Panthers miss mark at West Virginia

Neither team shot the lights out, but the No. 18 Pitt women’s basketball team only shot an… Neither team shot the lights out, but the No. 18 Pitt women’s basketball team only shot an abysmal 20.3 percent and fell last night to the No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers, 56-35.

The Panthers’ (18-6, 8-3) leading scorer, Shavonte Zellous, scored six points, made 2 of 11 from the field and collected seven rebounds.

Marcedes Walker managed only two points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

West Virginia’s defense, ranked third in the Big East, forced 20 turnovers leading to 19 points.

The Mountaineers (20-3, 9-1 Big East) shot 37 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc.

West Virginia’s leading scorer, Olayinka Sanni, scored 17 points and added seven rebounds and three steals.

Meg Bulger finished with 14 points and LaQuita Owens scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Mountaineers’ 3-point tandem of Bulger and Owens, second and third in the Big East in 3-pointers, respectively, did not make a 3-point attempt until 10 minutes into the first half. But both finished the game a combined 6 of 16 from behind the arc.

The Panthers committed nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game, and 13 turnovers total in the first half. West Virginia capitalized and scored 15 points off of Pitt miscues in the first half.

The Panthers forced nine Mountaineer turnovers, but only managed one point off of them.

Pitt missed its first five shots before Zellous drained a jumper four minutes into the half. That jumper was the only Pitt basket until another Zellous basket seven minutes later.

Both teams struggled to score in the first half. Pitt shot only 14.3 percent from the field, and went zero for 4 on 3-point attempts.

After each of the Panthers’ first two baskets, the Mountaineers responded. The first time, WVU used a 7-0 run to gain an 11-2 lead. The Mountaineers then used a 9-0 run after the second basket to build a 20-4 lead with less than five minutes left in the half.

The Panthers eventually started making shots, though. Walker made two free throws, Mallorie Winn drilled a jumper and it looked like the Panthers were going on a run heading into the lockers.

But the Mountaineers kept responding, and they still held a 21-12 lead with two minutes left in the half. Sanni made a layup as time expired in the first half to give the Mountaineers a 25-13 halftime lead. Sanni paced the Mountaineers with 11 first-half points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Walker struggled and was held scoreless while only taking two shots and committing four turnovers, despite grabbing nine first-half rebounds.

It did not get much better for the Panthers in the second half. The Mountaineers used a 14-0 run to give them a 41-15 lead with 12 minutes left, and the game was never in reach after that.

The win pushed the Mountaineers into a second-place tie with Rutgers in the Big East.

The Panthers now look to upset the No. 2-ranked Connecticut Huskies on Sunday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.