Women’s basketball: Panthers rally to defeat South Florida

In a back-and-forth game that included 12 lead changes, the Pitt women’s basketball team… In a back-and-forth game that included 12 lead changes, the Pitt women’s basketball team prevailed over the South Florida Bulls.

But it had to call on some old familiar faces to gain inspiration first.

At halftime of the Panthers (12-12, 4-7 Big East)  70-66 win over the Bulls at the Peterson Events Center on Saturday, they recognized 20 basketball alumni from the team’s past such as Jennifer Bruce Scott, Kim Tirik and Sally Sheerer. It was the team’s third win in four games and pulled the team’s record up to .500 on the season.

“Having our alumni here talking about their stories from when they used to be here and knowing that’s going to be us puts it into perspective that it’s almost over,” senior forward Chelsea Cole said after the game in a post-game press conference. “We know we’ve got to ride it until the wheels fall off.”

But for much of the game, it didn’t seem like Pitt was going to gain its fourth Big East win.

South Florida (10-15, 1-10 Big East) was in front for much of the game and led by as many as 11 points early in the second half.

The Bulls’ rebounding dominance allowed them to take the early lead.  South Florida was led by 6-foot-4 inch freshman center Akila McDonald, who gave Pitt problems all afternoon and recorded 15 points and seven rebounds.

South Florida as a team totaled 17 offensive rebounds and 15 second chance points.

“It was absolutely frustrating giving up so many offensive rebounds,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said after the game in a post-game press conference.

The Bulls also found early success on the perimeter, led by guard Andrell Smith, who made five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points.

But two of Pitt’s key seniors refused to let their team lose.

Guard Taneisha Harrison scored a game-high 27 points and Cole finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds, more than half of the Panthers’ total rebounds.

“I think this game was a testament to how far we’ve come,” Cole said. “We’ve been working really hard in practice and everyone is getting better.”

The Panthers shot an impressive 57.1 percent from the field and continuously scored important bucket after important bucket down the stretch, as well as sinking key free-throws at the end of the game.

“I thought that our team really gutted it out,” Berenato said.  “We were very calm and methodical in coming back.”

The Panthers will play their next game Tuesday night when they host Providence at the Peterson Events Center at 7p.m.