Women to take on Louisville

‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt women’s basketball team looks to get back on track as it returns home to take on… ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt women’s basketball team looks to get back on track as it returns home to take on the Villanova Wildcats at the Petersen Event Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers (18-5, 8-3 Big East) fell on the road to undefeated and No. 1 Connecticut 95-42 on Sunday, breaking the Panthers’ seven-game winning streak, including a victory over No. 22 Notre Dame. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Shavonte Zellous scored 16 points to lead the Panthers in the loss, but her team could only get within 16 points of the Huskies. Zellous, a 2,000-career point scorer, continues to top the Big East in scoring, averaging 23.3 points per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s Shayla Scott and Xenia Stewart each added 8 points against the Huskies. Stewart, Pitt’s second leading scorer, is averaging 11.3 points on the season. Sophomore Taneisha Harrison brings a spark to the Panthers, adding 10.3 points per game, but averaged 11.8 points during Pitt’s seven-game streak. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Wildcats (17-8, 9-2 Big East) are riding a seven-game win streak of their own, including their latest win over No. 25 DePaul 50-46. Like the Panthers, Villanova defeated No. 22 Notre Dame during its streak. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Senior Laura Kurz leads the Wildcats in scoring and is the fifth top scorer in the Big East, averaging 17.7 points per game. A senior forward who transferred from Duke in 2006, Kurz also leads the Wildcats in rebounding with 7.4 per game. She is the only player on the team to average in double figures. Both Maria Getty and Siobhan O’Connor average just more than eight points per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As a team, Villanova ranks last in the Big East in scoring offense. The Wildcats average 56.6 points per game, while the Panthers are third in the conference, scoring 76.4 points per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Still, the Wildcats have the top-scoring defense in the Big East, allowing their opponents an average of 51.8 points. The Panthers are sixth in the conference, with teams averaging 57.8 points against their defense. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt is behind only Connecticut in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by an average of 9.7 per game, while Villanova is out rebounded by 2.7 per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Last year, Pitt defeated Villanova 72-63 at The Pavilion in Philadelphia. Zellous scored 13 points in the matchup, while Kurz led the Wildcats with 19. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Villanova is a half-game behind second-place Louisville in the Big East conference standings. At 8-3, Pitt stands a game and a half back from Villanova. The closest team to the Panthers, DePaul, is 7-5.