Louisville Defeats Pitt to Clinch No. 2 Seed in ACC Tournament

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Emily Engstler had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 4 Louisville overcame a slow start to beat Pittsburgh 66-55 on Thursday night.

Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points for the Cardinals (24-3, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won two straight since losing last week at then-No. 24 North Carolina.

Liatu King led the Panthers (11-17, 2-15) with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Pittsburgh lost its eighth straight but played Louisville tough, keeping the Cardinals’ offense in check throughout the first half and twice tying the game in the third quarter.

Louisville pulled away late in the third. Liz Dixon was a spark off the bench, scoring all seven of her points during a 9-2 Louisville run that put the Cardinals up by 10 for the first time.

Louisville pushed the margin to 12 points early in the fourth and some Pitt foul trouble contributed to a drama-free finish.

Engstler was a force in the paint, while Van Lith was the lone long-range option with any success on a tough-shooting night for the Cardinals. She hit 2 of 6 on 3-pointers; the rest of the Cardinals were 0 for 10 from long range.

The Panthers had trouble with the Louisville press throughout and turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 20 Louisville points.

BIG PICTURE

Louisville: The loss to North Carolina and the relatively close call against lowly Pitt give the Cardinals an impression of vulnerability entering the ACC tournament.

Pitt: The Panthers are still looking for consistent scoring following the midseason dismissal of top offensive threat Jayla Everrett. Pitt shot 30.2% against the Cardinals, its third consecutive game shooting worse than 40%.

UP NEXT

Louisville: At No. 14 Notre Dame on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. The Cardinals beat the Fighting 73-47 on Feb. 13 in Louisville.

Pitt: Finishes the season at home against against Florida State on Saturday, when the team will honor senior Mary Dunn.

(Photo of Kianna Smith: David Butler II - USA TODAY Sports

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