Zellous’ strong half seals victory

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ‘- The Pitt women’s basketball team faced an uphill battle similar to its male… MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ‘- The Pitt women’s basketball team faced an uphill battle similar to its male counterpart at about 8:30 p.m. last night, trailing West Virginia by eight points with seven minutes left in the first half. But in Morgantown, it all turned around for the Panthers. This edition of the ‘Backyard Brawl’ at the WVU Coliseum ended with Pitt on top, 72-60. ‘It’s always a tough game,’ said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato. ‘It doesn’t matter who’s good and who’s not good in the Backyard Brawl.’ The No. 15 Panthers (21-5, 10-3 Big East) were led by offensive powerhouse Shavonte Zellous, who tallied 25 points despite sitting nearly six minutes in the first half. ‘I never like sitting on the bench, so I knew I had to come out dominating,’ said Zellous. Along with Zellous, sophomore Shayla Scott found her jumper in the second half, adding 12 points. The deciding factor came in the second half, as the Panthers found their running game and began connecting on West Virginia turnovers. The Mountaineers (15-11, 4-9) finished with 15 turnovers to Pitt’s four. ‘That was the difference,’ said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. ‘If we turn the ball over that many times, we’re not going to win, especially against a team like Pitt.’ ‘ The Brawl started in traditional West Virginia style, as the Mountaineer mascot fired two gun shots and the team quickly set pace with an early 6-2 lead. West Virginia freshman Natalie Burton then led an 11-point run, muscling in back-to-back buckets from the paint to take a 17-5 advantage. The Panthers came back with a run of their own, closing the gap to 19-16 with 9:06 left in the first half. But a three-minute scoring drought put the Mountaineers ahead, 25-19. And that’s when West Virginia’s scoring halted, as Pitt responded with a scoring run of its own. The Panthers ended the half on a 3-pointer from Scott that placed the team ahead 28-27 at the break. ‘I told the girls that we would either be tied or winning going into the second half,’ said Berenato. ‘And even though we were, we weren’t happy about it.’ The Panthers gained control in the second half, quickly assuming a 10-point advantage. Freshman forward Shawnice ‘Pepper’ Wilson added six points to the team’s 12-0 run to lead 51-41. Soon after, West Virginia sophomore Liz Rapella, who paced the Mountaineers with 17 points, connected on two 3-pointers, making it 55-53. But the Panthers quickly rebounded, once again extending the lead to 10, and the Mountaineers’s lackluster final few minutes gave the Panthers a 72-60 victory.’ ‘We came here to get the ‘W,’ and we’re happy we did,’ said Berenato. Pitt next faces No. 8 Louisville on the road Saturday.