Basketball Preview: Youthful women’s team seeks improvement after miserable season

Forget about last season.

That’s the mentality of the Pitt women’s basketball team as the Panthers enter the upcoming 2012-2013 season, hoping to recover from last year’s miserable campaign.

Redshirt junior guard Abby Dowd believes her team learned a lot from last season and says it made the Panthers eager to improve.

“No one wants to lose, and last year was difficult, but I think it motivated us and propelled us forward,” she said. “It’s motivation to get in the gym and get some extra shots up. Losing, while it’s not ideal, there are things we did learn from it. Last year happened, but I think it’s important to note we are not dwelling on last season.”

After suffering a 0-16 conference record last season, head coach Agnus Berenato enters her 10th season in charge of the Panthers with hopes that this will be a much-improved team.

“We are so excited about the upcoming season,” Berenato said. “Last year we had the youngest team in the nation out of more than 350 teams. To be the youngest is kind of daunting. We’re probably going to be in the top five youngest again, but I’m really excited because we’re a year older.”

Incredibly, for the second consecutive season, the Panthers will not have a single senior on the roster, but with four juniors and four sophomores with in-game experience returning, Pitt should finally have some continuity.

Dowd agreed, saying that the familiarity between the players is helping team chemistry.

“This year, I feel like everyone is very confident and steadfast in their role on the team, and they know what is expected of them,” Dowd said. “The chemistry looks a lot better and feels fluid. We are very optimistic for the season.”

With every key member of the team returning, the Panthers enter this season knowing who their go-to players are.

Returning sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel is a favorite to shine on the court this season. Last year, she led the team with 13.6 points per game as a freshman.

Kiesel said she feels comfortable entering this season as one of Pitt’s star players.

“I feel a lot more confident this year,” Kiesel said. “Coming in last year and having a big role on the team, I was nervous and excited. This year, those nerves have gone away, and I am more confident in myself and my team.”

Berenato also made it very clear that she wants Kiesel to be the leader of this year’s Pitt women’s basketball team.

“I have said to her many times, ‘This is your team. It’s not my team, it’s not Pitt’s team, it’s not the community’s team, it’s not Ashlee’s [Anderson] team or Abby’s team, but Bri, this is your team. You’re the coach on the court,’” Berenato said.

Joining Kiesel in the backcourt, Dowd and fellow redshirt junior guard Ashlee Anderson will provide solid scoring options for the Panthers. Last season, Anderson finished second on the team with 10.6 points per game, while Dowd — the team’s 3-point specialist — tallied 4.5 points per game.

With a talented core of guards and forwards Kyra Dunn and Chyna Golden controlling the paint, Pitt’s starting lineup will appear much more formidable to opponents than it did last year.

But the keys to the Panthers’ success this season could be staying healthy and having quality depth.

Two of Pitt’s role-players — junior guard Asia Logan and sophomore center Cora McManus — enter the season with injury concerns. Both had surgery in the offseason, but Berenato believes they’ll be ready to go at the start of the season.

“They had major surgeries, and they were both major impact players for us,” Berenato said. “Good news is that they’re all back, and they’ve been cleared to play. Again, they’re working out the kinks, but they both will have major impact, and they will have minutes.”

Entering its final season in the Big East, Pitt will once again face a challenging regular-season schedule from one of the nation’s best women’s basketball conferences.

The Panthers will face two of the country’s national championship favorites when they host Notre Dame on Jan. 23 at the Petersen Events Center and when they travel to Connecticut on Feb. 26. Pitt will also play against other traditional Big East powers Louisville, Rutgers, St. John’s and DePaul.

But before conference play begins, the Panthers will have 14 nonconference matchups, including seven consecutive games at home to begin the season.

The Pitt women’s basketball season opener will start at noon on Saturday, Nov. 3 against Lock Haven at the Petersen Events Center.