Women lose fourth consecutive, Zellous out with concussion

Three weeks ago, Pitt women’s basketball was tied at the top of the Big East with a 7-0… Three weeks ago, Pitt women’s basketball was tied at the top of the Big East with a 7-0 conference record and appeared ready to take the leap toward the nation’s elite tier.

Fast forward to Saturday, where the Panthers dropped their fifth contest in six games with a 76-69 loss at Marquette and now may land squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

No. 23 Pitt couldn’t hold on to a large first half lead and felt the impact of leading scorer Shavonte Zellous’ absence. Zellous missed the game with a concussion. It is not currently known how much time she will miss.

Four Panthers notched double figures in points, led by Marcedes Walker with 19. Xenia Stewart and Mallorie Winn added 12 apiece and Chelsea Cole scored 10.

Pitt sorely missed Zellous’ scoring touch, especially in a second half that saw Pitt outscored by 13 after holding a six-point halftime advantage.

The fourth straight loss for Pitt (18-8, 8-5 Big East) dropped it into a tie for fifth in the conference with Syracuse and Louisville. Although the Panthers beat both clubs, they have the worst overall record of the three.

Marquette (15-12, 7-7) improved its tournament chances by upping its record in the Big East.

Golden Eagles star guard Krystal Ellis paced the team with 18 points, connecting on all eight of her free-throw attempts. Freshmen Angel Robinson and Jocelyn Mellen had 17 and 15 points, respectively.

The Panthers outshot Marquette, 46.4 percent to 41.3 percent, but lost the rebounding battle, 35-28.

Walker bounced back from two games without a field goal to record a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

For the second consecutive affair, Pitt ran into foul trouble. Four players finished with at least four fouls and Winn fouled out of the game.

The Panthers dominated much of the first half, scoring the first 11 points of the game.

The fast offensive start was also helped by horrific shooting from the Golden Eagles. Their first points came 3:23 into the game on two free throws by Ellis.

Marquette didn’t make a field goal until Mellen hit a jump shot with 12:55 to go in the first half. The Golden Eagles missed their first 14 shots overall.

Marquette started the contest 2 of 20 from the field. From that point forward, though, misses were few and far between for the Golden Eagles.

Pitt held on to a large lead for most of the first half, but a late Marquette run lowered Pitt’s lead to 33-27. Marquette scored four points in the final 13 seconds to bring the game to single digits.

Pitt found its once large advantage wiped out when Paige Fiedorowicz made two straight baskets to tie the contest at 33 with a little over 18 minutes to go.

The Panthers didn’t break amid the pressure. An improved stretch gave the club a 49-44 lead with over 10 minutes to go. But Marquette would not go away on its home floor. An 8-3 run brought the team back to tie at 52-52.

The two teams traded baskets until the backbreaker.

With four minutes to go and the score tied at 59, Ellis stepped behind the 3-point line and nailed the shot, giving the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game.

Pitt wouldn’t grab the lead again.

Although remaining within striking distance, Pitt couldn’t draw even with the Golden Eagles, and Marquette pulled away thanks to free throws in the final minute.

The Panthers look to rebound and end their losing streak Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center against rival West Virginia. Pitt lost to the Mountaineers on Feb. 13, 56-35, in the previous meeting.