Walker leads Panthers over cross-town rival

Duquesne’s senior forward Loui Hall stood at the charity stripe and needed one more foul… Duquesne’s senior forward Loui Hall stood at the charity stripe and needed one more foul shot to cut Pitt’s lead to two. With 24 seconds on the clock, the shot clanged out and Pitt sophomore guard Xenia Stewart ripped down the loose ball.

The Panthers wasted 11 seconds before Duquesne sophomore Kristi Little fouled Pitt freshman Ashleigh Braxton, sending the Virginian to the free-throw line for two shots. The 5-foot-10 guard sank both and iced Pitt women’s basketball’s third win of the season.

Pitt improved to 3-0 in the 2006-07 season with its 61-56 victory over Duquesne Sunday at the Dukes’ A.J. Palumbo Center. The Panthers led in all but eight minutes, building leads of seven at halftime and nine early in the second frame.

“This was a tough environment,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said. “With games like this against your cross-town rival, you throw out all the records and things like height and size.”

Duquesne packed 722 fans into the A.J. Palumbo Center for a rematch of the annual City Game.

“I’m proud of how our kids battled and played [Sunday],” Duquesne head coach Dan Durkin said. “Players make plays at the end of the game. [Games like this] should come down to a last shot or possession.”

Pitt junior center Marcedes Walker led the Panthers with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting. The 6-foot-3 Philadelphia native hauled in 13 rebounds, six of which were offensive.

It took Walker 10 minutes to score, and she fouled out with 24 seconds left on the clock. Her two fouls in the final 40 seconds put Duquesne on the line twice, but the Dukes couldn’t take advantage.

“This win is all about pride,” Walker said. “Our bench did a great job when we were in foul trouble and kept us in the game.”

The Panthers’ bench contributed 20 points in the victory, including 10 from Stewart, who also nabbed three rebounds in 30 minutes off the pine. Senior forward Danielle Taylor tallied eight points, adding four rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.

“Our bench pulled us through this game,” Berenato said. “This is such a great rivalry and I feel like we weathered tremendous adversity and did a nice job.”

Braxton started for her first time, posting seven points in 21 minutes, shooting 2-for-11, but making both of her free throws with the game on the line.

Braxton’s fellow guards Shavonte Zellous and Jania Sims combined for 65 minutes.

Coming into Sunday, Zellous averaged 22.5 points per game, but the 5-foot-10 guard hit just two shots in nine attempts, notching nine points in her first single-digit offensive performance of the season. But the redshirt sophomore added six rebounds and six assists.

The freshman Sims scored six points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer early in the first half that give Pitt a lead it would never surrender. The 5-foot-7 guard nabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Pitt out-rebounded Duquesne 50-33, as the Panthers grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. As a result, Pitt totaled 22 points in the paint.

“We got killed on the boards,” Durkin said.

Both teams finished the showdown shooting just 35 percent, including Pitt’s 15 percent 3-point shooting and Duquesne’s 16 percent from beyond the arc.

Pitt now leads the all-time series, 17-8.

The Panthers return to action Tuesday at St. Bonaventure — tip-off is set for 7 p.m. — before traveling to Eugene, Ore., for the Oregon Tournament. Pitt will play Utah Friday at 8 p.m. and either Boise State or Oregon Saturday.