University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Wednesday, November 15
Fairfax, VA
4 PM
Pitt
at
George Mason
Panthers Travel To George Mason For First Road Game Wednesday Afternoon
11/14/2023 1:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's basketball team (1-1, 0-0 ACC) hits the road Wednesday afternoon for their first road test of the season as they travel to Fairfax, VA to take on George Mason (3-0, 0-0 A10). Wednesday's non-conference tilt will tip at 4:00 pm at EagleBank Arena.
HOW FOLLOW
- Wednesday's game will air live on ESPN+ by clicking HERE.
- You can also listen to the game on pittsburghpanthers.com as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from the Pete starting at 3:45 pm. To listen, click 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
- Senior forward Liatu King had a career game against West Virginia Saturday as she netted a career-high 28 points and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes of work. King is now averaging 22.0 points and an ACC-leading 14.0 rebounds through the first two games of the season. She is the first Panther since joining the ACC (2013-14) to record double-doubles in each of the teams first two games of the season.
- Fellow forward Rapuluchi Ayodele had the best game of her young career against West Virginia as she netted a career-high 18 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and three blocks on 8-for-12 from the floor. She is averaging 13.5 points and 12.5 rebounds through two games for Pitt.
THE OPENING TIP
- Pitt hits the road for the first time as they head to Fairfax, VA to take on George Mason Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 4:00 pm.
- The Panthers have shown a knack for scoring in the paint through two games this season as they are averaging 40.5 points scored in the paint per game. They have scored 40+ in both games so far after eclipsing 40 paint points just five times a season ago.
- Junior guard Bella Perkins is enjoying a strong start to her season as she opened her Pitt career with a career-high 21 points in the win over Yale before netting eight points and a career-high five assists against West Virginia last time out.
SERIES HISTORY – GEORGE MASON
- This meeting marks the fourth meeting between the two teams all-time with Pitt owning the 3-0 advantage in the series.
- Pitt has won all three meetings including a 63-45 victory at the Pete the last time the two squads met on Nov. 12, 2022.
- This meeting marks the first between the two programs in Virginia.
- The Panthers have been strong against A-10 opponents in the past as they own a 47-27 overall record against current members of the A-10 Conference.
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
- George Mason enters Wednesday's contest with a perfect 3-0 record on the year. The Patriots have collected wins over Bowie State, Marshall and William & Mary to start the season.
- Last time out, the Patriots earned a 77-72 road win over William & Mary as they used a big fourth quarter to pull away late.
- George Mason has used a balanced offensive attack so far this season as five players are averaging in double figures through three games. Ta'Viyanna Habib is leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 50% from the floor on the year.
- Sonia Smith is averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 3.7 assists while Zahirah Walton is averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
- As a team, the Patriots are averaging 85.7 points per game while allowing 64.7 points per contest. They are shooting 43.3% from the floor while grabbing 48.7 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT – WEST VIRGINIA
- The Panthers had a slow start last time out against West Virginia and a second half rally wasn't enough as they fell 71-62 in the 48th Backyard Brawl game.
- The Panthers frontcourt dominated on Saturday as Liatu King and Rapuluchi Ayodele combined to score 46 of Pitt's 62 points in the loss. The duo also snagged 28 rebounds combined, one less than WVU grabbed as a team.
- The key factor in the loss for the Panthers was the turnover battle as they turned it over a season-high 28 times and the Mountaineers scored 22 points off those mishaps.
- For the game, Pitt shot 40% from the floor while winning the rebounding battle 46-29, including a 19-10 edge in offensive rebounds.
KING OF THE COURT
- Senior Liatu King enters this season with her expectations at an all-time high as the Pitt coaching staff has instilled a confidence in her as a go-to option this season.
- King has opened her season on fire as she has secured back-to-back double-doubles against Yale and West Virginia. She is the first Panther to record back-to-back double-doubles to open the season since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013-14.
- Against WVU on Saturday, King put together a massive game for Pitt as she netted a career-high 28 points and 14 rebounds while going 10-for-23 from the floor and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Her 28-point game marked the most points in a game for a Pitt player since Alayna Gribble netted 29 points against Georgia Tech on Jan. 14, 2018.
- The 28-point and 14-rebound double-double marked the most points scored in a double-double for a Pitt player since joining the ACC in 2013-14. She is also one of just four players in the NCAA over the past two seasons to post a statline of at least 28 points, 14 rebounds and eight made free throws against a Power 5 opponent (Angel Reese, Ashley Jones, Maddy Siegrist).
- In the season opening win over Yale, King didn't disappoint as she snagged a double-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists across 30 minutes of work. She is the first Panther since Dayshanette Harris in 2020-21 (11 pts, 10 rebs) to record a double-double in a season opener for Pitt.
- So far this season, she is averaging 22.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46.9% from the floor and 93.3% from the free throw line. Her 14.0 rebounds per game lead the ACC and rank fourth in the NCAA so far this season.
- For her career, King has now recorded 11 double-doubles (points + rebounds) including a career-high five last season.
- She has scored in double figures 26 times in her career while recording multiple blocks 19 times.
- A ferocious rebounder, King has grabbed at least five rebounds in 49 of her 77 career games. She has led the Panthers in rebounding 33 times while snagging 10+ boards 17 times in her career.
- King capped last season averaging a career-high 9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 39.4% from the floor and notching a career-best 34 steals. She ranked 4th in the ACC in blocks (1.4 bpg), 5th in rebounds (7.6 rpg) and 10th in field goal percentage (39.4%) last season.
- Last season, the 6-0 forward was one of five players in the NCAA 6 foot tall or shorter to record at least 43 blocks a season ago.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
- The dynamic frontcourt duo of Liatu King and Rapuluchi Ayodele are proving to be a problem for opponents early on this season.
- Last time out against West Virginia, the duo combined to score 46 points and 28 rebounds. The two almost outrebounded the whole WVU team as they grabbed just 29 rebounds in the game.
- Both players snagged double-doubles against West Virginia which marked the first time two Panthers recorded double-doubles in the same game since 12/9/17 against UNC Wilmington (Diop/Walters). They are also the only teammates in the ACC this season to record double-doubles in the same game with at least 18 points.
- So far this season, King and Ayodele are the only set of teammates in the country to be averaging a double-double through two games (King - 22ppg, 14rpg, Ayodele - 13.5ppg, 12.5rpg).
- Not only are King and Ayodele scoring and rebounding the ball, they are doing so very efficiently as they are shooting a combined 52.1% from the floor (25-for-48).
NEXT UP
- Pitt returns to Pittsburgh for the 41st edition of The City game against the Duquesne Dukes on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2:00 pm.
- Saturday's rivalry game will take place at Duquesne's UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Players Mentioned
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