Pitt Opens Three-Game Homestand With Saint Francis (PA) Wednesday Night

Wednesday, November 29

Pittsburgh, PA

7 PM

Pitt

Saint Francis (PA)

Tickets

Pitt Opens Three-Game Homestand With Saint Francis (PA) Wednesday Night

11/28/2023 2:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

GAME 8

Pitt vs. Saint Francis (PA)

Nov. 29, 2023 / 7:00 PM / Pittsburgh, PA (Petersen Events Center)

GAME NOTES

SCHEDULE

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women’s basketball team (2-5, 0-0 ACC) returns home for their first of three straight inside the Petersen Events Center Wednesday night as they welcome the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash for a non-conference game. Wednesday’s game will tip at 7:00 pm and air live on ACC Network Extra.

HOW FOLLOW

Wednesday's game will air live on ACC Network Extra 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 6:45 pm. To listen, click HERE.
Live stats for 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.

LIATU REIGNS KING

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 ffive double-doubles in the first seven games of the season. She is the first Panther in over 20 years to do so.
She is currently leads the NCAA with five double-doubles as she is one of just four players in the nation (three Power 5 players).
King was a monster at the Daytona Beach Classic over the weekend as she earned All-Tournament Team honors as she averaged 27.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and shot 67.6% from the floor across the two games.
In the win over NKU, King went off for a career-high 30 points and nine rebounds while going 14-for-18 from the floor. She is the first ACC player in the past two seasons to score 30+ points, grab nine rebounds, make 14 field goals and shoot 77% from the floor in a single game. She is also just the fourth ACC player since 2009 to do so (Taylor Soule, Elizabeth Kitley, Azura Stevens).
The 30-point game also marked the first by a Pitt player since Brenna Wise scored 31 against Virginia Tech on Feb. 16, 2017.
Last time out, King played a career-high 43 minutes and netted 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks on 11-for-19 from the floor against Akron. It marked her fifth double-double of the season and fourth game with at least 14 rebounds.
King is the only Power 5 player to post three games with at least 22 points and 11 rebounds so far this season.
Over her last three games, King is averaging 25.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while shooting an efficient 61.4% from the floor.
So far this season, she is averaging a team-high 20.3 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 53.2% from the floor and 78.8% from the free throw line.
She is the only player in the nation averaging at least 20.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg and 2.0 bpg so far this season.
Her 12.1 rebounds per game leads the ACC and ranks fourth overall in the NCAA this season. Her 5.0 offensive rebounds per game ranks second in the ACC and 10th in the NCAA so far this season.
King currently ranks 20th in the NCAA with 15 blocked shots on the season. She is the only player in the nation six-foot tall or shorter who ranks inside the top-30 in blocked shots this season.
The 28-point and 14-rebound double-double against WVU earlier this year marked the most points scored in a double-double for a Pitt player since Asia Logan (36 pts, 14 rebs) on Nov. 11, 2012 against William & Mary. 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).
For her career, King has now recorded 14 double-doubles (points + rebounds) including tying a career-high with five already this season.
She has scored in double figures 31 times in her career while recording multiple blocks 23 times.
A ferocious rebounder, King has grabbed at least five rebounds in 54 of her 82 career games. She has led the Panthers in rebounding 37 times while snagging 10+ boards 20 times in her career.

MALCOLM COMING ON STRONG

Sophomore Aislin Malcolm is turning into a consistent scoring threat this season for the Panthers.
Malcolm had a big weekend at the Daytona Beach Classic as she averaged 18.0 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 72.2% from the floor and 88.9% from behind the arc across the two games.
In the win over NKU Friday, she netted a career-high 21 points and a career-high seven assists while going 8-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-6 from behind the arc in 34 minutes of work. It marked her first career 20+ point game of her career.
She is one of two players in the nation this season to post a game with at least 21 points, seven rebounds and five made three-pointers while shooting at least 72.7% from the floor. She is also just the third ACC player (Lexie Brown, Shenise Johnson) since 2009 to post that stat line.
On Saturday, Malcolm added 15 points and two assists in a career-high 40 minutes while going 5-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep.
She has now scored in double figures in three straight games and in four of her last five for the Panthers.
So far this season, Malcolm is averaging 11.3 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 52.6% from the floor and 57.9% from behind the arc. She has played 30+ minutes in six of seven games this season.
Malcolm currently ranks third in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (57.9%) among players with at least 19 three-point attempts. She has connected on nine of her last 10 three-point attempts for the Panthers.

