Panthers Stay On The Road For Tough Matchup With Syracuse Thursday Night

SYRACUSE, NY – The University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team (4-4, 2-3 ACC) will head to Syracuse on Thursday night for their second straight road game as they take on the Orange inside the Carrier Dome at 6:00 pm. Thursday's game will air on the ACC Network Extra as Pitt looks for back-to-back ACC wins.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday's game will be aired live on ACC Network Extra with Cooper Boardman and Brandon Ross on the call. Tune in 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 SYRACUSE

Thursday's meeting will be the 65^th meeting of all-time between the two programs with the Orange holding the 45-19 lead in the series including a 24-7 edge in games played in Syracuse.
Syracuse has won 18 straight games in the all-time series with Pitt's last win against the Orange coming on January 24, 2009.
Last season, Syracuse defeated the Panthers by scores of 69-51 and 71-53.

LAST TIME OUT – AT CLEMSON

The Panthers came out strong on Tuesday and finished off their first regular season sweep of an ACC opponent in program history as they downed Clemson 79-69 on the road.
The Panthers saw 10 of 11 players score at least two points while they also had four players score in double figures for just the second time this season.
The Pitt bench led the way as Liatu King and Destiny Strother each netted a career-high 15 points in the win.
One of the keys to victory for Pitt was protecting the ball as they committed just nine turnovers, their fewest in a game since 2017.

STORYLINES

The Pitt bench produced their best game of the season Tuesday at Clemson as they accounted for 39 of the Panthers' 79 points in the road win. Liatu King and Destiny Strother each netted a career-high 15 points off the bench in the win.
The Pitt offense ranks seventh in scoring during conference games (70.2 ppg) so far this season. The 70.2 ppg average through five ACC games is the highest for Pitt through the first five games of ACC play since joining the league in 2013-14. For the first time in over 20 years, the Panthers have shot at least 40% from the floor in seven of their first eight games of the season.

OPENING TIP

Pitt returns to the court Thursday, Jan. 28 as they head to Syracuse to take on the Orange at 6:00 pm. Thursday's game will air on ACC Network Extra.
The Pitt backcourt duo of Jayla Everett and Dayshanette Harris are the second highest scoring backcourt in the ACC overall and in ACC games this season (30.3 ppg / 29.2 ppg - min. 5 ACC GP).
Junior Jayla Everett has been great for the Panthers early on as she leads the team and fourth in the ACC in scoring (16.5 ppg). The St. Louis, MO native has connected on 29 three-pointers and ranks fifth in the NCAA in three-pointers made/game (3.62).

PANTHERS RACKING UP THE POINTS

The Panthers have scored 70+ points in six of their eight games this season, marking the first time Pitt has done so to start a season since the 2007-08 campaign when they opened the season with seven straight games with 70+ points scored. The 2007-08 Pitt team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
Pitt has scored 70+ points in three of their five ACC games so far this season, the most 70+ outings in conference play since netting four such games in 2014-15.
In the win over Clemson earlier this year, the Panthers netted 80 points for just the fifth time in an ACC game in program history. The Panthers are 5-0 when they score at least 80 points in a conference game.
The offense has also put together three of the best scoring quarters since the NCAA switched to the four quarter format in 2015-16. Pitt netted 32 points in the 1st quarter vs. Virginia Tech, 31 points in the first quarter vs. Miami and 31 points in the 4th quarter vs. Clemson.

Highest Scoring Quarters Since NCAA Implemented Quarters (2015-16)
Date                             Opponent                          Quarter               Points
12/10/20                    Virginia Tech                    1st                        32
2/6/17                        Virginia Tech 4th                        32
1/21/21                      Miami 1^st 31
12/13/20                    Clemson                           4th                        31
11/23/16                    Slippery Rock                    2nd                       30
11/9/18                      New Orleans                     2nd                       30

SHOOTING FOR THE STARS

The Pitt offense is off to its best start to a season since joining the ACC as they have connected on 41.6% from the floor and 33.7% from behind the arc through eight games.
The Panthers have shot at least 40% from the floor in seven of their first eight games this season, the first time they have done so in over 20 years.
The 41.6 field goal percentage through the first eight games of the season is the best for Pitt since shooting 43.5% through the first eight games in 2010-11.
The three-point shooting has been the biggest area of improvement as the Panthers went from 13th in the conference last season in three-point field goal percentage (29.1%) to seventh in the ACC this season (33.7%).
As a team, Pitt has connected on 56 three-pointers through the first eight games, the most through the first eight games since 2014-15 when they netted 56 triples.
The Panthers have shot a better percentage from the floor than six of their eight opponents this season. Under coach White, Pitt owns a 17-7 record when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponent and just a 3-43 record when being outshot by their opponent.

BENCH PROVIDES MAJOR SPARK IN WIN AT CLEMSON

The Pitt bench had their best game of the season Tuesday in the win over Clemson as they posted 39 points, the most in a game by the Pitt bench players since scoring 47 against New Orleans on Nov. 9, 2018.
Pitt had five bench players score at least two points while Liatu King and Destiny Strother led the team and posted a career-best with 15 points each off the bench. King also led the squad with eight rebounds while Strother went an efficient 6-for-8 from the floor in the road victory.
Emy Hayford also had an effective game off the bench as she netted five points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals across 17 minutes of work.
It marked the first time Pitt had two players score at least 15 points each off the bench since Feb. 2, 2017 against Syracuse when Alayna Gribble (23) and Kalista Walters (17) accomplished the feat.
So far this season, the Pitt bench is averaging 22.4 points/game. It is an increase of +8.4 ppg from a season ago off the bench.

NEXT UP

Pitt will have a week off before returning to the Petersen Events Center on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7:00 pm against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Thursday's game will air on RSN (AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh locally).

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Panthers Stay On The Road For Tough Matchup With Syracuse Thursday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jayla Everett

Alayna Gribble

Dayshanette Harris

Emy Hayford

Liatu King

Destiny Strother

Kalista Walters

Panthers Stay On The Road For Tough Matchup With Syracuse Thursday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jayla Everett

Alayna Gribble

Dayshanette Harris

Emy Hayford

Liatu King

Destiny Strother

Kalista Walters

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