Pitt Aims For Second Straight Win As Georgetown Comes To Town On Saturday

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (1-1, 0-0 ACC) will look to carry over some momentum from the second half of their last game on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the Georgetown Hoyas to the Petersen Events Center for a non-conference battle at 2:00 pm. The Panthers overcame a 17-point halftime deficit last time out and will be looking for their second straight win on Saturday.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Saturday afternoon's game will air on the ACC Network Extra by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on 107.9 KDKA HD-3 radio as Jim Colony will have the call from courtside.
Live stats of the game can be found by clicking HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will also be posted on Twitter by following the Pitt women's basketball account @Pitt_WBB.

STORYLINES

The 2019-20 version of the Pitt Panthers features five returning players and seven newcomers. The newcomers are comprised of two transfers and five freshmen student-athletes.
Graduate student Aysia Bugg will return to the Panthers lineup this season for her sixth season after sustaining blood clots last season that forced her to miss the final 26 games. Bugg is enjoying a strong start to the season as she is averaging an ACC-best 21.5 ppg so far.
The new-look Panthers earned their first win of the season last time out and will be looking for their second straight home victory on Saturday afternoon when the Georgetown Hoyas come to town.
The Panthers put together a strong second half on Monday night and posted their biggest come-from-behind victory since joining the ACC in 2013-14, overcoming a 19-point second half deficit. Pitt forced 13 second half turnovers and turned those into 24 points.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

Georgetown enters Saturday's game in Pittsburgh with a 0-2 record after dropping their home opener to Richmond on Tuesday, 51-49.
As a team, the Hoyas are averaging just 50.5 points/game while shooting 31% from the floor and just 21.6% from behind the arc.
They are being outrebounded so far this season by an average of 4.0 boards/game while forcing an average of 17.0 turnovers/game on the defensive end of the court.
Offensively, the Hoyas are being led by Nikola Kovacikova who is averaging 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while playing an average of 34.5 minutes/game.
Tatiana Thompson is averaging 10.5 points off the bench while Anita Kela va is averaging 8.0 points and 8.0 rebounds across two starts.

LAST TIME OUT

After a slow first half, the Panthers were able to secure their first win of the season as they downed Central Connecticut State 81-73.
The Panthers fell behind by 17 through 20 minutes before the defense helped propel Pitt in the second half, forcing 13 turnovers in the second half to secure the come-from-behind victory.
Aysia Bugg had a career game in the win as she netted a career-high 26 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals while connecting on a career-best six three-pointers.

NON-CONFERENCE DOMINATION

The Panthers have been dominant in the non-conference portion of their schedule as they have posted 15 straight winning seasons.
Pitt has recorded at least eight nonconference victories in each season since 2003-04 when they had a losing record of 4-6.
Over the past five seasons, Pitt owns a 46-22 (.676) record against nonconference opponents.
Since joining the ACC, Pitt owns a 38-13 (.745) record against non-conference opponents inside the Petersen Events Center.

BUGGIN' OUT

After receiving a waiver for her sixth season of eligibility in the summer, graduate student Aysia Bugg has been the best player on the court for the Panthers across the first two games.
Last time out, Bugg had a career night for the Panthers as she netted a career-high 26 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals while connecting on a career-best six three-pointers in the win.
The 26-point effort for Bugg marked the fourth 20+ game of her career as she currently leads the ACC in scoring average (21.5 ppg), three-pointers made (9) and minutes/game (37.0 mpg).
The team captain enters this season as the lone player in the ACC to have 700+ points, 300+ assists and 200+ rebounds in her career.
Bugg missed all of the 2017-18 campaign due to a torn ACL and after a strong start to her 2018-19 campaign, she missed the final 26 games after suffering from blood clots. Prior to her blood clot diagnosis, Bugg was averaging a team-high 14.0 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds across 29.6 minutes/game.
Bugg is just 244 points shy 1,000 for her career as she would become the 20th member of the Panthers 1,000 point club. She is also just 24 assists away from 10th place on the Panthers all-time assists charts.
The sixth year captain is the oldest active player in the ACC, just six days older than former teammate and current Louisville forward Yacine Diop.

GREEN DAY

Junior college transfer Gabbie Green has made a strong impact on a young Panther team through two games this season.
After exploding for 18 points in her first career game, Green finished off the win over Central Connecticut State with five points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Green tied the program record for points scored (18) in a Pitt debut since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013-14. She tied the mark set by Danielle Garven in her first game for Pitt in 2017.
Green comes to Pitt after two successful seasons at South Plains College in Texas where she earned First Team All-America honors as a sophomore last season after averaging 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU

Freshman forward Amber Brown will be asked to play big minutes down low for the Panthers this season and she seems ready for the challenge.
Last time out, Brown was a monster down low for Pitt as she notched her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds across a career-high 30 minutes.
Brown becomes the first Pitt freshman to record a double-double since Brenna Wise on 2/18/16 (10 points, 13 rebounds).

NEXT UP

The Panthers will play host to their annual School Day game on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 11:00 am inside the Petersen Events Center.
Pitt will then welcome the Duquesne Dukes to the Pete for a crosstown battle on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 pm.

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