Panthers snag win No. 1

To play an away game without starting point guard Jania Sims seemed like it might be a… To play an away game without starting point guard Jania Sims seemed like it might be a substantial strain for the Pitt women’s basketball team, especially coming off a season-opening loss. Fortunately for the Panthers, that wasn’t the case at all. Pitt dominated Western Michigan on the road last night by scoring early and never losing the lead, beating the Broncos 88-60. ‘ ‘The intensity was there for 40 minutes,’ said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato. ‘When this team has that kind of intensity, we’re capable of big wins like tonight. We love [Sims], she’s a very big part of us, but you have to do what you have to do. Today was just another day at work.’ At one point in the second half, the Panthers led by as much as 36. Pitt led the entire first half, starting with a layup from sophomore guard Shayla Scott. From there, the Panthers never looked back, with seven players scoring in the first half. Scott’s layup was followed up by one from Shawnice ‘Pepper’ Wilson before the Broncos scored. With the score at 10-9 ‘mdash; the closest it came in the game ‘mdash; Scott contributed another layup that led to a run of 16 unanswered points from the Panthers. Shavonte Zellous scored six points during that span. Scott, Wilson, Taneisha Harrison, Sophronia Sallard and Kate Popovec also scored before Western Michigan’s Brenna Banktson scored from behind the arc to end the Panthers’ drive. Pitt led 42-23 going into the second half, which quickly started with two points from the Broncos’ Miame Giden. But Scott answered immediately with two points of her own, followed by a steal and two more from Xenia Stewart. After Western Michigan scored, Pitt took off with 14 more unanswered points, bringing the score to 60-27 with 15 minutes to go in the game. From there, the game might as well have been over. Berenato emphasized the team aspect of the win, noting that with 25 assists and only 12 turnovers, the entire team did its part. ‘We outrebounded them, shot 36 percent and had a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio,’ said Berenato. ‘That’s playing great team basketball.’ Zellous led the team in scoring with 23 points.