Women’s hoops swats Ohio in return to Pete

Despite a slow start from the Panthers and an otherwise sloppy offensive game, Pitt women’s… Despite a slow start from the Panthers and an otherwise sloppy offensive game, Pitt women’s basketball dominated the Ohio Bulldogs (3-4) in its home opener last night 69-55.

The Bobcats scored first, but thanks to some strong rebounding, Pitt’s defense kept it in the game even though its offense had a struggling start.

Pitt remained scoreless for much of the first five minutes, as their first six possessions ended in turnovers.

The Bobcats held onto a meager 2-0 lead until junior guard Shavonte Zellous put Pitt on the board and sparked the Pitt offense to take the lead on a shot from freshman guard Taneisha Harrison.

Zellous, who was named the Big East Player of the Week Monday and was honored before the game for scoring her 1,000th point on Saturday, led Pitt in scoring with 21 points.

Ohio’s Chandra Meyers, charged with the task of guarding Marcedes Walker, maintained the 6-foot-3 forward well in the first half, holding her to only one rebound and one field goal on four attempts. Walker, in addition to being guarded by the 6-foot-4 Meyers, was double-teamed most of the first half.

With Pitt’s most notable forward quieted, freshman forward Shayla Scott’s strong play down low helped make up for the missing Walker.

“I think [Scott] really enjoyed that Marcedes was double teamed,” Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said after the game. “It cleared up a lot of space for her to get some points.

“In high school, she was the one getting double-teamed and getting pushed around underneath. In college it’s not like that, she has the space now.”

Scott’s 12 points and 10 rebounds on the night should be a confidence booster for the first-year forward, even if she hasn’t fully realized her full potential.

“Shayla Scott doesn’t notice how good Shayla Scott is,” Berenato said with a smirk.

At halftime, Pitt still held on to a seven-point lead at 28-21.

Pitt’s start in the second half proved to be much more efficient than in the first, as the Panthers came out with six straight points.

Ohio answered back with a few points of its own, but as the second half rolled, Pitt maintained a 10-point lead throughout.

Meyers failed to continue her containment of Walker in the latter half of the game.

The Bobcats eventually pulled Meyers and abandoned the double-team on Walker, allowing her to finish the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds, most of which came in the second half.

“It was really exciting to come back,” Walker said after the game. “We had a good home crowd tonight. We had our own fans. It makes it a lot easier [than being away].”

A ceremony before the game commemorated the team’s accomplishments last season, as a banner was unveiled displaying the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance last year.

But to Berenato, Pitt is far from repeating last season’s success.

“[Ohio] really rattled us,” she said. “We’ve been very hesitant. I think that’s why we we’re having some problems. We have to shoot, and we might see someone open, so we second-guess. He who hesitates is lost. That’s something that we have to work on.”

Pitt has until Saturday to work out its kinks. The Panthers head to New York to play Duke at Madison Square Garden.