Panthers hope to stop Paris

The Pitt women’s basketball team will face No. 1-seeded Oklahoma on the Sooners’ home court in… The Pitt women’s basketball team will face No. 1-seeded Oklahoma on the Sooners’ home court in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament Sunday night. In addition to coming in as the underdog, Pitt has a few more obstacles it would like to overcome. For the Panthers, goal No. 1 is making it past the third round. ‘We were here last year, and now we’d like to go further,’ said Panthers coach Agnus Berenato. ‘Our goal is to get past the Sweet 16.’ Since coming to Pitt in 2002, Berenato has habitually pushed the Panthers further than the expectations of the previous year. This season, Pitt finished third in the Big East and acquired its highest Tournament seed ever. But tournament placement is not the Panthers’ final goal. ‘Early in the year we set a goal of making it to the Sweet 16,’ said sophomore center Chelsea Cole. ‘This is not a surprise, it’s what we’ve been working for. Now we can pick up where we left off.’ In order for the Panthers to surpass last season’s success, they will have to contain Courtney Paris and the Sooners’ explosive offense. Paris gave Pitt another reason to stop Oklahoma’s run with her confident senior-night proclamation. She promised to return all of her scholarship money if the Sooners don’t win the national championship. Goal No. 2 for the Panthers is making Paris pay. ‘It was very bold of Courtney to promise to return her scholarship money,’ said Berenato. ‘But this is not an individual game, and it’s not just about Courtney Paris. Our team is really excited about playing Oklahoma and making her pay up.’ Berenato has good reason not to focus solely on Paris, because other teams have suffered by doing so. Georgia Tech did a commendable job of containing Paris and her sister, Ashley, in the second round of the Tournament. At halftime, the Yellow Jackets were tied with the Sooners, 29-29. Tech’s focus on the Paris sisters proved costly in the second half, as sophomore Danielle Robinson and freshman Whitney Hand contributed 17 and 15 points respectively to ensure Oklahoma’s advancement to the regional semifinals. Fully aware of Oklahoma’s capabilities, Pitt is determined to play its game. ‘None of us have reserves, just excitement for the game plan,’ said Berenato. ‘Once we give them the game plan, the girls will do what they can.’ The Panthers also admitted that playing on Oklahoma’s territory will not be a problem. ‘We’ve been the underdog throughout the year, and we’ve played in hostile environments before,’ said Berenato. ‘Our team does very well in these situations.’ Underdog or not, the Panthers are confident they have what it takes to compete with the Sooners. ‘It’s not a challenge being the underdog, we already know what we’re capable of,’ said Cole. ‘I see it as a privilege. People won’t be expecting what we’re bringing.’ ‘