Shook steps up big as No. 5 Louisville routs Pitt

PITTSBURGH » Missing two starters, including one of the best overall players in the country, it took a little while for No. 5 Louisville to get going against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Specifically, it took 10 minutes. The Cardinals (25-3, 14-2 ACC) led the Panthers by one point at the end of the first quarter but then took over. Louisville outscored Pitt 50-17 over the middle two periods to turn the game into a rout.

Starting point guard Dana Evans and shooting guard Elizabeth Balogun

were both held out with injuries, but the Cardinals have plenty of quality depth to turn to.

“We had a few players that had to step up and play more minutes than they played in the past,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “I thought everybody played about as well as they could have today.”

One of those players was senior forward Kylee Shook. Usually relied on for her defense, Shook stepped up to score a team-high 17 points and grab 10 rebounds. Shook now has six double-doubles on the season and three in her last four games.

“That was kind of my focus this year coming in as a senior,” Shook said. “I felt like I had to be more aggressive on the offensive part of my game.”

Fellow senior Yacine Diop added 15 points and four steals. As a team, Louisville forced 22 Pitt turnovers and turned them into 26 points.

The Cardinals turned the ball over just nine times while assisting on 21 of 30 made baskets. Mykasa Robinson led Louisville with eight assists and also grabbed seven rebounds.

Junior Gabbie Green scored 11 points to lead the Panthers (4-23, 1-15), who have dropped seven straight. Dayshanette Harris had 10 points and five rebounds.

No. 1 South Carolina beats No. 14 Kentucky to win SEC title NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 67, NO. 14 KENTUCKY 58» Zia Cooke scored 20 points, and No. 1 South Carolina held 14th-ranked Kentucky to 30% shooting to win 6758 on Sunday, earning its 21st consecutive victory.

The win, coupled with Mississippi State’s loss to Alabama earned the Gamecocks the Southeastern Conference regular season championship.

The Gamecocks (27-1, 14-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed early before outscoring the Wildcats 17-1 over the final 5:14 of the first quarter. Kentucky mounted several small rallies and got within 49-40 midway through the third, but South Carolina closed with a 10-3 spurt that included consecutive transition baskets by Cooke.

Kentucky (20-6, 9-5) outscored the Gamecocks 15-8 in the fourth but didn’t get within single digits until Rhyne Howard’s 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining.

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Tyasha Harris and LeLe Grissett each scored 10 points for South Carolina.

Freshman Aliyah Boston had 11 rebounds and six points as the Gamecocks dominated the inside 38-14 and won the rebounding battle 38-31 to give 12th-year coach Dawn Staley her 300th victory with the school.

South Carolina also earned its 11th win in 12 meetings vs. Wildcats.

Howard had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Kentucky, which shot 36% or worse in each quarter and just 18% in the fourth. The Wildcats had sought to beat their second top-10 team in as many weeks after beating then-No. 6 Mississippi last Sunday.