Pitt Set For Battle At #3 Louisville Thursday Night On ACC Network

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (9-4, 0-2 ACC) hits the road for their first game of 2022 Thursday night as they take on #3 Louisville at 6:00 pm inside the KFC Yum! Center. Pitt will be looking for their first ACC win of the season as well as their first win over a top-5 team in program history.

Thursday night's game was bumped up to a 6:00 pm start and will air on ACC Network with Jenn Hildreth and Debbie Antonelli on the call.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday's game will air live on ACC Network with Jenn Hildreth and Debbie Antonelli on the call. You can watch the game by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on the radio on WJAS 1320 AM or 99.1 FM as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from Louisville starting at 5:45 pm. Listen to the call by clicking HERE.
Live stats of the game can be found by clicking HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will also be posted on Twitter by following the Pitt women's basketball account @Pitt_WBB.

THE SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE

This marks the 24^th meeting of all-time between the two programs with the Cardinals owning the 21-2 series lead over the Panthers.
Louisville has won 17 straight games in the series including an 82-58 victory in Pittsburgh last season.
The last win for the Panthers in the series came on Feb. 14, 2010 as they handed the Cardinals the 72-69 defeat in Pittsburgh.

STORYLINES

The Panthers have continued to put an emphasis on rebounding the basketball and it has paid off in a major way. Pitt currently ranks 6th in the NCAA rebounds per game (46.0), 10th in defensive rebounds per game (30.9) and 15th in total rebounds (598). The Panthers have posted four games with 50+ rebounds this season, the most in a season for them since 2009-10.
Pitt has been able to get to the free throw line at a high rate as they rank 10th in the NCAA in free throw attempts (299) while ranking 22nd in free throws made (191). Junior Amber Brown leads the ACC and ranks 23rd in the NCAA in free throw attempts (74).

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt returns to the court Thursday night at #3 Louisville after missing the previous two games due to Covid-19 protocols. The Panthers and Cardinals tip at 6:00 pm on ACC Network.
Senior Jayla Everett has led Pitt in scoring in six of her 10 games while averaging a team-high 15.0 ppg, which ranks seventh in the ACC. Everett has connected on a team-high 22 three-pointers on the year. She has made multiple triples in 23 of her 29 career games as a Panther.
The Panthers depth has been very evident as Pitt and Duke are the only two teams in the ACC that have at least 10 players averaging 3.1 ppg or more on the year.

DEPTH KEY TO EARLY SUCCESS

The Panthers are receiving contributions from all 13 players on the roster. As a team, Pitt is averaging 24.9 points per game from their bench. It's the highest per game average by a Pitt bench in program history.
The Panthers have three games so far this season with 30+ points from their bench, marking the most in a season since 2011-12 when they had four such games.
Pitt has two games with 40+ bench points, the most 40+ games in a season since having three such games in 2007-08.
Pitt posted a season-high 44 against LIU. It marked the most bench points for Pitt since scoring 47 in the win over New Orleans on Nov. 9, 2018.
The bench has scored at least 18 points in 12 of the 13 games so far this season for Pitt.

BLOCK PARTY

The Pitt defense has been producing blocks all season long as five Panthers have at least five blocked shots on the season.
So far this season, Pitt ranks 6th in the ACC and 38th in the NCAA with 59 blocked shots.
Junior Rita Igbokwe leads the way with blocked shots as she has 21 so far this season which ranks 3rd in the ACC and 53rd in the NCAA.
As a team, Pitt has two games with 10+ blocks for the first time since 2017-18 (4 games).
Senior Jayla Everett ranks 2nd on the team in blocks (1.1 bpg). She is currently one of four Power 5 players (Veronica Burton, Jaz Shelley, Jerkaila Jordan) under 5-10 to average at least 1.1 blocks per game this season.

NEXT UP

Pitt returns to action with three home games next week at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers welcome Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Jan. 11 for a 6:00 pm tip before taking on Boston College on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6:00 pm and closing out the week with Wake Forest on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 2:00 pm

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