Women’s hoops play in Marshall Tourney

After a failed attempt at an upset on Tuesday night against the No. 3-ranked Maryland… After a failed attempt at an upset on Tuesday night against the No. 3-ranked Maryland Terrapins, the Pitt women’s basketball team will look to get back on the winning side of things Friday afternoon when it heads to Huntington, W.Va., for the Marshall University Tournament.

The Panthers (3-2) will first face off against Harvard (3-2) at 1 p.m. on Friday, and will then go on to play either Jackson State or Marshall on Saturday, depending on the outcomes of the other games.

The Harvard Crimson won the Ivy League last year, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where it faced Maryland in the first round. But the No. 15-seeded Crimson couldn’t pull off the upset, and were tossed aside in an 89-65 rout.

Although Harvard isn’t ranked amongst the top programs this year, the Panthers can’t afford to look past this Crimson team that’s coming off two straight wins against Maine and Hofstra. To win the Panthers will need to get off to a better start than they did against the Terps on Tuesday night – a game which the Panthers lost by 13.

Pitt started the Maryland game ice-cold, going 2-for-10 from the field with four turnovers. Pitt finally warmed up and outscored the Terrapins in the second half, but by that time it was too late.

Junior guard Shavonte Zellous led the Panthers’ charge with 30 points, 26 of which came in the second half. She finished the game just one point behind her career high.

Zellous, a preseason All-Big East selection and the winner of last year’s Big East Most Improved Player award, went 11-for-23 from the field and also knocked down all eight of her free throws.

While Zellous was tearing through the Terps, Marcedes Walker, also a preseason All-Big East selection, struggled. Walker didn’t record a basket until mid-way through the second half, finishing with just seven points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.

Walker, a senior, might have trouble with 6-foot-7 center Emma Moretzsohn. Moretzsohn averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds last season and is seeing increased action this year, averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 boards.

After allowing four Maryland starters to put up 15 points or more on Tuesday, the Panthers will have to focus more defensively – especially against Harvard’s talented guards.

They’ll have their hands full with Lindsay Hallion, who has already posted point totals of 19, 20 and 39 this year. In those three games, last year’s second-team All-Ivy selection posted staggering numbers, shooting 32-for-38 from the floor. She leads the team in scoring with 13.8 per game.

Earlier this week, the 5-foot-9 senior was also named tournament MVP in the Dead River Company Classic – a tournament Harvard won.

Playing alongside Hallion is guard Emily Tay, who leads Harvard with 29 assists this season. A first-team All-Ivy selection last year, she led the team in scoring with 12.9 points per game. She also added 5.3 assists and 2.25 steals per game.

The Crimson is balanced, and it has four starters averaging in double figures.

After facing Harvard, Pitt will go on to battle either Marshall or Jackson State.

Marshall (2-3) is coming off a 79-66 win against Niagara on Saturday, and has won two straight.

The Herd is led by junior guard Casey Baker, who averages 13.4 points per game.

Jackson State (2-3) beat Georgia State on Tuesday, and is led by guard LaSharee Christian, who put up 18 points last time out.