Panthers Close Out Non-Conference Slate On Saturday At Cincinnati

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (3-7, 0-0 ACC) sets their sights on snapping a three-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon as they close out their non-conference schedule on the road against Cincinnati. The Panthers and Bearcats will square off inside Fifth Third Arena at 2:00 pm.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Saturday's game at Cincinnati will be streamed online on Bearcats TV by clicking HERE.
Fans can also listen to the game on the radio by tuning into 107.9 KDKA-HD3. The voice of the Pitt women's basketball team, Josh Rowntree, will get you started with the pregame show at 1:45 pm followed by the call of the game at 2:00 pm.
Live stats for 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.

THE SERIES

This meeting marks the 16^th all-time between the two programs with Pitt owning the 11-4 lead in the series.
Pitt has won two straight in the series including a 65-48 victory inside the Pete over the Bearcats a season ago.
The Panthers are 5-1 all-time in Cincinnati in the series.
The first meeting between the two programs came in

A WIN WOULD...

Give Pitt their 12^th win over Cincinnati all-time.
Be the Panthers 631^st victory in program history.
Be Pitt's 35^th victory against an AAC school in program history.

STORYLINES

After undergoing successful surgery to remove cancer in October, junior guard Kyla Nelson made her season debut for the Panthers on Tuesday night at home. Nelson made her emotional return in front of a national audience as the game was on the ACC Network. The junior played 12 minutes and finished with three points and two assists in her return to the court.
The new-look Pitt lineup has been relying heavily on the production of newcomers as the six newcomers have combined to average 41.0 points and 26.8 rebounds per game. They are accounting for 64.7% of the Pitt scoring this season.

THE OPENING TIP

The Panthers will close out their non-conference slate on Saturday afternoon as they head to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats at 2:00 pm.
Pitt is being led offensively by Aysia Bugg who is averaging 15.7 points while connecting on a team-high 24 three-pointers.
Freshman forward Amber Brown is excelling for the Panthers as she is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds. She has recorded four double-doubles on the season.
Point guard Dayshanette Harris is continuing to make strides for Pitt as she is aver- aging 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and a team-high 3.1 assists per game.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers welcomed back junior Kyla Nelson after her successful battle with cancer. After falling behind by 21 in the third, the Panthers comeback effort fell just short on Tuesday night as they lost at home to Miami (OH), 80-71.
The Panthers were led offensively by junior Gabbie Green who notched her first career 20+ point game of her career as she finished with a team-high 23 points and five rebounds across 36 minutes of work.
Freshman Amber Brown scored in double figures for the sixth straight game as she netted 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the loss.
The RedHawks were able to shoot 48.4% from the floor and scored 19 second chance points in the win.

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 nine games.
Last time out, Bugg missed her first game of the season due to a minor hand injury. She is expected to return to action at Cincinnati.
For the season, Bugg leads the team averaging 34.6 minutes, 15.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while connecting on a team-high 24 three pointers and shooting 36.9% from deep. She ranks ninth in the ACC in scoring (15.7 ppg), third in three-pointers made (24), 10th in three-point shooting % (.369) and seventh in minutes played per game (34.6).
Bugg opened the season with four straight games with 17+ points scored, marking the first time in her career she has recorded four straight games of 17+ points scored.
The team captain entered 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 146 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 38 assists away from 10th place on the Panthers all-time assists charts.

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 continued her steady play for the Panthers as she scored in double figures for the sixth straight time, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, a career-high three assists and a career-best three steals.
Brown was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Week (Dec. 9) for the first time in her Pitt career after averaging a double-double (15.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg) over a two game span. Brown is just the second Pitt Freshman to earn the ACC weekly recognition, joining Yacine Diop in 2014.
On the year, Brown is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds while connecting on 46.9% of her field goal attempts. Her 8.2 rebounds ranks 13th in the ACC overall and third among ACC freshman.
Brown has grabbed at least four boards in all 10 of her career games while grabbing 10+ boards a team-leading five times and leading Pitt in rebounds five times (three straight games).
Earlier this season, Brown became the first Panther since Stasha Carey in 2015-16 to notch three straight games with 10+ rebounds. She is also the first freshman to do so since Carey did it in the 2014-15 season.
Brown has recorded four double-doubles so far this season, fourth most by any player in the ACC and second most among freshman in the NCAA. She is also the first Pitt freshman to record at least four double-doubles in a season since Brenna Wise had six in 2015-16.

NELSON MAKES EMOTIONAL RETURN TO THE COURT ON TUESDAY

After being diagnosed with a Neuroendocrine Tumor of the Appendix (cancer of the appendix) on September 25 and undergoing successful surgery to remove the cancer, junior sharpshooter Kyla Nelson made her season debut on Tuesday night vs. Miami (OH).
Prior to returning to the court on Tuesday night, Nelson was surprised in the locker room by ESPN's Holly Rowe who changed flight plans to Pittsburgh to see Nelson's return to the court. Rowe a cancer survivor herself, has been in contact with Nelson throughout her fight and made an emotional surprise visit for the game.
The England native finished off her first game of the season with three points and two assists across 12 minutes of work.
Nelson is coming off of a career year for the Panthers as a sophomore as she netted a career-high 6.0 points and 2.2 rebounds while ranking first on the team and fourth in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (40.4%).
The England native played a career-high 611 minutes across 30 games and knocked down a career-high 42 triples.
Nelson is just 27 three-pointers shy of becoming the 11th player in program history to net 100+ three-pointers in a career.

NEXT UP

The Panthers will have a couple days off over the holiday break and return to action on Monday, Dec. 30 as they begin ACC play at North Carolina at 2:00 pm.
Pitt will have their ACC home opener on Thursday, Jan. 2 as Notre Dame comes to town for a 7:00 pm tip on the ACC Network Extra.

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