While the Pitt women’s basketball team can’t deny that it misses the services of injured… While the Pitt women’s basketball team can’t deny that it misses the services of injured guard Mallorie Winn, it seems to be just fine with Shavonte Zellous in the backcourt.

The sophomore from Orlando led the Panthers with 22 points, her second game of more than 20 points in as many games, in Pitt’s (2-0, 0-0 Big East) 77-55 win over St. Mary’s (0-2) on Friday at the Petersen Events Center.

“Shavonte is a special player,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said. “When you look at her athleticism, she can stop on a dime. When we see what she is doing during the game, we look at each other, and that is the only thing you can say is that she is a very special player.”

As with its game against California (Pa.) last Wednesday, Pitt had a relatively small halftime lead against an overmatched opponent.

The Panthers never trailed during the game, but they were in the danger zone early on. Mount St. Mary’s had the game tied at eight apiece and trailed Pitt by a single point at 12-11 with 13:27 left in the half, following Dita Krumberga’s 3-pointer.

However, a 6-0 run gave Pitt enough breathing room to lead it into intermission with a 32-24 lead.

For the second straight game, the Panthers turned up the jets early in the second half. With its lead remaining at eight, Marcedes Walker’s layup sparked Pitt to an 18-3 run which gave the Panthers a 54-31 lead at the 11:49 mark.

The Panthers stretched their lead to 30 at 75-45 with 3:48 remaining. Though Pitt could only manage two free throws by Karlyle Lim the rest of the way, the reserves such as Lim and Danielle Taylor gained some playing time.

The Panthers would also tie a school record with 12 blocks, with Stewart and Zellous rejecting three each. Pitt also blocked 12 shots against Youngstown State on Jan. 11, 1982, and against Syracuse on Feb. 11, 1998.

Pitt shot 54 percent, while Mount St. Mary’s shot 30.3 percent, though Pitt did not hit on any of its eight attempts from 3-point range. Mount St. Mary’s shot 5-for-13 from behind the arc, with Brianna Gauthier connecting on three of them.

Along with her 22 points, Zellous contributed five rebounds, three assists and three blocks for the Panthers. Walker had 17 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Xenia Stewart also put up double figures with 11 points.

Freshman Jania Sims had another solid game with eight points, nine assists and six rebounds. Fellow freshman Selena Nwude added seven points. Krumberga led St. Mary’s with 19 points and Gauthier added 11.

“I am excited at how well we played in the paint tonight,” Berenato, a 1980 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s, said. “Selena Nwude played really well, and I am happy with the effort of the team.

“With us starting a freshman, three sophomores and a junior, we had a great turnaround from our game on Wednesday.”

Berenato also defeated Mount St. Mary’s 102-90 in the 2000-01 season while she was coaching at Georgia Tech.

The Panthers returned to action yesterday at Duquesne. See tomorrow’s paper for more details.