#8 NC State Runs Away From Panthers In Second Half

Thursday, January 23

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7:00 PM

Pitt

3-15,0-7ACC

North Carolina State University

18-1,7-1ACC

NC State

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Pete Madia/Pitt Athletics

#8 NC State Runs Away From Panthers In Second Half

1/23/2020 10:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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PITTSBURGH – Strong start not enough on Thursday night as the Pitt women's basketball team fell at home to #8 NC State, 88-44. Senior captain Aysia Bugg netted her 100^th career three-pointer late in the first half as she becomes just the 11^th Panther in program history to surpass the 100 three's plateau.

It was a quick start offensively for both squads as the Wolfpack raced out to an 11-6 lead early on after a deep triple. Bugg responded with a fast break layup and Marcella Lamark connected on a three-pointer to cut the Panthers deficit to just two, 13-11, midway through the first quarter. After the media timeout, Jahsyni Knight netted a runner in the lane to tie things up but the Wolfpack scored seven of the final nine points in the quarter to take the 20-15 lead into the second.

NC State opened the second quarter strong with four straight points which forced Pitt to take a timeout but the home team responded with four quick points of their own out of the timeout as Emy Hayford made a jumper and Bugg finished off a layup to make it 24-19. The visitors then went on a 12-2 run to push their lead out to 15 but Pitt didn't back down and closed the half strong as Bugg drained her second triple of the quarter, and 100^th of her career, to send the game to halftime with Pitt trailing 38-30.

The Wolfpack came out of the locker room on fire in the third quarter and completely took over control of the game as they outscored the Panthers 30-4 in the quarter. NC State connected on 10-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-7 from deep in the third while Pitt made just two buckets. The Wolfpack held the 68-34 lead through 30 minutes and never looked back.

The hot shooting continued for NC State in the final quarter as they scored 20 points en route to their 18^th win of the season, defeating the Panthers 88-44.

Harris led all scorers with 16 points, three rebounds and two steals across 34 minutes of work as she made her 12^th start of the season at point for the Panthers. Bugg finished off her night with 12 points while Rita Igbokwe netted three points and a team-high 10 rebounds in the loss off the bench.

As a team, the Wolfpack dominated all statistical categories on Thursday night as they shot 49.3% from the floor and connected on 10 three-pointers. The visitors also won the rebounding battle, 47-33, while outscoring the Panthers 36-16 inside the paint and 18-1 in second chance points.

NEXT UP

Pitt will hit the road on Sunday for a showdown with #5 Louisville at 4:00 pm inside the KFC Yum! Center.

PITT NOTES
TEAM

With the loss, Pitt falls to 2-7 all-time against the Wolfpack and have lost five straight in the series.
Pitt saw nine players score at least one point on Thursday in the loss.

Dayshanette Harris

Finished off her night with a team-high 16 points, three rebounds and two steals across 34 minutes of action.
Her 16-point effort marked her career-high for points in an ACC contest.
She has now scored in double figures five times this season including twice in ACC play.
The freshman has played 30+ minutes five times this season and 20+ minutes 15 times.
She made her 12^th start of the season at point guard for Pitt in the loss.

Aysia Bugg

Netted 12 points and an assists across 21 minutes of work on Thursday.
Finished her night going 5-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-4 from behind the arc.
Netted her 100^th career three-pointer to become the 11^th player in school history to do so.
Has scored in double figures 14 times this season including in five straight for the Panthers.
Has played at least 20 minutes in all 17 games this season.