Sunday, January 16
Pittsburgh, Pa.
2:00 PM
Pitt
65
vs
57
Wake Forest
Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics
Panthers Power Past Wake Forest Sunday At The Pete, 65-57
1/16/2022 6:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – Behind a strong team effort, the Pitt women's basketball team (10-7, 1-5 ACC) notched their first ACC win of the season Sunday afternoon inside the Petersen Events Center as they earned the 65-57 victory over Wake Forest.
"Obviously, I'm really excited about our teams performance today," stated head coach Lance White. "I thought overall, that was one of our best defensive efforts we've had all year long. I thought our team really took to heart those last couple ACC games and learned from them. They changed some things on how to prepare and they really took ownership of our team and you can see the results."
The difference in the game for the Panthers was the turnover category as they only turned the ball over 12 times while they forced 21 Wake Forest turnovers in the win. Pitt turned those turnovers into 15 points while the Demon Deacons were only able to net six points off the Panthers' mishaps.
Pitt was led offensively by Dayshanette Harris who netted 14 points, a season-high seven assists and two rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes of work. Harris finished 3-of-5 from behind the arc, tying a career-high for three-pointers made in a game. Jayla Everett made her return to the starting lineup and netted 11 points, a career-high four blocks, two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 33 minutes of action. Destiny Strother came off the bench and provided Pitt with nine points and three rebounds while going 3-of-8 from behind the arc.
The Panthers got off to a nice start Sunday as Rita Igbokwe opened the scoring with a layup before Maliyah Johnson netted a triple to give Pitt the 7-5 lead. The Demon Deacons tied the score, 7-7, midway through the first but the Panthers were able to finish the first quarter on a 9-3 run as Harris netted five points and Cynthia Ezeja netted four to make it 16-10 in favor of Pitt through 10 minutes.
The Demon Deacons cut the deficit to four, 18-14, early in the second quarter but the Panthers continued to attack as Harris knocked down her second triple of the game to make the score 22-16 in favor of Pitt four minutes in. After the media timeout, Wake Forest netted three straight points to but Pitt responded with seven straight, capped by a Strother triple, to take the 29-21 lead into halftime.
Wake Forest came out strong in the third quarter as they netted the first eight points to tie the game up, 29-29. Pitt didn't flinch as they netted the next six points to regain the 35-29 lead as Jayla Everett knocked down her first triple and Igbokwe finished off a nice layup. After a layup and free throw by the visitors, Sandrine Clesca and Johnson netted buckets before Strother knocked down her second triple of the game to push their lead to 42-32 with a minute left. The Demon Deacons finished the third with the final four points to send the game to the fourth with Pitt leading 42-36.
The two teams went back-and-forth to start the fourth quarter as Wake Forest cut the Pitt lead to two, 47-45, after a jumper by Jewel Spear. The Panthers once again came right back and went on an 8-0 run as Harris knocked down a triple and Johnson finished off a fast break layup to push the Pitt lead out to 55-45 midway through the final frame. The Panthers made their free throws down the stretch and never let Wake get closer than seven in the final minutes as they secured the 65-57 victory.
Brown finished her game with nine points and seven rebounds while Johnson made her first career start and netted a career-high seven points and four rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Ezeja came off the bench and provided Pitt with five points and seven rebounds (four offensive) while Igbokwe finished her game with six points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
As a team, Wake Forest shot a higher percentage from the floor (35.1%) and grabbed more rebounds (48) than the Panthers in the loss. Pitt was able to win the turnover category 21-12 while turning those chances into 15 points in the win. Pitt turned 18 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points while they also outscored the Demon Deacons 13-4 in the fast break.
Wake Forest was led offensively by Jewel Spear who netted 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss while going 7-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-7 from deep. Elise Williams finished her afternoon with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in the loss.
NEXT UP
Team
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"Obviously, I'm really excited about our teams performance today," stated head coach Lance White. "I thought overall, that was one of our best defensive efforts we've had all year long. I thought our team really took to heart those last couple ACC games and learned from them. They changed some things on how to prepare and they really took ownership of our team and you can see the results."
The difference in the game for the Panthers was the turnover category as they only turned the ball over 12 times while they forced 21 Wake Forest turnovers in the win. Pitt turned those turnovers into 15 points while the Demon Deacons were only able to net six points off the Panthers' mishaps.
Pitt was led offensively by Dayshanette Harris who netted 14 points, a season-high seven assists and two rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes of work. Harris finished 3-of-5 from behind the arc, tying a career-high for three-pointers made in a game. Jayla Everett made her return to the starting lineup and netted 11 points, a career-high four blocks, two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 33 minutes of action. Destiny Strother came off the bench and provided Pitt with nine points and three rebounds while going 3-of-8 from behind the arc.
