Pitt claws ahead to face Bearcats

Coming off of a physical 10-point victory over formidable Big East foe Syracuse, the Pitt… Coming off of a physical 10-point victory over formidable Big East foe Syracuse, the Pitt women’s basketball team (12-3, 2-0 Big East) visits the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-4, 1-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said that the win over Syracuse was an important test for her team. But Pitt’s remaining Big East schedule, starting with the Bearcats, presents weekly exams.

“The Big East is a battle day-in and day-out,” Berenato said after the Syracuse game. “You have to win every game you can regardless of the circumstances.”

The Panthers, led by four players who scored double figures in points, defeated the Orange on Wednesday night – the latest win of Pitt’s six-game streak. The Bearcats, meanwhile, come into the contest having beaten the Georgetown Hoyas Tuesday. That win for Cincinnati was coach J. Kelley Hall’s 300th career victory. In that game, the Bearcats also had four players score more than 10 points, led by junior Jill Stevens’ seventh double-double of the season and redshirt sophomore Kahla Roudebush’s 21 points.

Both players made four 3-pointers in the game that saw the Bearcats use only their five starters for the majority of the contest. Only junior Angel Morgan and senior Emy Ogide saw minutes – Morgan saw 12 and Ogide just one.

Pitt’s depth should help in its third conference match-up. The Panthers can play eight to 10 deep and aren’t afraid to roll different combinations out on the floor.

Eight Panthers had 16 minutes or more in their victory over the Syracuse, thus showing coach Agnus Berenato’s confidence in her starters, as well as in her bench.

Leading the starters is redshirt junior Shavonte Zellous and senior Marcedes Walker. Zellous currently sits in 19th in the nation in points per game with 19.2, while Walker checks in at 13th in the country in rebounds with 10.4 per game.

But they aren’t the only two Pitt starters who have contributed thus far. Also expected to start against the Bearcats are point guard Mallorie Winn, who contributed 19 points and six assists against the Orange, and forward Xenia Stewart, who scored 12 points in that game as well.

Recent bench contributors, too, have been freshmen guards Taneisha Harrison and Shayla Scott. Their recent elevated play has lifted them into more prominent roles, and freshman forward Chelsea Cole is improving and seeing more minutes as well.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, only rolls about six players through its rotation.

Two of the Bearcat starters, Roudebush and sophomore guard Carla Jacobs, played the entire 40 minutes of the game against Georgetown, while the other starters all saw more than 33 minutes each.

Matching up with Walker in the paint is going to be the 6-foot-3-inch Stevens, who currently ranks 10th in the nation in rounds with 10.8 per game.