King’s Monster Game Lifts Panthers To City Game Victory Over Duquesne, 61-45

Saturday, November 19

Pittsburgh, Pa.

6:00 PM

Pitt

4-0,0-0ACC

Duquesne

3-1,0-0Atlantic 10

Duquesne

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics

King’s Monster Game Lifts Panthers To City Game Victory Over Duquesne, 61-45

11/19/2022 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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PITTSBURGH – For the second straight season, the Pitt women's basketball team improved to 4-0 as they downed cross-town rival Duquesne 61-45 in the City Game at the Petersen Events Center Saturday night in front of 1,513 fans.

"I was extremely excited about the way we played today," said head coach Lance White. "I can't say enough about what Liatu did today as she provided us a huge boost being a go-to player for us down on the block and on the outside. Overall, I was pleased with our performance today and where we are building."

Junior Liatu King had a monster night for the Panthers in the win as she netted her second straight double-double with a career-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. King finished off her efficient night going 10-for-17 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the win.

King opened up the game with a jumper and a pair of free throws to give the Panthers the early 6-3 lead before the Dukes netted a triple to tie the game, 6-6, at the first media timeout. Off the bench, Taisha Exanor finished off a pair of layups to give Pitt the 14-11 lead late in the quarter. King finished the scoring in the first as the Panthers took the 16-14 lead through 10 minutes.

The two teams exchanged some buckets early in the second quarter but the Panthers were able to gain control down the stretch to secure the halftime lead. The Dukes drilled a jumper to take the 23-22 lead with just over four minutes to go but Pitt responded right away as Maliyah Johnson nailed a triple and Amber Brown notched a steal and fast break layup. Sandrine Clesca banked in a jumper to cap a 9-0 run for the Panthers to close the half with the 31-23 lead.

The Dukes made a strong run to start the third quarter as they were able to cut the Pitt lead down to three a couple of times but the Panthers never flinched. Out of a timeout after a made triple by Duquesne, local product Aislin Malcolm buried a deep three from straight away to shift the momentum back to the Panthers. King finished off a layup after a great feed by Avery Strickland and Johnson netted a banked in three to close out the third quarter with Pitt leading 48-39.

The Panthers defense was the story of the final quarter as they held the Dukes to just 2-for-13 from the floor and 0-for-5 from behind the arc across the final 10 minutes. Destiny Strother came off the Pitt bench and drained a pair of deep triples to push the Panthers lead to 57-45 midway through the quarter and the Panthers never looked back. The Dukes were held scoreless over the final five minutes of the game as Pitt earned the 61-45 victory.

Johnson finished off her night with eight points and three rebounds while connecting on a pair of triples while Emy Hayford earned the start at point guard and finished with three points, four rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes of work. Strother finished with six points on 2-for-2 from deep while Brown chipped in with eight rebounds in the win.

As a team, Pitt shot 42.9% from the floor and 31.3% from behind the arc while making 8-of-10 free throws. The Panthers held the 41-36 edge in rebounds while committing a season low 11 turnovers and forcing 13 Duquesne mishaps which they turned into 18 points in the win.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will hit the road for three games at the Elevance Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, FL over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Pitt opens up action Friday, Nov. 25 against Towson before playing DePaul on Saturday, Nov. 26 and Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 27.

PITT NOTES
Team

With the win, Pitt improves to 23-17 against Duquesne in City Game matchups including winning two straight and three of the last four
Pitt improves to 4-0 for the second straight season, downing Duquesne to improve to 4-0 in each season
Pitt has held each of their first four opponents to under 36% shooting from the floor and under 25% from behind the arc for the first time since joining the ACC in 2013-14
The Pitt defense has held 33 of their last 34 opponents to 45% or less shooting from the floor
Pitt has held each of their first four opponents to under 55 points so far this season, marking the first time Pitt has done that since 2016-17
Pitt has held three of their first four opponents to 45 points or less for the first time in program history

Liatu King

King finished off her huge night with a career-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in 31 minutes of work.
She finished off her efficient night going 10-for-17 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the win
The 25-point and 11-rebound game marked King's sixth career double-double and second straight
The 25 points are a career-high as she now has two career games with 20+ points
She has now scored in double figures 15 times while grabbing 10+ rebounds 10 times in her career