Women’s basketball: Marquette edges past Panthers in overtime

Before Saturday’s contest, the Pitt women’s basketball team had never lost to Marquette on… Before Saturday’s contest, the Pitt women’s basketball team had never lost to Marquette on its home court. The two teams had also never gone into overtime before.

This meeting proved to be a first on both accounts. The Panthers fell to the Golden Eagles 74-70 in an overtime game at the Petersen Events Center.

It was also the first overtime contest for the Panthers since they fell to Syracuse 87-80 at home last February.

For Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato, the game was one of the best she has seen her team play, despite the negative outcome on the scoreboard.

“This was a heartbreaking loss because we played well enough to win,” Berenato said after the game.  “The last 10 minutes and the overtime was some of the best basketball I have seen this year.”

The game began close as well. In the first half, the teams were tied twice and the lead changed hands eight times, proving the Panthers (9-11, 1-6 Big East) and Golden Eagle to nearly be evenly matched.

But the Golden Eagles (17-4, 5-3 Big East) used a 7-0 run late in the first half to enter the locker room with a 28-26 lead. The run began with a three point field goal by guard Tatiyiana McMorris, who finished the game leading all players with 22 points.

Despite the back-and-forth quality of play in the first twenty minutes, Marquette managed to surge ahead in the beginning of the second half, pulling out to a 42-33 lead with 13:45 remaining on the clock.

The nine point deficit did not seem to discourage the Panthers, especially senior guard Taneisha Harrison.  Harrison sank two crucial three-point shots to bring the Panthers back to within two points in a 48-46 game.

Harrison contributed a team-high 18 points to the Panther offense, continuing her production as the leading scorer for Pitt this season. In those 18 points, she tied her career-high three-point total with four baskets in her eight attempts.

For Harrison, the second half was a chance for the Panthers to play off of their energy and gain momentum.

“I was just feeding off of my teammates,” Harrison said following the game.  “The intensity was high and I was shooting with confidence.”

Shortly after Harrison’s key three-pointers, a bucket by fellow senior and forward Chelsea Cole gave the Panthers the 51-50 lead, their first in the second half.

Cole earned a double-double  with her 11 points and 14 rebounds. Cole also contributed four blocks to Pitt’s 10 total.

Freshman Leeza Burdgess was also influential under the basket with her 13 boards and three blocks for Pitt.

In keeping with the pace of the entire game, the outcome came down to the final seconds, with the Panthers holding on to a 61-60 lead with just over 20 seconds remaining.

Shayla Scott seemed to have secured the victory for Pitt with her two clutch free-throws putting Pitt ahead 63-60, but McMorris was not to be outdone, sinking another three to force the game into overtime.

McMorris’ shot left her hands with 1.5 seconds left in the game.

“You have to give Marquette credit,” Berenato said following the loss.  “They knew they had to make a three and we were playing great defense.”

The additional overtime minutes provided more of the same, with each team trading baskets and the lead, but in the end, the Golden Eagles came away with the victory.

In addition to Harrison and Cole, Scott was a major offensive contributor for the Panthers, scoring 17 points, including three three-pointers which came at crucial junctions for Pitt.

While analyzing the game, Berenato pointed out the positives for her Panthers.

“It’s a miss here or a miss there,” Berenato said.  “We out-rebounded them by one and had a great game in terms of turnovers, but it was a disappointing loss.”

The Panthers will play host to another Big East rival when Cincinnati travels to the Petersen Events Center for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday where both teams will seek their second conference win.