Thursday, February 24
Pittsburgh, Pa.
6:00 PM
Pitt
11-17,2-15ACC
55
vs
66
Louisville
24-3,14-2ACC
1
2
3
4
F
Louisville
19
12
17
18
66
Pittsburgh
13
12
16
14
55
Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics
Pitt Battles #4 Louisville Until The End; Falls 66-55 At Home Thursday
2/24/2022 9:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (11-17, 2-15 ACC) battled hard Thursday night inside the Petersen Events Center but the #4 Louisville Cardinals were too much as they downed the Panthers 66-55. The Panthers had three players score in double figures in the loss.
"Well obviously for us we needed to play well today and I thought for long periods of time, throughout this game, we executed our game plan," stated head coach Lance White. "We played with a really good basketball team for a long, long time and we needed to make that next step. Obviously, you're disappointed to lose and we had some opportunities to go make some plays that we couldn't quite connect on. I was really pleased with our overall performance, the things that we do well and are able to do well, I thought for a long time we were able to do."
Liatu King put together another strong performance for the Panthers as she netted her second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Amber Brown also finished off her night with 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists while Destiny Strother came off the bench and chipped in with 11 points and two boards in the loss.
The Panthers got out to a quick start as Sandrine Clesca knocked down a triple and King finished off a layup to give Pitt a 5-1 lead just over a minute in. King got her second bucket of the game after an offensive rebound to tie the game, 7-7, but the Cardinals scored five straight to take the 12-7 lead into the first media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Strother came off the bench and knocked down back-to-back triples to send the game to the second with Pitt trailing by six, 19-13.
Both teams struggled offensively to open the second quarter as Brown hit a pair of free throws for the only points for Pitt before the media timeout. Louisville took the 23-15 lead into the first timeout of the quarter. The Cardinals were able to push their lead to nine, 30-21, with two minutes left in the half but Tracey Hueston netted a jumper and Dayshanette Harris finished off a layup to send the teams to the locker room with Louisville leading by six, 31-25.
Pitt came out of the locker room strong as they scored the first six points of the third to tie the game, 31-31. Brown finished off a pair of layups while Harris knocked down a jumper to get the offense going in the second half. After a pair of layups by Louisville, Hueston netted a straight away triple to tie the game again, 35-35, but the Cardinals responded with a layup to take the 37-35 lead into the media timeout. Louisville scored 11 of the next 14 points to take the 48-38 lead but Strother knocked down her third triple of the game to send the game to the fourth with Pitt trailing 48-41.
The Cardinals made a push early in the fourth quarter and extended their lead out to 12, 56-44, with a layup but the Panthers didn't back down. After a Clesca free throw cut the Pitt deficit to ten, 59-49, midway through the final frame, Strother buried a layup and Harris connected on two free throws to get Pitt back within six, 59-53, with just under two minutes to go. The Panthers weren't able to get any closer down the stretch as the Cardinals pulled away and finished off the 66-55 road victory.
Harris finished off her game with eight points, five assists and two rebounds in 32 minutes of action while Rita Igbokwe made a big impact in her limited minutes due to foul trouble as she netted five points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes. Clesca finished off her first start of the season with four points, a career-high nine rebounds, four assists and a steal in 33 minutes of work.
As a team, the Panthers were able to outrebound the Cardinals 53-41 including the 22-16 edge in offensive boards. Louisville turned 19 Pitt turnovers into 20 points while also outscoring Pitt 21-6 in the fast break category. Louisville also won the battle in the paint 42-24 in the win.
The Cardinals were led offensively by Emily Engstler who netted a double-double with 17 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists while Hailey Van Lith finished with 13 points and three boards in the win.
NEXT UP
Team
"Well obviously for us we needed to play well today and I thought for long periods of time, throughout this game, we executed our game plan," stated head coach Lance White. "We played with a really good basketball team for a long, long time and we needed to make that next step. Obviously, you're disappointed to lose and we had some opportunities to go make some plays that we couldn't quite connect on. I was really pleased with our overall performance, the things that we do well and are able to do well, I thought for a long time we were able to do."
Liatu King put together another strong performance for the Panthers as she netted her second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Amber Brown also finished off her night with 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists while Destiny Strother came off the bench and chipped in with 11 points and two boards in the loss.
