Pitt defense stifles Bulls in easy victory

Motivated by a pre-game speech from guest coach Judy O’Connor, the late Pittsburgh mayor Bob… Motivated by a pre-game speech from guest coach Judy O’Connor, the late Pittsburgh mayor Bob O’Connor’s wife, the Pitt women’s basketball team dominated the South Florida Bulls in its 73-48 win Saturday afternoon.

No. 25 Pitt (15-3, 3-2 Big East) came into the game having beaten South Florida (14-5, 4-2) last season on a last-second shot on two separate occasions.

But Saturday’s game reversed that trend as the Panthers came out flying and quickly built a 31-14 first-half lead. South Florida’s 14 points was the sixth-lowest halftime point total in the team’s history.

“We came out really focused,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said. “Our game plan disrupted South Florida, and we were able to jump on them from the beginning.”

South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez echoed Berenato’s thoughts, as he felt his team was outplayed.

“I’m going to come out and commend Pittsburgh as they came out and had a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Fernandez said. “They came out ready to play, and I’m very disappointed in our effort.”

The second half effort was no different for the Panthers as they built their lead to 29 points just four minutes in. Pitt’s main contributors were center Marcedes Walker, forward Xenia Stewart and guards Karlyle Lim and Shavonte Zellous.

“We went inside, and they had to play me more, then the jump shots came and Shavonte started going to the basket,” Walker said. The junior chipped in her third career double-double against South Florida, finishing the game with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Pitt would continue its dominance throughout the game as South Florida never once took the lead or even tied the score. Pitt’s largest lead came with 4:14 remaining in the second frame when a layup by Danielle Taylor, who finished the game with nine points, put the Panthers up 69-37 to push their lead to 32 points.

Miscues ultimately led to the Bulls’ demise, as they finished the game shooting 27 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 23 Panther points.

The Panthers also finished the game with 17 turnovers, but they shot nearly 53 percent from the floor.

Dominating the paint was key for the Panthers as they attempted no shots from behind the arc compared to the Bulls, who shot 1-14 from 3-point range. Pitt finished the game with 46 points in the paint, while South Florida capped the evening with a dismal 22 points from underneath the basket.

Zellous led the Panthers in scoring, netting 25 points and going seven for eight from the free throw line.

Freshman Selena Nwude had her first career double-double for Pitt as she chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds.

South Florida was led in scoring by All-America and National Player of the Year candidate Jessica Dickson and Nalini Miller, who each scored 10 points. But Dickson’s play didn’t amaze many, as she and fellow Bulls’ star guard Shantia Grace each shot 2-15 from the floor.

“We’re not a very good team when we don’t get good output from those two young ladies,” Fernandez said, referring to Dickson and Grace.

The 13.3-percent shooting for the top two Bulls’ players wasn’t because of them struggling, but because of Pitt’s stellar defense. The Panthers played one of their best defensive games of the season against a team that was coming off of a 74-58 win over No. 15 Louisville.

The Panthers, who blocked six shots and had eight steals, used a very effective zone defense and maintained constant pressure against the smaller Bulls’ team throughout the game.

“I was extremely pleased with the effort defensively from my team,” Berenato said. “This is probably the first game that we maintained our focus for 40 minutes.”

The game, which supported Girl Scouts Day and the UPMC Girls and Women in Sports Festival, had 5,414 fans in attendance.

Pitt returns to the road on Wednesday for a matchup against Louisville.