University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Women's Basketball To Embark On 10-Day Tour Of Italy In August
7/6/2022 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh women's basketball program will take a foreign tour of Italy August 6-16, school officials announced Wednesday morning. The 10-day trip will feature stops in Rome, Florence, Vicenza, Trieste and Venice along with two games against international competition.
"I'm super excited about taking this team to Italy," expressed head coach Lance White. "It's going to be an unbelievable experience for our team. I talk a lot about "remember when" moments – this trip will certainly be at the top of that list for our players and staff as they will experience adventures never before imagined."
The Panthers will depart Pittsburgh Saturday, Aug. 6 and take an overnight flight to Rome where they will spend two days with guided tours of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Pitt will play its first fame of the trip Monday, Aug. 8 in Rome before departing for Florence.
The team and travel party will travel to Florence via a high-speed train Tuesday, Aug. 9 where they will take part in guided tours of Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and San Lorenzo Leather market. They will then have some free time in the city on Wednesday, Aug. 10 to explore and experience the Italian culture.
Pitt will head to Vicenza Thursday, Aug. 11 for their second game of the trip. The next day, the squad will travel over to Trieste for two days as they will experience guided sightseeing tours of the city along with a quick day trip to a beach in Portoroz, Slovenia and a visit to Piran, Slovenia.
The final two days of the trip (Aug. 14-15) will be spent in Venice where the group will enjoy guided tours of Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square. Everyone will get an opportunity to experience a Grand Canal gondola ride while enjoying one last meal in Italy before returning to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
"This trip will also provide us with an opportunity to develop and grow as a team with 10 team practices and two games against international competition," said White. "This is a great chance to see how our team is going to look much earlier. The time together will certainly translate to a better basketball team on the court this season and we are excited to see it come to fruition. The most rewarding part might be the opportunity to represent this amazing university throughout the world."
Allowed to embark on one foreign tour every four years by the NCAA, the Panthers last trip abroad came in 2017 when they visited Italy and played in three games against international competition.
The Panthers return three starters and seven of their eight leading scorers from a season ago, including senior guard Dayshanette Harris who led the Panthers averaging 9.6 ppg, 2.9 apg and 2.9 rpg while shooting a team-best 75.6% from the free throw line.
Fellow senior Amber Brown has been one of the Panthers' most consistent performers across her career as she has started all 80 games while averaging 8.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg across her impressive three seasons. Brown enjoyed a strong junior campaign as she netted a career-high 9.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 1.9 apg while shooting 47.2% from the floor and adding 29 steals. Liatu King returns for her junior campaign after proving to be a reliable playmaker for the Panthers a season ago as she averaged a career-high 7.5 ppg and 7.1 rpg. King also posted a pair of monster games down in the Virgin Islands a season ago, netting back-to-back double-doubles with 10 points and 19 rebounds and 23 points and 19 rebounds, respectively.
Pitt will welcome five newcomers for the 2022-23 campaign as their recruiting class is comprised of three freshmen and two transfers.
The Panthers added point guard Channise Lewis from Maryland and Gabby Hutcherson from Ohio State in the transfer portal this offseason to bring some experience and leadership to the squad. Lewis battled through injuries most of her five-year career at Maryland as she appeared in 77 career games while earning 45 starts at point guard for the Terrapins. She posted career averages of 25.4 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 39% from the floor and 36% from behind the arc. Her career assist to turnover ratio is 2.7 which ranks among the best in the nation among returning players for the 2022-23 season. A former five-star recruit and No. 12 prospect in the 2020 signing class, Hutcherson saw limited minutes in 36 games for the Buckeyes while averaging 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds and shooting 35.2% from behind the arc. She helped Ohio State advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament this past season.
The three freshmen for the Panthers this season will bring much needed shooting and scoring ability to the Pitt roster. Local star Aislin Malcolm stays close to home after wrapping up one of the best high school careers by a WPIAL player as she helped lead Chartiers Valley to a 110-7 overall record, including a Pennsylvania state record 64-game winning streak, and earn three WPIAL titles and one state championship. She earned All-State honors three times while finishing her career as her school's all-time leading scorer (1,770 points) and all-time leader in three-pointers made (280).
Former WVU commits Marley Washenitz and Avery "Ace" Strickland will be looking to make immediate impacts for the Panthers. Washenitz is a two-time West Virginia Player of the Year and four-time All-State selection who wrapped up impressive career with 2,000 points, 781 rebounds, 512 steals and 464 assists. She led her squad to one state title and wrapped up her senior season averaging a career-high 29.2 ppg. Strickland is a three-sport star (basketball, softball, track) who led her squad to a 28-9 record and state title game appearance during her senior season when she averaged a team-high 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals.
Pitt's full non-conference schedule and details on when season tickets will go on sale will be announced in the coming weeks.
