Women’s Basketball: Kiesel set to return against North Carolina

After suffering what head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio called a “disappointing loss” to Wake Forest on Sunday, one change may make a big difference in Pitt’s next game — Brianna Kiesel.

The junior point guard will make her return to the starting lineup tonight.

The Panthers’ team leader in scoring, assists and minutes played returns after missing one game with an injury she suffered at Maryland on Feb. 6, when she collided with a Terrapins player while battling for a loose ball.

“She will be back,” McConnell-Serio said. “It is good to have her back. At the end of a game, you want to have the ball in her hands. We did well without her in the first half [against Wake Forest], but as the second half progressed, you saw that we needed that type of player on the floor.”

“I’m expecting to be back,” Kiesel said. “I did non-contact yesterday. I didn’t practice the day before. [Wednesday], I was ready to go full speed.”

Pitt (10-14, 2-8 ACC) travels to a snowy Chapel Hill, N.C., with hopes of snapping a three-game losing streak as they take on a young, talented Tar Heels team that is riding high after beating No. 3 Duke, 89-78, on Monday night.

No. 17 North Carolina (18-6, 6-4 ACC) boasts freshman sensation Diamond DeShields, who is coming off a 30-point performance at Duke and was recently named the NCAA Player of the Week. She leads a talented group of underclassmen that will challenge Pitt by running the floor and trying to turn the contest into a high-scoring affair.

“Two of their leading scorers are underclassmen and I had the chance to coach against them last year,” McConnell-Serio said. “They are so athletic, they play so fast and they score in so many ways.”

DeShields leads the team in scoring and is one of four Tar Heels — along with freshman guard Allisha Gray, sophomore forward Xylina McDaniel and freshman forward Stephanie Mavunga — to average double figures in scoring.

According to McConnell-Serio, the key for Pitt will be the same as it has been all season: Being efficient on offense and making the opponent play the game the way the Panthers intend to play.

“We are going to have to find ways to score,” McConnell-Serio said. “We are a team that can’t depend on just one or two players scoring, and that is evident. We have to defend because they are a team that wants a high-possession game. They are going to come down and shoot quickly. I have seen teams press them, play man-to-man, play zone but it doesn’t matter. They are going to play their game.”

Pitt will look to senior guard Marquel Davis and redshirt sophomore Loliya Briggs to help Kiesel carry the load when it comes to scoring. Both Davis and Briggs are coming off season-high scoring outputs Sunday during a matchup against Wake Forest in which Davis posted 22 points and Briggs chipped in a career-high 28.

Kiesel said being able to watch the Wake Forest game from the sideline was helpful, because she learned more things that worked for this Pitt team, especially in the first half when the Panthers were an efficient 14-for-22 shooting and posted 40 points in 20 minutes.

“I got a chance to sit on the bench and see a lot of good things we are doing,” Kiesel said. “We are going to try to do the same things. I mean, Marquel [Davis] and Loliya [Briggs] stepped up big for us. We just have to get into the flow of things. Our defense was good, we just have to make sure our 2-3 zone is rotating.”

The Panthers only have six ACC regular-season games remaining, including the bout with North Carolina, before postseason play begins on March 5. Pitt returns home Sunday for the annual Pink the Pete breast-cancer-awareness game at 2 p.m. against Clemson.