Panthers Head South To Take On Miami On Thursday Night

MIAMI, FL – The Pitt women's basketball team (11-14, 2-12 ACC) heads south Thursday to take on the Miami Hurricanes for an ACC battle at 6:00 pm on the ACC Network. Pitt will be looking to end their current five-game losing streak while the Hurricanes are looking for their third straight win.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday's game will air live on ACC Network with Debbie Antonelli and Jenn Hildreth on the call. You can watch the game by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on the radio on WJAS 1320 AM or 99.1 FM as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from Louisville starting at 5:45 pm. Listen to the call 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 MIAMI

This meeting marks the 34th between the two teams with Miami owning the 24-9 lead in the series.
The Hurricanes own a 15-1 record in games in Miami.
Miami has won seven straight in the series with Pitt's last win coming on Feb. 1, 2015 in Pittsburgh.

ABOUT THE HURRICANES

Miami enters Thursday's game with a 14-10 overall record and a 7-7 ACC mark. The Hurricanes have won two straight including a 71-55 road win over Virginia on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes are being led offensively by Kelsey Marshall who is averaging 14.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals while connecting on a team-high 64 three-pointers and shooting 34.8% from deep.
Ja'Leah Williams is enjoying a nice season as she is averaging 7.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 43.8% from the floor. Karla Erjavec is doing a little bit of everything as she is averaging 7.0 points, a team-high 3.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds.
As a team, Miami is averaging 61.8 points per game while allowing 60.1 ppg. They are grabbing just 37.4 rebounds per contest so far this season.

STORYLINES

The Panthers have continued to put an emphasis on rebounding the basketball and it has paid off in a major way. Pitt currently leads the ACC and ranks 9th in the NCAA in rebounds per game (44.2) and 5th in total rebounds (1,106). The Panthers have grabbed at least 35 rebounds in 24 of 25 games to start the season, a new program record.
As a team, the Panthers have been great blocking shots this season. Pitt currently ranks 2nd in the ACC and 15th in the NCAA in blocked shots (124). Junior Rita Igbokwe has 57 blocks on the year and now sits alone in 10th place on the Panthers' all-time blocks list with 146 career rejections.

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt stays on the road Thursday night as they travel down to Miami to take on the Hurricanes at 6pm on the ACC Network.
Pitt and South Carolina (#1 FG% defense) are the only teams in the nation to hold all 25 opponents to 45% or less shooting from the floor this season.
Junior Dayshanette Harris continues to produce for the Panthers as she netted her 11th double figure scoring game of the season last time out, finishing with 16 points at Boston College. On the year, Harris is averaging 24.8 minutes, 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 35% from the floor.

LAST TIME OUT AT BOSTON COLLEGE

The Panthers once again got out to a 13-point lead and led after one quarter but Boston College battled back and earned the 69-57 win Tuesday night.
Without leading scorer Jayla Everett, junior Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers in scoring with 16 points and five rebounds while Emy Hayford added 10 points, two assists and two steals in the loss.
The Panthers were out-rebounded 38-27 in the game, marking the first game this season Pitt didn't grab at least 35 rebounds.
As a team, Pitt turned the ball over 25 times and the Eagles turned those chances into 26 points.

IG-BLOCK-WE MOVING UP THE BLOCK CHARTS

Junior Rita Igbokwe has become one of the most feared defenders in the ACC as she has turned into a premier shot blocker for the Panthers.
So far this season, Igbokwe ranks 2nd in the ACC with 57 blocks. She has recorded 14 multi-block games this season.
For her career, Igbokwe has 146 blocked shots which currently ranks 10th in program history. She is just one shy of 9th place on the list.
Igbokwe is the fastest Pitt player since Gail Aughburns (1980) to record 146 blocked shots. It took Igbokwe just 75 career games to reach the mark.

PITT'S TOP-10 CAREER BLOCKS LIST
# Name               Blocks              Seasons
1. Gail Aughburns 241                1978-82
2. Wanda Randolph 211               1976-79
3. Jennifer Bruce    203                1981-85
4. Nickeia Morris   190                1996-00
5. Connie Hurt       189                1987-91
6. Chelsea Cole      171                2007-11
7. Kim Tirik            170                1982-86
8. Jill McElhinny     162                1989-93
9. Jennifer Shingler 147                1986-90
10. Rita Igbokwe.   146                  2019-Present

NEXT UP

The Panthers wrap up their three-game road swing Sunday afternoon as they travel to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers. Sunday's game tips at 4pm and will air on ACC network.

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