Pitt Opens Up ACC Play At #2 Notre Dame On Thursday Night

PITTSBURGH – After closing out their non-conference slate with three straight come-from-behind victories, the Pitt women's basketball team (9-5, 0-0 ACC) will open up Atlantic Coast Conference play on Thursday night with their toughest test of the season as they head to #2 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish enter Thursday's contest with a 12-1 record and tip is set for 7:00 pm inside the Purcell Pavilion.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday's game against #2 Notre Dame will broadcast live on ACC Network Extra and may be viewed on WatchESPN/WatchESPN app.
Fans can tune into 1320 AM WJAS for the Pitt IMG Sports Network broadcast of the game, with Josh Rowntree on the call. Fans can also listen online at PittsburghPanthers.com.
Live stats of the game can be found on PittsburghPanthers.com.
Follow the team on Twitter for updates throughout the game and a behind-the-scenes look.

STORYLINES

Pitt has now overcome a deficit of at least nine points in three straight games for the first time since joining the ACC in 2013-14.
The Panthers close out non-conference play with nine victories, matching their total from two seasons ago.
Pitt scored 66 points in the win over Duquesne on Saturday as they improved to 8-0 on the year when scoring at least 60 points.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers (9-5, 0-0 ACC) earned their third straight comeback win as they defeated crosstown rival Duquesne 66-58 for their first City Game victory since 2013.
Trailing by as many as nine in the third quarter, the Panthers locked down defensively and earned the come-from-behind win as they held the Dukes to just 4-for-21 (19%) shooting in the final quarter.
Junior point guard Jasmine Whitney was fantastic for the Panthers on Saturday afternoon as she netted a career-high 23 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals while connecting on 3-for-4 from behind the arc and 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the win. It was her second straight game with 17+ points for Pitt.
Making her 14th straight start, senior Cassidy Walsh netted 14 points while sophomore Cara Judkins came off the bench and produced her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
As a team, Pitt was able to win the battle in the paint 22-16 while they also connected on 9-for-15 (60%) from behind the arc in the win.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter Thursday's ACC opener with a 12-1 record and are ranked No. 2 in the nation. The Fighting Irish have won five straight since their lone loss of the season to No. 1 UConn on Dec. 2.
Notre Dame is being led offensively by one of the best players in the nation in Arike Ogunbowale who is averaging 23.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 49.1% from the floor on the year.
Jessica Shepard is enjoying a strong start to her season as she is averaging 15.8 points, a team-high 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 61.9% from the floor. Point guard Jackie Young is averaging 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 rebounds while Marina Mabrey and Brianna Turner are also averaging double figures in scoring, averaging 14.0 and 13.4 points respectively.
As a team, the Fighting Irish are averaging 89.2 points/game while limiting their opponents to just 65.6 points/game. They are shooting 52.4% from the floor and averaging 43.8 rebounds/game so far this season.
Notre Dame is coached by one of the best in the game, Muffet McGraw, who just notched her 900th career head coaching victory last time out. McGraw has accumulated a career record of 900-272 over her illustrious career.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Panthers will stay on the road for their second ACC matchup of the season as they head to NC State on Thursday, Jan. 10 for a 7:00 pm game against the Wolfpack.
Pitt will open up their home ACC slate on Sunday, Jan. 13 as they welcome the Boston College Eagles to the Petersen Events Center for a 1:00 pm tip. The game against BC will be the first of four straight home games for the Panthers.

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