Panthers blow out PSU in home opener

‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt women’s basketball team set out on Monday night to avenge an 80-74 loss at rival… ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt women’s basketball team set out on Monday night to avenge an 80-74 loss at rival Penn State last year. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers didn’t disappoint, using intense defense and hot shooting to lead Pitt to its largest win over Penn State in its history, 80-59. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s main focus coming into Monday’s game was on the defensive side of the ball. The Panthers dominated the Lady Lions on defense for the first 20 minutes, holding them to 6-of-32 shooting from the field at halftime.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt held Penn State to outside jumpers by closing off the driving lanes and not allowing the Lady Lions to attack the basket. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We shot a lot of jumpers,’ said Penn State coach Coquese Washington. ‘When you shoot a lot of jumpers, you have to rely on making them, and we just didn’t do that.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt coach Agnus Berenato thought her defense did a great job to set the tone in the game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I thought our defense really led us to our offense with great presence and great traps,’ said Berenato. ‘For every set they ran, I thought we had an answer.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers offense exploded in the first half. Pitt had no problem scoring, shooting 15 of 29 from the field. The 15 field goals came on 13 assists, including a 6-of-12 mark from behind the arc.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The superb defense and hot shooting helped the Panthers start the game on a 24-6 run and build a 43-18 lead heading into the locker room at the half. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pepper Wilson started the rout for the Panthers. She scored the first four points of the game and stole a pass on the ensuing Penn State possession, setting up a spectacular layup by Shavonte Zellous. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wilson finished with four points and 10 rebounds. ‘ ‘ ‘ After the hot start, Zellous was called for traveling on three straight possessions, but answered back on the fourth with a spotup 3-point jumper. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Those travels really frustrated me, but my coaching staff and my teammates got me out of that funk, and that helped me come back strong,’ said Zellous, who finished with a game-high 23 points. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers came out in the second half just as aggressive as the first, causing two Penn State turnovers on its two first possessions to start the period. ‘ ‘ ‘ Even though the Lady Lions shot 23 percent better in the second half than the first, they couldn’t overcome the hole they had dug themselves. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers finished the game with four players in double figures, including a double-double by Shayla Scott and a 17-point performance from senior Xenia Stewart, who recorded her 1,000th point as a Panther. ‘ ‘ ‘ The win over Penn State is truly meaningful for Berenato. After losing by 50 in her first year to the Lady Lions, she said this win symbolizes just how far the program has come. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘When we were up there [in the 50 point loss], [Penn State] had their starters in with 50 seconds to go,’ said Berenato. ‘Now I guess you can see what goes around comes around.’