‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt women’s basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament… ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt women’s basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament last week, defeating DePaul 62-59 before falling to No. 5 Louisville 69-63. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers avenged a regular season loss to DePaul after Shavonte Zellous led Pitt in scoring, netting 15 of her 18 points in the second half. The team had a close game down to the final seconds, but Zellous hit two foul shots with one second left to seal the victory. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It was a great win over DePaul. They are a really good team,’ said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato. ‘I thought that we really had a lot of energy. We were able to force DePaul into some turnovers and then capitalize on them.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The semifinal against Louisville was another close game, but this one didn’t go Pitt’s way. After trailing by 10 at the half, the Panthers fought back to take a 63-62 lead with two minutes left in the game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Still, Pitt couldn’t score for the rest of the game, allowing the Cardinals to go on a 6-0 run to end the game and take the victory. Berenato said her team fell too far behind in the first half to compensate, but she felt encouraged by the second-half effort. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The first half belonged to them and the second half belonged to us,’ said Berenato. ‘I felt like it gave us a lot of confidence heading into the NCAA Tournament.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The game featured two Big East all-tournament team selections: Zellous and Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry. Zellous scored 24 points in the losing effort, while McCoughtry, whose Cardinals fell to Connecticut in the title game, led Louisville with 31 points. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Shavonte has carried our team. She put the team on her back,’ said Berenato. ‘She’s done a tremendous amount and she got us to where we are right now.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Shawnice ‘Pepper’ Wilson showed she is ready for March with a 16-point effort against Louisville, which is good news for the Panthers, who look to capitalize on last season’s NCAA Tournament accomplishments. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Berenato said Pitt’s veteran guards will be ready for the tournament, but Wilson is a key to the Panthers’ success. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Pepper to me was the most outstanding player in the Louisville game,’ she said. ‘If you have an inside presence to go with an outside presence, you’re going to be tough to beat.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Last season, Pitt had experienced performers in the frontcourt and the backcourt, with Marcedes Walker controlling the inside. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ With that combination of inside and outside performers, the Panthers advanced to the Sweet 16. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ This year, Wilson must provide the inside force to Pitt’s veteran guard play. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ If Wilson continues to perform as she did against top-5 Louisville, the Panthers will likely have a good shot to advance in the tournament. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt will learn its seeding and destination for the tournament on Monday night. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers will host a party to watch ESPN’s Selection Monday in the Petersen Event Center lobby at 6:30 p.m. All fans are invited.