After an ice cold first half, Pittsburgh erupted to the tune of a 54-10 run
Pittsburgh pulled off a stunning 72-59 victory over SMU after overcoming a 32-point deficit on Sunday. That was tied for the largest comeback in NCAA women’s basketball history.
The last time a 32-point comeback happened was in 2006, when Texas State rallied to beat UTSA 73-71 in overtime.
The Panthers (9-9, 1-4 ACC) found their biggest deficit of the game at 46-14, with a minute to go in the second quarter. They went 6 for 28 in the first half, and Pitt guard Marley Washenitz admitted in a postgame interview that her team returned to the locker room not feeling too confident.
“We knew we had come come out and we had to change something. We were definitely deflated coming into halftime; even at halftime we were deflated” Washenitz said. “We were down. Coach said at halftime, ‘We just need one person to ignite us, we need one player to ignite us.'”
Washenitz turned out to be that person. She hit a 3-pointer early into the second half, and Mikayla Johnson made another one on Pitt’s next possession. The team went on to score 28 points in the third quarter while holding the Mustangs (10-7, 2-3 ACC) scoreless.
“Coming down and hitting that 3 — after myself and the team were struggling — to hit shots in general, I think that really ignited us,” Washenitz said. “From there, I think we just really took off, and being able to hold them to zero points in one quarter is something I wish we could do every quarter.”
Johnson led Pitt’s offense with 22 points while center Khadija Faye added 21. Faye completed a double-double with 12 rebounds and also tied her career-high with six blocks. Meanwhile, Washenitz tallied 14 points and a team-high three steals.
Pitt won’t have too much time to celebrate because it has a road game against No. 21 NC State on Thursday. SMU also has a tough test on Thursday as the Mustangs host No. 19 North Carolina.
