LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Sara Hammond scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help No. 8 Louisville beat Pittsburgh 48-35 on Sunday.
Leading 34-32, Louisville held Pitt to one field goal and just three points in the final 7:26. It was a defensive struggle throughout as both teams converted less than 32 percent of their shots.
Shawnta’ Dyer added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench as Louisville (20-3, 8-2) rebounded from Monday’s loss at No. 15 Duke.
Stasha Carey and Aysia Bugg each scored 10 points for Pitt (15-8, 5-5). Yacine Diop added eight points and 11 rebounds.
The Cardinals held Brianna Kiesel, Pitt’s leading scorer at 18.5 points per game, to two points, her lowest outing of the season. The senior point guard hit just 1 of 13 shots and exited with a left wrist injury with 10:40 to play.
Both teams entered Sunday holding opponents to 37 percent shooting. Louisville shot 17 of 55 (31 percent) while Pitt managed to convert only 21 percent of its attempts (13 of 62). A crowd of 13.656 watched the lowest scoring total for Louisville in a win since the 2012 season opener against Texas A&M.
Despite the poor shooting numbers, Louisville capitalized on Pitt’s mistakes, scoring 15 points off 17 turnovers. The Panthers managed only two points off Louisville’s 14 miscues.
Hammond’s layup to start the second half gave the Cardinals a 27-18 advantage before Pitt rallied. The Panthers scored six straight as Diop’s 18-footer with 9:54 remaining cut the lead to 31-30.
The Panthers could not tie the game though as Louisville free throws pushed the lead to 4 before Bugg’s jumper with 7:26 left made it 34-32. Louisville scored 10 straight and Pitt would not score again until Bugg’s 3 with 58 seconds left gave the Panthers their last points of the afternoon.
An earlier 10-0 run put Louisville in control. The Cardinals trailed 8-4 after four minutes but then held Pitt scoreless for more than five minutes to take a 14-8 lead with 12:07 left in the opening half. Louisville did not trail from that point and led 25-18 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Louisville: Entering Sunday, the Cardinals averaged 18.1 assists a game, second in the ACC. The Cardinals had just 10 on Sunday, one less than their season low in a loss to Kentucky.
Pitt: The 35-point performance was the lowest of Pitt’s season and ended a two-game win streak. The Panthers’ previous low was 43 points in losses to Princeton and at Florida State.
UP NEXT
Louisville travels to Clemson on Thursday.
Pitt hosts Virginia Tech on Thursday.
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