Pitt
9-11, 1-6ACC
Virginia
13-8, 3-4ACC
Pitt Earns First ACC Win; Defeats Virginia 58-55
1/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BOX SCORE | SEASON STATISTICS | HIGHLIGHTS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Behind a career high 19 points from junior Fred Potvin, the University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team defeated the University of Virginia 58-55 on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
Head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio inserted Potvin into the starting lineup for the first time this season and it paid off as Potvin made 6-of-12 shots, including tying her career high with five made 3-pointers.
Sophomore Stasha Carey and Freshman Brenna Wise each had 12 points and seven rebounds. Wise was 10-of-12 at the free throw line.
Pitt (9-11, 1-6 ACC) held Virginia (13-8, 3-4 ACC) to just 27.3 percent from the floor (15-of-55), and a decisive 10-0 run for the Panthers to open the fourth quarter and clutch free throws down the stretch helped Pitt hang out for the victory.
"I am so proud of the way this team battled today," McConnell-Serio said. "We found a way to win and hopefully we respond from this and continue to grow as a team. Fred Potvin was exceptional today with a career high 19. She is able to stretch the defense when she is hitting shots like that."
Potvin was on fire in the first quarter and made her first four 3-point attempts. As a whole, the Panthers made 7-of-9 from long range en route to a season-high 25 point first quarter.
Pitt held UVA to 3-of-15 in the opening 10 minutes, but the Cavaliers were 6-of-8 at the line, and the Panthers were up 25-12 after one.
The Panthers cooled off in the second quarter and made just one additional 3-pointer, but Pitt's defense held UVA to 3-of-13 in the quarter and the Panthers led 30-18 at the break.
Potvin had 15 points at intermission and the Panthers held the Cavaliers to just 6-of-28 overall in the half. Carey added eight points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Behind UVA's Breyana Mason and Aliyah Huland El, the Cavaliers outscored Pitt 20-9 in the third quarter as Pitt headed to the fourth quarter clinging to a 39-38 lead. Mason and Huland El had 14 of Virginia's 20 points in the quarter.
The Panthers though, responded by opening the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run which forced a Virginia timeout with 7:16 remaining in the game. Sophomore Yacine Diop engineered the run as she scored all eight of her points in the fourth quarter.
With less than 30 seconds to go, Virginia was in a must foul situation which put Wise and Potvin at the line, and they calmly knocked down all four free throws to keep UVA at a three point distance. Virginia's Mikayla Venson's last second desperation 3-pointer was no good as Pitt earned its first ACC victory of the season.
Pitt is now 3-0 against Virginia since joining the ACC, and 2-0 in Charlottesville.
Pitt now returns to the Petersen Events Center on Thursday night to host the Duke Blue Devils at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
