Thursday, January 6
LOUISVILLE, KY
6 p.m. ET
University of Louisville
vs
PITT
No. 2 Louisville Hosts Pitt on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET
January 04, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals and Panthers will tip off at 6 p.m. ET on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After opening Atlantic Coast Conference play with back-to-back wins, No. 2 University of Louisville women's basketball hosts Pitt on Thursday night. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. ET and broadcast on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.
The Cardinals (12-1) extended their winning streak to 12 games on Sunday and earned their fourth win over an AP Top 25 team this season.
UofL trailed by 11 points (14-3) in the 50-48 win at Georgia Tech, which marks both their largest deficit and largest deficit overcome this season. It marks their largest deficit overcome since they came from 18 down to beat Northwestern in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Emily Engstler's game-winning layup with 3.3 seconds remaining marked Louisville's first last second shot to win a game since Sam Fuehring hit a game-winner with 2.5 seconds remaining in a 58-56 win over Arizona State in Las Vegas on Nov. 23, 2018.
In wins over Boston College and at Georgia Tech last week, Engstler averaged a team-high 14.0 points per game, while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 3-4 from 3-point range. She added 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. She had 14 points on 5-7 shooting, while recording four assists and three steals vs. BC. In the win at Georgia Tech, she scored a team-high 14 points on 6-12 shooting, 2-3 from deep, while adding four rebounds and two steals.
Payton Verhulst tied a career-high with 12 points vs. Boston College. She also had 12 points vs. Eastern Kentucky. She had four points at Georgia Tech, all of which came in the first few minutes of the second quarter when the Cardinals trailed by 11 points. Her four points helped trim the deficit to just five.
Louisville is limiting opponents to just 48.3 points per game, which ranks second in the ACC and third in the NCAA. It is also on pace to be the fewest points allowed per game in program history. The program record is 56.4 points per game allowed in 2019-20. In seven of the previous nine seasons, the Cardinals have allowed less than 60 points per game.
In seven of 13 games, they have limited opponents to 49 points or less. In eight of 13 games, UofL's defense has limited its opponent to the smallest point total of the season.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Pitt enters Thursday's matchup with a 9-4 record. The Panthers are 0-2 in ACC play with an 89-54 loss to NC State and an 85-59 loss at Notre Dame. They have not played since they beat Holy Cross 67-56 on Dec. 22. Pitt ranks second in the ACC and sixth in the NCAA with 46.0 rebounds per game. They rank second in the league with 191 made free throws and 299 free throw attempts, but rank just 13th with a 63.9 free throw percentage. Jayla Everett is the Panthers' lone double-digit scorer with 15.0 points per game, which ranks seventh in the ACC. She is connecting on 2.2 3-pointers per game, which ranks eighth in the ACC, and her 35.5 3-point percentage ranks 11th. Amber Brown is second on the team in scoring with 9.5 points per game and she has gotten to the free throw line 74 times, which leads the ACC. Rita Igbokwe ranks third in the ACC with 1.6 blocks per game, while Liatu King ranks fourth with 8.8 rebounds per game.
Series History - Louisville is 21-2 all-time against Pitt. The Cardinals are 10-0 at home and 13-0 since both programs became ACC affiliates. Louisville has won 17 straight in the series by an average of 21.6 points per game. Louisville's last loss was a 72-69 road defeat on Feb. 14, 2010. The first meeting between the two teams was on Feb. 8, 2006 at Pitt, a 71-63 UofL win.
Last Meeting (Feb. 18, 2021) - Dana Evans matched her career high with 29 points and extended her Atlantic Coast Conference scoring lead, helping No. 3 Louisville beat Pittsburgh 82-58. Louisville led by six at the half, but Evans and the Cardinals came alive in the third quarter. She scored 13 points by herself as the Cardinals outscored the Panthers, 26-13 in the period. Mykasa Robinson filled the stat sheet, finishing with six points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals and zero turnovers in 27 minutes. Louisville smothered Pitt with strong defense all night, holding the Panthers to 30.8% shooting as a team and forcing 20 turnovers, which the Cardinals turned into 21 points off turnovers.