The Panthers got out to a quick start as Sandrine Clesca knocked down a triple and King finished off a layup to give Pitt a 5-1 lead just over a minute in. King got her second bucket of the game after an offensive rebound to tie the game, 7-7, but the Cardinals scored five straight to take the 12-7 lead into the first media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Strother came off the bench and knocked down back-to-back triples to send the game to the second with Pitt trailing by six, 19-13.
Both teams struggled offensively to open the second quarter as Brown hit a pair of free throws for the only points for Pitt before the media timeout. Louisville took the 23-15 lead into the first timeout of the quarter. The Cardinals were able to push their lead to nine, 30-21, with two minutes left in the half but Tracey Hueston netted a jumper and Dayshanette Harris finished off a layup to send the teams to the locker room with Louisville leading by six, 31-25.
Pitt came out of the locker room strong as they scored the first six points of the third to tie the game, 31-31. Brown finished off a pair of layups while Harris knocked down a jumper to get the offense going in the second half. After a pair of layups by Louisville, Hueston netted a straight away triple to tie the game again, 35-35, but the Cardinals responded with a layup to take the 37-35 lead into the media timeout. Louisville scored 11 of the next 14 points to take the 48-38 lead but Strother knocked down her third triple of the game to send the game to the fourth with Pitt trailing 48-41.
The Cardinals made a push early in the fourth quarter and extended their lead out to 12, 56-44, with a layup but the Panthers didn't back down. After a Clesca free throw cut the Pitt deficit to ten, 59-49, midway through the final frame, Strother buried a layup and Harris connected on two free throws to get Pitt back within six, 59-53, with just under two minutes to go. The Panthers weren't able to get any closer down the stretch as the Cardinals pulled away and finished off the 66-55 road victory.
Harris finished off her game with eight points, five assists and two rebounds in 32 minutes of action while Rita Igbokwe made a big impact in her limited minutes due to foul trouble as she netted five points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes. Clesca finished off her first start of the season with four points, a career-high nine rebounds, four assists and a steal in 33 minutes of work.
As a team, the Panthers were able to outrebound the Cardinals 53-41 including the 22-16 edge in offensive boards. Louisville turned 19 Pitt turnovers into 20 points while also outscoring Pitt 21-6 in the fast break category. Louisville also won the battle in the paint 42-24 in the win.
The Cardinals were led offensively by Emily Engstler who netted a double-double with 17 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists while Hailey Van Lith finished with 13 points and three boards in the win.
NEXT UP
- Pitt closes out their regular season at home Sunday at 2pm as they welcome Florida State for an ACC battle at the Petersen Events Center on ACC Network. Sunday's game will also be Senior Day for the Panthers as they will honor Mary Dunn and Ismini Prapa.
Team
- With the loss, Pitt falls to 2-23 all-time against Louisville including a 2-10 mark in games played in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals have won 19 straight in the series against Pitt.
- The Panthers have used 10 different starting lineup through 17 ACC games, the most lineup combinations in the conference.
- Pitt grabbed 53 rebounds in the loss, they have grabbed at least 35 rebounds in 26 of their 28 games this season.
- The Panthers have recorded at least 50 rebounds in seven games this season. It marks the most 50+ rebound games since 2008-09 (7).
- Pitt grabbed 22 offensive rebounds in the game which marked their fifth game with at least 20 offensive rebounds this season.
- The Panthers held Louisville to 40.3% shooting in the loss and have now held 27 of 28 opponents to 45% or less shooting from the floor this season.
- King finished her night with 11 points, 10 rebounds and one assist in 29 minutes of action.
- She went 5-for-11 from the field and 1-for-2 from the line in the loss.
- It marked her second straight double-double and fourth overall on the year. She has recorded back-to-back double-doubles twice this season.
- The 11-point game marked her ninth game in double figures this year including in three straight.
- She has 10 games with at least eight rebounds and six with 10+ boards.
- The sophomore has 12 games with 20+ minutes played on the year.
Team Stats
LOU
Pitt
FG%
.403
.302
3FG%
.125
.385
FT%
.526
.750
RB
41
53
TO
10
19
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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