The Pitt women’s basketball team dropped its third straight Big East game of the season on Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y., extending a conference losing streak dating back to Feb. 15, 2011, to 21 games. The Panthers dropped the contest to a previously ranked St. John’s squad, 61-32, falling to 0-3 in conference play this season and 9-7 overall.

The Panthers struggled with shooting all night, making 12 of 59 (20.3 percent) shots from the field and a measly 2 of 9 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc. On a night the Panthers held the opposing team to only 20 percent shooting from 3-point range, they struggled to stop the Red Storm from other spots on the floor. St. John’s shot 42 percent from the field as a team.

The lone bright spot for Pitt in this game was redshirt freshman guard Loliya Briggs’ 10-point performance. She converted on three of her 10 field-goal attempts in the game — including one 3-pointer — and went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.

St. John’s (9-6, 3-0 Big East) certainly lived up to its billing as a preseason squad ranked nationally in the top 15 by the USA Today Coaches Poll. Senior forward Shenneika Smith led the Red Storm’s offensive attack, recording 14 points and nine rebounds. Freshman forward Aliyyah Handford also chipped in 11 points and six rebounds in the victory.

An almost insurmountable lead was built by halftime in favor of the Red Storm, which amassed a 33-11 lopsided score that reflected the Panthers’ poor shooting night. Fifteen turnovers, 10 of those coming in the first half, led to a .5 assist-to-turnover ratio, a season low for the Panthers.

Though they lack size in the frontcourt, the Red Storm managed to out-rebound the Panthers by a 48-38 margin. St. John’s also outscored Pitt in the paint 26-10 over the course of the game.

The Panthers featured a different starting lineup than normal on this night, with sophomore forward Cora McManus making her first career start. Junior forward Asia Logan joined McManus in the frontcourt, while freshman guards Brittany Gordon and Loliya Briggs joined sophomore Brianna Kiesel in the backcourt.

After the game, Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato was not pleased with her team’s performance.

“When Kiesel does not score for us, we take a step back,” Coach Berenato said. “Asia was out of sorts tonight. She can’t go 2-for-14. Turnovers, too — we had 10 in the first half, 15 total, and 12 of those came from our guards. It was our guard play tonight, we couldn’t get the ball down low. And now we just have to go back to the drawing board. You can’t win games shooting 20 percent, at any level.”

Berenato also commented on how she did not see this disappointing loss coming, following a great week of practice and preparation by Pitt.

“We are in the best conference in the country right now,” she said. “This year, this is the best conference in the nation, and we had some of our best practices and a great shootaround prior to this game. We started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. But it is very disappointing the way we came out and started this game. I did not see this coming. We were really ready for this game. But you have to come to play in the Big East.”

Pitt will have plenty more opportunities this season to get a coveted Big East victory with a two-game homestand approaching. Its next chance will come on Saturday when the Panthers host Marquette at 3 p.m. The game is scheduled to start soon after the conclusion of the men’s basketball game versus Connecticut at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers will also have the opportunity to play No. 2 Notre Dame at the Pete Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. National star Skylar Diggins leads the Fighting Irish into Pittsburgh, riding a 10-game winning streak and an overall record of 15-1.