Panthers Hit the Road To Do Battle With Ball State Saturday Afternoon

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's basketball team (6-2, 0-0 ACC) hits the road for just their second true road game Saturday afternoon as they travel to Muncie, IN to take on the Ball State Cardinals. Saturday's game will air on ESPN3 at 1:00 pm from Worthen Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Saturday's game will air live on ESPN3. 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 12:45 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 BALL STATE

This marks the fourth meeting between the two programs all-time with Pitt owning the 3-0 series lead over the Cardinals.
The Panthers knocked off the Cardinals by the score of 59-47 in the last meeting between the two on Dec. 18, 2014 inside the Petersen Events Center.
Pitt currently owns a 30-12 record against MAC opponents.

STORYLINES

The Panthers have continued to put an emphasis on rebounding the basketball and it has worked early on. Pitt currently ranks 4th in the NCAA in rebounds per game (48.1 rpg) and total rebounds (385) while ranking 3rd in offensive rebounds per game (17.5).
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.

THE OPENING TIP

The Panthers have been doing a great job of getting to the free throw line this year as they currently lead the nation in free throw attempts with 214 while ranking 5th in the NCAA in free throws made with 132.
Senior Jayla Everett returned to the lineup after missing three games and led Pitt with 18 points in the home win over Rutgers. She currently ranks 3rd in the ACC in scoring (18.2 ppg) while ranking 4th in threes made per game (2.6) and 5th in three-point field goal percentage (41.9%).

LAST TIME OUT – RUTGERS

The Panthers collected their third victory in the B1G/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night as they downed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58-50.
Pitt was able to surpass their win total from each of the last two seasons (five) as they overcame their largest deficit of the season, storming back from 10 points down in the opening half.
Jayla Everett netted a team-high 18 points while Amber Brown added 12 points and seven rebounds and Rita Igbokwe grabbed a team-high 12 boards in the win.
Wednesday was a special night inside the Pete as the Panthers hosted their inaugural "Deaf Awareness Night" with special American Sign Language (ASL) Pitt t-shirts, video features and informational graphics throughout the game. The game was special for Liatu King as both of her parents are deaf and her first language was ASL at nine months old.

GETTING TO THE LINE

A big emphasis this season for the Panthers with a much deeper and more athletic squad was getting to the free throw line and making free throws.
So far this season, Pitt is doing a great job on both fronts. Pitt currently leads the NCAA in free throw attempts with 214 (26.8/game) while ranking fifth in the NCAA in free throws made with 132 (16.5/game).
Junior Amber Brown ranks second in the ACC and 31st in the NCAA in free throw attempts with 42. She also ranks fifth in the ACC in free throws made with 27.
The Panthers have connected on 10+ free throws in seven of eight games. They netted a season-high 29 against Northwestern, the most in a game since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013-14.

EVERETT CONTINUING HIGH LEVEL PLAY

After missing three games at the Paradise Jam, Everett returned to the starting lineup and led Pitt in scoring with 18 points in the win over Rutgers.
The senior captain has embraced her role as the Panthers' go to option this season. She currently ranks 3rd in the ACC in scoring (18.2 ppg) through five games played.
Everett currently ranks 4th in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.6) as well as 5th in three-point field goal percentage (41.9%). Last season she set a program record making 2.7 threes per game.
She is the first Panther since Shavonte Zellous in 2008-09 to open the season with back-to-back 20+ point games as she netted 23 against Radford and 20 against Lafayette.
She has nine 20-point games in her Pitt career and 16 overall.
Everett has made two or more three-pointers in 20 of her 24 games for Pitt and 33 of her 74 career games overall.
She currently leads the team in minutes played per game (27.4 mpg) while playing 30+ minutes three times this season including in each of the last two.
In the win over Duquesne earlier this year, Everett netted her 1,000th career point.

NEXT UP