Pitt Drops Battle at No. 8/9 Louisville, 73-52

Sunday, January 8

Louisville, KY.

4:00 PM

Pitt

10-6,1-2

Louisville

15-3,3-1

Pitt

Louisville (#8/9)

Pitt Drops Battle at No. 8/9 Louisville, 73-52

1/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Jan. 8, 2017

Box Score | Final Book

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Graduate transfer center Brandi Harvey-Carr poured in a career-high 25 points as Pitt women's basketball (10-6, 1-2 ACC) fell short at No. 8/9 Louisville (15-3, 3-1 ACC), 73-52, Sunday night at KFC Yum! Center.

"Coming in, we knew what they were capable of doing and all we've asked our players to do is battle and compete," Pitt coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. "Brandi Harvey-Carr was huge today, right from the beginning of the game. I'm so proud of the way our team continued to battle and fight. I know it's a 20-point loss, but we battled."

The Panthers kept the scoring margin within 11 points until the fourth quarter when the Cardinals pulled away. Harvey-Carr was Pitt's lone scorer in double figures as Louisville boasted four, including Mariya Moore with 18 and Jazmine Jones with 13. Preseason ACC Player of the Year Myisha Hines-Allen had 11 points, as did Ciera Johnson. Asia Durr, who posts a team-high 18.2 points per game, was limited to three points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field.

Pitt out-shot the Cards, 48.8 percent (21-of-43) to 37.3 percent (25-of-67), but Louisville converted 27 points off 24 Panther turnovers.

"They forced us into too many turnovers, they made us play fast," McConnell-Serio said. "Defensively they just disrupt what you're trying to do and we just didn't have the guards to handle their pressure."

During the first three minutes, the Panthers kept it within three points and eventually took an 8-7 lead at 7:49 and extended it to 12-7 on an 8-0 run lasting until 6:57. Pitt started the game on fire, making 5-of-5 from the field. The Panthers led by as many as five points, up 18-13 at the 3:14 mark after a Destinie Gibbs layup. Louisville ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run to took back the lead, 19-10. Harvey-Carr had 10 points in the first.

After the Cards scored the first four points of the second quarter, two free throws from Kauai Bradley cut the deficit to as few as three points (23-20) before Louisville made a 7-0 run to reach their first double-figure lead (30-20) with 3:58 to go in the half. The Panthers stayed strong and cut back the deficit to single digits at the break, down 34-25.

Pitt had an 11-2 surge in the third quarter, which included a 7-0 run that put the Panthers within two points, down 38-36, at the 5:47 mark. The Cards answered with a 9-0 run to go back up by double figures, 47-36. With less than a minute to go in the quarter, Pitt pulled back within five (47-42) and ended the period within single figures, down 52-43.

The game became lopsided when Louisville scored eight unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, going up 60-43. The Cards led by as many as 23 in the final few minutes, and the final buzzer sounded at 73-52.

EXPERIENCE THE ACTION

All individual tickets for Pitt women's basketball home games are general admission and available for purchase for $5 each by calling the Panthers Ticket Office at 800-643-7488 or by visiting PittsburghPanthers.com. Group tickets and season tickets are also on sale.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will continue their first ACC road swing by traveling to No. 7/6 Notre Dame Thursday, Jan. 12, with a 7 p.m. ET tip on ACC Network Extra, available on the WatchESPN app.

#H2P | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram