2023–24 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team

2023–24 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
2023–24 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	8–24 (2–16 ACC)
Head coach	Tory Verdi (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Ty Margenthaler; Candice Finley; LaKale Malone; Anthony Brammer;
Home arena	Petersen Events Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 ACC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 18 Virginia Tech	14	–	4	.778	25	–	8	.758
No. 4 NC State	13	–	5	.722	31	–	7	.816
No. 20 Syracuse	13	–	5	.722	24	–	8	.750
No. 11 Notre Dame †	13	–	5	.722	28	–	7	.800
Louisville	12	–	6	.667	24	–	10	.706
Florida State	12	–	6	.667	23	–	11	.676
No. 17 Duke	11	–	7	.611	22	–	12	.647
North Carolina	11	–	7	.611	20	–	13	.606
Miami (FL)	8	–	10	.444	19	–	12	.613
Georgia Tech	7	–	11	.389	17	–	16	.515
Virginia	7	–	11	.389	16	–	16	.500
Clemson	5	–	13	.278	12	–	19	.387
Boston College	5	–	13	.278	14	–	19	.424
Wake Forest	2	–	16	.111	7	–	25	.219
Pittsburgh	2	–	16	.111	8	–	24	.250

† 2024 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2023–24 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team represented The University of Pittsburgh during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Panthers were led by first year head coach Tory Verdi, and played their home games at the Petersen Events Center as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Panthers started the season winning only one of their first five games. However, their fortunes improved over the remainder of their non-conference schedule, as they won five of their last eight non-conference games. They finished the non-conference portion of the season with a 6–7 record. They lost their first six conference games before winning against Virginia. The Panthers lost another six games before defeating Clemson for their second conference win of the season. The team would go on to lose their last four regular season games. The Panthers finished the season 8–24 overall and 2–16 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourteenth place. As the fifteenth seed in the ACC tournament, they lost their First Round matchup with Georgia Tech. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the WBIT.

Previous season

The Panthers finished the season 10–20 overall and 3–15 in ACC play to finish in fifteenth place. As the fifteenth seed in the ACC tournament, they lost their First Round matchup with Clemson. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the WNIT. After the season Head Coach Lance White was fired.^[1] Tory Verdi was hired as the new head coach on April 7, 2023.^[2]

Off-season

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Sandrine Clesca	0	G	5'9"	Junior	Laval, Quebec	Transferred to Monmouth^[3]
Dayshanette Harris	1	G	5'7"	Graduate Student	Youngstown, Ohio	Clemson^[4]
Taisha Exanor	3	G	6'0"	Junior	Châteauguay, Quebec	Transferred to Monmouth^[5]
Emy Hayford	4	G	5'8"	Senior	Maastricht, Netherlands	Graduated, Transferred to Fordham^[6]
Amber Brown	5	F	6'0"	Senior	Monroe, Louisiana	Graduated, Transferred to St. John's^[7]
Channise Lewis	10	G	5'8"	Graduate Student	Miami, Florida	Graduated
Destiny Strother	13	G	5'9"	Senior	Flint, Michigan	Graduated, Transferred to Niagara^[8]
Cynthia Ezeja	14	F	6'2"	Junior	Athens, Greece	Transferred to Loyola Marymount^[9]
Maliyah Johnson	21	F	6'0"	Sophomore	Columbus, Ohio	Transferred to Houston^[7]
Avery Strickland	23	G	5'10"	Freshman	Knoxville, Tennessee	Transferred to Tennessee^[10]

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Raeven Boswell	5	G	5'11"	Sophomore	Austin, Texas	Georgia Tech^[11]
Bella Perkins	10	G	5'9"	Junior	Chantilly, Virginia	USC^[12]
Jala Jordan	14	F	6'2"	Graduate Student	Philadelphia, Pennsylvaia	Seton Hall^[13]
Rapuluchi Ayodele	15	F	6'1"	Senior	Athens, Greece	Eastern Florida State^[14]
Ioanna Chatzileonti	18	G	5'10"	Sophomore	Carnegie, Pennsylvania	Kansas^[15]

Recruiting Class

Source:^[16]

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Aaryn Battle G	Sewell, New Jersey	Camden Catholic	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	N/A
Aaryn Battle G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Jasmine Timmerson G	Wexford, Pennsylvania	North Allegheny	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	N/A
Jasmine Timmerson G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Lauren Rust F	Victoria, Canada	The Webb School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	N/A
Lauren Rust F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

