Panthers Open 2023 Against Conference Foe Miami Sunday At The Pete

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (7-6, 0-2 ACC) kicks off play in 2023 Sunday afternoon as they welcome the Miami Hurricanes to the Petersen Events Center for an ACC showdown. Sunday's game will tip at 2:00 pm and air on ACC Network Extra.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Sunday's game will air live on ACC Network Extra and can be viewed 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.

STORYLINES

Junior Liatu King has been the Panthers' best player all season long as she leads the squad averaging 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 45.8% from the floor. King ranks 6th in the ACC in rebounding while posting five games with 10+ boards this season.
Senior captain Amber Brown led the Panthers in scoring last time out as she netted her second straight game in double figures. She finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the loss. Brown also became the first Panther since Chelsea Cole (2007-11) to record at least 800 points and 600 rebounds.

THE OPENING TIP

The Panthers return home on New Year's Day as they welcome the Miami Hurricanes to the Pete for a 2pm game. Sunday's game will air on ACC Network Extra.
The Pitt offense is averaging 70.6 points per game over their last five home games. Pitt scored 85 points in their last home game and they have posted two games shooting at least 50% from the floor in their last three home contests.
The undersized forward duo of Liatu King and Amber Brown have combined to average 20.0 points and 14.3 rebounds while shooting 48.1% from the floor on the year.

THE SERIES WITH MIAMI

This meeting marks the 35th of all-time between the two teams with Miami owning the 25-9 lead in the series.
The Hurricanes have won eight straight in the series including a 60-50 win last season.
Pitt's last win in the series came on Feb. 1, 2015 at the Pete, 81-66.
Miami is 7-6 all-time in games played in Pittsburgh.

LAST TIME OUT – AT WAKE FOREST

The Panthers came out slow Thursday night at Wake Forest and they weren't able to dig themselves out of the early hole as they fell 66-51.
Senior captain Amber Brown led the Panthers with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals while Gabby Hutcherson came off the bench and netted 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in the loss.
The Panthers were outscored by 12 in the first half as they couldn't recover from the slow offensive start.
As a team, Pitt shot just 34.5% from the floor and 10% from behind the arc while the Demon Deacons shot 38.9% from the floor and 30% from deep in the win.

KING OF THE COURT

Junior Liatu King has shown major growth so far this season as she is blossoming into a premier threat down low for the Panthers.
King has earned 12 starts for the Panthers this season and is averaging a team-high 11.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 45.8% from the floor. She currently ranks 6th in the ACC in rebounding (8.8 rpg), 6th in blocks (1.5 bpg) and 10th in field goal percentage (45.8%).
Last time out, King posted nine points and five rebounds in the road loss to Wake Forest.
In the win over North Alabama, King exploded for the best game of her career as she finished off her seventh career double-double with a career-high 26 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal in 30 minutes of work against North Alabama.
King now has two double-doubles on the year with at least 25 points and 11 rebounds. She is the only player in the ACC with two such games this season.
She is the only player in the nation to post a statline of at least 26 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks while shooting 50% from the floor.
King has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in five games this season while also posting three double-doubles. She now has seven career double-doubles for the Panthers.
Over her career, King has grabbed at least five rebounds in 35 of her 59 career games. She has led the Panthers in rebounding 20 times while snagging 10+ boards 12 times in her career.
The Washington, DC native has scored in double figures 18 times in her career (five this year) while scoring 20+ points three times (twice this year).

BROWN RACKING UP THE NUMBERS

Senior Amber Brown has turned into one of the most consistent and reliable players on the Pitt roster over her strong four-year career.
The do-it-all player has started all 93 career games for the Panthers while averaging 27.8 minutes per game in her career. Making her 93rd straight start against Wake Forest, Brown has earned the most consecutive starts to begin a career for a Pitt player since Yacine Diop (2017-18) started 93 straight games.
With her third point and third rebound against Wake Forest, Brown became the first Panther since Chelsea Cole (2007-11) to record at least 800 career points and 600 career rebounds.
Last time out, Brown scored in double figures for the second straight game as she led Pitt with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals in the road loss to Wake Forest.
Earlier this year against Ball State, Brown had the best game of her Pitt career as she finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and two assists across a career-high 42 minutes of work. The 20 points tied a career-high while the 17 rebounds and three blocks marked new career-highs for the senior. She finished the game going 7-for-10 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.
Brown is one of two players this season (Alexis Markowski - Nebraska) to post at least 20 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks while shooting at least 70% from the floor. Her 17 rebounds are also tied for the most by an ACC player this season.
On the year, Brown is averaging 8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting a team-high 52.0% from the floor. She is currently tied for 5th in the ACC in field goal percentage (52.0%) while shooting over 50% from the floor in six of 13 games.
Against Coppin State, Brown became the fastest Panther (81 games) since Lorri Johnson in 1989-90 (59 games) to record at least 700 points, 500 rebounds and 100 assists.
For her career, Brown has scored 10+ points 41 times while grabbing 10+ rebounds 16 times. She has also secured at least five rebounds in 65 of her 93 career games.
She has racked up nine career double-doubles with five coming during her impressive freshman season.

NEXT UP

Pitt opens up a short two-game road trip Thursday, Jan. 5 as they head to Syracuse to take on the Orange at 6:00 pm.
The Panthers will then wrap up the two-game road swing Sunday, Jan. 8 as they head to Louisville to take on the Cardinals at 2:00 pm.

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