DALLAS – Behind 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds from graduate center Khadija Faye, the Pitt women’s basketball team stunned SMU, 58-57, Sunday evening at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
The victory marked Pitt’s (11-14, 3-9 ACC) 11th win of the season, tying the most in a year since the 2016-17 campaign. Additionally, Sunday marked the first time the Panthers have recorded back-to-back ACC wins since the 2022-23 season.
Individually, Faye tallied her 11th double double of the year en route to becoming the 22nd Panther in program history to surpass the 1,000 career point mark.
Senior forward MaKayla Elmore also had a career day, tying her career-high in points with 17 – while adding seven rebounds. Junior guard Marley Washenitz recorded six points and six rebounds, while finishing the contest with a team-best plus/minus of +7.
Defensively, the Panthers limited SMU (10-15, 2-11 ACC) to shooting splits of 32.3 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from 3-point range. Notably, Pitt came away with two critical stops down the stretch – including a key stop on the final possession to secure the victory.
How It Happened
Pitt jumped out to an early 8-4 advantage behind field goals from Faye, Johnson and Elmore. SMU then evened the ledger, before a pair of Elmore free throws gave the Panthers a 10-8 lead at the 3:08 mark. The Mustangs closed the opening period with a 5-2 burst and held a 13-12 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Pitt outscored SMU, 10-4, over the first four minutes of the second quarter to regain the lead at 22-17. The Mustangs then went on a 7-2 run of their own to tie the contest at 24. Faye drilled a jumper with just over two minutes remaining, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for her career – while sparking a 9-3 Panther spurt to close the first half.
Pitt opened the second half with consecutive field goals from Faye and Elmore – assisted by Miles. The two teams then traded field goals for the remainder of the third period, as Pitt led (47-38), entering the final period.
The two teams exchanged field goals to start the fourth quarter, as Pitt led by six at the media timeout. SMU quickly went on 5-1 burst to pull within two with 2:32 remaining. The Mustangs then scored five unanswered to take their first lead of the second half with 35 seconds left.
Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws at the 26-second mark to give Pitt a 58-57 lead. The Panthers then came up with a pair of key stops down the stretch to secure the one-point victory.
Up Next
The Panthers return home to face No. 3 Notre Dame on Thursday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
