Pitt
7-14,1-7ACC
#18 Louisville
18-3,7-1ACC
Pitt Drops Road Contest To #18 Louisville Sunday
1/28/2024 4:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LOUISVILLE, KY – The Pitt women's basketball team (7-14, 1-7 ACC) fell on the road Sunday afternoon to #18 Louisville by the score of 77-58. Liatu King and Jala Jordan each netted double-doubles in the tough road loss.
Jordan finished off her first double-double as a Panther with a team-high 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while King notched her 12th double-double of the season with 16 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in the loss.
As a team, Pitt shot 36.4% from the floor while the Cardinals shot 48.4% in the win. Louisville won the rebounding battle 35-34, while also outscoring Pitt 22-10 off turnovers.
Pitt got out to a quick start as Jala Jordan buried a jumper and Aislin Malcolm finished off a runner just outside the lane to make it 4-0 in favor of the Panthers. A pair of Louisville triples gave the home side the 8-5 lead at the media timeout. Out of the timeout, Malcolm hit two free throws and King finished off a layup to give Pitt the 9-8 lead with four minutes to play. The Cardinals responded with an 11-0 run to take the 19-9 lead through 10 minutes.
The Cardinals pushed the lead out to as many as 12, 25-13, early in the second quarter but the Panthers battled right back as Marley Washenitz hit a jumper and Rapuluchi Ayodele finished off a layup and free throw to cut the deficit to 27-18 with six minutes to go. The Panthers closed out the scoring in the half with a trio of triples as Bella Perkins, Malcolm and Jordan each connected on one to cut the Pitt deficit to 36-29 at the halftime break.
The Cardinals kept pushing their lead over 10 early in the third quarter but each time the Panthers fought back as Jasmine Timmerson and Perkins each drained triples to bring the deficit back under 10. Back-to-back layups by King and Jordan got the Panthers back within six, 52-46, with under three minutes to go in the quarter but the Cardinals were able to end the quarter on a 14-3 run to take the 62-48 lead into the fourth.
King opened the fourth with a layup and Jordan finished off back-to-back layups off King feeds to cut the Pitt deficit to 14, 68-54, with just over five minutes to go. Pitt wasn't able to get any closer down the stretch as they fell 77-58 to the #18 Cardinals.
Games Notes
- With the loss, Pitt falls to 2-27 all-time against the Cardinals including a 0-13 mark in Louisville. The Cardinals have won 23 straight in the series over the Panthers.
- King finished off her 12th double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds. She currently ranks second in the ACC in double-doubles
- With her ninth rebound of the game, King moved into 10th place on Pitt's all-time rebounds list
- Jordan finished off her fifth straight game in double figures and first double-double as a Panther with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in the loss
Next Up
- Pitt returns home Thursday, Feb. 1 as they welcome the Duke Blue Devils to the Petersen Events Center for a 7:00 pm tip on ACC Network Extra.
