WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team received word of its final non-conference opponent Wednesday as the conference office announced that the Boilermakers will play at Pittsburgh on Nov. 30 in the 2016 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Panthers will be Purdue's eighth different opponent in the annual conference clash, in which the Boilermakers look to snap a streak of dramatic losses in each of the last two seasons.
Purdue and Pittsburgh have met just once before in program history, with the Panthers taking a 66-62 win in Mackey Arena on Feb. 1, 1980. Pitt posted a 13-18 record in 2015-16, finishing 13th in the ACC, but returns its entire roster this season, including leading scorer Brenna Wise.
The Boilermakers have been edged in each of their last two ACC/Big Ten Challenge games, falling in double-overtime to Florida State in 2014, and losing on a late 3-pointer against Boston College in 2015. Pitt will likely be just the fourth unranked opponent for the Old Gold and Black in the 10-year history of the event.
The Boilermakers' non-conference schedule saw an increase in games due to the Big Ten reducing the conference slate from 18 to 16 games. The conference will announce its full schedule in late August.
Pitt Notes
The Panthers finished 13th in the ACC last season with a 4-12 conference record. They finished the season at 13-18 overall (6-9 at home, 5-6 on the road, and 2-3 at neutral sites)
Shared 4 common opponents with Purdue last season Maryland, Michigan, Louisville, and Boston College (Each played teams from their conference twice), Pitt went 0-6 while Purdue was 2-4, the Boilers picked up wins against #22 Louisville, and Michigan
Pitt returns every player on roster from last season
Key Returners: Breanna Wise, Yacine Diop, and Stasha Carey. Wise (10.7/7.6) Diop (10.4/5.2) and Carey (9.7/6.8) produced 51.5% of the Panthers scoring last season and grabbed 54.3% of their rebounds
The Panthers feature the tallest player in NCAA Division I women's college basketball, in 6-foot-11 Bubbles Anderson
This is the first meeting with Pitt since Feb. 1, in 1980 when the Panthers visited Mackey Arena and escaped with a 66-62 win
Before becoming head coach at Pittsburgh, Suzie McConnell-Serio, coached the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx from 2003-2006, and in 2004, she won WNBA coach of the year and coached Purdue's own Stacy Lovelace-Tolbert
Schedule Notes
Nine of the Boilermakers' 2016-17 non-conference opponents won at least 20 games last season
Ten 2016-17 opponents played in the postseason last year
Nine teams return their leading scorer from 2015-16
The non-conference schedule features teams from 12 different conferences, including three from the Mid-American Conference
The schedule features three first-time opponents in Northeastern, Colgate and North Carolina Central, with Purdue holding an all-time mark of 137-53 in inaugural meetings
Purdue will play consecutive games against Maine, Stanford and Ball State, marking the only three repeat opponents from the 2015-16 non-c conference schedule
The Boilermakers still await the order of their games against Northeastern, Stanford and Wichita State at the 2016 Cancun Challenge, scheduled for Nov. 24-26
The 2016-17 non-conference schedule has 14 opponents, due to the reduction in the Big Ten Conference schedule from 18 to 16 games
| Date | Opponent (Conference) | 2015-16 Record (Postseason) | Top Returner (ppg) |
| Sun. Nov. 6 | Ursuline College (GMAC) | 25-4 (NCAA DII 1st Round) | Camryn Hill (14.7) |
| Fri. Nov. 11 | Maine (America East) | 26-9 (WNIT 1st Round) | Sigi Koiar (17.7) |
| Sat. Nov. 12 | Mississippi State (SEC) | 28-8 (NCAA Sweet 16) | Victoria Vivians (17.1) |
| or | Villanova (Big East) | 20-12 (WNIT 2nd Round) | Alex Louin (11.3) |
| Thu. Nov. 17 | USC Upstate (Atlantic Sun) | 22-12 (WBI Semifinals) | Raven Jefferson (9.4) |
| Sun. Nov. 20 | Southern Illinois (MVC) | 20-13 (WBI 1st Round) | Rishonda Napier (15.5) |
| TBA | Northeastern (CAA) | 15-16 | Jess Genco (9.4) |
| TBA | Stanford (PAC 12) | 27-8 (NCAA Elite Eight) | Erica McCall (14.9) |
| TBA | Wichita State (MVC) | 8-22 | Rangie Bessard (15.5) |
| Wed. Nov. 30 | Pittsburgh (ACC) | 13-18 | Brenna Wise (10.7) |
| Sun. Dec. 4 | Colgate (Patriot) | 7-23 | Katie Curtis (9.4) |
| Tue. Dec. 6 | Central Michigan (MAC) | 22-11 (WNIT 1st Round) | Presley Hudson (13.9) |
| Thu. Dec. 8 | Ball State (MAC) | 22-10 (WNIT 2nd Round) | Moriah Monaco (11.3) |
| Sun. Dec. 11 | North Carolina Central (MEAC) | 5-23 | Morgan Jones (10.4) |
| Sat. Dec. 17 | Eastern Michigan (MAC) | 22-12 (WNIT 2nd Round) | Cha Sweeney (18.3) |
| Wed. Dec. 21 | IUPUI (Summit) | 21-11 (WNIT 2nd Round) | Danielle Lawrence (13.2) |