Pitt women’s basketball (5-5, 0-0 ACC) fell to its crosstown foe Wednesday evening in the 42nd edition of the City Game against Duquesne (5-2, 0-0 A10). The last time the pair met, the Dukes escaped with a 56-55 win despite last year’s junior guard Bella Perkins’ six-point push in the final 11 seconds of the game.
The Panthers faced the Dukes again, only this time without Perkins, who was dismissed from the team by head coach Tory Verdi an hour before the matchup. Perkins led the Panthers in scoring in their most recent matchup against Northern Iowa in the Paradise Jam, tallying a career-high 26 points. Without Perkins and junior guard Amaya Jenkins out for the season, Pitt showed weaknesses early.
Head coach Tory Verdi recognizes some of those weaknesses, namely the team’s communication.
“We struggled systematically in our communication,” Verdi said. “[Duquesne’s] style of play is rushing them, and sometimes when you’re rushed you can’t hear.”
Junior guard Marley Washenitz opened the game with a three in the first minute of play. The Dukes trailed closely behind following with a layup on their next drive. The two teams stayed close until the last minute of the first quarter when the Dukes went on a 5-0 run.
Guard Gabby Hutcherson returned to the Petersen Event Center playing for Duquesne after finishing her last season as a Panther. The graduate student scored 10 points on Pitt and fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Hutcherson earned her first foul against sophomore guard Mikayla Johnson in the first, and Pitt had a chance to cut Duquesne’s lead at the free-throw line. Johnson went one-for-four on the line in the first and the Panthers ended the quarter down, 19-14.
Graduate student center Khadija Faye opened the second quarter with two quick baskets for the Panthers, putting them behind the Dukes by four. Duquesne maintained its lead for most of the second while Pitt, desperate to stop the Duke’s momentum, found itself in foul trouble early in the game. Washenitz picked up her third foul and was benched with five minutes left in the half.
Duquesne gave Pitt an 11-point deficit with 3:41 remaining in the half. The Panthers cut the Duke’s lead on the free throw line and went into the locker rooms down 27-35.
Pitt started the third quarter strong, tying the game with baskets from Faye and senior forward Makayla Elmore, ultimately forcing a Duquesne timeout. However, the Dukes sank back-to-back threes after the timeout.
Faye helped the Panthers close the gap with 11 points in the third quarter, leaving them trailing by only one to the Dukes at the end of the third.
The two teams traded the lead back and forth early in the fourth quarter, with the Dukes solidly leading by four with two minutes remaining. Duquesne, up by three in the final minute, put the nail in the coffin with a banked three from senior forward Kiandra Browne after running out the shot clock.
Despite strong performances from Johnson and Washenitz both with 11, Elmore with 15 and Faye with 23 points, the Panthers fell 73-69 to the Dukes. With only nine players dressed for the game, the Panthers’ reliance on Faye for points this game was reminiscent of their dependence on graduated senior guard Liatu King last season.
Pitt returns to the Petersen Event Center on Sunday, Dec. 8 in a matchup against St. Peter’s. Tip-off is at 1:00 p.m. and can be watched on ACCNX.