Pitt drops Ole Miss in WNIT

As 13 seconds remained in last night’s second-round Women’s NIT matchup between Pitt and Ole… As 13 seconds remained in last night’s second-round Women’s NIT matchup between Pitt and Ole Miss, Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato replaced her star guard Mallorie Winn.

When she walked off the court, a crowd of 1,259 provided a standing ovation for the performance she put on inside the Fitzgerald Field House.

It led her Panthers on to another postseason victory.

Behind Winn’s career-high, 27-point show, Pitt defeated the visiting Lady Rebels of Mississippi 85-76, advancing to the final eight in the WNIT. They take on Virginia Friday at 7 p.m., again in the Fitzgerald Field House.

“I think Mallorie just played like the tremendous leader she is capable of being,” Berenato said after the game. “She totally took the game over in every way, whether it was scoring or getting her teammates involved.”

Winn’s 27 points led all scorers in the game, while she pulled down three rebounds, dished out three assists and turned the ball over just once.

Her teammates got in on the action as well.

Forward Cheron Taylor and guard Shavonte Zellous each registered double-doubles in the game, the second and first of their careers, respectively.

Both Taylor and Zellous dominated the game underneath early when Pitt center Marcedes Walker sat out with two early fouls. Five offensive rebounds for Taylor led to 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting, along with her 10 total rebounds.

Zellous contributed just as much to the overall performance, notching her double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but also piling up seven assists.

“We knew we should have made a run when she was out early,” Ole Miss head coach Carol Ross said, “but you’ve got to give Pitt’s team all the credit. Their other players stepped right in for her.”

Despite Walker’s only playing 10 minutes, the Panthers held a four-point lead at the half with Winn, Zellous and Taylor combining for 31 of Pitt’s 39 points.

In the second half, Winn never let up.

Midway through the second half, she received a crosscourt pass from Stewart, faked a shot, took a dribble to her left and spun away from her defender. With the defender out of place, she floated a jumper right through the net while drawing the foul.

Winn connected on the free throw for an old-fashioned, 3-point play as she finished 7-for-9 on the free throw line.

“I was happy I got a lot of good looks today,” Winn said. “We know that teams have to respect our guards and play Shavonte and Xenia, and can’t focus on only one of us.”

Pitt refused to let up down the stretch on either side of the ball.

After cutting the lead to eight, Ole Miss looked to capitalize on a fast break opportunity. The Pitt defense, however, knocked away a pass heading into the zone, creating a fast break for itself.

Xenia Stewart grabbed the loose ball and found Walker midway up the court where she took the pass and headed all the way in for a layup and a foul. She sunk the free throw for a 76-65 Pitt lead.

On the Lady Rebels’ following possession, Stewart deflected another pass for her second of three steals in the game. With a full court ahead of her, she took it the distance and laid it in for a 13-point Panther lead.

The Lady Rebels cut the lead to seven with 27 seconds left, but it was as close as they got as the Panthers added two free throws for the nine-point victory.

Junior Armintie Price led Ole Miss with 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Denetra Forrest kicked in with 16 points, while center Shawn Goff paced the Lady Rebels down low, tallying eight rebounds.

With the win in hand, though, Berenato said her team is looking right at Virginia, and their minds are set on winning three games in eight days to bring the WNIT championship home.

“We’re not ready for this to be over. We want to do what’s never been done at Pitt before,” Berenato said about continuing through the WNIT.

Before she and her team left the court when the buzzer sounded, Berenato made sure to let the crowd know her feelings as well.

“Tonight we put the SEC down,” she said, “and Friday night, let’s put the ACC down, too.”