Women's Hoops Welcomes George Mason For Season Opener Wednesday

Wednesday, November 25

Pittsburgh, Pa.

12:00 PM

Pitt

George Mason University

Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics

Women's Hoops Welcomes George Mason For Season Opener Wednesday

11/24/2020 3:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Watch Live Stats Pitt Game Notes

PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team will officially open up their 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday afternoon as they welcome the George Mason Patriots to the Petersen Events Center. Tip in the season opener is set for 12:00 pm and will be the second meeting between the two programs all-time.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Wednesday's game will be aired live on ACC Network Extra by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on 93.7 FM HD3 radio as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from the Pete.
Live stats of 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.

STORYLINES

The Panthers will be returning 83.2% of their scoring and 91.8% of their rebounding from a season ago. They return eight of their top nine scorers from 2019-20.
The 2020-21 version of the Panthers features the same starting five that appeared in the final seven games of last season with Dayshanette Harris, Emy Hayford, Gabbie Green, Amber Brown and Rita Igbokwe all returning for year two at Pitt.
Pitt will welcome the addition of two transfer student-athletes for the season as Jayla Everett (New Mexico) and Destiny Strother (Marquette) were both granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA.

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt will open up their 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday afternoon as they welcome George Mason to the Pete for a 12:00 pm tip.
Season two under head coach Lance White didn't go as planned for the Panthers but it ended strong with just the program's second ACC Tournament victory, defeating defending ACC champions Notre Dame.
Sophomore guard Dayshanette Harris will look to build off of an impressive first season that saw her earn ACC All-Freshman team honors. The Youngstown native led the Panthers in scoring (12.7 ppg), assists (2.6 apg) and steals (1.8 spg) while netting 20+ points in each of her final three games of the season.

HOME OPENER SUCCESS

Entering Wednesday's home opener against George Mason, the Panthers currently own a 33-13 record including a 13-5 record inside the Pete.
Last season, Pitt downed Central Connecticut State 81-73 in their home opener as they have now won four of their last five overall.
Overall in season opener's the Panthers hold a 31-15 record all-time.

NON-CONFERENCE DOMINATION

The Panthers have been dominant in the non-conference portion of their schedule as they have posted 15 winning seasons in the last 16 years.
Over the past six seasons, Pitt owns a 48-29 (6.23) record against non-conference foes.

FANTASTIC 2019-20 FRESHMAN CLASS

The 2019-20 freshman class for the Panthers etched their names in the record books as they became the highest scoring first-year class in program history last season.
Coach White's first recruiting class didn't disappoint as the four-player group of talented student-athletes netted an ACC-best and Pitt freshman class record of 948 points.
The quartet ranked third amongst Power 5 conference freshman classes in scoring, trailing only USC (1308 points) and South Carolina (1047; #1 recruiting class in the NCAA).
The Pitt four-player freshman class combined to start an ACC-high 73 games while also being the only team in the conference to start four freshman in a game, doing so seven times on the season. The seven games with four freshmen starting were the most by any Power 5 conference team.
Pitt was one of two Power 5 conference teams a season ago to have four freshman average at least 19.5 minutes/game (Cal).

MUCH IMPROVED REBOUNDING

One of the biggest points of emphasis heading into the 2019-20 season for head coach Lance White and his staff was growth rebounding the basketball and the Panthers took that to heart.
Pitt went from 238th in the NCAA in 2018-19 to 58th in the NCAA last season in total rebounds as they grabbed 1,231 rebounds as a team.
Pitt also improved in rebounds/game as they went from 250th in 2018-19 to 75th in the NCAA last season, grabbing an average of 39.7 rpg.
Pitt also had the biggest improvement in rebounds/game among ACC teams as they grabbed an average of 4.2 more rebounds/game last season compared to 2018-19.
Pitt has posted 51+ rebounds three this season, the most in a season since 2014-15 when they also posted three games with 51+ rebounds. The last time Pitt had four games of 51+ rebounds was during the 2009-10 season.
Pitt recorded 40+ rebounds 15 times in 2019-20, the most in a season since doing it 19 times in 2014-15.

REBOUNDING TANDEM

The dynamic freshman duo of Rita Igbokwe and Amber Brown took the ACC by storm a season ago.
The two athletic posts put together a strong season on the glass as Brown led the squad averaging 7.7 rebounds and Igbokwe chipped in with 6.8 per contest.
Averaging 14.5 rpg between themselves, the teammates were the top freshman rebounding duo in the ACC and third overall in the NCAA, trailing only UC Santa Barbara and Oregon State.
Brown and Igbokwe were one of only two freshman duos in the NCAA (Oregon State) to average at least 6.8 rebounds/game each.

GREEN AND JUDKINS NAMED CAPTAINS

On Sunday afternoon, the Panthers selected captains for the 2020-21 season as a pair of seniors were tabbed to lead the youthful program.
Cara Judkins and Gabbie Green were unanimously selected to be team captains after a team vote.
Judkins has appeared in a team-high 76 games and made 49 starts over her impressive career while Green joined Pitt last season and was an instant leader with her great personality and passion for winning.

NEXT UP

The Panthers will return home on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Hofstra to the Petersen Events Center for a 2:00 pm tip.
After Hofstra, the Panthers will close out their non-conference slate against Delaware on Dec. 6 inside the Pete at 6:00 pm on the ACC Network.

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