Pitt Stumbles in The City Game, 63-54

Thursday, December 29

Pittsburgh, PA.

2:00 PM

Pitt

9-4

Duquesne

7-7

Pitt

Duquesne

Pitt Stumbles in The City Game, 63-54

12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Dec. 29, 2016

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PITTSBURGH – Three Panthers reached double figures in the scoring column as Pitt women's basketball (9-4, 0-0 ACC) fell, 63-54, in the 35th rendition of The City Game against cross-town rival Duquesne (7-7, 0-1 A10) Thursday afternoon at A.J. Palumbo Center.

"It was a disappointing performance for us, offensively," coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. "We had every good look at the basket. We had wide-open threes; we had wide-open layups; we had jumpers. For whatever reason we just struggled to score the basketball and it becomes contagious. I think when you're trying to find answers in players – constantly sending players in and trying to find answers offensively, one after another – we're not finding the answers we needed."

Graduate transfer center Brandi Harvey-Carr led Pitt with 14 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four steals. Sophomore forward Brenna Wise had 12 points, marking her sixth consecutive outing in double figures, and had six rebounds. Freshman point guard Jasmine Whitney returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 10 against Penn State and contributed 11 points as well as team highs of seven rebounds and five assists.

"We're trying to get back into a rhythm," McConnell-Serio said. "We played without Jasmine Whitney for a week prior to Christmas break – she missed an entire week of practice – so her coming back in these last two practices, leading up to today, we were just trying to find a little rhythm and obviously that takes time when you don't have your starting point guard."

Following a 3-3 tie at the 8:14 mark in the first quarter, the Dukes took off on a 13-2 run to take a 16-5 lead at 4:42. Harvey-Carr hit a triple to stop the bleeding (16-8) and Wise sunk back-to-back jumpers to cut the deficit to five points, down 17-12, to close the quarter.

After Duquesne's Nina Aho made a jumper to open the second stanza, the Panthers hit their stride, going on an 8-0 run to take their first and only lead of the game (20-19) at the 6:30 mark. However, the Dukes roared back in response with an 11-2 run of their own to move back in front, 30-22, at the break.

Duquesne reached a largest lead of 14 (42-28) after outscoring the Panthers twofold, 12-6, to open the third quarter. Pitt did not resign and chipped away at the lead, going on an 11-2 run that included eight consecutive points from Whitney to cut the deficit to five points (44-39) with 2:23 to go in the third. The period ended on a last-second layup from Kauai Bradley to make it 48-43, Dukes leading, to start the final period.

The Panthers came as close as within three points (48-45) before another Duquesne run extended the deficit back to double figures. The Dukes led by 12 with 5:37 remaining in the game (61-49). Pitt outscored Duquesne 5-2 for the remainder of the contest but it was not enough as the Panthers fell, 63-54. The loss marked Pitt's third of the season by single figures.

The Dukes out-shot the Panthers, 42.3 percent to 34.9 percent, and had a hefty advantage on the boards (44-28). Duquesne had the hot hand from long range, shooting 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc, while Pitt shot a season-low 15.4 percent from 3-point land (2-of-13).

THE SERIES

When playing at A.J. Palumbo Center, the Dukes lead the all-time series 7-5, but the Panthers still hold a 20-15 advantage overall. Pitt's last win in the series was Dec. 29, 2013, at Petersen Events Center (67-57), and the Panthers' last win at the Palumbo Center was Dec. 3, 2008 (66-47).

EXPERIENCE THE ACTION

All individual tickets for Pitt women's basketball home games are general admission and available for purchase for $5 each by calling the Panthers Ticket Office at 800-643-7488 or by visiting PittsburghPanthers.com. Group tickets and season tickets are also on sale.

UP NEXT

Pitt will tip off its ACC schedule by hosting No. 11/11 Miami (Fla.) Monday night at 7 p.m. ET at Petersen Events Center. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

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