Wednesday, November 25
Pittsburgh, Pa.
12:00 PM
Pitt
1-0,0-0ACC
72
vs
57
George Mason University
0-1,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
F
George Mason
5
14
12
26
57
Pittsburgh
14
23
26
9
72
Stingy Defense Propels Women's Basketball To Season Opening Win
11/25/2020 4:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 ACC) opened up their 2020-21 campaign on the right foot as they collected a season opening victory over George Mason Wednesday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt led throughout as they secured the 72-57 home victory.
"First game, so excited to be back on the court and be able to watch our kids play," stated head coach Lance White after the Panthers 15-point victory. "A couple of weeks ago or a month ago, I didn't really believe that this day would happen. To be able to play against somebody else and for our kids to get out there and compete, I'm so excited and I'm really thankful to all the people that made today happen."
The Panthers were led offensively by junior guard Jayla Everett who netted a game-high 18 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks across 27 minutes of action. Everett brought great energy from the opening tip as she went 6-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-7 from behind the arc in her Pitt debut. Dayshanette Harris finished off her afternoon with her second career double-double as she netted 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win.
The freshman duo of Liatu King and Taisha Exanor had strong debuts for the Panthers as well on Wednesday as King finished with eight points and seven rebounds (four offensive) while Exanor chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and two steals off the bench.
"Overall, I was really pleased," stated White. "I thought Jayla Everett has really helped us gives us another punch that's really going to help us in ACC play. The overall development of being able to be deeper and now you look back to the bench and be able to see a lot of players that I really think can contribute and help us, which is a huge positive of where we're going as a program."
The Panthers got out to a quick start as Everett netted five quick points to give Pitt the 6-0 lead just over a minute into action. The Patriots cut the Pitt lead to four, 9-5, midway through the quarter but the Panthers were able to score the final five points of the quarter to take the 14-5 lead into the second quarter. The Pitt defense held George Mason to just 12% shooting in the opening quarter.
The Pitt offense kicked into a higher gear in the second quarter as they were able to outscore the Patriots 23-14. Harris was the catalyst in the quarter as she managed to score six points, two rebounds and two assists in the quarter. Amber Brown closed out the scoring in the half with a layup and free throw as she battled through contact. Pitt shot 61.1% from the floor in the second quarter as they claimed the 37-19 halftime lead.
The third quarter proved to be the knockout blow for Pitt as they dominated the Patriots out of the locker room. The Panthers outscored the visitors 26-12 in the third quarter as Everett had it going in the quarter, scoring eight points on 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Eight Panthers scored in the quarter as King netted four points and three rebounds to give Pitt the 63-31 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Patriots drew a little closer across the final 10 minutes of action as they outscored Pitt 26-9. The visitors went to the free throw line 15 times in the final quarter, converting on 14 attempts. Despite the lopsided fourth quarter, the Panthers were able to secure their first win of the season, 72-57.
Senior Cara Judkins finished off her game with seven points and five rebounds while Brown posted seven points, three assists and two rebounds across 21 minutes of action. Rita Igbokwe earned the start at center and netted four points and six rebounds in the win.
George Mason was led by Daijah Jefferson who netted 17 points, five rebounds and three steals while Marika Korpinen added 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
UP NEXT
Team
#H2P | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
"First game, so excited to be back on the court and be able to watch our kids play," stated head coach Lance White after the Panthers 15-point victory. "A couple of weeks ago or a month ago, I didn't really believe that this day would happen. To be able to play against somebody else and for our kids to get out there and compete, I'm so excited and I'm really thankful to all the people that made today happen."
The Panthers were led offensively by junior guard Jayla Everett who netted a game-high 18 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks across 27 minutes of action. Everett brought great energy from the opening tip as she went 6-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-7 from behind the arc in her Pitt debut. Dayshanette Harris finished off her afternoon with her second career double-double as she netted 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win.