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???? FOREIGN TOUR 2022 ????
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_WBB) July 6, 2022
We're going to ITALY August 6-16 ??
?? https://t.co/Pv0euhT2Dp#H2P pic.twitter.com/3HF6LuIU7e
"I'm super excited about taking this team to Italy," expressed head coach Lance White. "It's going to be an unbelievable experience for our team. I talk a lot about "remember when" moments – this trip will certainly be at the top of that list for our players and staff as they will experience adventures never before imagined."
The Panthers will depart Pittsburgh Saturday, Aug. 6 and take an overnight flight to Rome where they will spend two days with guided tours of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Pitt will play its first fame of the trip Monday, Aug. 8 in Rome before departing for Florence.
The team and travel party will travel to Florence via a high-speed train Tuesday, Aug. 9 where they will take part in guided tours of Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and San Lorenzo Leather market. They will then have some free time in the city on Wednesday, Aug. 10 to explore and experience the Italian culture.
Pitt will head to Vicenza Thursday, Aug. 11 for their second game of the trip. The next day, the squad will travel over to Trieste for two days as they will experience guided sightseeing tours of the city along with a quick day trip to a beach in Portoroz, Slovenia and a visit to Piran, Slovenia.
The final two days of the trip (Aug. 14-15) will be spent in Venice where the group will enjoy guided tours of Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square. Everyone will get an opportunity to experience a Grand Canal gondola ride while enjoying one last meal in Italy before returning to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
"This trip will also provide us with an opportunity to develop and grow as a team with 10 team practices and two games against international competition," said White. "This is a great chance to see how our team is going to look much earlier. The time together will certainly translate to a better basketball team on the court this season and we are excited to see it come to fruition. The most rewarding part might be the opportunity to represent this amazing university throughout the world."
Allowed to embark on one foreign tour every four years by the NCAA, the Panthers last trip abroad came in 2017 when they visited Italy and played in three games against international competition.
The Panthers return three starters and seven of their eight leading scorers from a season ago, including senior guard Dayshanette Harris who led the Panthers averaging 9.6 ppg, 2.9 apg and 2.9 rpg while shooting a team-best 75.6% from the free throw line.
Fellow senior Amber Brown has been one of the Panthers' most consistent performers across her career as she has started all 80 games while averaging 8.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg across her impressive three seasons. Brown enjoyed a strong junior campaign as she netted a career-high 9.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 1.9 apg while shooting 47.2% from the floor and adding 29 steals. Liatu King returns for her junior campaign after proving to be a reliable playmaker for the Panthers a season ago as she averaged a career-high 7.5 ppg and 7.1 rpg. King also posted a pair of monster games down in the Virgin Islands a season ago, netting back-to-back double-doubles with 10 points and 19 rebounds and 23 points and 19 rebounds, respectively.
Pitt will welcome five newcomers for the 2022-23 campaign as their recruiting class is comprised of three freshmen and two transfers.
The Panthers added point guard Channise Lewis from Maryland and Gabby Hutcherson from Ohio State in the transfer portal this offseason to bring some experience and leadership to the squad. Lewis battled through injuries most of her five-year career at Maryland as she appeared in 77 career games while earning 45 starts at point guard for the Terrapins. She posted career averages of 25.4 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 39% from the floor and 36% from behind the arc. Her career assist to turnover ratio is 2.7 which ranks among the best in the nation among returning players for the 2022-23 season. A former five-star recruit and No. 12 prospect in the 2020 signing class, Hutcherson saw limited minutes in 36 games for the Buckeyes while averaging 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds and shooting 35.2% from behind the arc. She helped Ohio State advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament this past season.
The three freshmen for the Panthers this season will bring much needed shooting and scoring ability to the Pitt roster. Local star Aislin Malcolm stays close to home after wrapping up one of the best high school careers by a WPIAL player as she helped lead Chartiers Valley to a 110-7 overall record, including a Pennsylvania state record 64-game winning streak, and earn three WPIAL titles and one state championship. She earned All-State honors three times while finishing her career as her school's all-time leading scorer (1,770 points) and all-time leader in three-pointers made (280).
Former WVU commits Marley Washenitz and Avery "Ace" Strickland will be looking to make immediate impacts for the Panthers. Washenitz is a two-time West Virginia Player of the Year and four-time All-State selection who wrapped up impressive career with 2,000 points, 781 rebounds, 512 steals and 464 assists. She led her squad to one state title and wrapped up her senior season averaging a career-high 29.2 ppg. Strickland is a three-sport star (basketball, softball, track) who led her squad to a 28-9 record and state title game appearance during her senior season when she averaged a team-high 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals.
Pitt's full non-conference schedule and details on when season tickets will go on sale will be announced in the coming weeks.
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