Women’s Basketball: Trip to St. John’s gives Pitt chance to end losing streak

The Pitt women’s basketball team will travel to New York City on Wednesday night in search of its first Big East win in almost two years.

Its opponent, St. John’s, was ranked No. 13 in the preseason USA Today women’s basketball coaches poll but dropped out of the top 25 in December after a few unexpected losses settled expectations for the squad.

The Panthers (9-6, 0-2 Big East) are in search of their first regular-season Big East victory since Feb. 15, 2011, a 60-57 decision over Providence at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has failed to win on the road in Big East play since Feb. 5, 2011, when they toppled West Virginia at the WVU Coliseum.

The Red Storm (8-6, 2-0 Big East) enter the 7 p.m. contest undefeated in conference play after squeaking by rival Rutgers, 48-44, in the Big East opener and dominating Seton Hall, a team to which Pitt lost earlier this season.

Leading St. John’s scorer Shenneika Smith, who is tied with Pitt forward Asia Logan for eighth in the Big East in scoring, leads a backcourt tandem with Nadirah McKenith, both of whom average double figures for the Red Storm. Even though St. John’s lacks size — it does not have a player taller than 6-foot-2 in the starting lineup — its defense has been able to stop opposing teams consistently and hold them, on average, to a modest 54.8 points per game — good for sixth in the Big East.

But the Panthers’ encouraging first-half performance in the loss to Villanova should help prepare the young team for the upcoming challenges the Big East will offer.

“We’re just going to have to bounce back and play hard,” sophomore center Cora McManus said after the Villanova defeat. “We practice hard and play hard. Yeah, it’s been a while since we got a win, but that doesn’t defeat us at all. We love this game, and we’re going to play hard every time.”

Logan leads the team into the Empire State with three straight 21-point performances. She remains near the top of the conference in points per game (16.8) and rebounding (7.8).

Logan stressed the importance of not making the same mistakes game after game.

“We just have to get better,” she said. “We work so hard in practice, and we don’t want to take this loss, but you just have to get back at it in practice. Just move on.”

Sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel saw the difference against Villanova between this year’s Pitt squad and last year’s, which failed to win a Big East game.

“Our team chemistry is so much better,” Kiesel said. “We already have our feet wet from last year. We know what it’s like. We know this is a game of runs, especially in the Big East.”