Pitt
2-4,0-0ACC
Northern Kentucky
1-3,0-0Horizon
King & Malcolm Power Pitt Past Northern Kentucky In Daytona Beach, 88-57
11/24/2023 7:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Behind a career-high 30 points from senior Liatu King, the Pitt women's basketball team (2-4, 0-0 ACC) collected a dominant 88-57 victory on Friday night in the first game of the Daytona Beach Classic at the Ocean Center. King is the first Pitt player since Brenna Wise in 2017 to score 30 points in a game.
King and Aislin Malcolm combined to score 51 points in the win for the Panthers. King finished off her night with a career-high 30 points while going 14-for-18 from the floor and grabbing nine rebounds. Malcolm also posted a career night as she had a career-high 21 points and a career-high seven assists while going 8-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-6 from behind the arc in the win.
Jala Jordan had a strong game off the bench for the Panthers as she netted 10 points and six rebounds while freshman guard Aaryn Battle had nine points, four assists and three rebounds in the win. Freshman point guard Jasmine Timmerson was effective in her career-high 27 minutes of action as she had three points, five rebounds and two assists while posting a plus/minus mark of +32.
For the game, Pitt shot a season-best 50.8% from the floor while also connecting on a season-high 8-of-12 from behind the arc. The Panthers also won the rebounding battle 45-29 while outscoring the Norse 42-24 inside the paint and 12-0 in the fast break.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a frantic start as the two squads exchanged early layups before Marley Washenitz and Malcolm buried corner triple to give Pitt the 10-9 lead three minutes in. Battle got involved late in the first quarter for Pitt as she netted five points down the stretch and Timmerson buried her first career triple to give the Panthers the 22-13 lead through 10 minutes.
King opened the quarter with a layup before the Norse cut the Pitt lead to nine, 26-17, with a layup of their own. A Malcolm three and an offensive rebound and layup by Rapuluchi Ayodele extended the Pitt lead out to 13, 32-19, midway through the quarter. The Norse cut into the Pitt lead late in the second, making it 35-29, but the Panthers ended the quarter with a pair of King layups and free throws from Battle to take the 41-32 lead into the locker room.
King started the third quarter with three buckets and Malcolm connected on a deep triple as the Panthers clung to a 53-43 lead just over three minutes into the quarter. The Norse were then able to bring the game within seven, 55-48, with just over three minutes to play in the quarter but Jordan made back-to-back layups and Malcolm buried a triple out of a timeout to send the game to the final quarter with Pitt leading 66-52.
Pitt was able to put the game away early in the fourth quarter as they opened the final frame with 12 straight points capped by a Battle jumper. Freshman forward Lauren Rust connected on a pair of free throw for her first career points as the Pitt secured the dominant 88-57 win. The Panthers outscored the Norse 22-5 in the final frame to earn the win.
GAME NOTES
- With the win, Pitt is 4-1 all-time against the Northern Kentucky Norse. The Panthers have won four straight in the series and improve to 2-0 in neutral site games against NKU
- Pitt is now 2-1 all-time in the Daytona Beach Classic as they also played in the tournament in the 2019-20 season
- King became the first Panther since Brenna Wise on Feb. 16, 2017 against Virginia Tech
- Malcolm capped her career night with 21 points and a career-high seven assists
UP NEXT
- Pitt returns to action tomorrow at 1:15 pm as they battle Akron in the second game at the Daytona Beach Classic at the Ocean Center.
