Women’s hoops has “magical” season

Coming off of a 22-11 season, the Pitt women’s basketball team knew that it would need to… Coming off of a 22-11 season, the Pitt women’s basketball team knew that it would need to work hard to improve upon its record in order to make it to the program’s first NCAA Tournament.

It would be even tougher considering starting point guard Mallorie Winn went down prior to the season with a knee injury.

With Winn’s injury, head coach Agnus Berenato handed over the point guard duties to 5-foot-7 freshman Jania Sims. Although Sims struggled early in the preseason Duck Tournament in Oregon, her play would continue to improve as she helped the Panthers make their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

In the Duck Invitational, a four-team tournament hosted by the University of Oregon, the Panthers came out as champions after coming back from early deficits in the team’s two games.

Led by tournament MVP Shavonte Zellous and All-Tournament team member Xenia Stewart, the Panthers pulled out close victories over Boise State and Utah.

“[Winning the Duck Invitation] showed tremendous character and resiliency. We beat Utah, and they’re a highly regarded team” Berenato said. “With the win, we thought we could compete nationally.”

Pitt cruised through the rest of November and December by winning its next six games by at least seven points, giving them a No. 24 Associated Press national ranking.

The Panthers then hit their first test of the season when they played the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in the Caribbean Classic Tournament championship.

Pitt shadowed the Blue Devil outside shooters, who garnered a reputation throughout the season as being 3-point masters. With the pressure, Duke proved why it was ranked No. 4 and capitalized by going 30-of-36 from the free-throw line to help beat Pitt, 72-51.

The Panthers then lost to Rutgers in their first Big East game and pushed their overall record to 12-2. Berenato’s team went on to win three of its next six games, including a 91-87 overtime victory against then-No. 16 Marquette.

In a game that featured 12 ties and 13 lead changes, Pitt was able to beat a ranked team for the first time ever in Berenato’s four years as coach. Zellous had 27 points and 10 rebounds while Marcedes Walker chipped in another 20 to lead the Panthers to victory. Stewart also scored 23 points in the marquee win.

“Marquette is a tremendous team, but we never lost faith in ourselves,” Berenato said. “We were very committed to us and our system. It showed that we can weather adversity.”

Motivated by the Marquette win, Walker and the Panthers won their next five games, improving their record to 20-5 overall and 8-4 in the Big East. During that streak, Pitt beat the Providence Friars, 84-40, for their largest margin of victory on the season.

Walker and Stewart each scored 15 points against Providence in the win that saw the Friars turn the ball over 22 times, while they only grabbed 21 rebounds as compared to the Panthers’ 41. Zellous also added 27 points on the night to help push Pitt’s road record to 8-4.

Pitt would finish its remaining regular season schedule by winning two of its final four games. With those wins, the Panthers finished 22-7 and 10-6 in the conference, sending them to Hartford, Conn., where they would play the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

“Cincinnati was a team that we had just beaten,” Berenato said. “We were extremely nervous, and I thought we came out and played really well. We were really excited about the tournament.”

The Panthers entered the tournament as six seed and beat 11-seed Cincinnati, 76-71, to advance to the second round where they would play Marquette again. The victory over the Bearcats gave Pitt 23 wins on the season – a new team record.

Facing a hot Marquette team, Pitt was not able to handle the Golden Eagles, losing 61-51. Walker, despite being triple-teamed through most of the game, managed her 14th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

“Big players play big games, and she was a soldier,” Berenato said. “She was a trooper. She just played and never complained. She was exceptional down the home stretch.”

Despite the loss, the Panthers earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth as they received an eight seed and played ninth-seeded James Madison in the first round at the Petersen Events Center. They would beat the Dukes, 71-61, carried by Walker’s 20 points and 15 boards.

They moved on to face head coach Pat Summitt and the one-seed Tennessee Volunteers. Volunteer forward Candace Parker’s 30 points and 12 rebounds were too much for Pitt. Tennessee would win the game, 68-64.

But the second-round NCAA Tournament exit wasn’t symbolic of the season the team had. Berenato and the Panthers improved once again and continued to build the Pitt women’s basketball program to the level of those like Tennessee.

“Overall, the season was a magical season,” Berenato said. “This was a team that had a great time together. We were able to weather the storm. We had some tremendous highs and tremendous lows, but it was simply a magical season.”