Women’s basketball: Panthers fall to St. John’s, NCAA Tournament berth uncertain

The Pitt women’s basketball team needed this win.

Last night’s home game was… The Pitt women’s basketball team needed this win.

Last night’s home game was a final desperate gasp for the Panthers. They wanted a top-25 upset victory to remain in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth.

But Pitt lost its 11th Big East game, this time to No. 18 St. John’s, 77-65, putting its streak of three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances in serious jeopardy.

Pitt junior Brittaney Thomas led all scorers with a career-high 27 points. She also chipped in two assists and two rebounds. Junior Chelsea Cole led all players with 16 rebounds and added 11 points for her eighth double-double on the year.

When asked what her Panthers have to do to make a case for an NCAA Tournament appearance, head coach Agnus Berenato’s answer was simple.

“We have to run the table,” Berenato said, referring to winning every game in the Big East tournament.

The Panthers travel to Hartford, Conn., Friday for their first Big East tournament matchup.

Looking back on a now-complete regular season, junior Shayla Scott knows the Panthers missed many opportunities.

“Hearing the scores today, I think back to those games and how we could’ve easily beat them,” Scott said. “We have to change that. The postseason is a whole new season. We have to make a change to be successful in the Big East tournament.”

Cole scored seven points in the second half, grabbing rebounds at times to keep the Panthers close, but Berenato said the Panthers couldn’t get key rebounds or stops when they needed it.

“We came into tonight believing we could win this game,” Berenato said. “I thought we were going to take it away when we tied it up, but we couldn’t get a stop.”

Much of the blame falls on the Panthers’ perimeter defense.

St. John’s senior Kelly McManmon, the Big East’s second leading 3-point shooter, made the Panthers pay from behind the arc. She led St. John’s with 18 points, all 3-pointers, shooting 6-of-9 from downtown.

“I think she was the player of the game,” Berenato said of McManmon. “I believe she should be the sixth player of the year in the Big East. Coming off the bench, she’s got my vote. She took great shots.”

On the other hand, Berenato questioned her team’s shot selection in the second half.

After curing their rebounding woes, the Panthers were out-rebounded in the first half 25-19 by St. John’s. Berenato said the difference of the game was shot choices and missed layups.

The Panthers shot 37.9 percent and were out-scored in the paint by St. John’s, 36-24.

The game was back and forth for most of the game, elevating the game speed to a full-court sprint at times. Because of this, both teams substituted liberally throughout.

In the end, the St. John’s bench out-scored the Panthers’ bench 34-4.

The matchup couldn’t have been between two more opposite teams. Pitt was picked to finish fifth in the Big East preseason poll, while St. John’s was pegged at 12th. Before last night’s matchup, Pitt stood in 12th place in the Big East. St. John’s was in fifth.