Pitt Knocks Out North Carolina, 68-48

Sunday, January 15

Pittsburgh, Pa.

2:00 PM

Pitt

(11-7, 2-3ACC)

North Carolina

(12-6, 1-4ACC)

North Carolina

Pitt

Pitt Knocks Out North Carolina, 68-48

1/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Jan. 15, 2017

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PITTSBURGH – Sophomore combo guard Kauai Bradley had a career day with 17 points and a double-double for Pitt women's basketball (11-7, 2-3 ACC) as the Panthers took down North Carolina (12-6, 1-4 ACC), 68-48, Sunday afternoon at Petersen Events Center.

The win marked Pitt's largest margin of victory against an ACC opponent since taking down the then No. 8/6-ranked Tar Heels by 25 points (84-59) Jan. 8, 2015, at Petersen Events Center. North Carolina's 48 points were the fewest allowed by Pitt in the teams' all-time series, dating back to 1981.

Bradley's 17 points and 10 rebounds were each career-high marks to go along with four assists and four steals. It was the second double-double of her career, with her first being at the season opener against Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 12).

Rookie guard Alayna Gribble contributed her second consecutive double-figure scoring performance off the bench, posting 11 points.

As a team, the Panthers out-shot the Tar Heels 44.3 percent (27-of-61) to 30.4 percent (17-of-56). Pitt had the advantage on the boards (41-36), in points off turnovers (23-16) and in points off the bench (26-11).

There were three lead changes and one tie over the first six minutes of play, until the Panthers took off on a 9-2 run over the final four minutes to lead 16-10 at the first break.

Pitt held the Tar Heels to 0-of-12 from the field from the 6:09 mark in the first period until 7:10 in the second. The Panthers stayed hot, starting the quarter 3-of-4 from the field, including an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 24-10 at 8:06. Another hot streak of 10-2 gave Pitt its largest lead of the half (19), up 33-14 with 1:45 to go. The teams traded jumpers to make it 35-16 at halftime.

Things were going well for Pitt during the first few minutes of the third quarter as the Panthers reached a lead of 21 at the 8:45 mark (39-18), but a 10-0 run lasting until 4:08 made the margin as few as 10 points. Pitt went without a field goal from 8:45 until 3:38. A 5-0 run by the Panthers returned the margin to 15 (45-30) with three minutes remaining in the quarter. The period ended with Jasmine Whitney converting and and-one, then running down the court to block a buzzer-beater attempt by UNC's Jamie Cherry. Pitt took a 53-33 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.

The Panthers found a largest lead of 25 after Bradley notched her career-high point total on a jumper at the 5:25 mark (62-37), and did not surrender a lead of less than 18 for the remainder of the contest. The final buzzer sounded with Pitt on top, 68-48.

WITH THE WIN…

- Pitt extended its win streak against the Tar Heels to four games. The Panthers have claimed five of the six all-time meetings between the programs, with the only loss coming Feb. 13, 2014, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (86-50).
- The Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided its longest slump since dropping the final three games of the 2015-16 regular season (Feb. 21-28, 2016).

EXPERIENCE THE ACTION

All individual tickets for Pitt women's basketball home games are general admission and available for purchase for $5 each by calling the Panthers Ticket Office at 800-643-7488 or by visiting PittsburghPanthers.com. Group tickets and season tickets are also on sale.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will play two of their next three games at Petersen Events Center, beginning with Virginia Sunday, Jan. 22, with a 12:30 p.m. ET tip.

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