By the way Marcedes Walker screamed in JMU’s Meredith Alexis’ face, it seemed as if the… By the way Marcedes Walker screamed in JMU’s Meredith Alexis’ face, it seemed as if the Panthers and Dukes were bitter rivals instead of a pair of teams that had never previously met.

Or it could have just been the rush of making a big play in her team’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

Walker’s roar was the result of banging in two of her game-high 20 points despite being fouled by Alexis with 8:28 left in the first half. Eighth-seeded Pitt then had a three-point lead that would eventually grow into a 71-61 win in front of 6,601 at the Petersen Events Center last night.

“I was just excited to be in that type of environment,” Walker said afterwards.

And as Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato mentioned, the environment was severely affected by Walker.

“She took the team and really put them on her back tonight,” Berenato said of Walker. “Forget rebounding and point production, she was just a presence on the court. She can score on one [defender], she can score on two, so it takes three.”

James Madison head coach Kenny Brooks noticed.

“If there’s a tougher player in the country, I’d like to see her,” he said.

Walker battled multiple defenders all night, but still came away with 15 rebounds and just three fouls. Walker and Pitt set the tone early in a gritty game that was as good as advertised.

The Panthers (24-8) began running the floor as soon as Shavonte Zellous, who finished with 17 points, directed the opening tip into sophomore Xenia Stewart’s hands on the wing. Stewart snatched the ball on the fly and cruised to Pitt’s first two points as if it were warm-ups.

Pitt kindled the quick spark and ignited an early 10-4 run, converting each of its first five shots from both inside and out.

But ninth-seeded James Madison (27-6) cooled the flame and forced the Panthers into several turnovers that would let the Dukes take their first lead of the game with 9:20 left in the first.

The teams battled the remainder of the half, replacing most of the early fast-paced scoring with feisty defense and careful shot selection.

With 1:33 remaining and the shot clock at four seconds, freshman Jania Sims drove the right lane and kicked it to Karlyle Lim for a wide-open 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. A Zellous 3-pointer later and Pitt was four points up and halfway to making history again this season.

“I thought we made good adjustments at halftime,” Berenato said. “I felt like we had the jitters. I said ‘OK, the NCAA jitters are over. We got the first half out of the way.'”

The Panthers finished the half shooting an even 52 percent from the field – nearly 20 percent better than James Madison.

Although JMU junior Tamera Young pestered the Pitt offense to the tune of four first-half steals, she finished the half with only four points on one-of-nine shooting to show for the hustle.

The gritty play carried over into the second half in which Walker owned both the offensive and the defensive paint and helped Pitt lead by as many as 11.

But Pitt’s defense could have been just as responsible for Pitt’s production. The Pitt defense forced the Dukes to shoot just 33.8 percent for the game and Walker held Alexis to a mere 11 points – seven below her game average.

“I knew coming in I had a big challenge on my end, [Alexis] coming in and averaging a double-double, and I think I stepped up to the challenge,” Walker said.

The Panthers now have a substantially larger challenge on their hands with a matchup with No. 1-seeded Tennessee at 7 p.m. tomorrow.