On Thursday evening, Pitt women’s basketball (9-12, ACC 1-7) entered the Petersen Events Center hoping to break its two-game losing streak to Virginia Tech (14-5, ACC 5-3), dating back to 2018.
Despite their efforts, the Panthers were unsuccessful and unable to surpass the sharp-shooting Hokie offense and fell in an 84-57 loss, falling to 1-7 in the ACC.
Pitt could not steal the lead from the well-rounded Hokies and spent nearly 39 minutes of the game trailing, courtesy of all five Virginia Tech starters reaching double-digit points. The Panthers also shot 22-56, making just 39.3% of their field goals.
“[Virginia Tech] was wholeheartedly the better team,” Pitt head coach Tory Verdi said. “They executed on both sides of the ball. Everything that they did, they work together. you know, and for us it was it was it was really disappointing, our effort, it’s really disappointing.”
The Hokies set the tone early with a quick 4-0 lead just 60 seconds into the game.
Pitt didn’t back down, forcing two turnovers to tie the game, but Virginia Tech sophomore forward Carys Baker got hot with seven points, making all three of her first shots to answer.
Pitt graduate center Khadija Faye served an early highlight with a crucial block, but it was no match for the aggressive Hokie defense, forcing the Panthers to turn the ball over on 25 percent of their possessions and ending the first quarter with a 21-10 lead.
“They threw a punch…right from right from the get go.” Verdi said on the Hokie’s hot start.
Pitt struggled to sink baskets in the second quarter, making just one three-point attempt and shooting just 35.3 percent from the floor. Redshirt sophomore guard Mikayla Johnson had a big and-one jumper, making her free throw to keep the Hokies’ lead at 11.
However, the half ended on a cold streak for the Panthers after they failed to add to the scoreboard in the final two minutes and headed to the locker room down 25-41.
The streak continued out of the half, forcing Verdi to call a timeout with 6:36 remaining in the quarter after the Panthers went 0-3 from the floor with two lone points coming at the foul line.
The trouble continued as the Panthers watched Faye, who leads the Panthers averaging 18.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, commit her fourth foul of the game with nearly 15 minutes of game to go.
Taking her place was Pitt first-year guard Audrey Biggs who threw up a layup with a Hokie defender falling into her, tacking on three points to bring life back to the Panther offense. With a three-point jumper and a layup from senior forward MaKayla Elmore, Pitt had cut their deficit to less than 20.
The Hokies responded with a quick jumper out of the timeout, and the Panthers found themselves trailing 62-43 with a quarter to play.
A quick three from Baker for Virginia Tech set the tone for the fourth quarter, and Pitt seemed to run out of steam as the clock continued to tick down. The Panthers mainly relied on foul shots, making just five baskets and five free throws to close out the game 84-57.
While Virginia Tech left the court with all five starters shooting 13 or more points, the Panthers’ highest scorers were junior guard Marley Washenitz and Elmore, both with 11. The difference sums up a tough game for Pitt, where it failed to keep up with its ACC foe.
“We’ll get back at it,” Verdi said after the game. “We’re going to continue to work with our players, and we’re going to continue to make them better. We’re going to continue to make them believe in what we’re doing.”
The Panthers head west next week for a matchup with conference newcomer Stanford on Thursday at 10 p.m. Catch the game on ACCNX.