Pitt falls to Georgia Tech in ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, ending Verdi’s first season

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Pitt had three players score in double figures in the opening round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday inside the Greensboro Coliseum, and still, it wasn’t enough.

Despite 16 points apiece from Aislin Malcolm and Bella Perkins, and 15 points and six rebounds from Liatu King, the 15th-seeded Panthers fell to No. 10 Georgia Tech 73-60.

It was the fifth straight loss for Pitt (8-24), and the 11th in its last 12 games. It’s the fourth straight year that Pitt has gone winless in Greensboro.

“We played together. I thought we did a great job of executing on both sides of the ball. Our will, our want-to was off the charts,” first-year Pitt head coach Tory Verdi said. “But what I’m really most proud of is how tough we were today. Very proud of them.”

Georgia Tech (17-14) was powered by 24 points and 11 rebounds from Tonie Morgan, who shot 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. Kara Dunn added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Rusne Augustinaite chipped in 13 points. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded Pitt 40-29.

“Pitt shot the ball so well, as far as from the 3, so they changed a little bit of what we were planning on doing defensively, but they came out with that hot hand,” Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner said. “Offensively, they really came at us.”

Pitt knocked down seven 3-pointers, tied for the second-most it has made against an ACC opponent this season.

King was held scoreless in the first half on 0-of-5 shooting from the floor and had just one rebound in the first 18 minutes of play. Voted the ACC’s Most Improved Player of the season this week, King is Pitt’s leading scorer and rebounder, entering this game averaging 18.8 points and 10.4 boards per game.

“She’s such a good player, so you have to try to beat her to her spots, push her off her spots, and not let her be comfortable,” Georgia Tech’s Kayla Blackshear said of King. “She’s a great player, so it’s hard.”

Pitt’s Liatu King plays against Georgia Tech on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. (Mitchell Northam / Pittsburgh Sports Now)

Despite King’s early struggles, Pitt trailed at halftime by just six points. The Panthers then opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run – kickstarted by King’s first bucket, a second-chance layup – to take a one-point lead. Pitt’s defense turned the heat up a notch in the third quarter too, holding the Yellow Jackets to 2-of-13 shooting from the floor while forcing three turnovers.

“We were rebounding the basketball, so we were getting stops. And then we were executing. We did a great job. We did a great job of getting the ball where it needed to go and finding people,” Verdi said of Pitt’s third quarter. “It was fun to watch and be a part of.”

Georgia Tech took the lead back in the fourth quarter and closed the game on a 21-7 run to win by 13 points. Morgan scored 11 points during that crucial stretch for the Yellow Jackets, who will face No. 6 Duke on Thursday.

For Pitt, the first year of the Verdi era has now come to a close.

Pitt coach Tory Verdi talks with Jasmine Timmerson during a timeout against Georgia Tech on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. (Mitchell Northam / Pittsburgh Sports Now)

While the losses piled up for the Panthers, Verdi proved in his first season that he can put talented players in a position to be successful. King saw her points per game average increase by 9.4 and a 13% bump in her field goal percentage. Malcolm and Jala Jordan both posted career-highs in points, rebounds and assists per game. Marley Washenitz dished out 63 more assists than she did last season.

“(Verdi) put his trust in me,” said King, a senior who has one extra year of eligibility left, due to the 2020-21 COVID season. “We had a conversation when he first got here, and he asked me if I wanted to be that go-to player, if I was ready to take on that type of responsibility, and he told me what it would look like. He never fell short of his word. He designed plays to put me in the position where he thought I would be successful.”

Verdi simply needs more talented players now, ones capable of competing in – and winning – ACC games. He’ll have the chance to acquire those kinds of players this offseason through high school recruiting and the transfer portal. With Jordan exhausting her eligibility, Pitt will have at least four open scholarship spots, and perhaps more if any other players depart through the portal.

In a since-deleted tweet, Verdi told Pitt fans that the team will look different next year. The road to living up to that statement begins now.

“I think throughout this journey, we learned what it takes to win,” Verdi said. “We’ve got to be better in all aspects, whether it’s in the weight room or whether it’s individuals. We have to be better. This year has given me an opportunity to really assess where we are as a program, our players, our staff, like everything. And you can bet that moving forward, we’re going to be able to take steps because we’re going to be prepared for those next steps.”