Panthers extend streak to nine games

The firsts just keep on coming for the Pitt women’s basketball team.

First came Pitt’s… The firsts just keep on coming for the Pitt women’s basketball team.

First came Pitt’s inaugural trip to the semifinals of the WNIT a year ago. The Panthers followed that with a program-best start to this season.

On Tuesday, the program earned its first ever national ranking, coming in at No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today rankings. All of this success has prompted head coach Agnus Berenato to expect her team to win every game it plays.

Well, not everything is new to this Pitt team.

The winning just keeps on coming and the most recent victory, a 79-69 conquest of visiting Robert Morris Tuesday night, also accomplished a new goal of Berenato’s.

Becoming state champs.

“I’m really excited with how we played tonight,” she said after the win. “One of our goals coming into the season was to win all of the games not just in the city but also in the state, and I’m very proud that we accomplished that tonight.”

“We know how important it is to beat other teams from Pittsburgh,” Marcedes Walker, who scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, said. “We see the girls around in pick-up games and in the summer leagues, so the record isn’t all that important coming in.

“It’s a rivalry game, and you know they’re going to be coming after you with their best shot.”

Pitt disposed of Penn State last week and Duquesne earlier in the season. The Panthers took care of Robert Morris in identical fashion – with a balanced attack. Four players scored in double-figures.

Shavonte Zellous poured in 21 points before being taken off with an injury. She didn’t return, and the Panthers felt her absence.

Robert Morris (3-3) trimmed a 22-point lead (at 62-40 with 12 minutes to go) all the way down to four with just over a minute left. The Colonials did so by way of a 29-15 run, bringing the score to 73-69.

Freshman Jania Sims, who scored 13 points and pulled in seven rebounds, hit six straight free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach and extend the Panthers’ best start in program history.

“Jania Sims was excellent down the stretch, hitting those key free throws at the end and proving she can be a crunch-time scorer,” Berenato said. “I also want to say how much of an honor it is for the program to have Marcedes Walker as a 1,000 point scorer.”

That landmark occurred three minutes into the second half when Walker hit a free throw.

“It’s an honor and I’m happy about it, but it’s really a team thing,” Walker said of scoring her 1,000th point “My teammates make good passes to get me the ball and take shots from good positions so I can get the rebound and score. It’s as much their accomplishment as it is mine.”

Setting a career mark of her own was sophomore Xenia Stewart, who pumped in 21 points, had six assists and gathered five rebounds. Her production lessened the effect of Zellous being forced to the bench in the critical juncture of the game.

“I don’t think it is any different, because my team needs production from me every night,” Stewart said of her role while Zellous is out of the game. “When we’re out on the court, everybody on our team needs to look to score. I’ll have to be more of a vocal leader than to necessarily change the way I play.”

Everybody looked to score on this night as Pitt dominated most of the game before the late run. Up next for the Panthers will be Ohio University on Saturday – it will be the Panthers’ first road game as a ranked team, but that doesn’t bother Berenato.

After all, she expects to win.

“I don’t think there’s any additional pressure because it’s where we want to be,” she said. “To be successful, you have to be able to handle certain things and this is one of those instances.

“With all we’ve been through already, the pressure from this is nothing.”