New Look, New Era: Women's Basketball Hosts Saint Peter’s in Season Debut

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Pitt women's basketball team will kick off their 2026-27 campaign on Tuesday night, hosting Saint Peter's inside the Petersen Events Center at 7 p.m.

HELLO, PITTSBURGH

Tuesday's home opener will officially kick off the Robin Harmony era, after Harmony was named head coach in March of this year.
The Panthers finished 8-23 overall and 1-17 in ACC play last season and were picked 17th in the ACC Preseason Poll.
Saint Peter's went 7-23 overall and 6-14 in MAAC play in 2025-26 and lost to Sacred Heart in the first round of the MAAC Championship.
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, with Zack Gibney on play-by-play and Brianne O'Rourke Kelly providing analysis.

PANTHERS VS. THE PEACOCKS

Tuesday will be the second meeting between Pitt and Saint Peter's.
The Panthers lead the series 1-0 after a 59-51 win at the Petersen Events Center on Dec. 8, 2024.
Saint Peter's is led by fifth-year head coach Jennifer Leedham.
A win would give Harmony her first victory at Pitt and give the Panthers a 2-0 series edge.
Pitt then plays six straight home games to open the season.

HARMONY IN THE HOUSE

A Hershey, Pa., native, Robin Harmony arrives with 369 career victories across 19 seasons as a head coach, including stops at St. Thomas (Fla.), Lamar and College of Charleston.
Last season, she led Charleston to a program-record 27 wins, the program's first CAA regular-season and tournament championships and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the Division I era.
She was named the 2026 CAA Coach of the Year.

PACKING UP THE LOWCOUNTRY

Associate head coach Randy Javier Schneider and assistant coach Greg Long followed Harmony from Charleston.
Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Madison Taylor, a four-year letter winner under Harmony at Charleston, also joins the staff.
Pitt returns none of its five starters from a year ago and welcomes 11 newcomers: 10 transfers and freshman Madison Crawford.
Three of those newcomers played for Harmony at Charleston, including guard Jamisen Hill, who made five starts, including all four CAA Tournament games, during the title run. Her sister, Maysen Hill, joins Pitt after playing at Fordham last season.

WELCOME TO THE BARBOT SHOW

Twin sisters Taylor and Taryn Barbot were both All-CAA First Team selections in 2025-26.
Taryn, a two-time CAA Player of the Year, averaged 20.1 points per game.
She finished her career as Charleston's all-time leading scorer in the Division I era with 1,715 points and scored 36 against Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
She was named to the 2027 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List.
Taylor averaged 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game and ranked 12th nationally in assists per game.
She recorded the third triple-double in program history on Nov. 7, 2025.

NEW PIECES, PROVEN NUMBERS

Alancia Ramsey averaged 12.3 points and 6.4 rebounds at Coastal Carolina before playing at Alabama.
Avery Watkins averaged 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 30 games, 16 as a starter, at Fresno State last season.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE OAKLAND

Shavonte Zellous returns to her alma mater as an assistant coach for the 2026-27 season.
She played for the Panthers from 2005-09, earned All-Big East First Team honors three times and went on to a 12-season WNBA career.
Zellous is also the last Pitt player to score 40 points in a game, with 42 against Florida on Dec. 21, 2008.