Bull me twice… Winn hits last-second shot against USF again as Pitt wins

Call them the cardiac kids.

Mallorie Winn hit her third game-winning shot of the season as… Call them the cardiac kids.

Mallorie Winn hit her third game-winning shot of the season as Pitt women’s basketball captured their third consecutive road victory with a win over the South Florida Bulls Saturday, 60-58.

The Panthers (16-7 overall, 7-5 Big East) used a solid shooting performance – they hit 43 percent of their shots – and strong rebounding to overcome deficits as big as nine in the second half.

Star center Marcedes Walker led Pitt with 23 points and 16 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. Her last basket, a layup off a pass from Winn (9 points, 8 assists) tied the game with 51 seconds left.

“Marcedes was in a zone,” Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said. “She took over and decided that we were not going to lose the game.”

The Panthers ran the same play they used to beat South Florida at the Petersen Events Center in a 66-64 win on Jan. 8.

“We didn’t want to call timeout because we knew what we were going to run in that situation,” Berenato said. “[South Florida] guarded Mallorie with the same girl who covered when we beat them in January. We just let our leader take over and win the game for us.”

South Florida (16-9, 6-6) jumped out to an early lead and carried a five-point edge over Pitt into halftime.

South Florida freshman guard Shantia Grace scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half while junior forward Jessica Dickson dropped 23 in the game.

As for the rest of the Bulls, a lid appeared over the rim as South Florida shot just 23 percent in the second half and failed to score in the final 1:20.

Pitt took advantage of South Florida’s struggles with a late 10-1 run to creep back into the contest.

Coach Berenato credited the run to Walker, whose “gigantic” block spurred a fast-break basket for the Panthers.

“Marcedes didn’t just score [Saturday],” Berenato said, “she showed leadership and really played strong defense. We are really happy with the emergence of her emotion and passion on the defensive end.”

With their seventh conference win of the season, Pitt moved into sole possession of sixth place in the Big East.

Coach Berenato credits their three consecutive road wins to consistency away from home.

“We’ve played the same game all season when we go on the road and we’ve been close in most of those away games,” Berenato said. “We’ve played everyone close and we’ve strung together some big wins.”

The win over South Florida puts Pitt into position to contest for a bye in the upcoming Big East tournament, set to tip off March 4 in Hartford, Conn.

Pitt freshmen guards Maddy Brown, Xenia Stewart and Shavonte Zellous combined for 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.

“They just keep improving with our team,” Berenato said. “They play with emotion and provide that spark we need to complement Marcedes and Mallorie.”

The Panthers resume for the NCAA Tournament strengthened with Saturday’s victory.

According to Berenato, the team’s goal at the beginning of the season was to reach the tournament, but they aren’t looking beyond their schedule.

“We know we have to get it done in our final four games,” Berenato said. “We’ve already started planning for the Seton Hall game. We realize how important these final games are so we are really focusing on the task at hand.”

Pitt continues Big East play against Seton Hall at the Petersen Events Center tonight at 7:30.