Panthers get Winn at buzzer

It’s not the first time, and if it’s up to her, it won’t be the last, either.

Mallorie Winn,… It’s not the first time, and if it’s up to her, it won’t be the last, either.

Mallorie Winn, for the second time this season, sank a game-winning jumper for the Pitt women’s basketball team.

Her shot fell as time ran out and allowed the Panthers to escape their trip to Cincinnati with a 64-63 victory Saturday in women’s basketball’s version of the River City Rivalry.

With two seconds remaining in the game, Winn used a screen from Marcedes Walker to get open for an inbound pass.

After collecting the pass from Xenia Stewart, she pump-faked, took one dribble to set up and hit a jump shot to seal the win for Pitt (15-6 overall, 6-4 Big East) as the buzzer sounded.

“I want the ball when the game is on the line,” Winn told PittsburghPanthers.com. “This one was a little different, at the buzzer, but I’ll want the ball next time we’re in that situation, too.”

Winn finished the game 7-for-14, shooting for 16 points, and added six rebounds and six steals in the effort, too.

Winn’s first game-winner for the Panthers came back on Jan. 8 against South Florida, when she hit a jumper with three seconds left for a 66-64 win.

“Mallory just had ice water in her veins,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said about her guard’s clutch shot.

Pitt led by four at halftime and upped its lead to 15 by scoring the first 11 points of the second half. The Panthers increased the advantage to 17 at 51-34, with 10:29 left before the Bearcats got hot.

Over the next eight minutes, Cincinnati (14-6 overall, 4-5 Big East) posted a 25-7 run – capped by two free throws by Treasure Humphries – to retake the lead. Humphries scored 12 points in the game and was the only other Bearcat besides Shelly Bellman to reach double figures.

Bellman, the game’s leading scorer, notched 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting during her 34 minutes of game time.

The two teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the game. Pitt’s Cheron Taylor put back a shot for a one-point Panther lead with 1:41 remaining in the game.

Bellman, however, picked up a big steal and scored on a layup, putting the Bearcats back in the lead. Pitt didn’t let up, as Winn dribbled the ball the length of the court and found Walker underneath for a Pitt response.

Walker recorded her eighth double-double of the season, putting up 13 points and 12 rebounds, while also scoring the 700th point of her young career in the first half. She now has 710 points in 47 career games as a Panther.

Freshman Maddy Brown joined Walker and Winn with double figures after scoring 13 points off the bench.

Cincinnati’s Humphries hit a runner in the lane to put the Bearcats up by one with 24 seconds left, but it was too much time.

Walker missed a jumper with six seconds left, but a Brown rebound allowed head coach Agnus Berenato to call a timeout and set up the play to Winn that won the game as the clock turned zero.

“It was really a great win for us,” Berenato said. “The girls did well.”

The win is Pitt’s third straight Big East victory, the first time the Panthers accomplished that streak since Feb. 1995. Also, its six Big East win marks the most they have put up since finishing 7-9 in the 1999-2000 season.

Pitt resumes action Wednesday, returning home for a Big East matchup with the Louisville Cardinals at 7 p.m. inside the Petersen Events Center.