Panthers Head South for Florida Gulf Classic

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team will head to Naples, Fla. to face Ball State and Chicago State on Friday and Saturday in the Florida Gulf Classic at the Community School of Naples.

Tipoff is slated for 1:15 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday, with both games being streamed via the Women's Sports Network.

Need to Know – Games 8-9

2025 Florida Gulf Classic
Pitt vs. Ball State, Chicago State
Nov. 28-29, 2025
Community School of Naples

The Opening Tip

Pitt fell to Lafayette 76-59 Tuesday evening at the Petersen Events Center.
Theresa Hagans Jr. paced the Panthers with a team-high 16 points and six rebounds.
Fatima Diakhate added 12 points and nine boards.
Angel Jones contributed a season-high six assists.
Freshman Megan Hollingsworth pulled down a career-best six rebounds.

Series History – Ball State

Pitt leads the all-time series 4-2.
The two teams faced off on Dec. 19, 2023, at the Sun Cost Challenge in Tampa, Fla., where Ball State came out on top, 73-62.

Scouting the Cardinals

Ball State is 5-1 on the 2025-26 season. Their lone loss came against UIC, falling by two points at home.
The Cardinals spread the scoring out amongst four of their starters. Bree Salenbien leads the way with 16.0 points per game. Grace Kingery, Karsyn Norman and Tessa Towers follow with 12.8, 12.8 and 12.7 points per game respectively.

Series History – Chicago State

Pitt won the only meeting between the two schools, 87-49 on Dec. 31, 2017.

Scouting the Cougars

Chicago State is currently 1-5. They will face New Mexico in their first game of the Florida Gulf Classic.
Chicago State is led by Aiyanna Culver, who is averaging 20.5 points per game but has missed the last two games.
In Culver's absence, Marisa Gant has stepped up for the Cougars, averaging 15.0 points per game over the last two games.

Up Next

The Panthers will return to the Petersen Events Center to face Central Connecticut on Monday, Dec. 1.