PITTSBURGH – Pitt women's basketball head coach Tory Verdi announced Monday morning that rising junior Bella Perkins will be joining the Panthers for the 2023-24 campaign. Perkins will have two years of eligibility remaining upon her arrival to Oakland.
 
"Bella brings a wealth of experience beyond her years to our program," said Verdi. "She is ultra-competitive and is a natural scorer. I expect her to contribute right away as she will create scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates at a high level. She is a confident floor-leader and totally complements my style of play. Panther fans can expect her to pull-up and shoot from way beyond the arc."
 
Perkins, a 5-9 guard, is transferring to Pitt following two years at Southern California where she appeared in 35 games and earned six starts in the backcourt for the Trojans. She capped her career at USC averaging 11.7 minutes and 2.9 points per game while shooting 31.3% from behind the arc.
 
The talented guard finished off her second season at USC appearing in 10 games while averaging 3.5 points and shooting 40% from behind the arc. She opened the season with back-to-back double figure scoring games as she netted 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting including 3-for-4 from deep in the win over CSU Bakersfield and tied a career-high with 15 points on 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-6 from deep in the win against Idaho State.
 
She appeared in a career-high 25 games while earning six starts during her freshman campaign at USC while averaging 12.4 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.0 rebounds while connecting on 13 three-pointers. She posted the best game of her career in a home win over Washington State as she netted 15 points, four rebounds and an assist while going 5-for-8 from the field and a career-best 5-for-6 from behind the arc. The creative guard opened her career with five points, a career-high five assists and four rebounds in just 13 minutes of work in her first career game against Hawaii.
 
The Fairfax, VA native had a standout high school career at Paul VI Catholic High School as she was tabbed as the 2021 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year. As a senior, Perkins averaged 16.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.3 steals while leading her squad to the Geico National Championship game after being named Most Valuable Player of the national semifinal game. The floor general led her squad to their 15^th straight VISAA State title during her senior season while also earning All-State honors in each of her final three seasons.
 
Perkins becomes the second signee for Verdi joining Jala Jordan (Seton Hall). Perkins will be added to a Pitt backcourt that features sophomores Marley Washenitz and Aislin Malcolm for the 2023-24 campaign.
 
 
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