Sims out of action for Panthers tonight

The Pitt women’s basketball team looks to halt its shooting woes in Kalamzaoo, Mich., today as… The Pitt women’s basketball team looks to halt its shooting woes in Kalamzaoo, Mich., today as it takes on Western Michigan at 7 p.m. The Panthers are coming off a 56-50 loss to No. 11 Texas A’amp;M in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. The defensive-minded Aggies held Pitt to 25.5 percent shooting, and the Panthers tallied three assists to 22 turnovers. Although star guard Shavonte Zellous led all scorers with 23 points, 14 of the points came from the foul line. The Aggies limited the senior to 3-of-16 shooting overall. Sophomore guard Taneisha Harrison, the only other Panther to score in double figures, added 12 points. She also had seven turnovers. Six-foot-six freshman center Shawnice ‘Pepper’ Wilson contributed eight points and grabbed nine rebounds in her college debut. Point guard Jania Sims missed all but five minutes of the game after injuring her knee in the first half. Senior Xenia Stewart stepped into the role, finishing with five points and six rebounds. Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said that Sims strained her MCL and will not play against Western Michigan. Berenato wants her team to find better offensive continuity. She also looks for improvement in rebounding and running the ball. Western Michigan, a member of the Mid-American Conference, is coming off a 68-67, last-second loss to Saint Louis in its first game of the season. Sophomore Brenna Banktson led all scorers with 22 points, while freshman Miame Giden added 19 points. ‘They are a great team,’ said Berenato, ‘They had a really tough loss the other night.’ Berenato expects to see a lot of man-to-man defense and a motion offense from the Broncos. Last season, Western Michigan finished 13-19 overall and 9-7 in the conference. The Broncos return three players who started all 30 games from the team that finished in third place in the MAC’s West Division last season. ‘They have four starters that are averaging double figures,’ said Berenato. Senior guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye led the Broncos in scoring, assists and steals in the 2007-08 season. She was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC, as well the MAC Player of the Week a record-setting six times. DeLaHoussaye contributed 11 points in Western Michigan’s first game of the year. Guard Molly Dwyer made a team-high 42 3-pointers last season, averaging 8.3 points per game. Ebony Cleary led the team in rebounding with 6.6 per game while starting the last 25 games of the season. She grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss to St. Louis. ‘I think it is going to be a tough game, ‘ said Berenato. ‘We’re on the road without our point guard.’