Pitt Returns To The Pete Wednesday Night To Host Illinois In ACC/B1G Challenge

PITTSBURGH – After spending Thanksgiving in Fort Myers, FL for a three-game tournament, the Pitt women's basketball team (5-2, 0-0 ACC) returns home Wednesday evening as they welcome Illinois to the Petersen Events Center for the ACC/B1G Challenge. Wednesday's game will tip at 5:00 pm and air live on the ACC Network.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Saturday's game will air live on ACC Network and can be viewed 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.

STORYLINES

Sophomore Maliyah Johnson continued to grow this past weekend at the Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament as she led the Panthers in scoring across the three games (10.0 ppg) while chipping in with 3.0 rebounds per game and shooting 41.7% from behind the arc. Johnson earned All-Tournament Team honors for her performance down in Fort Myers last weekend.
Junior forward Liatu King is enjoying a great start to her season as she is leading Pitt in scoring (10.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg) while shooting 50% from the floor. King currently ranks third in the ACC in rebounding as she has four games this season with 10+ rebounds after doing that just six times all last season.

THE OPENING TIP

The Panthers return home Wednesday night after a three-game road trip in Fort Myers as they welcome Illinois for the ACC/B1G Challenge at the Petersen Events Center. Wednesday's game will air on ACC Network at 5pm.
Pitt opened the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament with a strong come-from-behind victory over Towson on Friday to improve to 5-0 for just the fourth time in program history. The Panthers then lost the final two games of the tournament to teams that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago (DePaul, #14 Maryland).

RECAPPING THE FORT MYERS TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT

The Panthers spent their Thanksgiving in sunny Fort Myers, FL as they competed in the first Fort Myers Tip-Off women's tournament.
Pitt opened the tournament with a come-from-behind win over Towson before dropping games against DePaul and #14 Maryland to close their three games in three days gauntlet.
Maliyah Johnson led Pitt in scoring across the three games as she netted 10.0 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 41.7% from deep. Liatu King finished off her tournament averaging 7.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.
Pitt opened the weekend with a nine-point comeback victory over Towson thanks to the play off the bench by freshman Marley Washenitz. Washenitz netted a career-high 11 points, five rebounds and four assists (most of which coming in the fourth) as Pitt raced back to take the 72-62 win.
The Panthers were within one at halftime against DePaul on Saturday but the Blue Demons outscored Pitt by 14 in the second half to secure the win. Gabby Hutcherson led Pitt in scoring off the bench as she netted 10 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 22 minutes of work.
On Sunday, #14 Maryland was too much for Pitt as the Panthers fell 87-63 despite trailing by seven at half. Maliyah Johnson led Pitt in scoring with 11 points and five rebounds in the loss.

ACC/B1G CHALLENGE HISTORY

Pitt will take on Illinois for the first time in program history Wednesday night as they square off in the 2022 ACC/B1G Challenge inside the Petersen Events Center.
This marks the Panthers' eighth game in the Challenge as a member if the ACC. Pitt currently owns a 3-4 record in the previous seven games.
The Panthers earned a home victory last season over Rutgers, 58-50, in the Challenge as Amber Brown netted 12 points and seven rebounds and Liatu King finished with 11 points and six boards.
The ACC owns 10 Challenge titles (10-1-3) and an 104-74 overall mark in Challenge games since its inception in 2007.
Last year, ACC teams won 10 of the 14 matchups and league teams combined to outscore Big Ten opponents by 107 points in victories.

FROM DOWNTOWN

One of the biggest areas of improvement so far this season has been the Panthers three-point shooting.
So far this season, the Panthers are shooting 34.5% from behind the arc as a team. Pitt currently ranks third in the ACC in 3PT FG%, trailing only NC State and Notre Dame.
Maliyah Johnson leads the Panthers with a career-high 13 three-pointers while shooting 44.8% from deep.
Freshman sharpshooter Aislin Malcolm leads the team shooting 47.6% from behind the arc. She has connected on 7-of-13 triples over her last three games for the Panthers.
Pitt has also limited their opponents to just 24.6% from behind the arc which ranks fourth in the ACC.
The Panthers held their first five opponents to 24% or less shooting from deep while holding two opponents to under 15% from behind the arc this season.

NEXT UP

The Panthers will have a week off before returning home next Wednesday, Dec. 7 against Loyola (MD). Next week's game will tip at 6:00 pm and air on ACC Network Extra.

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Pitt Returns To The Pete Wednesday Night To Host Illinois In ACC/B1G Challenge

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Amber Brown

Gabby Hutcherson

Maliyah Johnson

Liatu King

Aislin Malcolm

Marley Washenitz

Pitt Returns To The Pete Wednesday Night To Host Illinois In ACC/B1G Challenge

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Amber Brown

Gabby Hutcherson

Maliyah Johnson

Liatu King

Aislin Malcolm

Marley Washenitz

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