Women’s Basketball: Panthers get second chance in two weeks at beating West Virginia

Hopefully for them, the Pitt women’s basketball team has a relatively quick learning… Hopefully for them, the Pitt women’s basketball team has a relatively quick learning curve.

As the Panthers (11-5, 0-3 Big East) prepare to take on No. 18 West Virginia (16-1, 4-0 Big East) Sunday, they seek to avenge a 63-59 loss that will have occurred just 12 days earlier. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.

In the two teams’ previous meeting, the contest remained close until the end. The Panthers pulled within two points of the Mountaineers with just 15.7 seconds remaining, but West Virginia’s clutch free throw shooting secured its victory.

With 6.3 points remaining in the game, West Virginia’s Liz Repella sank two free throws to give the Mountaineers a four-point lead and the win.

A bright spot for the Panthers in that game came from the superb play of redshirt junior Jania Sims, who contributed a career-high 28 points in the loss.

But even Sims realizes that the team needs to work on closing out games. The Panthers held a three-point lead at halftime but couldn’t protect it in the second half.

“Most of our games have been close losses or close wins,” Sims said. “We have to play hard until the end.”

Of Pitt’s five losses this year, four have been by nine points or fewer.

The Panthers’ defeat in West Virginia showed that the two teams follow different paths this season. The Mountaineers are having their best start in school history and riding a 14-game winning streak.

But the Panthers have not won since their Dec. 31 victory against Mount St. Mary’s.

For Pitt coach Agnus Berenato, the short time between the meetings of these two teams might prove to be beneficial. She said that West Virginia is still “fresh in the minds” of her players. Also, with a week off prior to the game, Berenato said there would be “plenty of time to regroup and prepare.”

The Panthers will mainly look to improve defense and ball control. In the first game between the Panthers and Mountaineers, the Panthers committed 15 turnovers, off which the Mountaineers scored 15 points.

In addition, the defensive breakdown of the Panthers became evident in the second half of the game.

Repella, the leading scorer for the Mountaineers and ninth in the Big East, averaging 14.7 points per game, scored all 16 of her team-high points after halftime.

In the previous meeting, Korrine Campbell finished second for the Mountaineers with 15 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Although the junior forward is just 6 feet tall, she’s ninth in the conference and first for West Virginia, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.

The Mountaineers are third in the Big East in rebound margin at plus-13, while the Panthers are sixth at plus-6.2.

Thanks to 6-foot-6 Shawnice “Pepper” Wilson and 6-foot-3 Kate Popovec, Pitt has a height advantage over the Mountaineers, though. The Panthers also have the conference’s top rebounder in Chelsea Cole, who is seventh in the nation, averaging 11.5 boards per game.

The Panthers lead the Backyard Brawl series at home with an 12-7 record. Given the long rest between games, Berenato said she believes that her players are hungry for a rematch against a Big East rival.

“I think losing always makes you look forward to your next game,” Berenato said.