PITTSBURGH — Pitt Panthers women’s basketball announced that in a press release that head coach Tory Verdi dismissed senior guard Bella Perkins from the team.
Perkins hails from Fairfax, Va. and played for powerhouse Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va.
She spent her first two seasons for USC from 2021-23, playing in 35 games and starting six, averaging 2.9 points, 0.8 assists and 11.7 minutes per game. Perkins only played in 10 games in the 2022-23 season, with most of her playing time coming in her first season in 2021-22, playing in 25 games, starting six of those matchups.
Perkins transferred to Pitt ahead of the 2023-24 season, the first with head coach Tory Verdi in charge.
She played in 31 games, starting six contests, averaging 22.9 minutes, 7.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 31.2% from the field, 30.6% from 3-point range and 60.0% from the foul line.
Perkins would score 21 points in her debut, shooting 9-for-20 from the floor and making three 3-pointers in the 79-74 win over Yale on Nov. 7, 2023.
She also dropped 22 points in the 94-82 win over Lehigh on Dec. 10, 2023, shooting 7-for-15 from the floor, 4-for-7 from 3-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Perkins played in nine games for the Panthers this season, starting none, averaging 17.7 minutes, 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. She also shot 38.6% from the field and 38.2% from 3-point range.
She played her best collegiate game in her final one for Pitt in the 90-74 loss to UNI on Nov. 30 at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She scored 26 points, shooting 10-for-15 from the field and perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range in the defeat.
Pitt had already lost three players to extended time due to injuries and the dismissal of Perkins means that the team is losing depth quickly as the ACC slate approaches.
Junior guard Amiya Jenkins suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 82-54 blowout road loss to rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Nov. 12. Sophomore forward Lauren Rust is also out for long period of time and there is no timetable for when she’ll return for Pitt
Panthers freshman forward Kiara Williams underwent successful surgery on a lower leg injury in early July, which will allow her to redshirt.
Pitt will rely on guards in senior Brooklynn Miles, juniors in Marley Washenitz, Aislin Malcolm and Raeven Boswell, redshirt sophomore Mikayla Johnson and freshman Audrey Biggs the rest of the season in Perkins’ absence.
Pitt also faces rival Duquesne at home in the City Game on Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m., with the team announcing Perkins’ dismissal 30 minutes prior.
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