Pitt
8-24,2-16ACC
Georgia Tech
17-14,7-11ACC
Panthers Fall In ACC Tournament First Round To #10 Georgia Tech, 73-60
3/6/2024 6:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GREENSBORO, NC – The Pitt women's basketball team (8-24, 2-16 ACC) saw their 2023-24 campaign come to an end on Wednesday afternoon in the ACC Tournament First Round as they fell to #10 Georgia Tech, 73-60, inside the Greensboro Coliseum.
Pitt was led offensively by Aislin Malcolm who netted 16 points on 4-for-6 from behind the arc and Bella Perkins who came off the bench and added 16 points, three assists and two rebounds in the loss. Liatu King saw her huge senior campaign come to an end as she netted 15 points and six rebounds in the loss.
For the game, Pitt shot 42.6% from the floor and 36.8% from behind the arc but only made 7-of-14 free throw attempts in the loss. The Yellow Jackets owned the 40-29 lead in rebounds and the 30-24 lead in scoring inside the paint.
How It Happened
Aaryn Battle got the Panthers started with a pull-up jumper from 15 feet and Malcolm knocked down her first triple of the game to give Pitt the early 7-6 lead. After a pair of free throws gave Georgia Tech the 12-7 lead out of the media timeout, Pitt went on a 7-0 run as Malcolm nailed another triple and Perkins got a steal and layup to make it 14-12 in favor of the Panthers. Battle gave Pitt the 18-15 lead late in the quarter but the Yellow Jackets finished the quarter with four straight to take the 19-18 lead into the second.
Pitt regained the lead early in the second quarter as Malcolm finished off a layup and Perkins knocked down a pull-up jumper to make it 22-19 in favor of the Panthers. The Yellow Jackets scored the next seven to take the 26-22 lead and forced Pitt to take a timeout. Georgia Tech pushed their lead out to eight, 33-25, late in the quarter but Perkins came right back with two straight triples to cut the Pitt deficit to one, 33-32, in the final minute. The Yellow Jackets ended the half with five straight to take the 38-32 lead into the locker room.
Pitt came out of the locker room on fire as King finished off a pair of layups and Malcolm drained another triple to force Georgia Tech to call a timeout as the Panthers were on a 7-0 run to take the 39-38 lead. After the Yellow Jackets tied the game, 41-41, out of the media timeout, Malcolm buried her fourth triple of the game to give Pitt the 44-41 lead with just over four minutes to go in the quarter. Georgia Tech closed the quarter on a 7-3 run to take the one-point lead into the fourth, 48-47.
Pitt was able to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter as King made back-to-back layups to make the score 53-52 in favor of the Panthers. Georgia Tech came right back to take the lead as they converted on two straight and one layups and they never looked back. The Yellow Jackets closed out the game making their free throws to earn the 73-60 victory.
Game Notes
- With the loss, Pitt falls to 2-11 all-time in ACC Tournament games
- Malcolm finished with 16 points on four made three-pointers. It marked her career-best 14th game this season scoring in double figures
- Perkins came off the bench and netted 16 points, three assists and two rebounds. It marked her 12th game this season scoring in double figures
- King netted 15 points and six rebounds on 7-for-16 shooting in the loss. She finishes the season scoring in double figures in 30 of 32 games while netting 15+ a career-best 26 times
What's Next
- The 2023-24 campaign comes to a close for the Panthers as they finish the season with an 8-24 overall record and a 2-16 ACC mark
