Fourth-quarter blunder costs Pitt women’s basketball, Panthers fall to No. 15 Louisville 74-44

Pitt women’s basketball (6-11, 0-4 ACC) looked to steal a game off of No. 15 ACC rival Louisville (14-2, 3-0 ACC). In their last homecourt matchup on Dec. 18, 2022, the Cardinals, armed with now LSU senior guard Hailey Van Lith, took care of business behind her 20 points and four assist performance. 

This time, without Van Lith, the Panthers sought revenge. But despite a one-possession game in the second half, and a 10-point deficit heading into the 4th quarter, Pitt fell 74-44. 

Turnovers were an obvious catalyst of Pitt’s fourth consecutive loss. Louisville capitalized off of the Panther’s 13 fourth-quarter turnovers. This helped the Cardinals round out the game on a 21-4 run across the last 7:59. Coach Tory Verdi was very displeased with the team’s efforts to finish the game.

“Not a pretty fourth period,” Verdi said. “I thought we quit.”

From the beginning tip, Louisville came out in a full-court press, which gave them a hot 14-0 start, causing a Panthers timeout. Coming out of a timeout, Pitt clawed its way back slowly, cutting the differential to three. 

Pitt maximized on a few empty Louisville possessions and chances at the foul line. The Panthers kept the contest close by knocking down 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the first half.

Overall, the game was physical, with both teams combining for a total of 35 fouls. Foul trouble held star senior forward Liatu King from the floor, with her 26 minutes nearly 10 minutes less than her average of 35 minutes per game.  As a result, she scored only six points, less than a third of her season average of 20 points per game. 

With under 20 seconds left in the first half, Panthers sophomore guard Marley Washenitz laid it up to bring Pitt within 4 points, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Cardinals junior guard Jayda Curry pushed Louisville’s lead to 7 heading into the locker room. 

A Pitt steal into a 3-pointer on the other end opened up the second half for the Panthers, but once again, Louisville answered. The Cardinals were lights out from three-point land hitting 63 percent of their three-point attempts. 

A Panther pick-and-roll helped junior forward Rapuluchi Ayodele seize a momentum-boosting and-one finish, but this was not enough to stop Louisville.

The Cardinals pulled away from the Panthers behind a 7-point fourth-period effort by senior guard Sydney Taylor who led both teams in scoring with 13. 

Both senior forward Jala Jordan and coach Verdi agreed, post-game, that confidence was a conflict of interest in this matchup. 

“I feel like we need to be more confident as a team,” Jordan said. 

“You can’t play this game timidly,” Verdi said. “You have to have confidence.”

Pitt hopes to add to the win column this Sunday, as they travel to Massachusetts to take on Boston College in a noon tipoff. Fans can watch on the ACC Network.