Pitt Welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson For 11th Annual School Day On Tuesday

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (1-2, 0-0 ACC) will welcome in the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Tuesday morning for their 11^th Annual School Day game at the Petersen Events Center. Tip is scheduled for 11:00 am.
Tuesday's game marks the 11^th Annual School Day, in which local students will be in attendance for one of the largest educational trips in the country. Pitt currently owns a 7-3 record in School Day games inside the Pete.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Tuesday's game will air on the ACC Network Extra by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on 1320 AM WJAS as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from courtside.
Live stats of the game can be found by clicking HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will also be posted on Twitter by following the Pitt women's basketball account @Pitt_WBB.

STORYLINES

The 2019-20 version of the Pitt Panthers features five returning players and seven newcomers. The newcomers are comprised of two transfers and five freshmen student-athletes.
Graduate student Aysia Bugg will return to the Panthers lineup this season for her sixth season after sustaining blood clots last season that forced her to miss the final 26 games. Bugg is enjoying a strong start to the season as she ranks second in the ACC averaging 20.0 ppg.

THE OPENING TIP

The new-look Panthers enter Tuesday morning's School Day game with a 1-2 record after falling at home to Georgetown on Saturday. The Panthers held the lead through three quarters but a cold-shooting fourth proved costly in the loss.
The Pitt freshman class posted another strong performance in the loss as they combined to score 37 of the Panthers 56 points on the day. Emy Hayford had a career day in the loss as she went for 13 points, four rebounds and two assists.

LAST TIME OUT

Despite holding the lead entering the fourth quarter, Pitt was outscored 20-9 in the final frame as they fell 66-56 to Georgetown.
Aysia Bugg led the Panthers in scoring for the second straight game as she netted 17 points while freshman Amber Brown recorded her second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
As a team, Pitt shot just 32.2% from the floor while the Hoyas connected on 42.6% of their shot attempts.

SCHOOL DAY GAME

Tuesday's game marks the 11th year of the School Day promotion at the Petersen Events Center. School Day is an opportunity for local area students to watch live Division I basketball while participating in fun contests and learning activities.
The School Day game dates back to November 2009. Pitt is 7-3 all-time when hosting the promotion, winning three of the last four.
Last season, School Day drew a crowd of 7,657.

NON-CONFERENCE DOMINATION

The Panthers have been dominant in the non-conference portion of their schedule as they have posted 15 straight winning seasons.
Pitt has recorded at least eight nonconference victories in each season since 2003-04 when they had a losing record of 4-6.
Over the past five seasons, Pitt owns a 46-23 (.667) record against nonconference opponents.
Since joining the ACC, Pitt owns a 38-14 (.731) record against non-conference opponents inside the Petersen Events Center.

BUGGIN' OUT

After receiving a waiver for her sixth season of eligibility in the summer, graduate student Aysia Bugg has been the best player on the court for the Panthers across the first three games.
Last time out, Bugg played another solid game as she led Pitt with 17 points and two rebounds across 35 minutes of work.
For the season, Bugg leads the team averaging 36.7 minutes, 20.0 points, 2.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds while connecting on a team-high 13 three pointers and shooting 46.4% from deep. She ranks second in the ACC in scoring (20.0 ppg), first in three-pointers (13) and fifth in three-point shooting (.464).
The team captain enters this season as the lone player in the ACC to have 700+ points, 300+ assists and 200+ rebounds in her career.
Bugg missed all of the 2017-18 campaign due to a torn ACL and after a strong start to her 2018-19 campaign, she missed the final 26 games after suffering from blood clots. Prior to her blood clot diagnosis, Bugg was averaging a team-high 14.0 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds across 29.6 minutes/game.
Bugg is just 227 points shy 1,000 for her career as she would become the 20th member of the Panthers 1,000 point club. She is also just 24 assists away from 10th place on the Panthers all-time assists charts.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU

Freshman forward Amber Brown will be asked to play big minutes down low for the Panthers this season and she seems ready for the challenge.
Last time out, Brown posted another huge game for the Panthers as she netted her second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds across a career-high 34 minutes.
On the year, Brown is averaging 9.0 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds while shooting 75% from the free throw line.
Brown is the first Pitt freshman to notch two double-doubles in a season since Brenna Wise in 2015-16.

IGBOKWE POSTS MONSTER GAME

Freshman forward Rita Igbokwe had another strong game off the bench on Saturday afternoon.
The athletically gifted forward was a spark plug off the Panthers bench as she posted career-high numbers in the loss. She finished off her game playing 22 minutes and posted six points, a team-high 11 rebounds and a block.
Igbokwe continues to show steady improvement and will be a strong force down low for the Panthers moving forward.

HAYFORD HAS A DAY

Freshman guard Emy Hayford is going to be relied upon to give the Panthers a spark off the bench this season and she responded in a big way Saturday.
The gifted guard out of the Netherlands had a career-high 13 points, four rebounds and two assists across 21 minutes of action against Georgetown.
She connected on 5-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-4 from deep as her driving ability and vision in the open court provide Pitt with a valuable asset off the bench.
Hayford earned international experience before Pitt as she played for the Netherlands National Team.

NEXT UP

Pitt will close out their four-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 23 as they welcome crosstown rival Duquesne to the Pete for the City Game. Tip on Saturday is set for 2:00 pm.
The Panthers will then hit the road for three straight as they head to the Sunshine State to participate in the Daytona Beach Invitational. Pitt will tangle with Ohio on Friday, Nov. 29 at 3:30 pm and Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 5:45 pm. The three-game road swing will come to a close on Thursday, Dec. 5 as the Panthers head to Happy Valley to take on Penn State at 7:00 pm in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

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