Women’s hoops struggles at Rutgers

After sprinting to a 12-1 record in the first two months of its young season, Pitt women’s… After sprinting to a 12-1 record in the first two months of its young season, Pitt women’s basketball entered Big East competition with all kinds of momentum.

Forty minutes later, the Panthers’ run came to an abrupt stop.

Rutgers (6-4, 2-1) trounced Pitt, 63-39, Saturday in New Brunswick, N.J. The Panthers (12-2, 0-1) have never won at Rutgers, extending their losing streak against the Scarlet Knights to 12 games.

“Rutgers turned it up to another level [Saturday],” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said.

The Scarlet Knights marched out to a 14-4 lead within seven minutes and never relinquished their advantage, as the Panthers (No. 22 Associated Press/ESPN/USA Today) crept within three points midway through the second half, but didn’t get any closer.

Down 38-33 with 12:43 remaining in the contest, sophomore wing Xenia Stewart nailed a jump shot. More than two minutes later, redshirt sophomore Shavonte Zellous sank two free throws to trim Rutgers’ lead to 41-37.

The Panthers scored just two more points over the final 10:33 as Rutgers ran away with the game on a 20-2 run.

“We pulled it to within three points in the second half,” Berenato said, “but the next thing you know, it’s a seven point lead for them, and they hit a three, and it’s out to 10.”

Pitt’s offense sputtered several times throughout the game, sustaining first-half droughts of three and five minutes. In the second frame, the Panthers didn’t score for spurts of two, three, five and six minutes, tallying just 16 second-half points.

The Panthers shot 30 percent as a team, both from inside and outside the 3-point line, their lowest percentage of the season. From the free-throw line, Pitt hit just four of nine attempts.

“It was simple,” Berenato said. “We didn’t make layups, and we didn’t get rebounds. [Rutgers] is a great program, and we have to make shots to beat a team like them.”

Zellous led the Panthers with 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting, playing the entire contest. The 5-foot-10 guard snatched six rebounds and two steals.

Junior center Marcedes Walker was held to just seven points on 3-for-8 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds, eight of which were offensive. The 6-foot-3 Philadelphia native hit just one of her five free-throw attempts.

Stewart hit just three of her 12 shots and scored Pitt’s last points, tallying seven in 37 minutes. The 6-footer hauled in six rebounds and tallied out a team-high three assists from the wing position.

Every time Pitt pulled within striking distance of the Scarlet Knights, Rutgers had answers – three of them.

Juniors Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon and sophomore Kia Vaughn combined for 47 points, 20 rebounds, six steals and five blocks.

The 6-foot Carson dropped 16 points on six-of-13 shooting, ripping down 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

The point guard Ajavon scored 15 points, shooting six for nine from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. She also had four assists and collected three rebounds.

But her defense, along with her teammates’, wreaked havoc on Pitt’s offense, stealing three Panther passes. Rutgers stole eight misguided passes overall and blocked seven shots.

Perhaps the largest reason for the defensive outburst was 6-foot-4 center Vaughn, whose three blocks and two steals made Rutgers’ paint a tough place. She totaled 16 points and six rebounds as well, offsetting the Panthers’ main weapon in Walker.

Pitt returns home to the Petersen Events Center Tuesday when it hosts No. 18 Marquette at 7 p.m. Marquette beat Pitt last year in Milwaukee, 71-61, but Walker scored 22 points and Stewart added 13 in the losing effort.