Pitt women’s basketball lands 6’4” Texas Tech transfer Marcella Lamark dos Santos

After a tough loss to Notre Dame on Thursday night, Pitt was met with a bit of good news on Friday afternoon, as it was revealed that 6’4” center Marcella Lamark dos Santos of Texas Tech would be transferring to Pitt. She will have a year and a half of eligibility remaining and will be able to play in the 2019-20 season.

”We are very excited to add Marcella to our basketball team,” Pitt head coach Lance White said in a statement. “She adds much-needed size to our frontcourt, and her ability to shoot and pass the basketball make her an asset in the next phase of our growth as a program.”

Lamark dos Santos, a native of Sao Paolo, Brazil, began her college career at the College of Central Florida, a junior college in Ocala, Florida. The center excelled during her time there, coming just shy of averaging a double-double, with 13.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She also contributed 2.0 blocks per game and was efficient on offense, converting on 47.1 percent of her shot attempts.

After her standout performance at the junior college level, Lamark dos Santos drew the interest of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in addition to Texas Tech. However, after choosing the latter, she did not play in any games despite her previous success, prompting her decision to join the Panthers.

As White alluded to in his comments on Thursday, Lamark dos Santos will provide Pitt with an infusion of size, as she will be the tallest player on the team upon her arrival. She should pair well with 6’2” sophomore center Cara Judkins, who averaged 10.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in December.

The move also comes at an ideal time for the Panthers, as the team will be losing three frontcourt players to graduation the year after Lamark dos Santos’ arrival. However, the bad news is that Pitt will have to wrap up the first year of White's tenure without her assistance.