Pregame Notes:
Good evening Card Nation, Louisville is coming off a thrilling 50-48 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Emily Engstler hit the game-winning layup to help Louisville stay undefeated in ACC play. Louisville is currently the 3rd-ranked team in the country and hosted Pitt in their first meeting of the year on a cold and snowy evening in Louisville. Louisville is 21-2 all-time versus Pittsburgh and 10-0 at home. The Cards were without Mykasa Robinson and Norika Konno due to health and safety protocols tonight.
Starting Lineup:
Chelsie Hall (6.2ppg, 2.1apg, 3.5rpg)
Hailey Van Lith (11ppg, 3.5rpg)
Emily Engstler (10.5rpg, 8.3ppg )
Kianna Smith (11.5ppg, 3.6rpg)
Olivia Cochran (6.8ppg, 5.5rpg)
1st Quarter:
Kianna Smith got the scoring going for the Cards after both teams struggled taking care of the ball and hitting shots. UofL forced Pitt into 10 first quarter turnovers. Engstler hit a corner 3-ball right before the buzzer sounded, and Louisville led 19-8 after the first quarter. The Cards held their opponent to under 10 points again this season.
2nd Quarter:
Engstler started the quarter the same way she ended the first quarter…with a corner 3-ball from the same spot. Louisville used an 8-3 run to open up a 27-11 lead at the under 5 minute timeout. The Cards held Pittsburgh to 5 points in the quarter and forced Pitt into 24 first half turnovers. Louisville led 40-13 heading into intermission.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 16-39 (41.0%)
3PT%: 4-12 (33.3%)
FT%: 4-4 (100.0%)
Assists: 6
Turnovers: 7
Total Rebounds: 17-21
Leading Scorer: Emily Engstler (12)
3rd Quarter:
The Cards continued to apply pressure to Pittsburgh early in the quarter. They forced 8 turnovers in the 3rd quarter, and the reserves got a lot of playing time in the quarter. Louisville held a 65-23 lead heading into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
The Louisville reserves played most of the quarter and Payton Verhulst showed flashes of her potential. Liz Dixon and Merissah Russell had a good second half. Louisville led wire to wire and made life very difficult for the Panthers tonight. Louisville won 81-37.
Final Stats:
FG% 26-68 (38.2%)
3PT% 8-21 (38.1%)
FT% 17-18 (94.4%)
Assists: 15
Blocks: 5
Steals: 20
Turnovers: 15
Total Rebounds: 45-45
Offensive Rebounds: 14-16
Bench Points: 29
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Louisville improves to 3-0 in conference play. Emily Engstler was really, really good this evening. She got her 4th double-double of the season (12 points 10 rebounds), and also added 2 assists and 7 steals. Hailey Van Lith also had 12 points and Olivia Cochran added 11 points and 4 rebounds. Off the bench, Liz Dixon added 8 points and 5 rebounds while Payton Verhulst added 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Next Opponent:
Louisville heads to Coral Gables to take on Miami on Sunday, January 9th at noon.
