Panthers Set For Sunday Showdown With Stony Brook At The Pete

PITTSBURGH – After a three-game road swing, the Pitt women's basketball team (3-5, 0-0 ACC) will return home on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm as they welcome the Stony Brook Seawolves for a non-conference battle.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Sunday's game against Stony Brook will air on the ACC Network Extra or it can be streamed online by clicking HERE.
Fans can also listen to the game on the radio by tuning into 1320 AM WJAS or by clicking HERE. The voice of the Pitt women's basketball team, Josh Rowntree, will get you started for game action at 1:45 pm with the pregame show leading up to tip 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 second all-time between the two programs with the Panthers collecting the lone victory in the series.
Pitt downed the Seawolves 89-86 in the only meeting between the two programs on Dec. 4, 2004 in Stony Brook.
The two teams have never met in Pittsburgh.

A WIN WOULD...

Give Pitt a 3-2 record in home games at the Petersen Events Center this season.
Be the second victory over Stony Brook and the 631^st in program history.
Give the Panthers a 145 victories at the Pete since it opened.

STORYLINES

An emphasis for Pitt this season has been on rebounding the basketball and over the past five games they have taken that to heart. Pitt has grabbed 45+ rebounds in five straight games for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Last time out, Pitt grabbed a season-best 51 boards at Penn State. Over their last five games, Pitt holds the 48.0 to 39.6 edge in rebounding.
The new-look Pitt lineup has been relying heavily on the production of newcomers as the six newcomers have combined to average 39.6 points and 26.3 rebounds per game. They are accounting for 62.5% of the Pitt scoring this season.

THE OPENING TIP

The Panthers return to the Pete on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Stony Brook for a non-conference showdown at 2pm.
Pitt is being led offensively by Aysia Bugg who is averaging 15.6 points while connecting on a team-high 22 three-pointers.
Freshman forward Amber Brown is excelling for the Panthers as she is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 8.5 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 11.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and a team-high 3.0 assists per game.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers had a slow second quarter and couldn't quite dig out of the 12-point halftime deficit as they fell to Penn State in the B1G/ACC Challenge, 78-73, in Happy Valley.
Pitt saw Dayshanette Harris (26) and Amber Brown (16) combine for 42 points in the loss, both career-highs.
The difference in the game for Penn State was the play of Kamaria McDaniel who went off for a career-high 40 points and seven rebounds. She is the first Pitt opponent to score 40 points against the Panthers since Nadine Malcom (Providence) scored 40 in 1995.

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 non-conference victories in each season since 2003-04 when they had a losing record of 4-6.
Over the past five seasons, Pitt owns a 47-25 (.653) record against non-conference opponents.
Since joining the ACC, Pitt owns a 39-15 (.722) 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 eight games.
Last time out, Bugg struggled early on but finished off the loss at Penn State with 11 points and four assists. She has now scored 10+ points in three straight games and seven times overall this season.
For the season, Bugg leads the team averaging 35.3 minutes, 15.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while connecting on a team-high 22 three pointers and shooting 35.5% from deep. She ranks ninth in the ACC in scoring (15.6 ppg), third in three-pointers made (22), fourth in three-point shooting % (.355) and seventh in minutes played per game (35.0).
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.
She has led the Panthers in scoring four times this season and 16 times in her career while also playing 30+ minutes in all eight games this season and 51 times over her Pitt career.
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 162 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 42 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 to progress towards becoming a big time ACC player as she notched a career-high 16 points and 12 rebounds across just 26 minutes against Penn State. It marked her second straight double-double.
On the year, Brown is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds while connecting on 45.3% of her field goal attempts. Her 8.5 rebounds ranks ninth in the ACC overall and second amongst ACC freshman.
Brown has grabbed at least four boards in all eight of her career games while grabbing 10+ boards a team-leading five times, including in two straight.
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, second most by any player in the ACC and second most amongst 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.

HAVE A DAY, DAY

Playing the point guard position as a freshman is one of the most difficult things to do but to come in and start at point guard is almost unheard of.
Dayshanette Harris has handled the reins of the Pitt offense since her first day on campus and she is showing flashes of being a star for the Panthers.
Last time out, Harris shined in the loss at Penn State as she netted a career-high 26 points, a career-high six rebounds, four assists and a career-high four steals while going 10-for-20 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.
On the year, Harris is averaging 27.6 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals while starting all eight games.
Harris is the first Pitt freshman since Kalista Walters in 2015-16 to post at least two 20+ scoring efforts in a season.

RITA 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 played 14 minutes and finished with four points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in the loss to Penn State.
So far this season, she is averaging 15.9 minutes, 3.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 45.8% from the floor.
She leads the ACC in blocked shots (17, 2.1 bpg) so far this season. She also ranks fifth amongst freshman in the ACC in blocks. She has four 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 stays at home for their next game as they welcome Miami (OH) to the Pete on Dec. 17 at 6:30 pm. The game against the RedHawks will air live on the ACC Network.

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