Breaking News: Louisville women's basketball #3 in latest rankings -- Softball splits in Tennessee -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE - News Paper

CARDS #3 IN AP

The University of Louisville women's basketball team lands at #3 in the AP poll released Monday -- no first place votes, all 28 of those went to Baylor -- but the Cards are just behind Connecticut and ahead of Notre Dame. Mississippi State rounds out the top five and Oregon takes the biggest drop...from #2 to #6...after two straight losses and the injury to star Ruthy Hebard. 

The ACC leads the way with six schools in the top 25. (Louisville, Notre Dame, Miami, NC State, Florida State and Syracuse). The PAC 12 has five. Three conferences have three each and five conferences one each. Our neighbors to the east, UK are now at #11. 

Bracketology still has the Cards going to Chicago as the #1 seed after two games in Louisville. Currently, the guess is Stanford, Maryland and Iowa State fill out the top four seeds in that region and UK is a #5 seed in the Chicago bracket. 

Louisville gets a huge test Thursday night when N.C. State rolls into town. The Wolfpack have a 24-3 record, 11-3 in the ACC and are projected to be the #2 seed in the Albany Region...where UConn holds the #1 seed as of Monday. 

There is a lot of consternation among Notre Dame fans that they are ranked behind the Cards, despite winning the regular season match up against UofL and that the Irish are not picked for Chicago. Charlie Creme sees them as the #1 seed in Portland. Notre Dame certainly added fuel to that argument with a dismantling of #17 Syracuse, at Syracuse, last night 98-68. 

Just two games for Louisville before the ACC Tournament. After NC State, the Cards head to Pittsburgh to face the Panthers on Sunday, March 3rd. The Cards are pretty much assured getting two days off in Greensboro for the tournament as a top four seed before taking the court on Friday. 

Eight days before the teams converge on the Greensboro Coliseum. With Notre Dame ending the conference slate hosting Virginia, it seems likely that they'll get the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament. 

All Louisville has to do is "win out" against the Wolfpack and Pitt to claim the #2 seed and a share of the conference championship with a 14-2 conference mark. Notre Dame gets the tiebreaker. 

If the season ended yesterday, N.C. State and Miami would be the other two teams getting the advancement to Friday action. Those two meet on Sunday, March 3rd., in Raleigh, to end their ACC seasons and to decide who gets the #3 seed and possibly the #4 seed.  With FSU back in fifth place at 9-5, the Noles have to win out and then hope either N.C. State or Miami lose their final two to climb up to a four seed. FSU defeated bothN.C. State and Miami in the regular season.  

They are a very serious and tough test for the Cards on Senior Night. 

We're winding down and approaching "the second season". It gets very "real" from here on out. 


SOFTBALL SPLITS IN KNOXVILLE

An early (11:30 a.m.) start for Holly Aprile's sluggers yesterday in the rain-altered Tennessee Classic. The Cards started against Bradley, who they downed on Sunday, and found continued success with a 6-0 whitewash of the Braves. 

Megan Hensley tossing the four-hit, complete game shutout for the Ulmer Stadium bunch. A scoreless affair for four innings but UofL broke loose for two unearned runs on three Braves errors and a hit batter. Pinch runner Jordyn Wolfe and Charley Bulter touched the plate for UofL. The Cards put four more runs up in the sixth with two walks, two hits and a couple of stolen bases. The "Butler" did it again with a two-RBI triple. 

In game two, UofL faced the hosting #8 Vols. Early on, it looked like it might be a Tennessee rout, as they jumped to a 5-0 lead after five innings.

Louisville had just begun to fight, though. 

In the top of the sixth, A Cardinal walk and single set the scene for a three-RBI home run from freshman Taylor Roby.

After holding the Vols scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, Louisville threatened again in the top of the seventh.

The Cards got a single, double and intentional walk to load the bases with two outs. Unfortunately, the Cards could not push any of the runners home. 

Louisville returns home for their first game in Ulmer on Friday, March 1st., in the Cardinal Classic. The Cards are scheduled to face Indiana State, IUPUI and Missouri over three days. Friday has UofL against Indiana State and Missouri. Saturday action involves the Cards against Missouri and IUPUI and they action ends Sunday against IUPUI.

Let's hope the weather cooperates. 



paulie
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Breaking News: Louisville women's basketball #3 in latest rankings -- Softball splits in Tennessee -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE - News Paper