Women’s hoops looks to ride energy through Red Storm

Like a worn-out boxer dragging his feet after emerging victorious from an epic donnybrook,… Like a worn-out boxer dragging his feet after emerging victorious from an epic donnybrook, the Pitt women’s basketball team staggers into its second Big East home game of the 2006-2007 season after a memorable initial victory. Hosting St. John’s, the Panthers look to win consecutive contests at the Petersen Events Center.

Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. The game – touted as the fifth annual Pack the Petersen event – serves as the opening matchup of a Saturday doubleheader which the Pitt men’s basketball team caps off with its 9 p.m. tip-off against Georgetown.

Pitt (13-2, 1-1 in the Big East) grinded knuckle to fist in its first-ever defeat of a top-20 program Tuesday, edging Marquette (No. 16 AP/20 USA Today), 91-87, in a grueling overtime battle. The Panthers totaled a season high in points as redshirt sophomore Shavonte Zellous (27 points), sophomore Xenia Stewart (23) and junior Marcedes Walker (20) carried the team’s offensive load.

St. John’s (4-10, 0-3) travels to Pitt one year removed from its 72-55 drubbing of the Panthers in Jamaica, N.Y. on Jan. 11, 2006. The Red Storm stumble into their third Big East game riding a two-game losing streak, hoping to secure their first win since Dec. 30.

The Panthers (No. 23 USA Today) possess the Big East’s third-highest scorer in Zellous, who averages 20.1 points per game in 34.6 minutes. The 5-11 guard led Pitt scorers in 10 games and has tallied single-digit point totals just twice this season.

St. John’s guard Monique McLean will guard Zellous. McLean scores 16.6 points per game, ranking in the top 15 of the Big East in scoring, free throw percentage, assists, steals, defensive rebounds and 3-point field goals made.

The 5-11 sophomore hauls in 6.3 rebounds per contest, shoots 85 percent from the foul line and averages two 3-pointers a game from the shooting guard position. McLean torched Pitt for 17 points off the bench in last season’s meeting.

Walker, Pitt’s primary post presence, totes a clip of 14.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The 6-3 center has compiled four double-doubles this season, shooting 54 percent from the field in 29 minutes a game.

Matching up in the post with Walker will be 6-3 junior Tina Sten. Sten posts 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. She is the only player to start all 14 contests for the Red Storm.

After defeating Marquette, head coach Agnus Berenato pointed to the importance of Pitt having a third scoring threat – in Tuesday’s case it was Stewart – to overwhelm opponents.

“Big players show up for big games,” Berenato said. “Our three players [Stewart, Walker and Zellous] had 70 points [against Marquette]. That’s the difference right there.”

Stewart, who averages 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and three assists a game, has emerged as the second wing scoring option behind Zellous. The 6-foot forward creates matchup problems for smaller teams with her ability to play inside and outside.

Potentially countering Stewart’s versatility, however, could be St. John’s forward Joy McCorvey. The 6-footer snatches 6.5 boards a game, scoring at a 7-point-per-game clip. McCorvey’s aggressive defense and agility make her a threat in any contest.

While the top three players for both teams present a good chance for gridlock, the difference may come from the role players. This season, Pitt’s freshman point guard Jania Sims, who stepped into the starting role following the season-ending injury of star guard Mallorie Winn, has contributed consistently as the team’s floor general.

Along with Sims, 6-5 freshman center Selena Nwude has emerged as a solid presence off the bench, leading the team in blocks.

St. John’s features 5-8 senior point guard Kia Wright and 6-2 sophomore forward Angel Tate as its role players.

Wright averages 11 points and six assists in 29 minutes. A 2006 member of the All-Big East First Team, she started in five of her eight appearances, having missed time earlier in the season.

Tate rates 11th in the Big East in rebounding, ripping down eight rebounds a game from the power forward position. She replaced junior forward Angela Clark, a player who averaged 13.8 points and 8.4 rebounds a game last season, after Clark sustained an undisclosed ailment that has kept her off the team indefinitely.

When the horn sounds Saturday, something will have to give.

Saturday’s contest precedes Pitt’s second trip on the road in its 2007 Big East schedule as the Panthers head to Syracuse on Jan. 16.