Panthers Aim For 3-0 Start As Delaware Comes To Town Sunday

PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team (2-0, 0-0 ACC) will close out their non-conference slate Sunday evening as they welcome the Delaware Blue Hens to the Petersen Events Center. Sunday's game will tip at 6:00 pm and will air on the ACC Network Extra with Jeff Hathhorn and Shayla Scott on the call as Pitt aims at a 3-0 start to the 2020-21 campaign.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Sunday's game will be aired live on ACC Network Extra by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on 1320AM WJAS radio as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from the Pete starting at 5:45 pm with the pregame show. The radio call can be heard by clicking HERE.
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.

THE SERIES WITH DELAWARE

Sunday's meeting marks the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs.
Pitt owns the 4-0 lead in the all-time series.
The Panthers are 20-8 overall against teams from the CAA including a 1-0 mark this season as they downed Hofstra last time out.

STORYLINES

Pitt will be looking for a 3-0 start to the season for the first time under head coach Lance White after the defense held Hofstra to just 30.2% shooting from the floor in the 71-58 victory. It marked the first time since 2016 that the Panthers collected back-to-back wins and held their opponents to under 30.2% shooting in both games.
Junior Jayla Everett has been the best player on the court for the Panthers through two victories this season as she ranks second in the ACC in scoring (20.5 ppg) while connecting on 50% of her three-pointers.

OPENING TIP

Pitt hosts Delaware at the Petersen Events Center Sunday, Dec. 6 (6 p.m. - ACCNX) in the fifth meeting between the two programs.
The Panthers are coming off back-to-back double digit victories to open the season with a 2-0 record after downing Hofstra 71-58 on Sunday. This marks the first 2-0 start for Pitt under head coach Lance White.
The Panthers have started the same five in each game this season while also playing a season-high 13 players in their win over Hofstra. A total of nine Panthers netted at least two points last time out.

LAST TIME OUT – HOFSTRA

The Panthers led wire-to-wire for the second straight game to open the season as they improved to 2-0 for the first time under coach White, downing Hofstra, 71-58, Sunday at the Petersen Events Center.
Pitt was able to shoot 40% from the floor, connected on seven three-pointers and drained a season-best 20 free throws in the win.
Junior Jayla Everett was once again the best player on the floor for the Panthers as she netted a season-high 23 points and five rebounds across 31 minutes of work. Everett sealed the game at the charity stripe as she went 10-for-10 at the line in the win.
As a team, the Panthers held the 42-40 edge in rebounds while also owning the 25-10 advantage in points off turnovers and 19-11 edge in fast break scoring.

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 as they held George Mason to just 20% shooting in the win, the lowest field goal percentage against the Panthers since Loyola Chicago shot just 19.1% on Nov. 17, 2016.
Pitt has held each of their first two opponents to under 30.1% shooting for the first time since the 2016 campaign.
Pitt held George Mason and Hofstra to under 58 points or fewer marking the second time Pitt has done that in back-to-back wins under coach White.
When Pitt holds their opponent to 59 points or fewer, they own a 12-3 record under White.

EVERETT MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT

After earning immediate eligibility after her transfer from New Mexico, Jayla Everett didn't waste much time making a strong first impression for the Panthers.
The St. Louis, MO product is enjoying a strong start to her Pitt career as she is averaging 29.0 mpg, 20.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 2.0 apg while shooting 47.8% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc.
Everett currently ranks second in the ACC in scoring (20.5 ppg), tied for first in free throw percentage (100%), fourth in three-pointers made/game (3.5) and tied for fourth in three-point field goal percentage (50%).
Last time out in the win over Hofstra, Everett led the Panthers in scoring for the second straight game as she netted 23 points and five rebounds. She finished the game going a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Everett is the first Pitt player since Brittaney Thomas in 2010-11 to score at least 18 points in each of the teams' first two games of the season.
Her 41 points scored through two games are the most by a Pitt player since Asia Logan had 46 points through two games in 2012-13.
The 41 total points for Everett are the most scored by a Pitt newcomer in their first two career games in over 20 seasons.
The 23-point effort gives Everett 34 career games scoring in double figures including eight games with 20+ points scored.
Everett posted the most points scored (23) in the second game of her career since Kalista Walters netted 26 during the 2015-16 season for Pitt.
Across her career at New Mexico, Everett posted averages of 12.7 points, 3.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds while starting 48 games.
The lengthy guard out of St. Louis was the 2018-19 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year after posting freshman year averages of 13.5 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.5 rpg and 1.2 spg while setting a program freshman record with 417 points scored.

NEXT UP

The Panthers will open up ACC play Thursday, Dec. 10 as they head to Blacksburg, VA to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. Thursday's game will tip at 6:00 pm and air on ACC Network Extra.
Pitt will return home for their first ACC test of the season Sunday, Dec. 13 as the Clemson Tigers come to town for a 12:00 pm tip.

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