Women’s basketball: Shooting percentage and turnovers plague Panthers in Big East losses

“You cannot win when you shoot 29 percent from the field and turn the ball over 21 times in… “You cannot win when you shoot 29 percent from the field and turn the ball over 21 times in one game.”

These statistics, said by head coach Agnus Berenato, are not a recipe for success in the game of basketball.

Yet the Panthers posted these numbers in their 52-46 loss to Rutgers. With this loss, the Panthers extended their losing streak to three games, all of which were Big East conference contests.

The 11-5 Panthers lost to Marquette and West Virginia on the road and dropped their Big East home opener to Rutgers on Sunday.

It’s easy for a team to experience a rough patch in the season when the shots aren’t falling and ball control is an issue.

But the Panthers seem stuck in that patch, and both coaches and players recognize the need to reinforce fundamental concepts and strategies.

The Panthers won’t play again until this Sunday, when they take on a nationally ranked West Virginia team that handed Pitt its second Big East loss of the season.

While Berenato jokingly claimed that the week off would give her “seven days to be miserable because of the loss,” she said that the break could be beneficial for her players by giving them an opportunity to take a step back.

“These ladies will get a rest for a few days, and then we can come back in and work on some things that have to do with us and our struggles,” Berenato said.

Junior guard Jania Sims said she also realized the need for improvement in the Panthers’ play, which she admitted has been unsatisfactory.

“Coach Berenato is always telling us that little things make the big things happen, but we are not doing those little things,” Sims said. “We may even have become a little passive.”

Two of those “little things,” according to Berenato, are a desire for victory on the court and the willingness to take responsibility when the game is tight.

In the closing seconds of the Rutgers game, the Panthers gained possession of the ball while trailing 46-48, but no one wanted to shoot the ball. The confusion led to a turnover and an ensuing free throw for Rutgers, extending the Scarlet Knights’ lead.

“I really thought, at that time, that we were where we wanted to be and that we were going to win,” Berenato said. “Somebody needed to step up and take the shot, but it did not look like anybody wanted to.”

This hesitation on offense led the Panthers to settle for outside shots as the shot clock expired, resulting in low-percentage opportunities and a corresponding low field goal percentage.

Turnovers also plagued the Panthers in each of their losses this season.In all five defeats, the Panthers committed more turnovers than the opposition, and against Rutgers, each Pitt player contributed a turnover to the team total of 21.

In the Big East conference, there is little leeway for slumps such as the one the Panthers are currently experiencing. With three upcoming opponents — Connecticut, West Virginia and Notre Dame — in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Panthers do not have an easy schedule ahead of them.

Berenato, who called the Big East “the best conference in the nation,” has a message that she wants her players to understand and take to heart, especially during their upcoming practices.

“We need to stress getting better every day, and we need to know where we want to go,” she said.

The Panthers will look to rebound when they host West Virginia on Sunday in an afternoon game that tips off at 4 p.m.