Pitt
14-18, 4-12ACC
North Carolina
13-17, 4-12ACC
Pitt Defeats North Carolina in Overtime at ACC Tournament
3/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BOX SCORE | SEASON STATISTICS | POST GAME QUOTES | POST GAME QUOTES | HIGHLIGHTS
GREENSBORO, N.C. - In a wild overtime game, the University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team outlasted North Carolina in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, 82-72, on Wednesday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.
For the second time this season against the Tar Heels (14-18), the Panthers (13-17) had three players tally double-doubles, led by freshman Brenna Wise who had a monster game with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Stasha Carey added 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Yacine Diop had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard Aysia Bugg also had a standout performance with a career-best 20 points, and contributed seven rebounds and six assists as well.
With Pitt clinging to a 3-point lead, North Carolina's Jamie Cherry hit a desperation 30-foot 3-pointer with 0:01 seconds on the clock to force overtime. The Panthers regrouped through, and opened the extra session on a 7-0 run and ultimately outscored the Tar Heels 15-5 in overtime.
"I am so proud of this team," head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. "This is our only postseason and we left it all out there today. Basketball is a game of runs. We made ours, and North Carolina made theirs. I am happy with how we responded after UNC forced overtime. Getting extra game experience for this team is going to be key."
The Panthers started the game by making five of their first 10 shots and led 11-9 at the media timeout of the opening quarter. Led by Bugg with seven points and Diop with six, the Panthers were up 19-18 at the end of one. Pitt made 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) in the quarter.
UNC made its first four baskets of the second quarter and a 9-2 Tar Heel run forced a Pitt timeout with 7:27 left in the quarter and UNC leading 27-24.
From there though, the Panthers regained control and ended the half on a 17-2 run led by Bugg and Wise, and the Panthers took a 41-33 lead into halftime.
Bugg had 15 points, four rebounds and three assist in the half, while Wise added 12.
With the Panthers leading 47-38, UNC went on a 7-0 run, capped by a Stephanie Watts' 3-pointer which got the Tar Heels within two and forced Pitt into a timeout with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter. UNC got one more basket before the end of the quarter to tie the game at 47-47 entering the fourth.
The fourth quarter featured four ties and five lead changes as the action went back-and-forth the entire 10 minutes. With 15 seconds left, Wise (who was 12-of-13 at the free throw line), calmly knocked down two clutch free throws to give Pitt a 3-point lead it desperately needed.
After Cherry sent the game to OT, Stasha Carey scored the first five points of the extra session, and Diop's fast break layup capped a 7-0 run and the Panthers never looked back.
Pitt has now won three straight games against the Tar Heels and today's win also marked Pitt's first ever ACC Tournament victory.
The Panthers return to action tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. against the fifth-seeded and 21st ranked Miami Hurricanes (22-7). The game will be televised by RSN and can be seen locally in Pittsburgh on ROOT SPORTS and ESPN3.
