Pitt
8-20,2-13ACC
Wake Forest
5-22,1-14ACC
Pitt Upended By Wake Forest Thursday Night
2/22/2024 10:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (8-20, 2-13 ACC) lost on Thursday night to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Petersen Events Center, 65-50. Despite a third quarter surge, the Panthers fell short of completing the comeback.
Liatu King led the Panthers in scoring for the 19th time this season, netting 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out three assists. Bella Perkins provided eight points off the bench, sinking two shots from behind the arc while Rapuluchi Ayodele was a battery for the team, adding seven points and seven rebounds, three of which offensive boards, before fouling out of the contest.
Pitt shot 39.1% from the field and just 25.0% from behind the arc while missing six free throws in the loss. The Panthers tied the Demon Deacons in total rebounds, 30-30, and tied in offensive rebounds, 8-8. Pitt scored 28 points in the paint to Wake Forest's 20 while the visitors held the 17-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
How It Happened
In a defensive first quarter, Pitt was led by King who scored four in the frame. Malcolm got to the foul line twice on tough drives and converted on 2-of-4 free throws. The Panthers held the Demon Deacons to just 33.3% shooting in the first quarter and forced six turnovers but trailed 13-9 going into the second quarter.
The Panthers found a rhythm offensively in the second quarter, scoring 15 as a team. King had eight points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting and played all 10 minutes of the quarter. Perkins added in five points off the bench for Pitt, but the Panthers still trailed Wake Forest 35-24 at halftime.
Pitt used the third quarter to chip into the Wake Forest lead, outscoring the Demon Deacons 16-12. Ayodele was a force in the third, scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds. Perkins added on with a corner three-pointer as Pitt worked to close the scoring gap. To end the third, Ayodele stole an inbounds pass and dished it to King who scored a buzzer-beater layup to cut the Demon Deacon lead to seven, 47-40.
Pitt cut their deficit to as little as four in the final frame as Malcolm drilled a corner triple but the Demon Deacons came right back and responded with a 10-2 run to push their lead back to 12. Pitt wasn't able to get any closer down the stretch as Wake Forest outscored them 18-10 in the final frame to secure the 65-50 road win.
Game Notes
- King finished with a team-high 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in the loss. She has now led the Panthers in scoring 19 times this season while scoring in double figures for the 26th time in 28 games
- King has also netted at least 15 points in 22 games so far this season
- With her 19 points tonight, King is up to 1,092 career points which ranks 19th in program history. She is just 22 points shy of 15th place on Pitt's all-time scoring chart
- Marley Washenitz drew her 32nd charge in 28 games
- Wake Forest shot just 55% from the foul line, the worst of any ACC team at the Petersen Events Center this season
What's Next
- Pitt travels to face #17 Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York on Sunday, February 25
- Tip-off is set for 2 PM and the road matchup can be streamed on ACC Network Extra
