Freshman playing beyond their years

Seated in a row, worn out after another tough practice, four of Pitt women’s basketball’s new… Seated in a row, worn out after another tough practice, four of Pitt women’s basketball’s new stars looked poised – poised to take Pitt’s program to new heights and eager to carry the torch of success.

The future, however, appears to be now for these freshmen and the Panthers.

At the outset of the 2005-2006 campaign, Pitt fans did not know what to expect out of the Panthers, especially when conference play rolled around.

Twenty-six games into the season, the fans finally see – the Pitt women’s basketball team is for real and ready to take the program to the next level.

A major reason for the success of head coach Agnus Berenato’s team is the production of her four first-year players.

Electric redshirt freshman Shavonte Zellous leads the pack of diaper dandies that features a shooter in Maddy Brown, a distributor in Xenia Stewart and a post presence in Sylvie Tafen.

While Zellous and Stewart start for the Panthers, Brown and Tafen make major contributions off the bench.

The 5-foot-11 Zellous – an undeclared, academic sophomore – came all the way from Orlando, Fla. Coach Berenato expected her to provide an athletic and explosive presence on defense as soon as she took the court.

“Shavonte is the best athlete in the Big East without a doubt,” Berenato said. “She is eager to learn new things and work on her game. She is a game-changing player that shows huge potential.”

Stewart arrived in Pittsburgh with the tools of a dynamic guard: size and intelligence.

The 6-foot freshman business major from Bowie, Md., worked into the starting lineup with her strong court awareness, good work ethic and passing skills.

“Xenia just focuses so much on what she’s doing,” Berenato said. “She has a great understanding of the game and doesn’t fear anyone. She plays fearlessly and confidently. After she graduates, she will be considered one of the best players in Pitt history.”

When Berenato recruited Maddy Brown – a 5-foot-10 Honeoye Falls, N.Y., native – she expected to have a sharpshooter with a scrappy attitude on defense.

And Brown has provided Berenato with just that.

“She is just a dynamite scorer and finisher,” Berenato said. “She works so hard and displays a great work ethic. She’s always early and leaves late. She just works on everything and always is trying to improve her game.”

Sylvie Tafen, a 6-foot-3 pharmacy major from Cameroon, provides Marcedes Walker with a backup post player. Her ability to rebound and add depth to the Panthers makes her a nice commodity.

“Sylvie has a desire to learn the game of basketball,” Berenato said. “She guards Marcedes [Walker] in practice and that helps her improve her game every day. And just like all the other first-year players, she has an incredible work ethic.”

With the four newcomers adding 26.7 points, 15.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game through last week, the Panthers have stormed their way to an 18-8 record – the best record for Pitt women’s basketball through 26 games since the 1999-2000 season.

The newcomers credit their coach for their immediate contributions to Pitt.

“She definitely prepares us really well for every game,” Brown said. “She has us out here practicing hard and focusing on our job.”

With Marcedes Walker set for two more years of basketball at Pitt and Mallorie Winn due back for one more season, the youngsters are confident in the team’s direction.

“From here, this team is definitely reaching for bigger things,” Stewart said. “We are getting better every day in practice and we have more talented freshmen coming in that will have a big impact on our offense and defense.”

In her first two seasons, Berenato’s bunch had a 19-35 record. But the 2004-2005 campaign saw a seven-game increase in wins.

The idea that they could carry the promising program to national prominence gave the newcomers a desire to play Pitt basketball.

“[Berenato] really seemed honest and trustworthy-something that made me want to come here,” Zellous said. “She told me that I would be one of the leaders of this program as it improves, and that made me want to play for her and take this team to new levels.”

When they came to Pitt, the youngsters heard all sorts of rumors and stories about Big East basketball. Did it faze them?

“We were told all of this stuff about the competition and how hard it was,” Tafen said. “When we finally got out there, it was really exciting and a good challenge.”

The saying is, “The best teams just want to play hard, no matter what team is on the other end.”

Now for years to come, Pitt opponents have something worry about when they see the imposing Panthers warming up on the other side.