RV/#25 Cardinals Open ACC Play at Pittsburgh

Sunday, December 18

Pittsburgh, PA

2 PM

University of Louisville

Pitt

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

December 16, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Cardinals take a three-game winning streak into the ACC opener

By: Matt Paras

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The RV/#25 Louisville women's basketball team is back out on the road as the kickoff ACC play this weekend. The Cardinals travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers Sunday afternoon as they are in the midst of a four-game road trip. The matchup with the Panthers will be the third of four straight games on the road for the Cardinals before they are off for Christmas break.

Louisville is 2-0 so far on the road trip with the previous two matchups happening in the state of Kentucky. The Cardinals defeated Kentucky in Lexington last Sunday, 86-72, before returning to Freedom Hall to defeat Bellarmine, 73-43, this past Wednesday. Louisville is 3-1 in true road games so far this season and they are one of the best road teams in the country over the past six seasons. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Louisville is 55-8 in true road games, good for a .873 winning percentage. The winning percentage ranks second and the wins are third in the NCAA over that time frame.

The Cardinals begin ACC play on Sunday and since they joined the league in 2014-15, they have won all eight of their conference openers. Louisville has won nine-straight conference openers and under head coach Jeff Walz, they are 13-2 in conference openers and have won 13 of their last 14. Last season, the Cardinals defeated Boston College, 79-49, at the KFC Yum! Center on Dec. 30.

During their eight seasons in the ACC, Louisville has been the class of the conference. The Cards have compiled a 114-16 record in conference play and a .864 winning percentage. They are the only school over that time to have a winning percentage .800 or higher and they have 10 more wins than the team with the second-most wins in that time frame. The Cardinals have had two conference losses or less in each of the five previous seasons.

Date: Sunday, December 18
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Site: Pittsburgh, Pa. | Petersen Events Center (12,508)
TV: ACC Network (Sam Ravech, play-by-play; Kelly Gramlich, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM WLCL (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 66-55 (Feb. 24, 2022 at Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Series History: Louisville leads 23-2 (11-0 home, 10-2 away, 2-0 neutral)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS

Pitt is 6-4 so far on the season and Sunday's matchup will be their fourth game in a five game homestand at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers are 4-2 this season at home but are 1-2 in their current homestand. Last season, Pitt went 11-19 overall and were 2-16 in conference play. Forward Liatu King leads the Panthers with 11.3 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game and she has two double-doubles so far this season. Guard Channise Lewis has the team lead with 2.3 assists per game.

Series History - This will be the 26th meeting all time between the two schools as the series dates back to the 2005-06 season, when the teams were in the BIG EAST Conference. Louisville leads the all-time series 23-2 and have won the last 19 matchups against the Panthers. Since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014-15, the Cardinals are 15-0 against Pitt in their conference matchups. Louisville has won the last nine matchups that have taken place in Pittsburgh.

Last Meeting (Feb. 24, 2022) - 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. 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. The Panthers had trouble with the Louisville press throughout and turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 20 Louisville points.

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For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram account at @LouisvilleWBB, Twitter account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.