Oakland Zoo members need to attend women’s games

Most of the time you can let the numbers speak for themselves. That’s usually how it works in… Most of the time you can let the numbers speak for themselves. That’s usually how it works in sports.

Apparently, this time, they’re just not getting the point across.

A guaranteed winning season currently sitting at 16-7 and a Big East record now at 7-5 – thanks to another effort by the guard with a flair for the dramatic Mallorie Winn – should be raising a few more eyebrows around Oakland.

But, sadly, it’s not.

The job that head coach Agnus Berenato is doing with Pitt’s women’s basketball program has gone unnoticed to a group it desperately needs the most – the Pitt students, and more importantly, the self-proclaimed best student section in the nation.

Yes, that is a reference to the Oakland Zoo.

A grand total of 984 fans showed up to support the Panthers in their most recent home game last Wednesday against Louisville.

That crowd, which failed to surpass 1,000 in a home court that holds up to 12,508, included two, maybe three, members of the Zoo.

The Petersen Events Center’s student section, which was proudly shown on ESPN the following night in all its glory during the Pitt/West Virginia game, was as silent as it gets for a Carl Krauser free throw for the entire game.

In case you haven’t noticed, and by the attendance it seems as though you haven’t, the women’s basketball team completely turned around in a matter of three short years.

Berenato inherited a team that didn’t have much when she arrived before the 2003-04 season.

In her first year, Pitt finished 6-20 – many wins away from the Big East tournament, let alone the NCAA tournament.

One year later, Berenato’s bunch won its first six games en route to a 13-15 finish. A seven-win swing after a fine recruiting class got a few people talking, but Berenato was far from done.

Add one more recruiting class and transfer Winn, and the team has reached new levels for Pitt women’s basketball.

A win against Louisville last week would have placed Pitt in sole possession of fourth place in the Big East. The Panthers fell, however, shooting the ball poorly in a 71-63 loss.

But the possibility is what is so surprising.

“We wanted this game because it would have put us in fourth place, but it’s not the end of the world,” Berenato said after that game. “That’s crazy to even think about that.

“Think about that, Pitt in fourth place.”

A home-court advantage definitely would have helped the Panthers. Having the same sixth man along the sidelines that the men’s team does would provide an edge that few women’s teams possess.

Four games remain, with two at home for the Panthers, including a Feb. 25 matchup against the No. 8-ranked Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, and greater things are on the minds of Berenato and her team.

Greater things that could use a little support from the Oakland Zoo.

“We know no one expected us to go to the postseason. We know we were picked 13th and we know we weren’t supposed to have a winning season,” Berenato said. “But for us as a team, those weren’t options.”

“Two of our goals are accomplished and no one thought we would get there.”

If the excitement from the coach and players, an upcoming game against a top-ranked team and the thought of being a part of the team that turns around Pitt women’s basketball for good doesn’t get you going, then there’s only one other thing.

The games, at the present time, are free for Pitt students.

Free of ticket debacles, free of waiting in line, free of wondering whether or not you’ll get that great Zoo seat. Just show your Pitt I.D. and get ready for a good basketball game.

Most of the time, it’s not free to watch a solid basketball team perform against top-notch competition.

Take advantage while you can. Gain a little love for these women.

Complaining won’t be tolerated when the price of admission slowly begins to rise. And at this pace, it’s going to happen much sooner than you think – these girls are prepared for greatness and they don’t care who’s in their way.

“You have to have high expectations to achieve greatness,” Berenato said. “We’ve got [four] games left. We’re going to spoil someone’s surprise.

“I just don’t know who yet.”

It could be Rutgers, and it should be while all of you are inside the Petersen Events Center to witness it.

Alan Smodic is a senior staff writer for The Pitt News. E-mail him at ams85@pitt.edu.