Pitt WBB Falls to Virginia in ACC Tournament

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers women's basketball team saw their season come to an end, as they lost to Virginia, 64-50 in the First Round of the ACC Tournament.

This makes it five straight seasons that the Panthers have lost in the First Round of the ACC Tournament and 10 of 12 seasons since joining ACC that they've done so.

Pitt would take a 12-5 lead midway through the first quarter, as senior forward MaKayla Elmore hit three 3-pointers and freshman guard Audrey Biggs added three free throws. Virginia turned it over four times during this span and shot 2-for-7 frome the field.

Redshirt sophomore guard Mikayla Johnson suffered an ankleinjury early on and wouldn't return the rest of the game.

The Panthers then struggled immensely, not scoring over an eight minute span and shooting 0-for-11 from the field.

Virginia finished the first quarter on a 7-0 run, with junior guard Paris Clark hitting a 3-pointer and scoring a layup, tying it up 12-12.

Cavaliers sophomore guard Kymore Johnson, an All-ACC First Team honoree, led her team on a 9-0 run by herself to start the second quarter, with two layups, a jumper and a 3-pointer.

Pitt finally ended a 19-0 run from Virginia, as Biggs scored a layup at the 7:39 mark.

The Panthers took advantage of poor shooting from the Cavaliers to end the quarter, 1-for-14 and 0-for-10 in the final four minutes.

Junior guard Marley Washenitz would hit two 3-pointers and made two free throws, as Pitt cut the deficit to just four points, 26-22, at halftime.

Panthers graduate student center Khadija Faye, a First Team All-ACC honoree, missed her first seven shots, before scoring midway through the third quarter. The Cavaliers double and triple-teamed Faye, forcing her into difficult shots throughout the game.

Virginia opened the second half on an 14-2 run before the media timeout, with senior forward Latisha Lattimore scoring four points, Clark and Johnson hitting 3-pointers and freshman forward Breanna Hurd making a jumper.

Pitt responded with an 8-2 run, with Faye scoring six points on four free throws and a layup and Elmore adding a layup herself, trimming the deficit to single digits, 42-34, and forcing a Virginia timeout.

Clark and Johnson hit 3-pointers in the last 1:30 of the third quarter, giving the Cavaliers a 48-36 lead at the end of the period.

Virginia opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run, building their largest lead of the game at 18 points, 56-38 and would finish the game with the double-digit victory.

The Panthers shot 23.3% from the field vs. the Cavaliers, their worst mark of the season. It is the worst shooting perfomance from the Panthers since they made just 15.8% of their shots in a 74-37 road loss to Florida State on Jan. 22, 2023.

Faye, who finished with a double-double, 15 points and 11 rebounds, shot 3-for-19, 15.8% from the field, her worst shooting performance on the season.

Pitt did shoot 16-for-17, 94.1% from the free throw line, with Faye going 9-for-9, their third best shooting percentage in a game this season.

Senior guard Brooklyn Miles, plus both Faye and Elmore graduate and end their sole season with Pitt.

The Panthers finished with a 13-18 overall record and 5-13 record in the ACC in the regualr season. This marked the most wins for the program in a season since the 2016-17 campaign and also the second most wins in an ACC season, since they won nine in 2014-15, when they last made the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt finished the season with a 4-4 record in their last eight games, after starting conference play with a 1-9 record, which helped them clinch the final spot in the ACC Tournament.

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