Pitt Welcomes Rutgers For B1G/ACC Challenge And Deaf Awareness Night At The Pete

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (5-2, 0-0 ACC) welcomes Rutgers Wednesday night for a B1G/ACC Challenge contest inside the Petersen Events Center at 6:00 pm. The meeting between the former conference foes marks their first since 2013 and will air on the ACC Network with Alex Perlman and Christy Thomaskutty on the call.

DEAF AWARENESS NIGHT PROMOTION

The Panthers will be hosting their first "Deaf Awareness Night" Wednesday as they hope to raise awareness for the deaf community.
American Sign Language Pitt shirts will be handed out to the first 300 fans in attendance on Wednesday night.
In an effort to create an inclusive experience for members of the deaf community, sign language interpreters will be infused into the Panthers' game day experience.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Wednesday's game will air live on the ACC Network or you can watch by clicking HERE.
You can also listen to the game on the radio on WJAS 1320 AM or 99.1 FM as the voice of Pitt women's basketball, Josh Rowntree, will have the call from the Pete starting at 5:45 pm. Listen to the call by clicking HERE.
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.

THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS

This marks the 30^th all-time meeting between the two programs with the Scarlet Knights owning the dominant 26-3 record against Pitt.
Rutgers has won four straight games in the series with Pitt's last win coming on Feb. 10, 2009.

STORYLINES

The Panthers have continued to put an emphasis on rebounding the basketball and it has worked early on. Pitt currently ranks second in the NCAA in rebounds per game (49.7 rpg) and total rebounds (348) while ranking fourth in offensive rebounds per game (17.9) and eighth in defensive rebounds per game (31.9).
Sophomore Liatu King had her coming out party last week at the Paradise Jam as she started the first three games of her career and averaged a double-double with 11.7 ppg and 14.3 rpg. She posted back-to-back double-doubles while grabbing 19 rebounds in each game for Pitt, becoming the first player since Chelsea Cole in 2010 to record at least 19 rebounds in two straight games.

LAST TIME OUT – SOUTH DAKOTA

The Panthers wrapped up their week at the Paradise Jam with a heartbreaking overtime loss to South Dakota, 72-61.
Trailing by two with under 10 seconds to play, Liatu King made a put-back after a miss to send the game to overtime. The Coyotes were able to dominate overtime as they outscored Pitt 16-5 to take the win.
Junior Dayshanette Harris led the way offensively for Pitt as she netted 18 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist in a season-high 22 minutes. Mary Dunn also came off the bench and provided Pitt with 10 points and seven rebounds while knocking down a pair of threes in the loss.

PANTHERS IN THE ACC/B1G CHALLENGE

Pitt will collide with Rutgers for the 30th time on Wednesday as they will square off in the 2021 B1G/ACC Challenge inside the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
The game will be Pitt's seventh in the Challenge as a member of the ACC and they own a 2-4 all-time record.
Pitt's two wins were both on the road (Ohio State, Northwestern) as they are 0-2 at home in the Challenge. The Panthers and Scarlet Knights haven't met in the Challenge.
The ACC owns nine Challenge titles (9-1-3) and a 94-70 overall mark in Challenge games since its inception in 2007.

REBOUNDING PROWESS

One of the biggest points of emphasis for head coach Lance White since taking over the Panthers program prior to the 2018-19 season was rebounding. Pitt has taken that to heart through the first four years under White's guidance.
The Panthers are the best rebounding team in the ACC and are second in the NCAA so far this season averaging 49.7 rebounds per game.
Pitt also ranks second in the NCAA in total rebounds with 348 which are the most through seven games for Pitt in program history.
The Panthers have grabbed at least 41 rebounds in all seven games, marking the first time in program history they opened the season with seven straight games of at least 41 rebounds.
Pitt also ranks fourth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (17.9) and 12th in the NCAA in rebound margin (+13.6).
The Panthers are currently the only team in the ACC with eight players averaging at least 3.1 rebounds per game.
Liatu King leads the team and is tied for second in the ACC in rebounds per game (10.2 rpg). She also ranks second in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (4.1 orpg).