Pitt Women’s Basketball earns Lance White his first ACC victory over UNC

Similarly to the men’s team, Pitt Women’s Basketball came into this season with a new coach to go with a 2-14 ACC record from last year.

First year head coach Lance White and the Lady Panthers have struggled to notch their first ACC win of the season. Aside from a 4 point loss to Boston College, Pitt had lost every conference game by double digits. That changed tonight, however, as Pitt upset North Carolina (6-6 in the ACC) at home tonight.

Cassidy Walsh exploded to start the game in the first quarter with 14 points included 4 three pointers. Going into the half, Pitt led by 16 behind Walsh’s 17 (5 three pointers), Kauai Bradley with 10, and Danielle Garven with 9. It was Pitt’s highest scoring half of the season so far shooting 66% from the field.

Walsh and Garven continued to buoy Pitt through the 3rd quarter as they maintained a 12 point lead with 20 and 17 points respectively.

UNC took the lead down to 7 with about 2:45 left, but Pitt played well down the stretch to finish out the game 91-78. Garven finished to lead all scorers with a career high 27 points on 13-18 shooting to go with 7 rebounds. Walsh finished with 22 points shooting 8-10 from the floor and 6-8 from 3 point range. Jasmine Whitney and Kauai Bradley both finished in double figures with 13 points / 7 assists and 15 points / 8 rebounds / 5 assists respectively.

The Lady Panthers shot 57.9% from three and 59% overall. Any night you shoot that well, the opponent will have a hard time beating you especially when you win the rebounding battle as well.

This is Lance White’s first ACC victory as a head coach after being an assistant at Florida State. Like any coach, he deserves time to build his program. He was a well-regarded hire and the early struggles reflect the rebuilding job he inherited.

You hope this helps the team break through and win a couple more. This is a senior heavy team, and it’d be nice for them to finish on a high note.