The Panthers got off to a nice start Sunday as Rita Igbokwe opened the scoring with a layup before Maliyah Johnson netted a triple to give Pitt the 7-5 lead. The Demon Deacons tied the score, 7-7, midway through the first but the Panthers were able to finish the first quarter on a 9-3 run as Harris netted five points and Cynthia Ezeja netted four to make it 16-10 in favor of Pitt through 10 minutes.
The Demon Deacons cut the deficit to four, 18-14, early in the second quarter but the Panthers continued to attack as Harris knocked down her second triple of the game to make the score 22-16 in favor of Pitt four minutes in. After the media timeout, Wake Forest netted three straight points to but Pitt responded with seven straight, capped by a Strother triple, to take the 29-21 lead into halftime.
Wake Forest came out strong in the third quarter as they netted the first eight points to tie the game up, 29-29. Pitt didn't flinch as they netted the next six points to regain the 35-29 lead as Jayla Everett knocked down her first triple and Igbokwe finished off a nice layup. After a layup and free throw by the visitors, Sandrine Clesca and Johnson netted buckets before Strother knocked down her second triple of the game to push their lead to 42-32 with a minute left. The Demon Deacons finished the third with the final four points to send the game to the fourth with Pitt leading 42-36.
The two teams went back-and-forth to start the fourth quarter as Wake Forest cut the Pitt lead to two, 47-45, after a jumper by Jewel Spear. The Panthers once again came right back and went on an 8-0 run as Harris knocked down a triple and Johnson finished off a fast break layup to push the Pitt lead out to 55-45 midway through the final frame. The Panthers made their free throws down the stretch and never let Wake get closer than seven in the final minutes as they secured the 65-57 victory.
Brown finished her game with nine points and seven rebounds while Johnson made her first career start and netted a career-high seven points and four rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Ezeja came off the bench and provided Pitt with five points and seven rebounds (four offensive) while Igbokwe finished her game with six points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
As a team, Wake Forest shot a higher percentage from the floor (35.1%) and grabbed more rebounds (48) than the Panthers in the loss. Pitt was able to win the turnover category 21-12 while turning those chances into 15 points in the win. Pitt turned 18 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points while they also outscored the Demon Deacons 13-4 in the fast break.
Wake Forest was led offensively by Jewel Spear who netted 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss while going 7-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-7 from deep. Elise Williams finished her afternoon with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in the loss.
NEXT UP
- Pitt returns to the road Thursday, January 20 as they head to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech at 6:00 pm on ACC Network.
Team
- With the win, Pitt is now 5-7 all-time against the Demon Deacons. The Panthers have won three of the last four games against Wake Forest.
- The win marks the Panthers' first ACC win of the season.
- Pitt grabbed 43 rebounds in the win and have now posted at least 35 rebounds in all 17 games this season, the longest streak to start a season in program history.
- Pitt grabbed 18 or more offensive rebounds in four games this season.
- The Panthers had 22 free throw attempts in the game, marking their 10th game this season with 20+ free throw attempts. Pitt also went 17-of-22 from the charity stripe, their third best shooting game at the free throw line (77.3%).
- Nine players scored at least two points while 10 Panthers grabbed at least one board in the win.
- Harris finished off her afternoon leading the Panthers in scoring for the third straight game as she netted 14 points, a season-high seven assists, two rebounds and a steal in 32 minutes of work.
- She went 3-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-5 from behind the arc in the win. Her three triples were a season-high and tied a career-high for three-pointers made in a game.
- Her seven assists marked a season-high and are the second most she has recorded in a game in her collegiate career.
- Harris now has 10 multi-assist games this season and five or more helpers three times.
- She now has six double digit scoring games on the season including in three straight. She now has 33 career games scoring in double figures.
- She led Pitt in scoring for the fifth time this season and 23rd time in her collegiate career.
- The 32 minutes are a season-high. The junior has now played 20+ minutes 10 times and 30+ minutes three times including in two straight.
- Brown finished off her game with nine points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes of work Sunday.
- She went 1-of-4 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
- The seven free throws made were a season-high for the junior. She leads the ACC with 62 free throws made on the year.
- With her third rebound Sunday, Brown became the fastest Pitt player (67 career games) to record at least 550 points, 450 rebounds and 100 assists.
- The junior has now grabbed at least five rebounds in 49 of her 67 career games.
- She played 28 minutes in the win, marking her 15th game this season and 63rd game of her career with at least 20 minutes played.
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Players Mentioned
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