Panthers Hang Tough But Fall At Home To North Carolina

Sunday, February 14

Pittsburgh, Pa.

2:00 PM

Pitt

4-9,2-8ACC

University of North Carolina

10-8,5-8ACC

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

Panthers Hang Tough But Fall At Home To North Carolina

2/14/2021 5:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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PITTSBURGH - Junior Jayla Everett led all scorers with 22 points but the Pitt women's basketball team (4-9, 2-8 ACC) dropped their fifth straight game on Sunday afternoon to North Carolina, 81-72.

"I think that we just have to continually grow and be more disciplined," stated head coach Lance White. "We still foul too much which put them at the line 31 times, and you can't win ACC games without doing that. At the same time, we're still really close and for our team to get 46 rebounds, that's a huge deal."

Pitt was led offensively by Everett who netted a game-high 22 points and four assists while connecting on three triples. Dayshanette Harris had a solid all-around game as she netted 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in the loss. Off the bench, Destiny Strother netted 12 points and three rebounds while tying a career-high with four three-pointers.

Pitt opened the game on a 7-3 run as Harris recorded a steal and layup before Everett knocked down a jumper and a three from deep. The Tar Heels responded quickly with nine straight points to take the 12-7 lead. Gabbie Green got in on the scoring as she earned a steal and fast break layup but the Tar Heels ended the quarter on a 9-4 run to take the 21-13 lead into the second quarter.

Taisha Exanor gave Pitt a nice spark off the bench in the second quarter as she opened the scoring with a layup before Harris netted back-to-back jumpers and Everett knocked down her second triple of the game to cut the Panthers deficit to seven, 27-20, with seven minutes to play in the half. Liatu King was then able to net back-to-back layups before Strother brought Pitt within three with a deep triple, 32-29. The Tar Heels ended the first half on a 7-2 run to take the 42-33 lead into the locker room.

Green opened the third quarter with a triple for the Panthers to get Pitt within six but the Tar Heels responded with an 8-2 run to take the 50-38 lead three minutes into the third. Pitt was able to cut their deficit to nine, 54-45, just over halfway through the third as Strother knocked down a triple and Everett made a jumper but the Tar Heels finished the quarter with four straight to take the 62-48 lead into the final frame.

Pitt opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run behind an Everett jumper and Strother triple from the corner to make the score 64-55 in favor of North Carolina. After North Carolina hit a triple, the Panthers responded with a 7-0 run spurred by a pair of Everett buckets and a Strother three to bring Pitt within five, 69-64 with four minutes to go. The Tar Heels pushed the lead to nine but Everett connected on her third triple to cut the UNC lead to 75-69 with just over a minute to go. The Panthers got a stop but the Tar Heels stole the ensuing inbound pass and finished off a layup to put the game out of reach.

King finished off her afternoon with eight points, two rebounds and a block while Rita Igbokwe grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, three offensive, in the loss.

UNC was led offensively by Janelle Bailey who finished with 22 points and six rebounds while Stephanie Watts added 19 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win.

As a team, the Panthers shot 37.5% from the floor while North Carolina shot 38.7%. Pitt won the rebounding battle 46-41 including the 22-14 edge in offensive rebounds. The Tar Heels turned 14 Pitt turnovers into 11 points while Pitt won the fast break scoring category, 15-8.

UP NEXT

The Panthers return to action Tuesday night on the road as they travel to Boston to take on Boston College at 6:00 pm. Tuesday's game will air on ACC Network Extra.

PITT NOTES
Team

With the loss, Pitt now holds the 6-5 edge in the all-time series while also holding a 4-1 edge in games being played in Pittsburgh. North Carolina has won two straight in the series.
Pitt grabbed 46 rebounds in the loss, their ninth game this season with at least 40 rebounds.
The Panthers grabbed a season-high 22 offensive rebounds in the loss.

Jayla Everett

Everett finished off her afternoon with 22 points, four assists, one steal and one rebound while going 8-for-21 from the floor and 3-for-9 from behind the arc.
The 22-point effort for Everett was her second highest scoring game of the season.
The four assists tied a season-high as she has notched four assists in four games this season.
She has now netted at least three triples in 10 games this season and 22 games in her career.
Everett has four 20+ point games this season and 11 in her collegiate career.
She has 10 double digit scoring games this season and 42 in her career.

Dayshanette Harris

Harris finished off her game with 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals across 31 minutes of work.
The sophomore has recorded back-to-back games with seven assists for the first time in her career.
She has scored in double figures in 10 games this season and in 26 games across her career.
Harris has eight games this season with at least five rebounds.
She has five games this season with multiple steals.