Radde To Focus On Medical Studies
By Paul Sykes
Reeling off a 26-6 run to end the first half, UofL cruised into the locker room with 44-28 halftime advantage. Ms. “Everything” Angel McCoughtry had 12 of her team high 18 at the intermission and ended the game with 20 rebounds also.
–To watch McCoughtry on the court is like tracking a middle linebacker on the football field. Keenly aware of everything going on around her. Running to fill a gap, cutting for a steal or stop. Breaking to get open for a pass and delivering that nice, soft shot she has. This one meant a lot to her. She got a game ball before the contest presented to her by Cardinal great Darrell Griffith for passing him on the all-time scoring list. Make it 2391 for Angel now.
–Six Cardinals scored in double figures. They accounted for 76 of Louisville’s 78 points. A surprise start for sophomore forward Laura Terry who failed to score in limited action.
–Becky Burke keyed the Cards first half run with two bulls eye threes to put the Cards up 28-24. Syracuse never saw the lead again. She played 30 minutes, and…for now, looks like the other guard other there with Dez. 12 points and three for five from beyond the arc.
-Monique Reid got 10 points. She is an offensive threat, no doubt, but still needs to pick up the defensive intensity. A very nice rejection of an Erica Morrow jumper that led to a fast break. Still looks a little lost out there when the other team has the ball though.
-Dez Byrd picked up the offensive intensity we all know she has with 12 points. Having Angel McCoughtry on your team tends to create a lot of open looks for the rest of your players, and Dez is fearless when it comes to penetrating the paint. A double double with ten assists. She’s the vocal floor leader out there, and creates for the rest of the players. A nice lob to Angel for a lay in.
–Steady Candyce Bingham. She battles so hard inside with the bigger opponents that you sometimes forget her shooting skills. She had the first four points for the Cards, and hit double figures again.
–Despite limited playing time, Keisha Hines had 12 points, getting some nice looks from exterior passing. She has the ability to seal off and get the easy bank on the block, still has trouble hitting it consistently, though.
Just a note, I usually do the stats for Sonja during a game, so if I tossed a few too many at you in this report…sorry about that. Talked with her briefly at halftime on the phone, she was listening at work and was pumped up over the way we ended the first half.
Brandie Radde Update: No Brandie Radde on the bench, although she was listed on the game day program. No official word out of UofL yet, either on her status. I talked to an “self professed” insider with the Lady Cards briefly after the game…who told me very unofficially that Radde was upset about playing time, her demotion to the bench and her performance when she got the start against UConn. Radde supposedly went to Walz, told him she was quitting the team but going to remain at UofL to finish her biology degree and apply to medical school. We’ll wait for the official statement. Having met Brandie several times, I’ll I can tell you is that she is a very polite and intelligent young lady who is very serious about becoming a doctor someday and was one of the more popular players on the team.
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UofL has finally cracked the seal on the Brandie Radde situation. She has left the team and is going to concentrate on her studies. Jeff Walz relayed the information after the game, saying that Brandie has high goals and expectations for herself and that he knows she’ll go on and do very well for herself.
In her 2 1/2 years as a Card, she became known as the Cards most legit outside threat, and led the team in three’s made last year with seventy. She is sixth on the all time list for the women for threes made.
Returning to a discussion that I had a few months back with an individual who felt she was a step slow on the defensive side for UofL…she may have been, but made up for it with excellent court knowledge and a full understanding of Walz’s defensive schemes and positioning. With the emergence of Becky Burke has another legit outside threat, Radde’s time reduced this season. She lost her starting position and never was the consistant player this season like she had been her previous two years. Still, she was depth for the Cards, and Walz used Becky for thirty minutes last night…some of those probably would have gone to Radde.
Here’s hoping she goes on to become a successful doctor and health care provider.
We’ll miss you, #22…but I have a feeling that if she stays at UofL to finish her studies, we’ll see her in the stands during home games cheering on her teammates…like Kayla Faulkner and ex-point guard Patrika Barlow, who completed her atheltic elgibility in hoops but is now on the softball team.
One more time, in tribute to you….
“Threeeeeeeeee Raddeeeeeeeee!”