Pitt, Duquesne, Robert Morris women’s basketball teams set to open 2022-23 season
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The Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris women’s basketball teams are all looking to improve after falling short of a .500 record a year ago.
With a slew of returning starters, newcomers via the transfer portal and promising freshmen, each team has reason to be optimistic about the 2022-23 season.
Here’s a look at the three local Division I women’s basketball teams:
Pitt
Coach: Lance White, fifth season (32-79 overall)
2021-22 record: 11-19 (2-16 in ACC)
Returning starters: Dayshanette Harris, sr., PG (9.6 ppg); Amber Brown, sr., F (9.3 ppg); Liatu King, jr., F (7.5 ppg); Emy Hayford, sr., G (4.2 ppg)
Top newcomers: Channise Lewis, grad student, G (Maryland); Gabby Hutcherson, jr., F (Ohio State); Aislin Malcolm, fr., G (Chartiers Valley); Avery Strickland, fr., G (Farragut, Tenn.); Marley Washenitz, fr., G (Fairmont, W.Va.)
Notable: Pitt was picked to finish last in the 15-team ACC in a poll of the league’s coaches and select voters. … Louisville is the ACC favorite and ranked No. 7 nationally in the AP preseason poll. … Five ACC teams are ranked in the preseason top 25: Louisville, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 N.C. State, No. 12 North Carolina and No. 13 Virginia Tech. … Harris returns to lead the Panthers’ offense after she averaged 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season. She is the fastest player in Pitt history to reach 700 points, 250 rebounds and 175 assists. … Brown has started 80 career games for Pitt and averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds last season. … Senior guard Destiny Strother was a key player off the bench last season, averaging 5.3 points and hitting 44 3-pointers. … Lewis transferred to Pitt after playing the past five years at Maryland. She missed last season with a knee injury. In 78 career games, she has averaged 4.8 points, 4.8 assists and 1.9 rebounds. … Malcolm joins the Panthers after a decorated career at Chartiers Valley where she scored 1,770 points and was a three-time all-state selection. Her teams won three WPIAL titles and a PIAA title. She was a four-star recruit ranked among the top 100 players in the nation.
Tip-off: Pitt opens the season at 7 p.m. Monday against Coppin State in Baltimore, Md.
Duquesne
Coach: Dan Burt, 10th season (169-107 record)
2021-22 record: 11-18 (6-10 in Atlantic 10)
Returning starters: Megan McConnell, so., G (8.8 ppg); Tess Myers, so., G (12.7 ppg); Amaya Hamilton, jr., G/F (6.1 ppg); Precious Johnson, jr., C (8.3 ppg)
Top newcomers: Ayanna Townsend, jr., F (Xavier); Naelle Bernard, so., G (Salt Lake City C.C.); Reilly Sunday, fr., G (Moon); Olivia Westphal, RS fr., G (Bethel Park)
Notable: Duquesne was picked to finish ninth out of 15 teams in the preseason A-10 coaches poll. … UMass received all 15 first-place votes in the poll. … Myers (North Catholic) was a third-team pick on the preseason all-conference team. She led the Dukes in scoring at 12.7 points per game last year. She also was the A-10 leader with 90 3-pointers. … McConnell (Chartiers Valley) was selected to the A-10 Preseason All-Defensive Team. She averaged 2.6 steals last season and 4.1 assists. She also averaged 6.4 rebounds, which was ninth in the conference. … Townsend transferred from Xavier, where she averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds. … Bernard averaged 9 ppg at Salt Lake City Community College. Kaitlyn Ammons (DePaul) and Selma Kulo (Western Kentucky) also transferred in to play for the Dukes. … Duquesne also expects contributions from Lauren Wasylson (Mars/Xavier), who missed last season with an injury. … Sunday was an all-state performer at Moon last season and finished her high school career with 1,389 points.
Tip-off: Duquesne opens the season with a nonconference home game against Point Park at 6 p.m. Monday.
Robert Morris
Coach: Charlie Buscaglia, seventh season (96-50 record)
2021-22 record: 13-15 (10-11 Horizon League)
Returning starters: Sol Castro, jr., F (8.6 ppg); Alejandra Mastral, so., G (3.9 ppg)
Top newcomers: Louella Allana, fr., G; Rebecca Dwomoh, so., G; Natalie Johnson, fr., G; Paris Kirk, fr., F; Fatim Sarr Ndow, fr., F; Candela Rabadan Solis, fr., G
Notable: Robert Morris was picked to finish ninth in the 11-team Horizon League in a poll of head coaches. … Youngstown State is the preseason favorite. … The Colonials won a first-round game over Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon League Tournament last season. They then lost to IUPUI, 72-41, in the quarterfinals. … Castro averaged 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds last season, both team highs among returning players, and started all 28 games. … Junior guard Mackenzie Amalia (Blackhawk) hit 38 3-pointers off the bench last season for the Colonials. In high school, Amalia was a three-time all-state selection. … Other top returning players include Simone Morris, Danielle Vuletich, Jeneira Scott and Phoenix Gideon. … Dwomoh joins RMU from Nottingham Academy in London. She played for Great Britain in the FIBA U16 and U18 European Championships in 2018 and ‘19. … Sarr Ndow, a 6-foot-1 forward, came to RMU from Barcelona, Spain, and Rabadan Solis is from Madrid, Spain.
Tip-off: RMU will host St. Francis (Pa.) for a nonconference game at 11 a.m. Monday.