Pitt Women's Basketball Defeats Canisius in Season Opener

Pitt Panthers WBB defeated Canisius in their season opener.

Pitt Women's Basketball Celebrates a Made Basket / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers women's basketball started off the 2024-25 season with a dominant, 78-36 win over Canisius at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers (1-0) make it five straight seasons that they won their season opener and six straight seasons that they've won their home opener. This is also the second win over the Golden Griffins (0-1) in the all-time series, with their first win coming in 1993.

Pitt led just 8-4 at the first quarter media timeout, but would play much better the rest of the period, outscoring Canisius 19-6 to take a 27-10 lead.

Junior guard Marley Washenitz scored the first six points of the first quarter for Pitt, but graduate student forward Khadija Faye led with 10 points and four rebounds. Fellow junior guard Aislin Malcolm made four free-throws and ended the period with a 3-pointer.

The Panthers had seven different scorers in the second quarter and used their press to force 11 turnovers and score 10 points. They also held the Golden Griffins to just six points in the quarter, taking a 43-16 lead into halftime.

Faye continued her great play in the third quarter, scoring seven points and making three free throws, as Pitt increased their lead to 57-24.

The Panthers went mostly to the bench in the fourth quarter, but still outscored the Golden Griffins, 21-12, ending with the 40-point victory.

Faye starred for Pitt in the win, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for a double-double. She shot 8-for-14 from the field and 11-for-4 from the free throw line, while also adding two steals and two blocks.

Junior guard Amiya Jenkins and Malcolm were the two other players to score in double-digits for the Panthers at 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

Pitt forced Canisius into 35 turnovers, scoring 39 points off of them in the victory. That set a new Petersen Events Center record for the most they've forced in program history.

Washenitz led with five steals and also took a few charges herself to get the Golden Griffins out of rhtyhm.

Pitt will stay at home for their next matchup, as they host in-state foe Bucknell on Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m.

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