Panthers head south for the Bull rush

A long regular season inches closer to its conclusion when Pitt women’s basketball travels to… A long regular season inches closer to its conclusion when Pitt women’s basketball travels to Tampa, Fla., Saturday to face South Florida as both teams try to improve their seeding for the Big East tournament.

Pitt is also fighting to stay off of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

This scenario seemed ludicrous about a month ago.

The Panthers (19-8, 9-5 Big East) were a perfect 7-0 in Big East play and riding an 11-game winning streak into their home matchup against No. 5 Rutgers Feb. 2. Pitt eventually lost, 64-60, leading to a stumble that has carried through much of February.

The Panthers beat Seton Hall the next game, 64-44, but then lost road games to Notre Dame, West Virginia and Marquette and a home game against Connecticut.

Each loss in the skid came against a ranked opponent, except for the loss at Marquette.

During the stretch, injuries and miserable shooting bothered both of Pitt’s Naismith Award candidates, Shavonte Zellous and Marcedes Walker.

Walker suffered an ankle injury during the Rutgers loss, which hampered her mobility.

Zellous suffered a concussion at Marquette Saturday.

Walker’s injury is still “really bad,” Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said.

She has been limited in practice and has been spending a lot of time in the training room. Walker went back-to-back games without a field goal against Connecticut and West Virginia, but she scored 19 points against Marquette.

Zellous, the Big East’s third-leading scorer, lost her scoring touch, which the Panthers have desperately needed.

Other than her 16 points against Notre Dame, Zellous failed to reach double digits in scoring in three of the four losses, scoring well below her average of 18.9 points per game.

“I think to the average fan, they thought, ‘Oh my god, what’s happening with Pitt women’s basketball? They’re falling apart,'” Berenato said.

“When I got the schedule at the beginning of the year, I said, ‘Wow, look at February. We could lose six straight games.'”

Pitt snapped its four-game losing streak with a 77-75 upset of No. 13 West Virginia in an overtime thriller Tuesday.

“It was awesome. It was the biggest win in school history,” Berenato said.

“You build a program by beating top-two teams. I’m really delighted for the team, the staff and the University.”

Zellous reminded everyone why she is a player of the year candidate.

She scored 29 points. Zellous was 9 of 14 from the field and notched five assists, all while shaking off an earlier incident when she landed awkwardly on her ankle after grabbing a rebound.

“[Zellous] was awesome,” Berenato said.

“If she doesn’t miss her free throws, I think she could have had something like 36 points.”

Walker had eight points and three rebounds. She needs nine rebounds to break the all-time record of 1,107, currently held by Wanda Randolph.

Mallorie Winn scored nine points, hitting a clutch 3-pointer with 2:20 left in overtime to put the Panthers up, 74-71, and a free throw with 27 seconds left to push Pitt ahead, 77-73.

“Mallorie stood up and gave an awesome pregame speech,” Berenato said.

“It really inspired all of us.”

Meg Bulger and Olayinka Sanni led the Mountaineers with 19 points apiece.

The win forced the Panthers in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big East with Syracuse and Louisville.

It also gave the Panthers a statement victory on their resume as they pursue a second consecutive NCAA berth.

“I know we’re a top 64 team and our goal is to make a run in the NCAA Tournament,” Berenato said.

The Panthers now travel to South Florida.

“South Florida is not a team we look forward to playing,” Berenato said.

“We’ve gone on the road to play them three years in a row, and three years in a row, it’s been a war.”

The Bulls have an outstanding scorer in junior Shantia Grace.

The 5-foot-6 guard is fifth in the Big East in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game.

The Bulls (13-14, 3-11) are coming off a 92-49 thrashing at the hands of Notre Dame.

Grace scored 15 points, playing in all 40 minutes.

Last year, the Panthers held off a late rally by the Bulls for a 69-65 victory.

Xenia Stewart led the Panthers with 21 points, and Walker added 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The Panthers own a perfect 4-0 mark in the all-time series against the Bulls.