keith Brown: 6-1, 230, Sophomore. The true freshman came in and shined at each linebacker position in 2012. His ability to quickly adapt to the college level and lead a defensive is something that makes Card nation excited for in the years to come. The Army All-American played in 10 games —starting five of them —and finished fifth on the team in tackles with 57. He also added 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Brown was rewarded for his efforts on the field by being named to the Freshamn All-American team. He is the second player under Coach Strong to receive the honor; Teddy Bridgewater held the same title one year prior.

Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said he will move Brown to outside linebacker to maximize the linebacker unit as a whole.

James Burgess: 6-0, 213, Sophomore. Like Brown, Burgess played significant minutes as a true freshman, filling in for departed senior Daniel Brown. Burgess played in 10 games and had 28 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 INTs and a forced fumble.

Nick Dawson: 6-3, 250, Red-shirt freshman. Dawson came to Louisville with Keith Brown as Army All-Americans. Unfortunately, Dawson was red-shirted to deal with a family death. The former high school standout will come into this season pushing to start.

With Keith Brown, James Burgess, and Nick Dawson, the Cardinals will be set in the linebacker position for years to come.

Cornerbacks:
Terrell Floyd: 5-10, 199, Junior. The junior out of Fort Pierce, Fla. made big play-after-big play for the Cardinals. His biggest play in the Sugar Bowl, intercepting Florida Gators QB Jeff Driskel on the opening play from scrimmage for a touchdown, swung all momentum in Louisville’s favor. Everyone remembers that play, but Floyd had made big plays throughout the year. Floyd interception of Rutgers QB Gary Nova on Rutgers final possession clinched the game.  He also sealed the game against Cincinnati in overtime with his interception of Bearcats QB Munchie Legaux. Floyd finished the season with 34 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two sacks, three interceptions, five pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 2013.

Andrew Johnson: 5-9, 187, Junior. Opposite to Floyd on the starting depth chart, Johnson played in 12 games despite injury and registered 26 tackles. His physical prowess isn’t off the charts like his football IQ. He is always in the right position at the right time, a player with instincts, which makes him a great open-field tackler. For example, he had the game-winning deflection in the end zone against North Carolina. In 2011, his touchdown return off of a block punt against West Virginia was the biggest play of the game in the victory.

Stephan Robinson: 5-10, 170, Junior. Robinson is in his third year out of Central High School.  He is a solid corner with his off-the-charts speed and his physical play at the line of scrimmage.

Safeties:
Hakeem Smith: 6-1, 187, Senior. A three-time all Big-East performer, Smith is looking to close out his fourth career as starter as a national champion. He has recorded 245 career tackles.

Calvin Pryor: 6-2, 213, Junior. In his second year as a starter at the free safety position, Pryor became the defensive MVP in 2012. The hard-hitting sophomore finished with 100 tackles, five forced fumbles, five pass breakups, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery. He was also second Team All-Big East.

Jermaine Reeve. As a freshman last season, Reve made crucial plays all year, including knocking the ball from the Florida Gators, and future NFL tight-end Jordan Reed in the end zone, stopping any potential momentum. Reve finished with 32 tackles, a sack and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Gerod Holliman: 6-0, 208, Red-shirt freshman. A former U.S. Army All-American has all of the potential to be one of the better players on the defensive side of the ball. In limited action, Holliman played in just three games, registering two. Defensive Coordinator Vance Bedford recently mentioned Holliman as a red-shirt freshman. He will have to fight with Pryor,  Smith and Reve to see the field.

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Photo by Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal