With 35 seconds left in the first half, one of Pitt women’s basketball’s worst fears was… With 35 seconds left in the first half, one of Pitt women’s basketball’s worst fears was realized when star center Marcedes Walker tumbled to the floor after a rebound.

Walker did not return to the game, and her absence was felt late in Pitt’s 64-60 loss to No. 4 Rutgers Saturday at the Petersen Events Center. The defeat snapped the Panthers’ 11-game winning streak.

The Scarlet Knights’ backup center Rashidat Junaid scored 11 points in the final seven minutes while pairing with fellow 6-foot-4 center Kia Vaughn to dominate inside with Walker sidelined.

Rutgers used a 15-1 run in the waning minutes of the contest to seal the victory for the Scarlet Knights. Junaid tallied 10 of the crucial 15 points.

No. 14 Pitt had controlled the game up until that point, but Walker’s injury was too much to overcome once Rutgers went to its twin towers late.

After the game, Pitt coach Agnus Berenato could not speculate on the severity of Walker’s injury but did not sound optimistic.

“I think it’s her ankle,” Berenato said. “She might be out for a while.”

Walker had five points and six rebounds in her 17 minutes before the injury. The midseason candidate for both the Naismith and Wooden awards was averaging 14.6 points and 10.3 rebounds a game.

When asked if Pitt could survive without its second-leading scorer and top rebounder, Berenato emphatically insisted it could.

“Absolutely, sure we can,” Berenato said. “It’s more about the name on the front of the jersey than the number on the back.”

After falling in the showdown facing one of the top programs in the country, Berenato tried to remain upbeat.

“It was a great game. I’m not sure we came here for a great game, we came for a win.” Berenato said. “I really believe it was a double-win game, we’re both winners.”

“I feel like this team has come so far, the outcome is hugely disappointing. But I’m not disappointed in our team.”

The defeat was the first in conference play for Pitt, which is now 7-1 in the Big East and dropped its overall record to 17-4.

Rutgers (18-3, 8-1) was coming off a disappointing road loss to West Virginia on Tuesday.

Shavonte Zellous led the Panthers in scoring with 20 points. It was the sixth time in eight Big East games that Zellous reached the 20-point mark.

Mallorie Winn added 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting and connected on four 3-pointers. Xenia Stewart tallied 15 points and seven rebounds in playing a team-high 38 minutes.

Matee Ajavon headed Rutgers’ scoring with 15 points, and Epiphanny Prince added 14 more for the Scarlet Knights. Pitt led 51-46 with 6:39 remaining when Winn’s shoulder popped out and she had to be substituted. She returned only a minute later, but Rutgers had already drawn even at 51.

With Junaid and Vaughn outmuscling Pitt’s freshmen underneath, Rutgers recorded basket after basket in the paint and pulled down several offensive rebounds during the 15-1 run. Prince made a layup with 1:26 remaining to conclude the run and give Rutgers its largest lead at 61-52.

The Panthers staged a furious rally in the final minute, pulling within three on a 3-pointer by Stewart with 23 seconds to go.

But when Junaid secured an offensive rebound and made a free throw after Prince missed the first end of a one and one, Pitt’s comeback halted.

The matchup started out slowly. The two sides missed several shots en route to a 2-2 score at the first timeout four minutes into the game.

The clubs mostly traded baskets in the ensuing minutes. Winn lobbed a pass underneath to a wide-open Zellous for a layup to give the Panthers a 15-11 advantage with 12:03 to go in the half. With the physical play intensifying, Pitt scored 11 of the next 15 points, capped by a Winn 3-pointer, to take a 28-22 lead.

Then, with 35 seconds remaining, Walker went down and remained on the floor for several minutes while the training staff attended to her.