Pitt
7-15,1-8ACC
Duke
14-7,6-4ACC
Panthers Fall To Duke Thursday Night
2/1/2024 10:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (7-15, 1-8 ACC) fell on Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center to the Duke Blue Devils, 69-38.
Liatu King led all Pitt scorers with 16 points to go with eight rebounds, a block, and a steal in 32 minutes of work. Jala Jordan finished her night with six points while Aislin Malcolm also netted six points in the loss for Pitt. Leading Pitt defensively was Marley Washenitz, who notched three steals and drew three charges in the contest.
As a team, Pitt shot 30.4% from the field and just 18.2% from behind the arc while the Blue Devils finished the game shooting 49.0% from the floor. The Panthers turned the ball over 19 times and the Blue Devils scored 26 points off those mistakes.
The Panthers opened the game playing strong defense, forcing four Blue Devil turnovers in the first quarter. King sparked Pitt scoring in the second quarter, hitting a contested jumpshot over a Duke defender. This forced the Blue Devils to collapse on her defensively, which freed Bella Perkins for a corner three-pointer to cut the Duke lead to 10, 21-11. King continued to thrive, hitting a tough layup off a Jasmine Timmerson assist and a fadeaway jumper. Jordan sunk a three-pointer to at the end of the first half as Pitt trailed Duke 31-18 heading into the locker room.
Malcolm started the third quarter off strong, backing her defender down and scoring a scoop layup. Pitt held Duke to a 2:28 scoring drought in the frame as the Panthers continued to chip into the Blue Devil lead. Following a Duke score, Pitt held the Blue Devils to another scoring drought of 3:32 to end the third quarter. Over that stretch, the Panthers forced six Duke turnovers as the Blue Devils took the 47-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Devils put the game away in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Panthers 22-9 in the frame. They closed out the game on a 15-3 run to secure the 69-38 road victory.
Game Notes
- King scored in double digits for the 21st time in 22 possible games. She has now scored at least 15 points in a career-high 17 games this year
- Washenitz drew her 24th charge in 22 games so far this season
What's Next
- Pitt travels to South Bend, Indiana to face #14 Notre Dame on Sunday, February 4th
- Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm and the game can be streamed on ACC Network
