PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Liatu King turned in a 27-point, 10-rebound, four-steal performance, powering Pittsburgh (4-5) to a 73-62 win over Binghamton (2-7) in a non-conference women's basketball game on Sunday evening at the Petersen Events Center. The game marked the Bearcats' first contest this season against a team from one of the Power 5 conferences. The Panthers are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

King came into the game ranked third in the ACC with 20.5 points per game and second with 11.4 rebounds per night. Against the Bearcats, she shot 10-for-15 from the field and canned seven of her eight free throw attempts. Four of King's rebounds, meanwhile, came on the offensive end of the court.

Also reaching double figures in scoring for the Panthers was Aislin Malcom, who finished with 18 points. She was 7-of-14 from the floor, made all three of her free throws and dished out a team-best four assists.

Redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer led Binghamton with 20 points. She was 6-of-15 from beyond the three-point arc and now has six career games with at least 20 points. Wanzer also led the Bearcats with a pair of blocks.

Fellow redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz added 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. She has now reached double figures in scoring a team-best six times.

It was the fourth period of the game against Pittsburgh that proved decisive. The Bearcats held a 54-49 lead through three quarters but did not score a point during the first eight minutes of the final period. By the time Weltz hit a jumper with 1:59 left to go, the Panthers were up 64-56. During Pittsburgh's 15-0 run to start the final quarter, King and Malcolm combined for 13 of those points.

The final period was the polar opposite of the opening quarter, as the Bearcats built a 22-14 lead through 10 minutes of play. Wanzer had nine of her points during that stretch and Binghamton shot 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from the field.

The Panthers regrouped to take a 35-34 lead at the half but Binghamton went on an 8-1 run over the final 3:19 of the third period to take their 54-49 lead. Freshman guard Kaylee Krysztof nailed a pair of three-point field goals during that span.

That set the stage, however, for the decisive final period. The eight points scored by the Bearcats during the final three minutes of the third period equaled what they'd score for the rest of the game.

"Pittsburgh is a good team and King is a very good player," head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord said. "We were stagnant in the fourth period and our shots weren't falling and you've can't have that kind of a quarter against a team like them."
Led by King, the Panthers held a commanding 42-14 lead in points in the paint. The Panthers also out rebounded Binghamton 42-27.

The Bearcats tied their season high with 12 three-point field goals, which they previously set against St. Bonaventure back on Nov. 18. Binghamton also took care of the basketball, finishing with a season-high 21 assists against Pittsburgh - as opposed to just 11 turnovers.

Sophomore forward Camryn Fauria scored nine points while graduate student guard Denai Bowman had four points, six assists and a team-best four steals. For her career, Bowman remains in seventh place all time in Binghamton program history with 1,304 points. In sixth place, with 1,341 career points is Leah Truncale (1998-02).

Freshman forward Kendall Bennett came off the bench to score four points and grab a team-best five rebounds.

Binghamton returns home to face Canisius on Friday at 6:07 p.m.

NOTES: Wanzer now has 101 three-point field goals during her career and is closing in on the Top 10 Binghamton career leaders. In 10^th place, with 120 career three-point field goals, is Kim Albrecht (2012-16) … the Bearcats' 22-point first period marked the third time in their last five games that they have scored at least 20 points in the opening quarter … Pittsburgh is the fourth ACC program that Bearcats have ever faced. They have met Miami and Syracuse twice each and Notre Dame back in 2018.