PITTSBURGH — Pitt played three solid quarters of basketball against a tough opponent in No. 15 North Carolina Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center. They failed to produce enough offensively and committed poor turnovers in the fourth quarter, allowing North Carolina to go on a long scoring run and come out with a 72-57 win.
The Panthers (7-13 overall, 0-9 ACC) lose their ninth straight game overall and make it six out of seven losses since 2017 to the Tar Heels (15-5 overall, 6-3 ACC).
This loss for the Panthers is also their 19th consecutive ACC loss dating back to Jan. 27, 2022, and their 47th consecutive loss to a ranked opponent dating back to 2015. That 19th consecutive ACC loss makes it the second longest conference losing streak in program history for the Panthers. They lost 34 straight conference games from March 5, 2011, in the Big East Tournament to Jan. 5, 2014, when they defeated Virginia in their second ever ACC game.
Panthers head coach Lance White praised his team for the fight through the first three quarters. He also said that when the game needed someone to step up, the stars on the Tar Heels rose up to the challenge and that led to their victory.
“I thought for three quarters, we battled and put ourselves in position and really dominated for a long time of the game,” White said. “The pressure and the moment and that fourth quarter hits and we stall to a halt. Part of that is what we’ve been through and again it’s being so present in the moment that we really struggle getting out of that and making the plays we need to.”
Pitt battled back-and-forth with UNC throughout the first quarter and managed to get a 21-19 lead at the end of the period. The Panthers shot 8-for-14 from the field and junior forward Liatu King, who scored one point in the blowout loss to Florida State on Sunday, scored eight points in the first quarter.
Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, with the Panthers shooting 5-for-16 from the field and the Tar Heels shooting 3-for-14 from the field. The Panthers held a 33-29 lead going into halftime.
Redshirt junior forward Cynthia Ezeja played a vital role in the second quarter, as she scored five points off the bench. Senior guard Dayshanette Harris also provided some points off the bench, with four points herself.
Pitt continued to stay in the lead in the third quarter, 44-39 with 3:30 minutes remaining. North Carolina junior guard Kennedy Todd-Williams scored five points on a 3-pointer and two free throws to tie the game up at the end of the third quarter.
Those baskets started a trend for the Tar Heels, who would go on a 22-1 run through the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. The Panthers scored some baskets towards the end, but their poor shooting doomed them as they lost by 15 to the Tar Heels.
North Carolina shot 9-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the foul line in that fourth quarter to earn themselves the victory. Pitt, contrastingly, shot 5-for-13 from the floor and committed five turnovers and seven fouls. North Carolina scored nine points off Pitt turnovers in the fourth quarter.
White said that Pitt had the shots in the second half to keep the lead for good, but just couldn’t knock them down, leading North Carolina to make their comeback.
“They went to their zone, and it forces other people to make shots,” White said on what North Carolina changed in the second half. “You gotta pass the basketball multiple times and you get a little bit more stagnant. I thought against their man, we attacked their pressure and their hedges great. So, the zone kind of stalled us a little bit…”
Harris led the Panthers off the bench with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field. Those 16 points she scored is tied for the second most she has scored in a game this season. Harris said that Panthers needs to understand how to close out games and just take their chances like the best teams do.
“We got to be able to handle pressure in that fourth quarter,” Harris said. “We stayed with them, and we were up for mainly three quarters. So being able to handle that pressure, making shots and in that fourth quarter, everyone bites down during that time. We got to learn bite down ourselves.”
The Panthers shot a poor 4-for-20 from 3-point range against the Tar Heels, including 1-for-15 in the last three quarters. The Panthers also shot 11-for-18, 61.1% from the foul line against the Tar Heels, the worst foul shooting percentage against an ACC team this season. The Tar Heels took advantage of their free throws, making 18 of their 19 attempts.
Pitt plays their next two games on the road, starting off with Boston College on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.
Will be interesting to see if the AD makes any changes after the season.
Chuck
1 year ago
Solid returnees (Harris, King, Brown, Johnson) with a good fr class, yet 0-9 ACC, 8-68 5 years. Pitt WBB winning at a 9% (18 losses consecutively) rate. Winning at a 30% rate would be abysmal.
Will be interesting to see if the AD makes any changes after the season.
Solid returnees (Harris, King, Brown, Johnson) with a good fr class, yet 0-9 ACC, 8-68 5 years. Pitt WBB winning at a 9% (18 losses consecutively) rate. Winning at a 30% rate would be abysmal.