Pitt drops road contest at Clemson with poor shooting

Brianna Kiesel posted 21 points, scoring in double figures for the 22nd game in a row, but it was not enough as the Pitt women’s basketball team fell to Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum, 77-67.

Another strong performance from Kiesel was welcome for Pitt (9-8, 1-2 ACC) on the offensive end, but Tigers junior guard Nikki Dixon outshined her on Sunday.

Dixon scored 29 points and added 11 rebounds for Clemson (9-8, 1-2 ACC), which out-rebounded the Panthers 46-30.

A season-high 13 points from senior guard Marquel Davis helped Pitt open up a seven-point lead, just eight minutes into the first half.

At the end of the first half, Dixon and her Tigers teammates used a 13-2 run that saw Pitt miss 7-of-8 shots before the break, allowing Clemson to gain a 32-28 lead it would not give up for the rest of the day.

Senior Asia Logan, junior Cora McManus and redshirt sophomore Loliya Briggs all chipped in nine points for Pitt.

Pitt returns to action Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center when it hosts No. 2 Notre Dame. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

An interesting storyline headed into the contest with the Fighting Irish will be the usage of Kiesel, who played all 40 minutes Sunday for the second straight game.

Kiesel, the unquestioned leader of this Pitt team, is averaging 18.1 points per game, good for sixth in scoring in the ACC.