Zellous dominates in win

Shavonte Zellous exploded onto the women’s basketball scene Wednesday with an all-around… Shavonte Zellous exploded onto the women’s basketball scene Wednesday with an all-around performance to remember.

The redshirt freshman scored Pitt’s first six points and hustled her way to 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, leading Pitt to its second win in a row, a 72-56 romp over the Georgetown Hoyas at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt beat Georgetown for the first time in Pittsburgh since the 1995-1996 campaign, out-rebounding their opponent 45-27 while shooting 45 percent from the field in capturing their fifth Big East victory of the season.

“This was a really big win for us because we reached our goal of a winning season, having won 14 games in a 27-game season,” Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said. “It’s hard to come off a huge win at Villanova and then come home and win. It’s huge that our young team didn’t break down.”

Georgetown (8-12 overall, 1-8 Big East) saw its losing streak slide six in falling to a Pitt Panthers team that did not start star post player Marcedes Walker, who is still nursing a hamstring pull.

Pitt (14-6, 5-4) started slow, but a 12-2 run midway through the first half gave the Panthers their first lead, one they would never relinquish.

Pitt dominated the paint as the hobbling Walker scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.

“Marcedes was great tonight, she was super,” Berenato said. “She was finally getting angry underneath. She looked mad when she missed and that’s what we want. We really want her mad in games.”

Point guard Mallorie Winn added 20 points of her own, running the offense well with nine assists. The 5-foot-11 junior struggled at first before catching fire with a mixture of mid-range jumpers and layups in the second half.

“She took her time and played disciplined basketball after starting tentatively,” Berenato said. “In the second half she was more aggressive offensively and even when she didn’t have a shot, she created for her teammates.”

Hoyas forward Kieraah Marlow (17 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Bethany LeSueur (14 points) kept Georgetown close with their penetration offense, cutting Pitt’s lead to three with 16 minutes left in the second half.

But then the Panthers’ defense took over.

Pitt went on an 18-6 run, with the night’s finest play giving Pitt a 61-46 lead with seven minutes left in the game.

Trailing by 12, Georgetown’s Nikki Bozeman drove from the left wing and attempted an eight-foot floater. What came next energized the crowd and the Panthers.

Zellous stormed towards Bozeman from the lane and swatted her floater away with authority. The freshman collected the loose ball and found Winn, who raced in for an easy layup and a foul.

“That play was amazing. Shavonte just smashed the ball,” Berenato said. “The key on the play, though, was her grabbing her own rebound and finding Mallorie for the and-one. It was really a great play.”

Things did get a bit chippy toward the end, however. With the game clock dwindling and Pitt leading by 17 and easily in control, Marlow grabbed an offensive rebound and elbowed Pitt forward Cheron Taylor in the nose.

“Well, Georgetown’s a class [team] and we’re a class team,” Berenato said. “I hope that it wasn’t malicious, but it looked pretty bad from the bench. I hope Cheron is OK.”

Taylor’s status after the game was still unknown.

Pitt continues Big East play Saturday at Cincinnati in the first River City Rivalry contest in women’s basketball. Tip-off is at 2:30 p.m.