Pitt Drops Heartbreaker to Wisconsin, 58-57

Wednesday, November 29

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 P.M.

Pitt

(5-2)

Wisconsin

(4-3)

Wisconsin

Pitt

Pitt Drops Heartbreaker to Wisconsin, 58-57

11/29/2017 10:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Panthers Outscore Badgers 14-5 in Final Period, Come Up Short

PITTSBURGH – Pitt women's basketball (5-2, 0-0 ACC) came up just short against Wisconsin (4-3, 0-0 ACC) as part of the 2017 edition of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, falling 58-57 Wednesday night at Petersen Events Center.

Redshirt junior forward Yacine Diop led the Panthers in scoring for the sixth consecutive outing with a game-high 17 points, extending her double-figure scoring streak to seven games. She added five rebounds. Sophomore point guard Jasmine Whitney had nine points to go along with five assists. Freshmen Kyla Nelson and Pika Rodriguez each hit three 3-pointers for nine points apiece.

After entering the fourth quarter down by 10, the Panthers used a 14-2 run to start the period and re-gained a 57-55 lead. A 3-pointer by Wisconsin's Courtney Frederickson with 2:45 remaining sealed the deal for the Badgers, as the Panthers' final attempt by Whitney at the buzzer did not fall.

A major contributor to the Panthers' woes was cold free throw shooting. Averaging 74.1 percent from the line prior to the game, Pitt went 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from the charity stripe in the loss.

The Panthers led by as many as four in the first quarter (6-2, 5:02). Following the game's first media timeout at 4:30, the Badgers went on an 11-3 run to lead 13-9. Nelson hit her first triple of the game as time expired to put the Panthers within one, down 13-12.

Pitt and Wisconsin tied twice within the first four minutes of the second quarter, before the Badgers used a 7-0 run to gain their largest lead of the half (24-17), with 3:42 left in the period. Although the Panthers used some hot shooting from long range to close the gap at the end of the quarter, they remained with a two-point hurdle at halftime, down 31-29.

Four points from Diop over the first few minutes of the third period gave Pitt its first lead (33-31) since the 3:37 mark in the first quarter. However, Wisconsin outscored the Panthers 22-10 for the remainder of the stanza to gain its largest lead of 10 (53-43).

Over the 14-2 stretch in the fourth quarter, the Panthers saw six points from Diop, six points from Rodriguez and two from Whitney. Frederickson's 3-pointer snapped the run and ended up being the deciding factor for the Badgers in the one-point win.

PITT IN THE BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE

Since joining the ACC prior to the 2013-14 season, the Panthers now own a 1-3 record when playing in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, and are 0-2 when hosting the event at Petersen Events Center.
Pitt's all-time Big Ten/ACC Challenge results:
- Dec. 3, 2014 – at Ohio State – W, 78-74
- Dec. 3, 2015 – at Michigan – L, 82-45
- Nov. 30, 2016 – vs. Purdue – L, 67-61
- Nov. 29, 2017 – vs. Wisconsin – L, 58-57

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