Pitt Welcomes Hofstra For Sunday Matinee

PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 ACC) returns to the Petersen Events Center Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm as they welcome the Hofstra Pride for a non-conference battle. Pitt will be looking to improve to 2-0 for the fifth time in the past eight seasons on Sunday after winning their opener against George Mason Wednesday.

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 WJAS 1320 AM radio by clicking HERE. The voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will bring you the call starting at 1:45 pm with the pregame show.
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 welcome back three former Panthers on Sunday afternoon as Hofstra comes to town. Former Associate head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson now leads the Pride while Jahsyni Knight (2018-20) and Jaala Henry (2017-19) return to the Pete for their first game against their former team.
Pitt will be looking for a 2-0 start to the season after opening the season with an impressive defensive showing as they held George Mason to just 20% shooting from the field and forced 17 turnovers in the win.

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt hosts Hofstra at the Petersen Events Center Sunday, Nov. 29 (2 p.m. - ACC Network Extra) in the first meeting between the two programs. Jeff Hathhorn and Shayla Scott will call the action on ACCNX.
Pitt opened up year three under Lance White with a strong showing as they downed George Mason, 72-57, to improve to 34-13 all-time in home openers.
Junior New Mexico transfer Jayla Everett made an instant impact for the Panthers as she netted a team-high 18 points, three rebounds and two blocks while connecting on 4-of-7 from behind the arc in the win.

LAST TIME OUT – GEORGE MASON

The Panthers opened their 2020-21 season with a victory as they downed George Mason 72-57 at the Pete on Wednesday afternoon.
Pitt was able to lead wire-to-wire as they shot 42% from the floor overall and 31.6% from deep while holding the visitors to just 20% shooting overall and 16% from behind the arc.
Junior Jayla Everett led all scorers with 18 points in her Pitt debut while sophomore point guard Dayshanette Harris did a little bit of everything as she netted her second career double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win.
As a team, the Panthers outrebounded the Patriots 53-43 for the game while also outscoring them inside the paint, 38-14.

THE DAY AND JAY SHOW

Heading into the 2020-21 campaign, the Panthers knew they would be relying on their talented guards to produce much of the scoring.
In the season opener against George Mason, the dynamic backcourt duo of Jayla Everett and Dayshanette Harris didn't disappoint.
Everett and Harris combined to score 29 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks in the victory.
For Everett, the 18 point game marked her 33rd game scoring in double figures while Harris has 17 career double digit scoring games for the Panthers.

MUCH IMPROVED REBOUNDING

One of the biggest points of emphasis for the Panthers since Lance White became head coach was rebounding the ball.
The Panthers took that to heart in the season opening win over George Mason as they grabbed 53 rebounds, tied for the sixth most in a game by Pitt since joining the ACC in 2013-14.
The Panthers grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and turned those chances into 11 second chance points on Wednesday.
Pitt went from 238th in the NCAA in 2018-19 to 58th in the NCAA last season in total rebounds and from 250th in 2018-19 to 75th in the NCAA in rebounds/game last season.
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.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE

The Panthers know in order to win games, especially in the ACC, they will need to produce on the defensive end of the court.
On Wednesday in the season opener, the Pitt defense had their best showing since Lance White took over the program.
The Panthers held George Mason to just 20% shooting from the floor including 16% from behind the arc in the win. The 20% shooting marked the lowest shooting percentage against the Panthers since White became head coach.
Pitt also forced 17 Patriots' turnovers that they turned into 18 points in the victory.
When Pitt holds their opponent to 59 points or fewer, they own an 11-3 record under White.

NEXT UP

The Panthers will have a week off before closing out their non-conference slate Sunday, Dec. 6 against Delaware. Sunday's game against the Blue Hens will tip at 6:00 pm and will air on the ACC Network.
Pitt will open up their ACC slate on the road Thursday, Dec. 10 as they head to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech at 6:00 pm.

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