(Pittsburgh, Pa.) – The Delaware State women's basketball team (0-3) stayed within striking distance throughout most of Friday night's road contest against the heavily favorite Pitt Panthers (3-0), but the Lady Hornets were outscored 22-2  in the fourth quarter on their way to falling, 77-43.

With this defeat, DSU dropped its 12th in a row dating back to last season, whereas the Panthers are off to their first 3-0 start since 2009-10.

Trailing 34-24 at the break, guard Mikah Aldridge drained one of her team-high two 3-pointers to open the third quarter for the Lady Hornets. Pitt, meanwhile, answered with a 9-0 run, capped off by forward Kalista Walters converting with a fastbreak layup to make it a 43-27 contest at the 7:05 mark.  The Lady Hornets managed to get the deficit back to 14, after forward Amber Bogard sank back-to-back free throws for the final points of the quarter for both squads.

Nevertheless, Pitt reeled off 10 unanswered points to begin the fourth, as every bucket was scored in the paint.  The Panthers went on to score 16 out of their 22 points in the paint during the final quarter, in addition to tallying 15 points off seven DSU turnovers.  The lone basket for the Lady Hornets during the final 10 minutes came thanks to Bogard scoring down low to finish the night with a team-high 15 points (5-of-9) off the bench.

At game's end, four Lady Panthers scored in double figures, led by freshman Walters pouring in 18 points (9-of-14).  Guard Breanna Wise – also a freshman – nearly registered a double-double with 14 points (5-of-12) and nine boards, including pulling down six on the offensive end.  For Delaware State, it struggled to find its groove on the offensive end shooting just 32 percent (16-of-50) from the field, along with committing 26 turnovers.

The Columbia Blue & Red will return home to face Lehigh next Monday evening at 7 p.m.  This will be the first meeting the two programs.

Stingers

DSU outscored the Lady Panthers in the points off the bench (26-17) department thanks to senior Amber Bogard's 15 points... Pitt outscored Delaware State in the second half, 43-19, on 53 percent (18-of-34) shooting… The Panthers scored 29 points off turnovers, compared to DSU's four… The Lady Hornets lost the battle on the boards, 44-32… DSU dropped to 0-3 all-time against Pitt.