2023–24 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Gabby Hutcherson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	Westerville South Ohio State	Westerville, OH
G	1	Aaryn Battle	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	Camden Catholic	Sewell, NJ
G	2	Liatu King	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Bishop McNamara	Washington, D.C.
G	3	Jasmine Timmerson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Fr	North Allegheny	Wexford, PA
G	5	Raeven Boswell	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Lake Travis Georgia Tech	Austin, TX
G	10	Bella Perkins	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Jr	Paul VI HS USC	Chantilly, VA
G	11	Marley Washenitz	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	So	Fairmont	Fairmont, WV
F	13	Lauren Rust	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	The Webb School	Victoria, Canada
F	14	Jala Jordan	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	GS	IMG Academy Seton Hall	Philadelphia, PA
F	15	Rapuluchi Ayodele	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr	IES Manuela Malasana Eastern Florida State	Móstoles, Spain
F	18	Ioanna Chatzileonti	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	1st High School of Voula Kansas	Athens, Greece
G	20	Aislin Malcolm	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	So	Chartiers Valley	Carnegie, PA

Head coach

Tory Verdi (Keene State)

Assistant coach(es)

Ty Margenthaler (SIU Edwardsville)
Candice Finley (Eastern Kentucky)
LaKale Malone (Indiana)
Anthony Brammer (Old Dominion)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 17, 2023

Schedule

Source:^[17]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		Point Park	W 117–49	–	Peterson Events Center Pittsburgh, PA
Non-Conference Regular season
November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Yale	W 79–74	1–0	Peterson Events Center (1,199) Pittsburgh, PA
November 11, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		West Virginia Backyard Brawl	L 62–71	1–1	Peterson Events Center (1,505) Pittsburgh, PA
November 15, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at George Mason	L 52–60	1–2	EagleBank Arena (1,181) Fairfax, VA
November 18, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Duquesne City Game	L 55–56	1–3	Peterson Events Center (2,555) Pittsburgh, PA
November 21, 2023* 11:00 a.m., ACCNX		Coppin State	L 56–61	1–4	Peterson Events Center (3,155) Pittsburgh, PA
November 24, 2023* 3:30 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Northern Kentucky Daytona Beach Classic	W 88–57	2–4	Ocean Center (200) Daytona Beach, FL
November 25, 2023* 1:15 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Akron Daytona Beach Classic	L 72–75	2–5	Ocean Center (200) Daytona Beach, FL
November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Saint Francis	W 87–62	3–5	Peterson Events Center (894) Pittsburgh, PA
December 3, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX		Binghamton	W 73–62	4–5	Peterson Events Center (950) Pittsburgh, PA
December 10, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Lehigh	W 94–82	5–5	Peterson Events Center (983) Pittsburgh, PA
December 19, 2023* 12:00 p.m., Baller.tv		vs. Ball State Sun Coast Tournament	L 62–73	5–6	Pasco–Hernando State College (108) Tampa, FL
December 20, 2023* 12:00 p.m., Baller.tv		vs. Georgia Sun Coast Tournament	L 59–65	5–7	Pasco–Hernando State College (133) Tampa, FL
December 28, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Le Moyne	W 56–39	6–7	Peterson Events Center (1,097) Pittsburgh, PA
ACC Regular season
December 31, 2023 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		at No. 14 Virginia Tech	L 41–91	6–8 (0–1)	Cassell Coliseum (6,078) Blacksburg, VA
January 4, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 16 Notre Dame	L 66–71	6–9 (0–2)	Peterson Events Center (1,285) Pittsburgh, PA
January 7, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Georgia Tech	L 58–68	6–10 (0–3)	Peterson Events Center (1,653) Pittsburgh, PA
January 11, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 15 Louisville	L 44–74	6–11 (0–4)	Peterson Events Center (868) Pittsburgh, PA
January 14, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCN		at Boston College	L 71–84 ^OT	6–12 (0–5)	Conte Forum (1,126) Chestnut Hill, MA
January 21, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Syracuse	L 59–72	6–13 (0–6)	Peterson Events Center (1,555) Pittsburgh, PA
January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at Virginia	W 56–52	7–13 (1–6)	John Paul Jones Arena (3,817) Charlottesville, VA
January 28, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		at No. 18 Louisville	L 58–77	7–14 (1–7)	KFC Yum! Center (9,452) Louisville, KY
February 1, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Duke	L 38–69	7–15 (1–8)	Peterson Events Center (1,199) Pittsburgh, PA
February 4, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCN		at No. 14 Notre Dame	L 53–78	7–16 (1–9)	Purcell Pavilion (7,170) Notre Dame, IN
February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Florida State	L 60–76	7–17 (1–10)	Peterson Events Center (1,124) Pittsburgh, PA
February 11, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCNX		No. 3 NC State	L 47–83	7–18 (1–11)	Peterson Events Center (2,001) Pittsburgh, PA
February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCNX		at North Carolina	L 62–75	7–19 (1–12)	Carmichael Arena (2,508) Chapel Hill, NC
February 18, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCN		at Clemson	W 72–57	8–19 (2–12)	Littlejohn Coliseum (880) Clemson, SC
February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Wake Forest	L 50–65	8–20 (2–13)	Peterson Events Center (1,111) Pittsburgh, PA
February 25, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		at No. 17 Syracuse	L 53–63	8–21 (2–14)	JMA Wireless Dome (4,178) Syracuse, NY
February 29, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCNX		at Miami (FL)	L 44–62	8–22 (2–15)	Peterson Events Center (2,325) Pittsburgh, PA
March 3, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCN		Boston College	L 55–84	8–23 (2–16)	Peterson Events Center (1,744) Pittsburgh, PA
ACC Women's tournament
March 6, 2024 3:30 p.m., ACCN	(15)	vs. (10) Georgia Tech First Round	L 60–73	8–24	Greensboro Coliseum (6,322) Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

Regular Season Polls
Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Week 20	Final
AP	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Note: The AP does not release a final poll.

