Pitt women’s basketball (9-16, 2-12) defeated Georgia Tech (12-13, 3-11) 85-79 in double overtime on Sunday for their first-ever double overtime victory in school history.
The win also ends a five-game losing streak to Georgia Tech and is their first win on the road against Georgia Tech since joining the ACC. It ends a 12-game losing streak in conference play as a whole.
The team saw a great performance from Liatu King who finished with a double-double in 13 points, 13 rebounds. Four players joined her in the double-digit scoring club with freshman Avery Strickland leading the way with 17 points off the bench.
Strickland was followed by Maliyah Johnson (16), Dayshanette Harris (15) and Channise Lewis (11). The five players that reached double digit in scoring shot well, going 26-for-56 (46.5%) in the contest.
The key momentum swing in the game came in the third quarter when Pitt outscored Georgia Tech by 11 at 23-12. Heading into that point, Pitt was trailing by nine 42-33 and shot 6-for-18 (33.3%) in the quarter prior. Pitt completely flipped the script in the third and shot 9-for-11 (81.8%) to take a slight 56-54 lead heading into the fourth.
Georgia Tech tied things up by the end of regulation as the two teams entered overtime.
There wasn’t any separation in the first overtime period, with just eight total points being scored, and Georgia Tech scored first to start the second overtime.
However, an 8-0 run by Pitt in the game’s final four minutes and held Georgia Tech to 0-for-4 shooting and a turnover during that span. It was a great effort to close a win by a team that has struggled to find ways to win this season.
This is Pitt’s second consecutive overtime win after they beat Clemson in overtime last season, 78-73. They’ve now won two of their last three games including a 60-51 win over Virginia a week ago.
They will next face Boston College at home at 6:00 p.m. They have four games left before the ACC tournament.
Nice to see the ladies get a W. Let’s finish the season with a few more. H2P !