Zellous, Pitt sink Pirates

Shavonte Zellous was on top of her game last night, leading the Pitt women’s basketball team in… Shavonte Zellous was on top of her game last night, leading the Pitt women’s basketball team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, as the No. 25 Panthers went on the road and whipped unranked Seton Hall 76-40 in the Prudential Center. Zellous’ 29 points marks the fifth consecutive game in which she scored at least 26 points. This game brings her season average to 23.8 points a game, making her the No. 2 scorer in the country. She shot 10-of-16 from the floor and hit five of her eight 3-point shots. The senior also added 11 rebounds to give her the third double-double of her career. The Panthers (13-4, 3-2 Big East) stormed out to a 42-17 halftime lead. Pitt led the entire way and had 10-0 and 11-0 runs in the first half to put the game away. Seton Hall’s 40 points marks its lowest point-total this season. Before last night’s game, the Pirates’ season-low was 64 points when they hosted Rider the first game of the season. Pitt was steady from the field all night, shooting 44 percent. It also went 6 for 6 at the free throw line. The Panthers’ lock-down defense held the Pirates to just six field goals and only 19 percent shooting from the field. Junior guard Sophronia Sallard had 12 points for Pitt, and sophomore guard Shayla Scott had 10. Sophomore guard Taneisha Harrison added nine points off the bench. Candice Green scored a team-high nine points for the Pirates (13-5, 2-3). The win marks the eighth time this year that Pitt has won by more than 30 points. Seton Hall had not lost a game by 30 points since last February when it hosted Louisville. It was Pitt’s biggest win of all time against Seton Hall, which has lost to the Panthers in six of the last seven meetings. Up next for the Panthers is a road game at Syracuse (13-5, 2-3) on Saturday, at 1 p.m.