Pittsburgh’s win against SMU completes an NCAA women’s basketball feat that hasn’t been seen in 19 years

The Pittsburgh Panthers women’s basketball team made NCAA women’s basketball history on Sunday, rallying from a 32-point deficit to defeat the SMU Mustangs 72-59. The victory marks the largest comeback in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history, matching Texas State’s 2006 victory over UTSA, but with one key difference: Pitt’s comeback did not require overtime.

Trailing 52-44 in the fourth quarter, Pitt unleashed a dominant second halfoutscoring SMU 54-10, as reported by USA Today’s Jon Hoefling. The Mustangs were held scoreless in the third quarter, missing all 11 of their field goal attempts and committing five turnovers as Pitt rallied. Meanwhile, the Panthers’ offense was firing on all cylinders, going 11-for-16 from the field and 4-for-6 from three-point range during the third quarter.

Mikayla Johnson and Hadiya Fay led Pitt’s scoring with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Faye’s presence in the paint was a key factor in the Panthers’ ability to get back into the game, while Johnson’s perimeter shooting kept the momentum firmly in their favor. SMU’s leading scorer, Naya Robertson, finished with 23 points, but her team was unable to find an offensive rhythm after halftime.

SMU’s struggles continued into the fourth quarter, where they managed just 10 points. The Mustangs made just one field goal in the second half — a 3-pointer by Zanai Jones with 6:49 left to give SMU a brief 54-52 lead. However, the Pittsburgh women’s basketball team responded with a 20-5 run to close out the game, sealing their historic comeback from a convincing 13-point deficit.

The win marks just the second time in NCAA women’s basketball history that a team has overcome a deficit of 30 points or more. Pitt’s feat stands out for its efficiencyas the Panthers completed the comeback in regulation unlike their 2006 overtime victory over Texas State.

“I heard from coaches all over the country … It’s just, the messages I was getting were like, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ I’ve never seen that before.’ That was fun. I certainly appreciate all the messages, lots of love,” Pittsburgh women’s basketball sophomore coach Tori Verdi said in an interview with the ACC Network on Monday. “The story was that you can get back into the game if you believe, and we believed, we fought and we made it happen.” I think a lot of people appreciated that.”

Pittsburgh women’s basketball now faces a significant challenge in its next matchup, traveling to face off defending NCAA champion South Carolina on Thursday, January 16. That game is set for 7 pm ET and will test whether Pitt can carry its momentum against one of the top programs in the country.