Pitt races to seventh win in a row

After Wednesday’s victory over Syracuse, Pitt women’s basketball coach Agnus Berenato promised… After Wednesday’s victory over Syracuse, Pitt women’s basketball coach Agnus Berenato promised that her team would not have a letdown against Cincinnati on Saturday.

Her team followed through on that promise and delivered a beat down.

Shavonte Zellous scored a career-high 32 points, and Marcedes Walker eclipsed 1,000 career rebounds to pace the Panthers past Cincinnati, 86-61, at Fifth Third Arena.

The win was the seventh straight for Pitt (13-3, 3-0 Big East), which stayed undefeated in the Big East.

Pitt scored the first seven points of the game to set the tone and ensured the final decision with an incredible first half.

Zellous notched 18 of those 32 points in the first half, making 4 of 4 3-pointers along the way. The Panthers did not miss a 3-point attempt in the half on seven tries.

“In the first half we played superb,” Berenato said. “We were 7 of 7 from 3-point range, which is unheard of. We also had 18 assists on 21 baskets, which almost has to set some sort of record.”

Pitt scored a whopping 51 points in the first 20 minutes, shooting 60 percent from the field. The defense stepped up as well, limiting the Bearcats to only 33 percent shooting and 24 points.

Zellous’ scoring effort gave her six consecutive 20-point games and was a career-high for the second time in three games. Last week, Zellous tallied 31 points against DePaul.

“Everybody’s throwing two or three people at her,” Berenato said. “She’s just a great elevation shooter.”

Walker put a disappointing performance against Syracuse behind her with a strong game inside. The senior center finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds. The double-double was Walker’s ninth of the season.

A few seconds into the second half, Walker became only the second player in Pitt history to obtain 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. The other, Wanda Randolph, outnumbers Walker in rebounds but Walker has the scoring advantage.

Pitt’s younger players stepped up for the second time in as many games. Taneisha Harrison had seven points and five assists, and Chelsea Cole added eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.

“[Cole] is really coming on strong inside,” Berenato said. “I was very pleased with our freshmen.”

In her second straight start, point guard Mallorie Winn tallied 10 points and seven assists.

Cincinnati guard Kahla Roudebush led the Bearcats with 21 points, all of them coming in the second half. Natasha Graboski was the only other Bearcat in double-figures with 11.

Pitt couldn’t keep up its torrid shooting pace in the second half but still limited the Bearcats to only 33 percent shooting for that half as well.

Cincinnati went on a little run halfway through the half, culminating in a Roudebush layup with 8:36 remaining to cut the deficit to 67-53.

But Pitt outscored Cincinnati, 19-8, the rest of the way to guarantee the large margin of victory.

“There was one point in the second half where I thought we got bored,” Berenato said. “But it was a great win.”

Although Pitt’s shooting wasn’t as effective in the second half, the team still managed to make 49.3 percent of its attempts for the game.

The Panthers don’t play again until Saturday Jan. 19 against Providence. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.