Panthers Welcome North Carolina To The Pete On Sunday

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (4-8, 2-7 ACC) returns home on Sunday for a rescheduled game with the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Petersen Events Center. Sunday's game will tip at 2:00 pm and will air on ACC Network Extra with Jeff Hathhorn and Shayla Scott on the call.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Sunday's game will be aired live on ACC Network Extra with Jeff Hathhorn and Shayla Scott 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 starting at 1:45 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 NORTH CAROLINA

Sunday's meeting marks the 11^th between the two programs all-time with the Panthers holding the 6-4 edge in the series.
Pitt is 4-0 at home in the all-time series including a 91-78 victory over North Carolina the last time the two teams met in Pittsburgh, Feb. 14, 2019.
The Tar Heels have won three of the last four in the series including a 70-62 home victory over Pitt last year.

LAST TIME OUT – AT WAKE FOREST

The Panthers were forced into playing their first overtime game of the season on Thursday night at Wake Forest and they weren't able to pull out the victory, falling 64-61.
The Panthers held a 10-point lead with just under five minutes to go but the Demon Deacons closed out regulation on a 12-2 run and then outscored Pitt 7-4 in overtime.
The Panthers had eight players net at least four points in the loss including Jayla Everett who led Pitt with 12 points while Amber Brown added 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Rita Igbokwe added seven points, a season-high 12 rebounds and two blocks in the loss.
As a team, the Panthers shot just 31% from the floor and they were outrebounded 48-43.

STORYLINES

Junior guard Jayla Everett has led the Panthers offensively all season long and currently ranks 15th in the ACC in scoring (14.3 ppg). She also ranks second in the ACC in three-pointers made/game (3.0) while connecting on a team-high 36 triples.
A bright spot for the Panthers so far this season has been their rebounding, especially on the offensive glass. Pitt currently ranks third in the ACC in offensive rebounds/game (15.6 orpg) while also ranking 23rd in the NCAA. In ACC play, Pitt leads the conference by grabbing 16.0 orpg.

OPENING TIP

The Panthers return home on Sunday afternoon as they play host to North Carolina for a 2:00 pm tip. Sunday's game will air on ACC Network Extra.
The Pitt backcourt duo of Jayla Everett and Dayshanette Harris are the third highest scoring backcourt in the ACC overall and in ACC games this season (27.2 ppg / 25.5 ppg - min. 9 ACC GP).
The Pitt sophomore class continues to produce as Dayshanette Harris has racked up 500+ career points, seventh fastest player to 500 points (39 games), and Amber Brown has 300+ rebounds, second fastest to 300 rebounds (41 games) since 2013-14.

DEFENSE STEPPING UP

The Pitt defense has shown flashes of greatness this season but it hasn't been consistent enough yet to produce big wins.
On Sunday, the Panthers had one of their best defensive quarters in program history as they were able to hold the Orange to just six points on 1-for-15 shooting in the first quarter.
The Orange shot just 6.7% from the floor in the first quarter, the second lowest FG% in a quarter for a Pitt opponent since switching to the quarters format (2015-16).
The Panthers have held one opponent to zero field goal makes in a quarter (Loyola Chicago, 11/17/16, 3rd quarter) while holding eight others to just one make in a quarter.
Pitt has two of the top-10 best defensive quarters in program history this season.

Fewest Points Allowed in a Quarter Since NCAA Implemented Quarters (2015-16)
Date                             Opponent                          Quarter               Points
11/21/16                    Loyola                                 2nd                       2
11/20/15                     Delaware St.                      4th                        2
11/13/17                     Cornell                                2nd                       3
12/31/17                     Chicago St.                         2nd                       4
11/25/20                    George Mason                 1st                        5
11/7/18                      UCF                                     1st                        5
11/19/17                     Towson                               1st                         5
11/29/17                     Wisconsin                           4th                        5
12/20/17                     Bucknell                              2nd                       5
2/7/21                         Syracuse                            1st                         6

HITTING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS

The Panthers have done a great job over the last two seasons of attacking the offensive glass.
A season ago, Pitt ranked second in the ACC in offensive rebounds/game (13.9 orpg) overall and first in conference games (14.5 orpg). The Panthers have upped their production on the offensive glass this season as they rank third overall (15.6 orpg) and first in ACC games (16.0 orpg).
The Panthers currently rank 23rd in the NCAA in offensive rebounds/game (15.6 orpg).
Pitt has a pair of forwards who rank inside the top-5 in the ACC in offensive rebounds/game in conference games. Rita Igbokwe ranks fourth (3.1 orpg) and Cynthia Ezeja ranks fifth (3.0 orpg).

NEXT UP

The Panthers hit the road Tuesday for a rescheduled game at Boston College against the Eagles. Tip on Tuesday is set for 6:00 pm and the game will air on ACC Network Extra.

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