PITTSBURGH — Pitt couldn’t hang with No. 4 Louisville in the end, but the Panthers put on a much better display than their first matchup with the high-powered Cardinals this season in a 66-55 loss to Louisville at Petersen Events Center on Thursday.
The Cardinals dominated Pitt in the first meeting between the teams in Louisville in January, posted a lopsided 81-39 score.
The Panthers, now shorthanded after the dismissal of leading scorer Jayla Everett, used strong defense to keep the second meeting between the teams much more reasonable.
Pitt held Louisville to 36.4% shooting in the first half, and was able to overcome its own poor shooting and turnovers to keep the game close going into the break.
The Panthers then started the second half with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 31, and knotted things up again at 35, but got no further. A 9-2 run by Louisville late in the third, combine with foul trouble for Rita Igbokwe and Sandrine Clesca, put the game out of reach.
Liatu King stepped up as Pitt’s top interior player, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow forward Amber Brown added 11 points, and Pitt out-rebounded Louisville, 53-41.
Shooting was a struggle for Pitt, outside of Destiny Strother, who was 3 of 8 from 3-point range to also net 11 points. Pitt shot 30.2% as a team. Even worse, Pitt failed to take care of the basketball, committing 19 Pitt turnovers turned into 20 Louisville points.
The Panthers will wrap their regular season on Sunday against Florida State. That game has a 2 p.m. tip. Trinity grad Mary Dunn will be recognized as the program’s lone senior before tip-off. The ACC tournament starts March 2 in Greensboro, N.C.
