Pitt
4-2
Maryland
6-0
Pitt Falls to No. 6 Maryland, 70-49
11/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands - The University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team fell to No. 6 Maryland 70-49 in the finale of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas.
Yacine Diop led the Panthers with 14 points, while Kalista Walters added 12 and Aysia Bugg 11. Pitt forced Maryland into a season-high 26 turnovers, but Maryland won the battle on the glass 50-22, and as a resulted outscored Pitt 36-26 in the paint.
"We knew rebounding was going to be key tonight," head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. "Going in, we didn't match up well with their size, but our kids competed for 40 minutes and that is what we asked them to do. This was a great learning experience for our young team playing one of the best teams in the nation."
Maryland's Brionna Jones scored eight early points to help Maryland lead 13-7 at the first media timeout of the game. UMD's Brene Moseley would score the next six points for the Terps and they had a 19-11 advantage after the first quarter.
The Panthers had a sluggish start to the second quarter and allowed Maryland to open the stanza on a 12-0 run which increased the Terps' lead to 31-11 at the 6:53 mark of the second.
However, it would be all Panthers down the stretch, ending the half on an 11-2 run, including the final nine points and headed to the locker room down 33-22 after Bugg scored at the buzzer.
The Panthers held Maryland scoreless for the final 5:09 of the half and forced eight turnovers in the quarter. Walters had eight points at the break to lead the Panthers.
After each team scored six points to open the second half, Maryland used another run to gain separation, this time a 10-1 spurt, to go ahead 49-29 with 2:21 left in the third quarter. UMD led 55-33 at the end of three.
The Panthers though, outscored Maryland 13-2 to open the fourth quarter, led by Diop and Bugg who combined to score all of those points, and forced Maryland into a timeout with 5:25 remaining, down 57-46.
But it would be too much Brionna Jones down the stretch as she finished the game with 22 points and 14 rebounds and Maryland pulled away in the final five minutes.
Bugg was named to the All-Tournament Team for averaging 14.6 points in St. Thomas. She scored in double figures all three games, including a career-high 18 last night vs. Old Dominion.
The Panthers took third place in the Reef Division and went 1-2 while in St. Thomas.
It is off to Ann Arbor this coming Thursday night for a clash with Michigan in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