**Legend**
		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked in previous week
(RV)		Received Votes
(NR)		Not Ranked

References

^ Jennings, Chantel (March 3, 2023). "Pitt fires women's basketball coach Lance White after 5 seasons". theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
^ M.A. Voepel (April 7, 2023). "Pitt hires UMass's Tory Verdi as next women's basketball coach". ESPN. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
^ Campbell, Dominic (April 19, 2023). "Pitt Guard Sandrine Clesca Transfers to Monmouth". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ Campbell, Dominic (April 16, 2023). "Pitt Guard Dayshanette Harris Transfers to Clemson". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ Campbell, Dominic (April 20, 2023). "Pitt Guard Taisha Exanor Transfers to Monmouth". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Women's Basketball Announces Three Graduate Transfers". fordhamsports.com. Fordham University Athletics. May 4, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Campbell, Dominic (April 10, 2023). "Former Pitt Forwards Amber Brown and Maliyah Johnson Find New Transfer Destinations". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ Campbell, Dominic (May 4, 2023). "Former Pitt Guard Destiny Strother Transfers to Niagara". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ Campbell, Dominic (April 19, 2023). "Pitt Forward Cynthia Ezeja Transfers to Loyola Marymount". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Transfer Avery Strickland Signs With Tennessee". utsports.com. University of Tennessee Athletics. April 20, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Panthers Announce Signing Of Transfer Guard Raeven Boswell". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. August 28, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
^ "Women's Basketball Inks Southern Cal Transfer Guard Bella Perkins". bvmsports.com. BVM Sports. May 15, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Verdi Announces Signing Of Transfer Forward Jala Jordan". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. May 12, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Panthers Add JUCO Forward Rapuluchi Ayodele To 2023-24 Roster". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. May 31, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Women's Basketball Signs Transfer Forward Ioanna Chatzileonti". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. August 17, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "Pittsburgh Panthers". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule - University of Pittsburgh". Pittsburghpanthers.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[1] Jennings, Chantel (March 3, 2023). "Pitt fires women's basketball coach Lance White after 5 seasons". theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 16, 2023.

[2] M.A. Voepel (April 7, 2023). "Pitt hires UMass's Tory Verdi as next women's basketball coach". ESPN. Retrieved October 16, 2023.

[3] Campbell, Dominic (April 19, 2023). "Pitt Guard Sandrine Clesca Transfers to Monmouth". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[4] Campbell, Dominic (April 16, 2023). "Pitt Guard Dayshanette Harris Transfers to Clemson". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved October 23, 2023.

[5] Campbell, Dominic (April 20, 2023). "Pitt Guard Taisha Exanor Transfers to Monmouth". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[6] "Women's Basketball Announces Three Graduate Transfers". fordhamsports.com. Fordham University Athletics. May 4, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[Johnson-7] Campbell, Dominic (April 10, 2023). "Former Pitt Forwards Amber Brown and Maliyah Johnson Find New Transfer Destinations". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[8] Campbell, Dominic (May 4, 2023). "Former Pitt Guard Destiny Strother Transfers to Niagara". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[9] Campbell, Dominic (April 19, 2023). "Pitt Forward Cynthia Ezeja Transfers to Loyola Marymount". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[10] "Transfer Avery Strickland Signs With Tennessee". utsports.com. University of Tennessee Athletics. April 20, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[11] "Panthers Announce Signing Of Transfer Guard Raeven Boswell". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. August 28, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

[12] "Women's Basketball Inks Southern Cal Transfer Guard Bella Perkins". bvmsports.com. BVM Sports. May 15, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[13] "Verdi Announces Signing Of Transfer Forward Jala Jordan". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. May 12, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[14] "Panthers Add JUCO Forward Rapuluchi Ayodele To 2023-24 Roster". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. May 31, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[15] "Women's Basketball Signs Transfer Forward Ioanna Chatzileonti". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Athletics. August 17, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[16] "Pittsburgh Panthers". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[17] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule - University of Pittsburgh". Pittsburghpanthers.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

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v t e Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
Venues	Trees Gym (1914–1925) Pitt Pavilion (1925–1927) Fitzgerald Field House (1970–2002) Civic Arena (alternate, 1984–2002) Petersen Events Center (2002–present)
Rivalries	Duquesne West Virginia
Culture & lore	History "Hail to Pitt" "Pitt Victory Song"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–1970 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25