Pitt women’s hoops makes Tourney, history

The Petersen Events Center flurried with movement as usual. But this night was special. The… The Petersen Events Center flurried with movement as usual. But this night was special. The crowd waited with a hushed tone, the 6-foot women sat in two rows, their eyes focused on the screen in front of them. In the air there was a hint of anticipation mixed with a spark of anxiety. Some say it’s the most wonderful time of the year, a time waited on for all the other 11 months of the year.

It’s March, and it’s time for madness. That is, women’s madness.

Last night was Selection Monday, and the first-ever selection for the Pitt women’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. The bracket announcement was live on ESPN. A chalkboard-sized bracket was ready to record the announcements.

Pitt, with a program-high record of 23 wins, drew a No. 8 seed in the Dayton region and will face James Madison on March 18 at home at the Petersen Events Center. The announcement was met with cheers from the players and crowd alike as blue and gold streamers shot through the air.

James Madison, with a record of 27-5, lost to Old Dominion in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship title game.

In its most recent contest, Pitt fell 61-51 to Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at the Hartford Civic Center.

Duke (30-1) got a No. 1 seed along with Connecticut (29-3) and Tennessee (28-3). North Carolina (30-3) also received top-seed honors for the third year in a row.

The pre-selection events included a highlight video of the Lady Panthers’ season and comments by head coach Agnus Berenato.

“This is a family event, and I just want to say thank you” Berenato said. “For four years, I’ve said we’re going to get it done, we’re going to get it done. This team, this group of ladies and this staff stayed so resilient. We all believe in each other, we believe in you, and we know you believe in us. Enjoy history.”

The Panthers have truly had a historic season. Not only have they broken the record for regular season wins – previously 22 – they were also ranked for eight consecutive weeks. Berenato has improved the Panthers’ winning percentage from .231 to .742 over her four years.

“For the student-athletes, it’s just a testament that hard work pays off,” Berenato said. “We talked to the ladies about resiliency and hard work and work ethic, and winning is hard. I think it’s a wonderful evening, a magical evening, and really it’s very historical.”

Pitt possesses several game-changing performers heading into the tournament. Junior center Marcedes Walker recently earned Kodak/WBCA District I All-American honors from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and was also named last week to the All-Big East first team for the second year in a row.

Sophomore guard Shavonte Zellous was also named to the All-Big East first team and earned the Big East Most Improved Player award. Jania Sims was also named to the Big East All-Freshman Team.

“This year we’re just very excited, we knew we had to work very hard, and I think that’s what we did,” Walker said. “It feels great. We’re so excited to make history at the University of Pittsburgh.”

What’s in store for the team looking down the line? If they make it past the first round, the Panthers will face the winner of the Tennessee and Drake matchup.

Berenato was very excited that the University will be hosting not one, but two No. 1 seeds for the tournament.

“Like I said to the team, we must be pretty special, this must be pretty special that we would warrant the committee to send two number one teams here” Berenato said.

“And big time number ones, Tennessee and Carolina. Two of the great names, the great programs in our league are coming to our home, how exciting. The city of Pittsburgh, the community of western PA should be so excited and our phones should be ringing off the hook selling tickets right now because it’s going to be a marvelous event.”