Pitt Women's Basketball Qualifies for ACC Tournament

The Pitt Panthers played well late on and make the postseason.

Dominic Campbell | Mar 3, 2025

Pitt Women's Basketball Celebrates a Made Basket / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers women's basketball team clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament after a strong finish to the regular season.

Pitt came into their final regular season game against Wake Forest on the road needing a win. They also needed Cal to defeat Miami at home, with Miami holding the tie-breaker over them with their win at the Petersen Events Center in December.

The Panthers took care of business in Winston-Salem, N.C., dominating the Demon Deacons for a 79-63 win.

They shot 52.9% from the field, third best mark on the season and second best in the ACC. They also held the Demon Deacons to 34.9% shooting from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range.

Pitt graduate student center Khadija Faye scored a career-high 31 points, making 11-of-15 shots from the field and shooting 9-for-16 from the foul line and grabbing nine rebounds

The Panthers also got great production from their guards, redshirt sophomore Mikayla Johnson and junior Marley Washenitz.

Johnson scored 19 points, shooting 5-for-9 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds, while Washentiz added 12 points, making four of her five shots from the field, and dishing out five assists.

Pitt also got what they needed from Cal, who blewout Miami, 82-63 at home.

The Panthers finished with a 13-18 overall record and 5-13 record in the ACC. This marks 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.

They beat Boston College at home, 79-66 on Feb. 6, and outlasted SMU on the road, 58-57 on Feb. 9 for back-to-back wins. After three straight losses, they defeated Clemson at home on Senior Day on Feb. 23.

Pitt did drop their last game to Syracuse on the road, 83-65 on Feb. 27, which made this game vs. Wake Forest a must-win.

The biggest win for the Panthers this season was their first win over the Mustangs, 72-59 on Jan. 12 at home. The Panthers erased a 32-point deficit, tied for the biggest comeback in Division I history, in the victory.

Unlike previous seasons, where every ACC team made it in, the additions of Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12 and SMU from the American gave the conference 18 teams.

The ACC chose to keep just 15 teams for the conference tournament, with the three teams with the worst record missing out.

Miami joins SMU and Wake Forest as the three teams who won't play in the ACC Tournament, with the latter two teams winning just two games in conference play.

Pitt makes the ACC Tournament with just eight healthy players, as they've dealt with injuries and player departures.

They lost three players to season-ending injuries, as freshman forward Kiara Williams underwent successful surgery on a lower-leg injury back in early July.

Pitt lost two players in the same game, an 82-54 blowout road loss to rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Nov. 12. Junior guard Amiya Perkins suffered a serious knee injury earlier in the game and then sophomore forward Lauren Rust chose to medically redshirt after dealing with a leg injury.

Panthers head coach Tory Verdi dismissed senior guard Bella Perkins from the team on Dec. 4 and then junior guard Aislin Malcolm entered the transfer portal on Jan. 29 and landed at Robert Morris.

Pitt gets the last spot in the ACC Tournament, with the No. 15 seed. They'll face the No. 10 seed, Virginia, in the First Round on March 5 with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

Winner of this matchup faces No. 7 Cal on March 6 for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off.

Let the games begin 🏆

The bracket for the 2025 Ally ACC Women's Basketball Championship is set!

🎟️ https://t.co/8NZnaDHRKS
🔗 https://t.co/4f8v0N0mHb pic.twitter.com/RzrEuI9Fe3
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) March 3, 2025