Bench shines during women’s six-game winning streak

After an impressive nonconference performance, the Pitt women’s basketball team lost two of its… After an impressive nonconference performance, the Pitt women’s basketball team lost two of its first three Big East games, upset losses to Providence and DePaul. ‘ ‘ ‘ But after Tuesday night’s 82-70 victory over No. 19 Notre Dame, the Panthers have won six straight contests. Strong, quality minutes from Taneisha Harrison and Chelsea Cole off the bench were a large factor in this success. ‘ ‘ ‘ The two reserves are part of a strong sophomore class for No. 22 Pitt (17-4, 7-2 Big East), which includes starting forward Shayla Scott. But Harrison’s and Cole’s contributions became more vital while freshman center Kate Popovec missed some time with an injury. ‘ ‘ ‘ In the triumph over Notre Dame, Harrison put in 17 points and had three assists in 25 minutes and went 6 for 13 from the field for the Panthers. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Harrison looked very strong,’ said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato. ‘She was powerful defensively, and offensively she didn’t have any fear in taking it to the rack.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Harrison has been Pitt’s hottest player off the bench. She scored 15 points and was 7-of-11 shooting against Marquette on Jan. 30. Harrison also had 13 points and six rebounds against Syracuse Jan. 24 and 13 points and five rebounds against South Florida a week before that. ‘ ‘ ‘ During the six-game winning stretch, Harrison is a combined 17 for 19 from the free-throw line. Harrison has missed just three free throws in all of conference play. ‘ ‘ ‘ Cole has raised her game since the beginning of conference play, as well. She’s averaging more than seven rebounds per game in-conference, and her minutes increased from 16 to 22 minutes per game. She has improved on her free-throw shooting, converting at 87.5 percent in the Big East. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I have tremendous confidence in [Cole] when she comes off the bench,’ said Berenato. ‘ ‘ ‘ To start the win streak, Cole had a 12-rebound game against South Florida. In the win over Syracuse, she pulled down 11 rebounds in 25 minutes and went 4-of-6 from the field with nine points. Cole also had a quiet 10 rebounds in the Georgetown game on Jan. 27 and six rebounds against Seton Hall Jan. 20. ‘ ‘ ‘ Cole has added 16 blocks to her Big East resume. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We get contributions from different people when we need it,’ said Berenato. The Panthers will try to extend their win streak to seven when they go on the road against Rutgers Tuesday at 8 p.m.