Pitt women’s basketball player Taneisha Harrison enjoys playing defense. In fact, it’s her… Pitt women’s basketball player Taneisha Harrison enjoys playing defense. In fact, it’s her favorite part of the game.

“I take a lot of pride in my defense, getting steals and forcing turnovers,” she said. “I like being able to stop my opponents.”

According to the freshman guard, that’s what she envisions as her role on a Panthers team that has been in and out of the top 25 this season. She fashions herself a “defensive stopper.”

Harrison, 18, who hails from Bowie, Md., is part of a freshman class that has Pitt women’s basketball excited. Fresh off the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid last season, Harrison has come on board and has been quick to open eyes. Nothing she does, though, surprises head coach Agnus Berenato.

“I think she’s the best kept secret in the Big East,” Berenato said. “She knows the game inside and out. She’s just a baller. She can be one of our best defenders.”

Harrison’s prowess doesn’t limit itself to defense, though. In a road contest during winter break against Wagner, Harrison came off the bench as she normally does. She played 21 minutes. She scored 23 points to lead all players. In the same game, that defensive stopper chipped in two steals to boot.

Before that game Berenato told Harrison she wanted her to get a double-double. Didn’t happen. But the performance gave Harrison confidence.

Normally, Harrison admits to deferring to upperclassmen when she’s on the floor. Her game at Wagner, though, shows how versatile she can be and is a glimpse at her ability to dominate ball games.

“Right now she’s just a Division-I player,” Berenato said. “But she can be elite. She can take a team and put them on her shoulders. She’s much further advanced than any other freshman at her position.”

If there’s a knock on Harrison it can be lapses in her focus. For all of her flashes of brilliance – when she’ll swipe a steal and take it down the court for an easy bucket – she can also fade.

“Sometimes I call her Dopey, like one of the seven dwarves,” Berenato said. “She can wander and get bored, so she needs to keep her attention. You think you’re working hard ’cause that’s how you’ve always worked, but you’re not. You got to go harder.”

Berenato attributes the occasional malaise to the transition freshmen make coming into the college ranks. But for the player she affectionately calls “Tee”, the onus is on her to improve her concentration.

“I get lazy at times when I shouldn’t,” Harrison said. “When I come in I have to be focused.

“I have to work hard in practice every day, ’cause sometimes I slack off.”

If it weren’t for her father, though, Harrison might not be giving herself the chance to improve. She might not even be playing basketball.

“He bribed me,” Harrison said. “I forget what it was exactly, but it was small. To make him happy I started playing, and I just loved it ever since.”

Her father, Mike, was her first coach on her first team, and he hasn’t missed a game since. Both of Harrison’s parents haven’t missed a Pitt game all season long, keeping up with the tradition of rooting her on no matter where she has played.

“[My dad] has helped me get where I’m at today. He’s paid for all the trainers and everything,” Harrison said. “He’s my No. 1 fan.”

All of Harrison’s parental support has certainly helped her become the player she is today – one with high aspirations.

“I think over the years we can just get it and keep rolling, then we have a great shot at winning a national championship,” she said. “We just have to keep winning. This year I think we have a shot, too. Got to keep winning games.”

This past week, the Panthers downed a big conference rival – then-No. 15 DePaul – dominating the Blue Demons at home, 97-68. The game was a hint of what Berenato’s team is capable of in big games. Berenato is confident that with teams led by Harrison, the impressive wins don’t have to stop there.

“For when [Harrison’s] a senior and the [recruiting] classes we hope to bring in, we want to win a national championship,” Berenato said. “She is a special talent. She is going to be very, very good.”