Game Recap (Women’s Basketball): Pitt vs Florida State
By Jason Earle
The Pitt Women’s Basketball team fell to #10 Florida State on Senior Day on Sunday by a final score of 66-59. The loss brings the Panthers to 10-14 on the year and 2-9 in ACC play.
Senior guard Aysia Bugg was the only Panther honored prior to the game. A consistent contributor for the team since her freshman year, Bugg appeared in each of Pitt’s 32 games and started in 29 in just her first season. After three years of success, Bugg has unfortunately been held out of the 2017-18 campaign due to a knee injury.
Both teams opened up hot for a combined total of 33 points in the first quarter that saw the Panthers take a 17-16 advantage. A.J. Alix of the Seminoles was particularly impressive with 12 points on 4 of 4 shooting from beyond the arc in the first ten minutes. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, knocked down three of their first five from long range as a team.
Both teams cooled off a bit to start the second quarter, which ended with the Panthers up 26-23. Florida State found themselves plagued by turnovers throughout the first half, racking up 13 of them in the first 20 minutes. At the break, Alix remained perfect from three-point range, sinking one more three-pointer for a total of 15 points on 5 attempts. Yacine Diop and Alayna Gribble led the scoring for Pittsburgh at halftime with 7 points each.
Florida State, 2nd in the ACC in scoring entering Sunday, continued to face shooting woes in the second half, highlighted by a near six-minute stretch without a field goal in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Nonetheless, they were able to cut the lead to one by the quarter’s end, 41-40.
In the final ten minutes, the Panthers faced a problem they’ve dealt with all season long: the inability to finish games. Florida State went on a 12-2 run in the middle of the 4th quarter, and Pitt never saw the lead again before the final buzzer as the Noles came out on top 66-59.
Alix finished with an outstanding 25 points, including 7 of 9 shooting from three-point range. One bright spot for Pittsburgh came in the fact that they held the Seminoles’ leading scorer on the season, Imani Wright, to just 4 field goals on 17 attempts. Alayna Gribble led the scoring for the Panthers with 13.
Pittsburgh (10-14, 2-9) continues the season next Sunday with a road game against Boston College (6-16, 1-8).
