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When Pitt Panthers women’s basketball coach Tory Verdi looked up at scoreboard at the scoreboard in the second quarter of Sunday’s ACC contest with SMU, he couldn’t have liked what he saw. The Panthers trailed the Mustangs in almost unbelievable fashion, 46-14.
But college basketball games are four quarters and 40 minutes long for a reason. Over the last 21:37 of the game, Pitt outscored the Mustangs 58-13 en route to an almost unbelievable, record-tying comeback victory.
“I kept saying ‘fight,'” Verdi said according to the AP. “I came in at halftime and said, ‘I don’t have any magic words and I don’t have any magic plays.’ “We were just getting outworked; we were getting outplayed. It was a positive, spirited conversation. I challenged them. We talked about pride, having a sense of pride. And then essentially I gave them a roadmap to get us back into the game.”
What exactly did that roadmap entail? Well, it started with an incredible defensive effort in the third quarter that saw the Panthers hold the Mustangs scores and pour in 28 points of their own. But that alone wasn’t enough to take the lead. Somehow, SMU still led 49-46 through three quarters. Although you have to imagine there was a sense of dread among Mustangs players.
Pitt then grabbed control of the game in the fourth quarter and never looked back, outscoring SMU 26-10 win comfortably.
So, how exactly does such a dramatic turn around happen? Well…
– SMU made just five shots from the field over the final three quarters. None of those were inside the arc. The Mustangs shot 0-21 from 2 in that span.
– SMU shot 2-for-28 from the field in the second half. That is 7 percent. Meanwhile, Pitt began the game 2-for-20 from the field.
– SMU’s Nya Robertson torched the nets for 21 points in the first half. She had two points after the break.
So, you want to know how a 32-point lead becomes a 13-point loss? That’s how. They say the NBA is a make-or-miss league. As it turns out, college basketball is too.