Panthers Edged Out By Miami On Thursday Night

Thursday, January 21

Pittsburgh, Pa.

6:00 PM

Pitt

3-4,1-3ACC

University of Miami

7-5,4-5ACC

Miami (FL)

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics

Panthers Edged Out By Miami On Thursday Night

1/21/2021 9:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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PITTSBURGH – Playing their first game in 32 days, the Pitt women's basketball team (3-4, 1-3 ACC) put together a strong effort against the Miami Hurricanes Thursday night inside the Pete but fell just short as they fell 72-68.

"I really thought our kids competed hard and we had a chance to win it tonight," stated head coach Lance White. "We just couldn't make enough plays down the stretch to do it, but I was really pleased with our effort. We hadn't done anything more than down back downs in 32 days, and to see our kids go out there and play really hard, it was nice to see. We used a lot of our bench and we tried to go short bursts with them, but I thought our kids handled it pretty well and did a pretty good job and gave us a chance to be in the game late."

After Amber Brown cut the Pitt deficit to two, 70-68, with just over a minute to play, the Panthers defense locked in and forced two stops to give themselves a chance late. Dayshanette Harris blocked a layup attempt by Miami and knocked the ball off her leg to give Pitt the ball with 29 seconds and down one score. On the ensuing possession, the Panthers had three good looks to tie or take the lead but wasn't able to convert on any. Gabbie Green missed the first shot but gathered her own miss before Jayla Everett missed a jumper and Liatu King couldn't convert on her offensive board as the Hurricanes finally secured the ball and sank a pair of free throws to ice the game.

Rita Igbokwe had her best game of the season in the loss for Pitt as she netted 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks while going 6-for-6 from the floor. Everett finished off her night with 13 points on 3-for-7 from behind the arc.
The Panthers had one of their best quarters of basketball of the season in the first quarter as they were able to net 31 points while shooting 60% from the floor. They opened up an early 10-2 lead after Gabbie Green and Destiny Strother netted back-to-back triples. After Igbokwe finished a layup, Strother netted a runner in the lane to force Miami to take a timeout with Pitt leading 14-6. The Panthers then finished the quarter on a 17-2 run as Taisha Exanor finished off a triple and Tracey Hueston netted a pair of free throws to send the game to the second quarter with Pitt leading 31-10.

The second quarter was all Miami on Thursday as they were able to outscore the Panthers 26-6 in the second 10 minute period. The Hurricanes opened up the quarter on a 15-0 run to get back into the game before Amber Brown finished off a jumper to give Pitt the 33-25 lead midway through the quarter. Miami took their first lead of the game late in the second quarter but Emy Hayford responded with a jumper and Igbokwe ended the half with an emphatic block to send the game to halftime with Pitt clinging to a 37-36 lead.

The Hurricanes opened up the third quarter with five straight before Everett knocked down her first triple of the game, making the score 41-40 in favor of Miami. After a pair of King layups, Miami netted five straight to go up 51-44 but Everett came right back with another triple. Miami pushed their lead back to 11, 58-47, late in the third but Pitt fought back as Brown finished off a three-point play and Everett netted the final five points of the quarter, including a three at the buzzer to send the game to the fourth with the visitors leading 60-55.

The two sides went back-and-forth to start the fourth quarter before Strother came in off the bench and drained a triple to cut the Pitt deficit to five, 67-62. King and Everett netted back-to-back buckets to make it a two point game with three minutes to play but the Panthers weren't able to fight all the way back, falling 72-68.

King had a strong game off the bench for Pitt as she netted eight points and a career-high nine rebounds while Strother chipped in with eight points of her own. Brown continued her steady play with eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in the loss.

Miami was led offensively by Kelsey Marshall who netted 21 points, four rebounds and three assists while connecting on five three-pointers. Endia Banks finished off her strong game with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win.

As a team, Pitt shot 42.4% from the floor while holding the Hurricanes to just 34.7% shooting on the night. Miami won the rebounding battle 46-40 while also grabbing 20 offensive rebounds which they turned into 19 points in the win.

UP NEXT

The Panthers are scheduled to play Boston College on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1:00 pm. The Eagles missed Thursday night's game due to Covid protocols.

PITT NOTES
Team

With the loss, Miami improves to 24-9 all-time against the Panthers and are now 7-6 all-time in games at Pitt. The win also marks the seventh straight win in the series for the Hurricanes.
Pitt shot 42.4% from the floor on Thursday as they have shot over 40% in six of their seven games this season.
The Panthers grabbed 40 rebounds and have now posted six games with 40 or more rebounds on the season.

Rita Igbokwe

Igbokwe finished off her best game of the season with a season-high 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks across 29 minutes of work.
She finished her night going a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor while adding two steals and an assist.
The six blocks tied a career-high for the second year player as she has 19 career multi-block games.
The sophomore has now led the Panthers in blocks four times this season and 23 times in her career.
The 12-point effort was her fifth career double digit scoring game.

Jayla Everett

Everett finished her night with a team-high 13 points and two assists on 3-for-7 from behind the arc across 31 minutes of action.
The junior knocked down three triples as she is the first Panther in program history to net at least two three-pointers in each of the first seven games of the season.
She has now played 30+ minutes in five games this season.
She has led the Panthers in scoring in four games while scoring in double figures in six of seven games this season. She has 38 career games scoring in double digits.

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