Panthers return home for Syracuse

Pitt (11-3) returns to the Petersen Events center tonight after a long road trip, looking… Pitt (11-3) returns to the Petersen Events center tonight after a long road trip, looking for its fourth consecutive win at home and its sixth win in a row.

Pitt kicked off its Big East season on Sunday, beating No. 15-ranked DePaul, 97-68, but the Panthers aren’t taking Syracuse (13-1) for granted.

“I think it will be a great challenge and a great game,” Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said.

“Syracuse is having the best season ever. We really have our work cut out for us.”

On defense, Berenato said her team will have to “hit the seams” in Syracuse’s zone.

“We’re going to have to make sure we keep the Syracuse person in front of us, we’ll have to stay between the players and the basket,” Berenato said.

“They have a fast pace, they’re a very up-tempo team. They definitely want to get the ball and penetrate, that’s the style they like to play.”

On offense, Syracuse has the 33rd best player in the country in terms of field goal percentage.

Fantasia Goodwin, a senior forward, also claims 17th in the nation with 10.3 rebounds per game.

Goodwin had 22 points and nine rebounds against Pitt last season, a game the Panthers won, 84-75, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

Junior guard Chelsea Jones averages 16 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, which puts her eighth in the Big East conference.

The Panthers will have to be careful on defense – last year they had a season-high 25 fouls against Syracuse.

Syracuse has the third highest rebounding margin and 15th best scoring margin in the country.

It holds opponents to the 12th-lowest shooting percentage in the nation and is 25th nationally in blocked shots.

Berenato is looking for junior Xenia Stewart, who returned recently from an injury, to be her team’s “X-factor.”

“[Sunday] she just had a tremendous game,” Berenato said.

“She’s so strong defensively. She’s not the high scorer or high rebounder, but she’s our anchor on defense, and she’s our smart player. She really is the glue that keeps our team together.”

Stewart had 10 points and five assists against DePaul, a season-high six assists against James Madison on Dec. 29 and 16 points against Charlotte on Nov. 9.

“She played after Christmas in the Wagner Classic, but she still had sea legs,” Berenato said.

“But yesterday she felt comfortable in the game, and she was able to run up and down the court and really get out and go. That makes all the difference in the world for our team.”

Shavonte Zellous, who was named Big East Player of the Week this week, will start at wing alongside Stewart.

Zellous had her sixth 20-point game against Wagner and tied her career high of 31 points on Sunday.

Berenato said she expects good things from all of her players and the team is “starting to gain chemistry.”

“[Mallorie] Winn came in [Sunday] and distributed the ball very well,” Berenato said.

“Sims has been the sparkplug for us, she’s the one that makes our motor go. And we’ve had great production from some of our freshmen.”

Senior powerhouse Marcedes Walker will also be a tough force to be reckoned with tonight.

She earned her eighth double-double this season on Sunday with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Walker had 17 points and eight rebounds in Pitt’s win over Syracuse last season.

Sims added 11 points and five rebounds, and freshman Chelseas Cole added eight points and nine rebounds in Pitt’s Big East opener.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. tonight.