Rutgers women’s basketball has added another piece to its frontcourt in the transfer portal as former Pitt Forward Fatima Diakhate announced her commitment to the Scarlet Knights on her social media accounts. She spent the first three years of her career at Georgia before transferring to Pitt last year. This will be her last season of eligibility.
Last year for Pitt, the redshirt junior started 27 out of 31 games for the Panthers, and over that time she averaged 9.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks
per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the free throw line.
The 6-foot-5 forward was born in Senegal but started her high school career at Capital Courts Academy Prep School in Ottawa, Canada. She then moved to Florida to attend Montverde Academy for her junior and senior year and helped lead the Eagles to a 20-3 record and their first GEICO Nationals championship in her senior season.
Diakhate originally committed to UCF out of high school, but when then-UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson took the head coaching job at Georgia, Diakhate made the move to play in Athens.
She did not see any in-game action during her freshman year in 2022-2023, but appeared in 28 games coming off the bench the next year. Her production leaped forward in her redshirt sophomore year at Georgia, when she started 28 out of 29 games.
Despite Pitt finishing with an abysmal 8-23 record last season, Diakhate made an argument for being the best player on her team as she finished third on the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game and first on the team in rebounds with 8.9 per game. She also posted a low foul rate, averaging just above 2 fouls every game.
Diakhate joins the knights, hoping to play a pivotal role in a rebuilt frontcourt that has seen three additions in the transfer portal window.
