Women’s Basketball: Panthers look to start final stretch with win against No. 16 Georgetown

The Pitt women’s basketball team needs a big win.

After starting the season with… The Pitt women’s basketball team needs a big win.

After starting the season with nine straight wins, the Panthers have managed just one Big East victory in nine conference games.

With seven games remaining on the schedule, the Panthers have the opportunity to finish .500 in the Big East and reach 19 wins overall, but that all starts when Pitt takes on No. 16 Georgetown Wednesday at the Petersen Event Center at 7 p.m.

Despite their struggles, the Panthers performed well in their most recent game, an 86-76 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame.

Pitt overcame two of its biggest problems in the defeat, cutting back on turnovers and having a balanced scoring attack.

“We are 1-8 in our conference, and it’s a 10-point game,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said. “Look at us with only 10 turnovers, that’s a fabulous effort in the game.”

Pitt’s 10 turnovers against the Fighting Irish was a notable drop from the 21.6 turnovers the Panthers averaged over their past five games, four of which resulted in a loss.

“Coach always tells us when the defense gears up we need to slow down offensively,” Pitt point guard Jania Sims said. “I think we take pride in listening and executing this. We need to play relaxed and take care of the ball, which will give us more opportunities to score.”

Another positive for Pitt was four players reached double figures. Taneisha Harrison scored a team-high 20 points. Sims added 13 and Chelsea Cole and Selena Nwude each contributed 12 points.

Instead of one or two players carrying the majority of the workload, the Panthers evened out their scoring to present a balanced attack that allowed them to stay within 10 points of the third-ranked team in the country.

“We had four players in double figures and we need to have at least four players in double figures,” Berenato said. “I feel we are getting better. We are starting to get it together. The most important thing is that everyday we get better and enjoy the game and respect the game.”

Sims said the Panthers must continue to work on their chemistry on the defensive and offensive sides of the ball if they are going to find success for the remainder of the season.

“We need to work on helping each other and having good rotations in zone,” Sims said. “It takes being confident in being in the right spots and helping each other out on the court. Having good defense will create a better offense for us.”

The Panthers will need their improved offense and defense against nationally ranked Georgetown, which is coming off a 67-57 victory over St. John’s on Feb. 2.

Particularly, much of the defensive effort will have to focus around 5-foot-11 freshman Ta’Shauna “Sugar” Rogers.

Rogers, a guard who averages 19 points per game, was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school.

A three-time Tidewater Conference Player of the Year, the versatile guard holds her high school records for career points, rebounds, assists, and blocks.

Rogers is the leading scorer in the conference, ahead of such players as Connecticut stars Maya Moore and Tina Charles.

Rogers was one of four Hoyas to reach double figures against the Red Storm, leading the team with 17 points.

Monica McNutt and Jaleesa Butler added 15 and 13 points, respectively. For the season, McNutt and Butler join Rogers in averaging double figures.

McNutt, a junior guard, scores 11.8 points a game, while senior forward Butler contributes 10.3 points and seven rebounds.

Latia Magee also reached double digits against St. John’s with 12 points.