Sophomore Aislin Malcolm has made nine of her last 10 three-point attempts while ranking third in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (57.9%) on the season among players with at least 19 attempts.

More Notes

STORYLINES

Senior forward Liatu King is having a career year for the Panthers as she is averaging 20.3 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 53.2% from the floor. King is currently tied for the lead in the nation in double-doubles (five) while ranking fourth in the country in rebounds per game (12.1 rpg). She is the only player in the nation this year averaging at least 20.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
Forward Rapuluchi Ayodele has been great for the Panthers early on this season as she is averaging 8.6 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 45.7% from the floor. She ranks second in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (5.4 orpg) and ninth in total rebounds (72).

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt returns home Wednesday for their first of three straight at the Petersen Events Center as they host Saint Francis (PA) at 7:00 pm on ACC Network Extra.
Sophomore guard Aislin Malcolm has been on another level of late for Pitt as she is averaging a career-high 11.3 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 57.9% from deep. Over her last three games, Malcolm has posted averages of 16.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds while connecting on 9-of-10 from three-point range.
Freshman Aaryn Battle has picked up her play of late as she is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 assists across her last three games while playing an average of 32.7 minutes per game.

SERIES HISTORY – SAINT FRANCIS (PA)

This meeting marks the 14th between the two teams in program history with Pitt owning the 10-3 lead in the all-time series.
The Panthers have won four straight in the series including the last matchup between the two on Dec. 21, 2019 in Pittsburgh.
Across the four-game winning streak, Pitt is averaging 81.8 points per game while holding the Red Flash to 60.8 points per contest.
Pitt is 7-1 against the Red Flash in games played in Pittsburgh with the lone loss coming on Nov. 25, 1997 (65-63).
The Panthers are 19-3 all-time against current members of the Northeast Conference.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH

Saint Francis (PA) enters Wednesday’s game with a 0-6 record on the season after falling Sunday to Lafayette by the score of 60-58 at home.
The Red Flash are being led offensively by freshman Kendall Carruthers who is averaging 12.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 40.7% from behind the arc. She is coming off a career game that saw her score 21 points on five three-pointers.
Kaitlyn Maxwell is averaging 10.3 points while shooting 58.3% from behind the arc for Saint Francis but she has missed the past three games. Yanessa Boyd is averaging 8.2 points while Marina Artero is leading the squad in rebounding (6.0 rpg).
As a team, Saint Francis is averaging 50.0 points per game while allowing 67.0 points per contest. They are shooting 33.9% from the floor while grabbing 34.8 rebounds per contest.

DAYTONA BEACH CLASSIC RECAP

The Panthers capped their Thanksgiving trip to Daytona Beach with a 1-1 record at the Daytona Beach Classic. As a team, Pitt shot 50.4% from the floor across the two games including shooting 56.5% from deep (13-for-23).
Pitt opened the tournament with a dominant 88-57 victory over Northern Kentucky. The Panthers netted a season-high 88 points while shooting 50.8% from the floor as a team.
The Panthers shot 66.7% (8-for-12) from behind the arc in the win over NKU, marking their best three-point field goal percentage in a game since shooting 68.2% (15-for-22) against Arkansas State on Nov. 25, 2017.
Liatu King netted a career-high 30 points and nine rebounds while Aislin Malcolm also netted a career-high 21 points and seven assists in the win.
Saturday, Pitt led by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, but the Akron Zips battled back to earn the 75-72 overtime victory thanks to a foul call on an inbound with .3 seconds to play in regulation.
King once again led the Panthers as she collected her fifth double-double with 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks while Malcolm added 15 points on 3-for-3 from behind the arc.

BATTLE PLAYING BIG MINUTES

Freshman guard Aaryn Battle has seen increasing minutes in all seven games so far this season due to her attacking mentality with the basketball.
The New Jersey native has earned four straight starts in the Pitt backcourt including both games at the Daytona Beach Classic. She finished the tournament averaging 34.5 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds.
Last time out against Akron, Battle played a career-high 37 minutes and finished with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and a career-high two blocks while going 4-for-6 from the field.
Against George Mason earlier this year, Battle netted a career-high 10 points, three rebounds and two steals while going 5-for-9 from the floor.
So far this season, she is averaging 22.9 minutes, 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists. She is also shooting 90.0% from the free throw line on the season while turning the ball over just seven times.