Women’s Basketball: Pitt winning streak ends at Lafayette

A second-half surge by the Pitt women’s basketball team came up just short on Saturday as the Panthers (5-2) dropped their first road contest of the year to the Lafayette Leopards, 68-65.

The narrow defeat at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., ended Pitt’s five-game winning streak and prevented head coach Agnus Berenato from tying with Kirk Bruce on the Panthers’ all-time coaching wins list.

The Leopards’ 3-point shooting (10-for-20, 50 percent) proved too much to handle for the Panthers. Following a first half when it sank six 3-pointers, Lafayette (3-5) came out shooting again, drilling four from beyond the arc in the second half.

Down 36-28 at half, the Panthers were able to battle back throughout the second half. But after tying the game at 56 with six minutes to go, two late 3-pointers by Lafayette’s Linnel Macklin sunk Pitt’s comeback attempt.

“I was really disappointed that we were so tentative in the last couple minutes,” Coach Berenato said after the game. “We didn’t seize the moment. That’s when you know you’ve grown up. We did it at home. We just couldn’t do it on the road.”

Sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel led the Panthers’ offensive effort with 17 points and five rebounds. She said Pitt’s second-half effort was good, but that Lafayette just made too many shots.

“We worked hard in the second half,” Kiesel said. “They shot the ball really well; they really wanted to win. We just have to look at what we could have done differently and focus on what we can do better for Wednesday.”

Cora McManus was one of three players to score 12 points for the Panthers on Saturday, joining teammates Ashlee Anderson and Asia Logan. McManus believes the team needs to focus on improving its rebounding.

“We really tried to attack the inside, and I was receiving good entry passes from the guards, getting my shot and finishing,” the sophomore forward said. “But defensively, we need to box out and make sure they only have one opportunity to score on offense.”

Pitt was outrebounded 39-34 by the Leopards.

The Panthers will look to extend their five-game home winning streak on Wednesday and grab the victory that will push Coach Berenato into a tie atop the wins list. Pitt hosts Loyola (Md.) at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.