Women's Basketball vs Stanford on 1/30/2025 - Box Score - Pitt Panthers #H2P
My prediction for this game is that Cal will prevail 70-55. Pitt just played their best defensive game of the season at Stanford on Thursday night. Although the Panthers fell to the Cardinal, 58-46, their defense held the home team to 32.2% shooting (19-59) overall, and only 17.2% on their three-point efforts (5-29). Stanford's HC Kate Paye lauded how tough Pittsburgh played the entire game on her post game press conference.
Pitt's HC, Tory Verdi is in his 2nd season and is suffering through another tough ACC season with a 1-8 record to date. Last season, Pitt only won two road games at Clemson and at Virginia in conference play. For the season, his team has been outscored by 3 points per game (65-62).
2024-2025 University of Pittsburgh Women's Basketball (PDF) - Pitt Panthers #H2P
Currently, Pitt is playing five starters between 29.7 to 35.7 minutes per conference game. The coach lost his two best bench players, Amiya Jenkins & Lauren Rust, for the season after only three games. Out of his five starters, four of them are transfers from the portal. I'll quickly review these newcomers plus the one junior Pitt recruit.
The star of the team is their 6-4 center, Khadija Faye. She is a fifth-year grad transfer from Texas. She came to the US from Senegal. Her averages for the season are 17.7 points plus 9.5 rebounds per game. She also has 55 blocks to date.
In the Stanford game, she kept her team in the game with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 shot blocks. I saw Faye against North Carolina's tall center, Gakdeng, and she was forced to stop playing with her back to the basket and take her game outside. Instead, she faced-up and shot over her defender. Faye hit jumpers from the free throw line and the top of the key. She still outscored the UNC post, 17-7. Michelle Onyiah is going to have major problems trying to defend this player.
Their second offensive threat, 6-1 SG Mikayla Johnson, is a RS sophomore transfer from Colorado. She scores 10.2 points and grabs 4.5 boards per contest. She also is their third best three-point shot with 22 made.
Next is 5-7 junior combo guard, Marley Washenitz. She had 107 assists last year as the point guard but has been replaced by a transfer. This season Marley adds 8 points to the offense and leads the defense with 47 steals. She is second in treys (24) and assists w/ 47.
The new PG is 5-5 senior transfer, Brooklynn Miles, from Kentucky. Miles has 71 assists and 24 steals while adding 4.7 points to the offense.
The fifth starter is reminiscent of Marta Suarez. Makayla Elmore is a senior 6-3 PF transfer from Clemson who contributes 6.8 points per game. She is the best three-point maker with 26. Her favorite spot is the deep three way beyond the line. Elmore is 2nd in rebounding with 7 boards and second in shot blocks w/ 15. Her coach plays her 32.2 minutes every game because she has the least turnovers (39) of any of the starters.
Speaking of turnovers, four of the five starters have more TOs than assists. The two top scorers evidently like to dribble because they're responsible for 82 & 64 turnovers, respectively. Faye makes 4.1 and Johnson adds 3 turnovers per game. Pitt commits 17.2 TOs on average. The Panthers are one per game less than the Bears.
Pitt makes 4.8 treys while giving up 10.2 on average in conference play. This stat hopefully will generate a positive outcome for Cal.
The Bears should triumph but they have not been playing well offensively so I would not be surprised if they score in the sixties. Lulu Twidale has disappeared from the *bombs away* offense. I also am worried about Michelle Onyiah matched up against 6-4 Khadija Faye. I would expect that Kayla Williams will be able to get some of her shots off against this team so hopefully she can be a major contributor to the offense, again.
GO BEARS!
My prediction for this game is that Cal will prevail 70-55. Pitt just played their best defensive game of the season at Stanford on Thursday night. Although the Panthers fell to the Cardinal, 58-46, their defense held the home team to 32.2% shooting (19-59) overall, and only 17.2% on their three-point efforts (5-29). Stanford's HC Kate Paye lauded how tough Pittsburgh played the entire game on her post game press conference.
Pitt's HC, Tory Verdi is in his 2nd season and is suffering through another tough ACC season with a 1-8 record to date. Last season, Pitt only won two road games at Clemson and at Virginia in conference play. For the season, his team has been outscored by 3 points per game (65-62).
2024-2025 University of Pittsburgh Women's Basketball (PDF) - Pitt Panthers #H2P
Currently, Pitt is playing five starters between 29.7 to 35.7 minutes per conference game. The coach lost his two best bench players, Amiya Jenkins & Lauren Rust, for the season after only three games. Out of his five starters, four of them are transfers from the portal. I'll quickly review these newcomers plus the one junior Pitt recruit.
The star of the team is their 6-4 center, Khadija Faye. She is a fifth-year grad transfer from Texas. She came to the US from Senegal. Her averages for the season are 17.7 points plus 9.5 rebounds per game. She also has 55 blocks to date.
In the Stanford game, she kept her team in the game with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 shot blocks. I saw Faye against North Carolina's tall center, Gakdeng, and she was forced to stop playing with her back to the basket and take her game outside. Instead, she faced-up and shot over her defender. Faye hit jumpers from the free throw line and the top of the key. She still outscored the UNC post, 17-7. Michelle Onyiah is going to have major problems trying to defend this player.
Their second offensive threat, 6-1 SG Mikayla Johnson, is a RS sophomore transfer from Colorado. She scores 10.2 points and grabs 4.5 boards per contest. She also is their third best three-point shot with 22 made.
Next is 5-7 junior combo guard, Marley Washenitz. She had 107 assists last year as the point guard but has been replaced by a transfer. This season Marley adds 8 points to the offense and leads the defense with 47 steals. She is second in treys (24) and assists w/ 47.
The new PG is 5-5 senior transfer, Brooklynn Miles, from Kentucky. Miles has 71 assists and 24 steals while adding 4.7 points to the offense.
The fifth starter is reminiscent of Marta Suarez. Makayla Elmore is a senior 6-3 PF transfer from Clemson who contributes 6.8 points per game. She is the best three-point maker with 26. Her favorite spot is the deep three way beyond the line. Elmore is 2nd in rebounding with 7 boards and second in shot blocks w/ 15. Her coach plays her 32.2 minutes every game because she has the least turnovers (39) of any of the starters.
Speaking of turnovers, four of the five starters have more TOs than assists. The two top scorers evidently like to dribble because they're responsible for 82 & 64 turnovers, respectively. Faye makes 4.1 and Johnson adds 3 turnovers per game. Pitt commits 17.2 TOs on average. The Panthers are one per game less than the Bears.
Pitt makes 4.8 treys while giving up 10.2 on average in conference play. This stat hopefully will generate a positive outcome for Cal.
The Bears should triumph but they have not been playing well offensively so I would not be surprised if they score in the sixties. Lulu Twidale has disappeared from the *bombs away* offense. I also am worried about Michelle Onyiah matched up against 6-4 Khadija Faye. I would expect that Kayla Williams will be able to get some of her shots off against this team so hopefully she can be a major contributor to the offense, again.
GO BEARS!
