Pitt women’s basketball finished their non-conference slate for the 2023-24 season with a 56-39 win over Le Moyne Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center. There have been some great moments and some poor ones as well for this team, which has seen many changes over the past few months that
New Era for Pitt Women’s Basketball
Tory Verdi took over as head coach in April, leaving his job at UMass to take the same position with Pitt women’s basketball. He succeeded former head coach Lance White, who accrued a record of 42-99 over five seasons with the program, which led to his dismissal in March.
The change of head coach saw nine players transfer out of the program, with only four players remaining from the season before.
Verdi had to bring in some new student-athletes to assemble a team for this upcoming season. He brought in five transfers, one recruit in the Class of 2023 and kept two of White’s recruits to finish with a roster of 12 players for the 2023-24 season.
Unlike White, Verdi had years of experience, coaching UMass for seven seasons from 2016-23 and four seasons at Eastern Michigan, coming into Pitt. Those years of coaching will serve crucial, as Verdi attempts to turn a program that had one winning season in the past 10 prior to his arrival.
Liatu King, All-ACC Star
Senior forward Liatu King was a solid, but inconsistent player her first three seasons with Pitt women’s basketball under White. She’d have a few really good games, but then others where she would have little to no impact.
As one of the four returners this season, not only has she improved, but she has become one of the best players in the ACC as well.
She is averaging 19.7 points per game, while shooting 53.6% from the field, fourth and fifth best in the ACC, respectively. She is also 13th best in the ACC with a .750 percentage from the free throw line.
King has played great defensive this season, as she ranks No. 2 in the conference averaging 9.9 rebounds a game, almost averaging a double-double. She is tied for second in the conference averaging 3.8 offensive rebounds per game and is third by averaging 6.2 defensive rebounds per game. She is also averaging 1.7 blocks and 2.2 steals per game, both fourth and fifth best in the ACC, respectively.
She earned ACC Player of the Week honors for her play in wins against Saint Francis on Nov. 29 and Binghamton on Dec. 3, both at home, averaging 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 2.5 assists and shooting 65.5%, 19-for-29, from the floor. Those two games also came in a stretch where she scored more than 20 points in five straight games.
Her great performances have been a crucial part for Pitt so far this season, but with ACC play starting on Sunday, she’ll need to keep up that play for her team to get some wins against the best teams in the country.
Close Losses + Concerning Victories
Pitt women’s basketball is 6-7 so far heading into ACC play and their record, to the average fan, doesn’t look so great.
All seven of their losses have come by single digits and three have come within a single possession. Some of these losses came against quality opponents, such as a nine-point loss to rival WVU in the second game of the season, who are now 12-0 and No. 25 in the latest AP rankings.
Others such as a 75-72 overtime loss to Akron in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Nov. 25, which Pitt started the fourth quarter up 55-40, and a one-point loss to Coppin State at home on Nov. 21, a team that is currently 3-11.
The benefit of losing close is that Pitt has kept themselves in every game, but it also means that they didn’t win games they should’ve in many of these defeats.
Of the wins Pitt has, only one of them has come against a team over .500, against Lehigh (8-3) on Dec. 10. The other five victories have a combined opponent record of 12-49, .245.
If the Panthers want to improve the rest of the season, they’ll have to defeat much better ACC teams, six of whom hold a place in the AP top 25.
Improvements for Pitt Women’s Basketball Returners
While King has served as the best player and returner for Pitt this season, sophomore guards Aislin Malcolm and Marley Washenitz have both improved as well.
Malcolm, a former star in the WPIAL at Chartiers Valley, is now a full-time starter, doing so in all 13 games this season. She is second on the team averaging 10.9 points per game, tied for No. 15 in ACC with 1.6 3-pointers per game and No. 22 in ACC at 2.8 assists per game.Â
Washenitz, a former desired recruit for Verdi at UMass, is the primary ball-handler for the Panthers this season with 4.5 assists per game, No. 8 in the ACC.
Two duo, along with King have seen their minutes rise under Verdi, compared to White who liked making many substitutions throughout a game. King is averaging 35.5 minutes per game, Malcolm is at 33.1 minutes per game and Washenitz is at 30.1 minutes per game, which is No. 2, No. 6 and No. 18 in the ACC, respectively.
No player under White averaged more than 30 minutes a game last season and while players may make more mistakes staying in longer, they also learn how to play through struggles and difficulties. Verdi has helped the returners improve their game by simply just letting them play more consistent minutes in each game.
Newcomers Playing Important Roles
Verdi has had solid play from the returning players, but his newcomers have also served important roles for the Panthers too.
First-year guard Aaryn Battle originally committed to Verdi at UMass, but decommitted and joined him at Pitt over the summer.
Battle has played much better than when she first came and has shown her potential on the court as well. Her best game saw her score 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from the foul line, along with six rebounds and three assists and playing all 40 minutes in the win over Le Moyne on Thursday.
USC transfer in junior guard Bella Perkins has had great games, scoring big time shots and more than 2o points each against Yale in the home opener and Lehigh, but is still searching for more consistency with her scoring.
Seton Hall transfer in graduate student Jala Jordan has also had some solid games, scoring 23 against Lehigh and 14 against Yale, but like Perkins, is trying to reach a level of solid scoring each game.
Junior College (JUCO) transfer Rapuluchi Ayodele is a force on the boards, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, eighth best in the ACC. She is also level with King with 49 offensive rebounds, or a 3.8 per game average.
ACC Provides Great Challenges
The ACC schedule will serve as a tough one for a relatively new Pitt squad. Six currently sit in the top 25 rankings, in No. 3 NC State, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 19 Louisville, No. 22 Florida State and No. 24 North Carolina, while both Miami and Syracuse both received votes.
The Panthers have lost 51 straight games to ranked opponents, dating back to the 2015 NCAA Tournament, the last time they made the post season. They came within single-digits three times last season, doing so only once prior, potentially suggesting the gap closing to end the streak, but the Panthers are almost an entirely new team.
Pitt will open up the ACC with a road trip to Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon and then face Notre Dame for the ACC home opener on Thursday.
The other home games for Pitt includes Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida State and Wake Forest and road games against North Carolina, Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame to complete the home-and-away.
Pitt also shares home-and-away games with Louisville, Syracuse and Boston College. Pitt hasn’t beaten either Louisville nor Syracuse in the ACC, holding 21 and 24 game losing streaks to them, respectfully, while only defeating Notre Dame once in the 2020 ACC Tournament.
The ACC schedule will prove tough and difficult at times for the Panthers, but if they can manage to put a few wins together, it will serve as a successful first season for Verdi in his mission to make this program a contender.