The freshman duo of Liatu King and Taisha Exanor had strong debuts for the Panthers as well on Wednesday as King finished with eight points and seven rebounds (four offensive) while Exanor chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and two steals off the bench.
"Overall, I was really pleased," stated White. "I thought Jayla Everett has really helped us gives us another punch that's really going to help us in ACC play. The overall development of being able to be deeper and now you look back to the bench and be able to see a lot of players that I really think can contribute and help us, which is a huge positive of where we're going as a program."
The Panthers got out to a quick start as Everett netted five quick points to give Pitt the 6-0 lead just over a minute into action. The Patriots cut the Pitt lead to four, 9-5, midway through the quarter but the Panthers were able to score the final five points of the quarter to take the 14-5 lead into the second quarter. The Pitt defense held George Mason to just 12% shooting in the opening quarter.
The Pitt offense kicked into a higher gear in the second quarter as they were able to outscore the Patriots 23-14. Harris was the catalyst in the quarter as she managed to score six points, two rebounds and two assists in the quarter. Amber Brown closed out the scoring in the half with a layup and free throw as she battled through contact. Pitt shot 61.1% from the floor in the second quarter as they claimed the 37-19 halftime lead.
The third quarter proved to be the knockout blow for Pitt as they dominated the Patriots out of the locker room. The Panthers outscored the visitors 26-12 in the third quarter as Everett had it going in the quarter, scoring eight points on 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Eight Panthers scored in the quarter as King netted four points and three rebounds to give Pitt the 63-31 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Patriots drew a little closer across the final 10 minutes of action as they outscored Pitt 26-9. The visitors went to the free throw line 15 times in the final quarter, converting on 14 attempts. Despite the lopsided fourth quarter, the Panthers were able to secure their first win of the season, 72-57.
Senior Cara Judkins finished off her game with seven points and five rebounds while Brown posted seven points, three assists and two rebounds across 21 minutes of action. Rita Igbokwe earned the start at center and netted four points and six rebounds in the win.
George Mason was led by Daijah Jefferson who netted 17 points, five rebounds and three steals while Marika Korpinen added 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
UP NEXT
- The Panthers return home on Sunday afternoon as they welcome the Hofstra Pride to the Pete for a 2:00 pm tip. Hofstra is coached by former Pitt associate head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson.
- After Hofstra, Pitt will close out their non-conference slate with Delaware on Dec. 6 at 6:00 pm. The game against Delaware will air live on the ACC Network.
Team
- With the win, Pitt improves to 2-0 all-time against George Mason.
- Pitt improves to 34-13 all-time in home openers including a 14-5 mark inside the Petersen Events Center.
- For the game, Pitt shot 42% from the field while holding the Patriots to just 20% shooting overall and 16% from behind the arc.
- Pitt held the 53-43 edge in rebounding, marking the sixth most rebounds the Panthers have grabbed in a game since joining the ACC in 2013-14. Pitt had three games with 51+ rebounds a season ago.
- Pitt dominated the scoring in the paint 38-14 while also owning the 18-8 edge in fast break scoring in the win.
- Everett led all players with 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal across 27 minutes of work.
- She went 6-for-11 from the floor including a team-best 4-for-7 from behind the arc.
- Everett now has 33 career games scoring in double figures.
- Wednesday's game marked the first of her Pitt career.
- Harris finished off her afternoon with her second career double-double as she netted 11 points and 10 rebounds. It was her second double-double in her last three games played dating back to last season.
- She also notched six assists and two steals across 28 minutes of work on Wednesday. Her six assists were a team high as she has led Pitt in assists 17 times across her career.
- The sophomore has now scored in double figures 17 times in her young career.
- King made her collegiate debut on Wednesday and finished off her game with eight points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal across 16 minutes.
- She finished her afternoon going an efficient 4-for-7 from the floor while snagging a team-high four offensive rebounds.
#H2P | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
GMU
Pitt
FG%
.200
.420
3FG%
.160
.316
FT%
.744
.667
RB
43
53
TO
17
21
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
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