PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have added a key piece to their women's basketball program with the acquisition of transfer forward from Clemson.
Makayla Elmore announced her commitment to the program on Twitter, becoming the first player to join Pitt this offseason.
Elmore spent the past three seasons with the Tigers, appearing in 93 games. She was the most prolific of her collegiate career last season as a junior, when she started 28 of 31 games and averaged 25.6 minutes per game.
The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 4.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game last season. He also shot 37.2% from the field, 31.9% from 3-point range, and 57.1% from the foul line.
Her best game last season was a 68-64 road win over Wake Forest on Feb. 29. She finished with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-8 field goals, including an impressive five-pointer. -6 from behind the arc, grabbed 6 rebounds.
She is one of five Clemson players to enter the transfer portal following the firing of head coach Amanda Butler, who was in charge of the program for six seasons. Clemson named Sean Poppy head coach on March 26th, having just led Chattanooga to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in his first two seasons as head coach.
Pitt head coach Torrie Verdi is considering adding more players to the roster after many players entered the transfer portal after last season. Pitt finished 8-24 overall and tied for last in the conference with 2-16 in the ACC.
All-ACC forward Riatu King joins forwards Laprouchi Ayodele and Gabby Hutcherson, who also walked on Senior Day, and guard Jasmine Timerson Jr. in the portal.
Elmore is currently the Panthers' tallest player and brings much-needed size to a team that lost much of its rebounding production this offseason. She has one year of eligibility remaining.
Pitt women's basketball's other forwards include graduate student Ioanna Ciazireonti, who transferred from Kansas State late last season and sat out the entire season, sophomore Lauren Rust from Palm Bay, Fla., and freshman Kiara Williams.
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