Panthers Open Up ACC Play On Monday Afternoon At North Carolina

PITTSBURGH – ACC play begins on Monday afternoon for the Pitt women's basketball team (3-8, 0-0 ACC) as they head down to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels at 2:00 pm inside Carmichael Arena. North Carolina enters the conference opener with a 9-2 record after falling to Yale in their non-conference finale on Saturday, 66-63.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Monday's game at North Carolina will air live on the ACC Regional Sports Networks. In the Pittsburgh area, the game will be live on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh. To see the list of RSN channels click 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 10^th all-time between the two programs with Pitt holding the 6-3 edge in the series.
Pitt won the last meeting between the two sides, 91-78, in Pittsburgh last season.
The Tar Heels holds the 2-1 edge in the series in games in North Carolina.
The first meeting between the two programs came in 1981, a game that Pitt won 79-67 at home.

A WIN WOULD...

Give Pitt their seventh all-time victory over the Tar Heels.
Be the Panthers 631^st victory in program history.
Give Pitt their first true road win of the season and end a four-game losing streak.
Be Pitt's first ACC opening victory in program history.

STORYLINES

After undergoing successful surgery to remove cancer in October, junior guard Kyla Nelson returned to the Pitt lineup on December 17. The sharpshooter has appeared in each of the last two games for the Panthers and adds a much needed threat from behind the arc as ACC play begins.
The new-look Pitt lineup has been relying heavily on the production of newcomers as the six newcomers have combined to average 40.7 points and 26.7 rebounds per game. They are accounting for 65.2% of the Pitt scoring this season.

THE OPENING TIP

The Panthers will open up ACC play on Monday afternoon at North Carolina, marking the first time they have opened ACC play against the Tar Heels.
Pitt is being led offensively by Aysia Bugg who is averaging 14.9 points while connecting on a team-high 26 three-pointers.
Freshman forward Amber Brown is excelling for the Panthers as she is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds. She has recorded four double-doubles on the season.
Point guard Dayshanette Harris is continuing to make strides for Pitt as she is averaging 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-high 2.9 assists per game.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers weren't able to outlast the hot-shooting Cincinnati Bearcats in the non-conference finale as they fell on the road 69-53.
Pitt was led offensively by freshman forward Amber Brown who continued her strong play as she scored in double figures for the seventh straight game, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Freshman Rita Igbokwe had a strong game off the Pitt bench as she netted five points, a team-high nine rebounds and four blocks in the loss.
The Bearcats were able to shoot 46% from the floor in the win while also winning the rebounding battle over the Panthers 40-36.

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 11 games.
Last time out, Bugg returned to the court after missing a game with an injury to her finger and finished with eight points, a team-high four assists and two steals across 28 minutes of action.
For the season, Bugg leads the team averaging 33.8 minutes, 14.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists while connecting on a team-high 26 three pointers and shooting 35.6% from deep. She ranks 14th in the ACC in scoring (14.9 ppg), fourth in three-pointers made (24), sixth in free throw percentage (.818), ninth in minutes player per game (33.8 mpg) and 10th in three-point shooting % (.356).
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 138 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 34 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 seventh straight game, finishing with a team-high 12 points, five rebounds, a career-high three assists, two steals and two blocks across 32 minutes of work.
On the year, Brown is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds while connecting on 46.7% of her field goal attempts. Her 7.9 rebounds ranks 14th in the ACC overall and third among ACC freshman.

Brown has grabbed at least four boards in all 11 of her career games while grabbing 10+ boards a team-leading five times and leading Pitt in rebounds five times.
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.

IGBLOCKWE MAKING AN IMPACT

Freshman forward Rita Igbokwe has continued to show major growth down low for the Panthers and her development will be a key for Pitt this season and in the future.
The athletically gifted Igbokwe has become a problem for opponents down low as her length is causing players to adjust all shots inside the paint.
Last time out, Igbokwe came off the bench and posted five points, a team-high nine rebounds (five offensive) and four blocks across 22 minutes of work.
So far this season, she is averaging 16.3 minutes, 3.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 47.2% from the floor.
She ranks second in the ACC in blocked shots (23, 2.1 bpg) so far this season. She also leads all freshman in the ACC in blocks.
She has six multi-block games so far this season including a career-high six against Ohio.
Earlier this year, Igbokwe posted a monster game with 18 rebounds against Ohio. The 18 boards marked the most in a game by a Pitt player since 2010 and the most by a Pitt freshman since 2005.

The Jonesboro, Ga. native has three games with 10+ rebounds this season.

NEXT UP

Pitt will return home in the New Year to welcome Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 2 for a 7:00 pm tip inside the Petersen Events Center.
The Panthers will then stay at home for their next game as they welcome Boston College to the Pete on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2:00 pm.

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Panthers Open Up ACC Play On Monday Afternoon At North Carolina

Players Mentioned

Amber Brown

Aysia Bugg

Dayshanette Harris

Rita Igbokwe

Kyla Nelson

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