GAME FACTS
Date: Thursday, Jan. 6
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,000)
TV: ACCN (Jenn Hildreth, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 82-58 (Feb. 18, 2021 at Pitt)
Series History: 21-2 (W17, 10-0 home, 9-2 away, 2-0 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Jan. 9 at Miami
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
The Cardinals (12-1) extended their winning streak to 12 games on Sunday and earned their fourth win over an AP Top 25 team this season.
UofL trailed by 11 points (14-3) in the 50-48 win at Georgia Tech, which marks both their largest deficit and largest deficit overcome this season. It marks their largest deficit overcome since they came from 18 down to beat Northwestern in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Emily Engstler's game-winning layup with 3.3 seconds remaining marked Louisville's first last second shot to win a game since Sam Fuehring hit a game-winner with 2.5 seconds remaining in a 58-56 win over Arizona State in Las Vegas on Nov. 23, 2018.
In wins over Boston College and at Georgia Tech last week, Engstler averaged a team-high 14.0 points per game, while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 3-4 from 3-point range. She added 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. She had 14 points on 5-7 shooting, while recording four assists and three steals vs. BC. In the win at Georgia Tech, she scored a team-high 14 points on 6-12 shooting, 2-3 from deep, while adding four rebounds and two steals.
Payton Verhulst tied a career-high with 12 points vs. Boston College. She also had 12 points vs. Eastern Kentucky. She had four points at Georgia Tech, all of which came in the first few minutes of the second quarter when the Cardinals trailed by 11 points. Her four points helped trim the deficit to just five.
Louisville is limiting opponents to just 48.3 points per game, which ranks second in the ACC and third in the NCAA. It is also on pace to be the fewest points allowed per game in program history. The program record is 56.4 points per game allowed in 2019-20. In seven of the previous nine seasons, the Cardinals have allowed less than 60 points per game.
In seven of 13 games, they have limited opponents to 49 points or less. In eight of 13 games, UofL's defense has limited its opponent to the smallest point total of the season.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Pitt enters Thursday's matchup with a 9-4 record. The Panthers are 0-2 in ACC play with an 89-54 loss to NC State and an 85-59 loss at Notre Dame. They have not played since they beat Holy Cross 67-56 on Dec. 22. Pitt ranks second in the ACC and sixth in the NCAA with 46.0 rebounds per game. They rank second in the league with 191 made free throws and 299 free throw attempts, but rank just 13th with a 63.9 free throw percentage. Jayla Everett is the Panthers' lone double-digit scorer with 15.0 points per game, which ranks seventh in the ACC. She is connecting on 2.2 3-pointers per game, which ranks eighth in the ACC, and her 35.5 3-point percentage ranks 11th. Amber Brown is second on the team in scoring with 9.5 points per game and she has gotten to the free throw line 74 times, which leads the ACC. Rita Igbokwe ranks third in the ACC with 1.6 blocks per game, while Liatu King ranks fourth with 8.8 rebounds per game.
Series History - Louisville is 21-2 all-time against Pitt. The Cardinals are 10-0 at home and 13-0 since both programs became ACC affiliates. Louisville has won 17 straight in the series by an average of 21.6 points per game. Louisville's last loss was a 72-69 road defeat on Feb. 14, 2010. The first meeting between the two teams was on Feb. 8, 2006 at Pitt, a 71-63 UofL win.
Last Meeting (Feb. 18, 2021) - Dana Evans matched her career high with 29 points and extended her Atlantic Coast Conference scoring lead, helping No. 3 Louisville beat Pittsburgh 82-58. Louisville led by six at the half, but Evans and the Cardinals came alive in the third quarter. She scored 13 points by herself as the Cardinals outscored the Panthers, 26-13 in the period. Mykasa Robinson filled the stat sheet, finishing with six points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals and zero turnovers in 27 minutes. Louisville smothered Pitt with strong defense all night, holding the Panthers to 30.8% shooting as a team and forcing 20 turnovers, which the Cardinals turned into 21 points off turnovers.
GAME FACTS
Date: Thursday, Jan. 6
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,000)
TV: ACCN (Jenn Hildreth, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 82-58 (Feb. 18, 2021 at Pitt)
Series History: 21-2 (W17, 10-0 home, 9-2 away, 2-0 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Jan. 9 at Miami
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
