Pitt displayed a lot of grit and pulled away with a hard-fought, 78-73, win over Clemson on Thursday night at the Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. Clutch three-pointers by Emy Hayford and Jayla Everett in overtime, along with efficient shooting from the free-throw line was enough to put Clemson away. The Panthers made 16-of-22 shots (72.7%) from the foul line on the night.
The Panthers were hot and cold when it came to shooting, as they were 27-of-75 from the field (36.0%), but they made eight three-pointers on 28 attempts (28.6%), and the triples came at crucial moments of the game. Clemson had a lower shooting percentage from the field than Pitt, as the Tigers made 25-of-75 shots (33.3%) and were 6-of-22 from behind the arc (27.3%). Clemson converted just 17-of-29 free-throw attempts (58.6%), an area that Pitt had a big advantage.
Dayshanette Harris led Pitt with 16 points, while Everett (15), Amber Brown (15), and Liatu King (11) also scored double-digits. Brown nearly had a double-double, as she recorded nine rebounds. Igbokuwa led the Panthers with 12 rebounds.
Delicia Washington had a huge game for Clemson, as she racked up 26 points. Daisha Bradford was second in scoring for the Tigers with 14 points.
Clemson led 20-18 at the end of the first quarter, and the majority of the scoring came from Washington, as she scored 11 of the Tigers’ 20 points in the opening quarter. The Panthers made three triples in the first quarter but overall struggled from the field, as they were 7-of-26 midway through the second quarter. Pitt went 0-for-7 from the field in the final four minutes of the first half, and Clemson took advantage, as the Tigers went on an 8-2 run and went into halftime with a 32-25 lead, which was their largest advantage of the night.
The Panthers made just eight of their 35 shots (22.2%) from the field in the first half and were 3-of-15 (20.0%) from behind the arc. Clemson converted 11-of-36 shots (36.1%) from the field and were 2-of-8 (25.0%) on three-point attempts. Washington scored half of the Tigers’ points in the first half with 16. Washington was 6-of-12 from the field and made two triples, along with going 2-of-2 from the foul line. Igbokuwa led the Panthers with seven points. Igbokuwa also had seven rebounds and three blocks in the first half.
Pitt outscored Clemson 10-5 to open the third quarter and cut the Tigers’ lead to 37-35. The Panthers retook the lead at 38-37 following a Liatu King layup and converted free-throw. Clemson went 1-of-7 from the field to open the third quarter up until Weronika Hipp nailed a three-pointer to put the Tigers up 42-38. Pitt answered with a layup by King and a three-pointer by Hayford to put the Panthers back up at 45-44 with 55 seconds left in the quarter. Pitt turned a seven-point deficit at halftime into a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter, as the Panthers led 48-45. After scoring 16 points in the first half, Pitt shut out Washington in the third quarter. King scored nine points for the Panthers in the third quarter.
Pitt got out to a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter thanks to a layup by King and a three-pointer by Everett to put the Panthers up 53-48.
Clemson battled back and tied the game at 58-58 up until Harris made a three-pointer to give the Panthers a 61-58 advantage with 2:59 remaining. After a jumper by Hannah Hank and a free throw by Washington, Clemson retook the lead at 62-61 with 1:56 left.
Pitt and Clemson exchanged baskets down the stretch and were tied at 65-65 with 13.5 remaining. Pitt had one last possession following a timeout, and Harris drove to the basket but was unable to convert the layup, which forced overtime.
Pitt got out to a 71-65 lead in overtime after Hayford and Everett each nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Clemson was unable to bounce back after allowing the two triples, as Pitt played great defense and knocked down their free-throws, which secured a 78-73 win.
