Thursday, January 30
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7:00 PM
Pitt
4-16,1-8ACC
53
vs
48
Wake Forest University
12-9,5-5ACC
1
2
3
4
F
Wake Forest
11
12
16
9
48
Pittsburgh
8
9
16
20
53
Panthers Roar Back In Second Half To Take Down Wake Forest, 53-48
1/30/2020 10:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team used some stingy defense and timely second half scoring to secure their first ACC victory of the season on Thursday night in front of the home fans inside the Petersen Events Center as they defeated Wake Forest, 53-48.
The Panthers began their comeback late in the third quarter and it all began on the defensive end of the floor. The Demon Deacons held their biggest lead of the game, 39-27, but the Panthers fought down the stretch of the third quarter as Dayshanette Harris made a layup and free throw and Gabbie Green knocked down a triple to send the game to the fourth with Pitt trailing by just six, 39-33.
After some back-and-forth play to open the final quarter, Wake Forest drilled a triple to take the 46-42 lead with just over four minutes to play but the Panthers didn't flinch. Aysia Bugg responded right away with a deep triple to bring Pitt within one and Harris knocked down a pull up in the lane to give the Panthers the 47-46 lead with 2:48 left. The play of the game came less than a minute later as freshman Rita Igbokwe grabbed an offensive rebound and finished off a layup to give Pitt a three-point lead, 49-46, and they never looked back, securing the 53-48 victory.
The Panthers defense in the final quarter was the key to the victory as they held the Demon Deacons to just 4-for-17 from the floor and forced six turnovers to secure their first ACC victory of the season.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the first minute as Harris made a pretty no-look pass to Amber Brown who finished off the layup. Over the next four minutes the Demon Deacons went on an 8-0 run to take the 8-2 lead at the media timeout in the first. Pitt outscored Wake down the stretch in the first 6-3 as Green netted four points as the Demon Deacons took the 11-8 lead into the second.
The second quarter looked much like the first for the Panthers as they were outscored by Wake Forest 12-9 to send the game to halftime with the visitors leading 23-17.
Harris led the way with another strong performance as the starting point guard as she netted a team-high 13 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals. Bugg finished her night with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists while Green netted 12 points and seven boards. Brown chipped in with five points and a team-high eight rebounds while Marcella Lamark netted five points and four rebounds off the bench in seven minutes.
As a team, the Panthers shot 37.9% from the floor while they held the Demon Deacons to just 25.8% shooting on the night. Pitt held the 28-22 edge in paint scoring while also winning the battle on the boards, 46-45, and posted 10 second chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.
NEXT UP
TEAM
The Panthers began their comeback late in the third quarter and it all began on the defensive end of the floor. The Demon Deacons held their biggest lead of the game, 39-27, but the Panthers fought down the stretch of the third quarter as Dayshanette Harris made a layup and free throw and Gabbie Green knocked down a triple to send the game to the fourth with Pitt trailing by just six, 39-33.
After some back-and-forth play to open the final quarter, Wake Forest drilled a triple to take the 46-42 lead with just over four minutes to play but the Panthers didn't flinch. Aysia Bugg responded right away with a deep triple to bring Pitt within one and Harris knocked down a pull up in the lane to give the Panthers the 47-46 lead with 2:48 left. The play of the game came less than a minute later as freshman Rita Igbokwe grabbed an offensive rebound and finished off a layup to give Pitt a three-point lead, 49-46, and they never looked back, securing the 53-48 victory.
The Panthers defense in the final quarter was the key to the victory as they held the Demon Deacons to just 4-for-17 from the floor and forced six turnovers to secure their first ACC victory of the season.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the first minute as Harris made a pretty no-look pass to Amber Brown who finished off the layup. Over the next four minutes the Demon Deacons went on an 8-0 run to take the 8-2 lead at the media timeout in the first. Pitt outscored Wake down the stretch in the first 6-3 as Green netted four points as the Demon Deacons took the 11-8 lead into the second.
The second quarter looked much like the first for the Panthers as they were outscored by Wake Forest 12-9 to send the game to halftime with the visitors leading 23-17.
Harris led the way with another strong performance as the starting point guard as she netted a team-high 13 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals. Bugg finished her night with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists while Green netted 12 points and seven boards. Brown chipped in with five points and a team-high eight rebounds while Marcella Lamark netted five points and four rebounds off the bench in seven minutes.
As a team, the Panthers shot 37.9% from the floor while they held the Demon Deacons to just 25.8% shooting on the night. Pitt held the 28-22 edge in paint scoring while also winning the battle on the boards, 46-45, and posted 10 second chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.
NEXT UP
- The Panthers return home on Saturday evening as they welcome #14 Florida State to the Pete for a 5:00 pm tip.
- Saturday's game will be the 13th Annual Pink The Petersen game which will raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.
- Fans in attendance will receive a Pink the Pete t-shirt along with a Roc Bobblehead.
TEAM
- With the win, Pitt improves to 4-6 all-time against Wake Forest and earns their first win at home in the all-time series.
- The win also marked the Panthers first ACC win of the season and first ACC win since beating the Demon Deacons last season on the road on Feb. 28, 2019.
- Pitt grabbed 46 rebounds, marking their 11th game this season with 40+ boards.
- Finished off her night leading the Panthers in scoring for the third straight ACC game as she netted 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two assists across 34 minutes. She scored all 13 of her points in the second half, a career-high for points in a single half.
- The freshman has scored in double figures for three straight games for the first time in her Pitt career. She has a total of seven double figure scoring games this season.
- The three blocks for Harris were a career-high.
- The freshman has played 30+ minutes seven times this season and 20+ minutes 17 times.
- She made her 14th start of the season at point guard for Pitt in the win.
- Closed out her night with 12 points and seven rebounds across a team-high 35 minutes of work in the win.
- Finished the night going 5-for-11 from the floor including 2-for-5 from behind the arc.
- She now has 12 games this season with two or more three-pointers including in eight of her last nine games overall.
- The junior has played 20+ minutes in all 20 games this season and 30+ minutes in 12 games.
Team Stats
Wake
Pitt
FG%
.258
.379
3FG%
.211
.250
FT%
.588
.545
RB
45
46
TO
16
22
STL
12
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Center
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