Panthers downright offensive in home loss to Louisville

Guard Mallorie Winn described it as frustrating.

The Pitt women’s basketball team dropped a… Guard Mallorie Winn described it as frustrating.

The Pitt women’s basketball team dropped a home game to Louisville Wednesday night, 71-63, but had plenty of chances to come away victorious and seal a fourth-place spot in the Big East.

Their shots, however, just weren’t falling.

As a team, the Panthers shot 34.6 percent (28-for-81) from the field – including just 1-for-12 from beyond the arc – and 46.2 percent (6-for-13) at the free-throw line.

“I thought our shot selection was decent,” Winn said after the game. “I don’t think it was horrible, we just weren’t making them.”

“It’s always frustrating when you can’t make your shots and no one on the team is really hitting.”

Winn and Xenia Stewart led Pitt (15-7 overall, 6-5 Big East) with 14 and 13 points, respectively, but shot a combined 12 of 40 on the floor.

Stewart also picked up 12 rebounds, notching a double-double along with center Marcedes Walker who posted 13 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort. Stewart and Walker combined for 19 offensive rebounds for the Panthers, who totaled 31 in the game.

“The problem is you have to be able to do something with those offensive rebounds when you get them,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said, “and we weren’t able to convert.”

Berenato also offered plenty of praise to her forward Cheron Taylor and her career-high 18 rebounds, which led Pitt to a season-high of 58 rebounds.

“Cheron is giving us every fiber of her body right now,” Berenato said. “She’s playing so far above of probably what she’s even capable of. She’ll try to rebound for anyone and for her to get 18 rebounds undersized is amazing.”

Louisville (15-6, 6-4) took an early nine-point lead thanks to the perfect shooting of Katie Olson.

Olson started the game 4-for-4 in the first five minutes and continued on, finishing the game 7-for-7 for 16 points in 26 minutes.

A 15-4 run, however, put the Panthers on top with Winn and Stewart leading the way, as they held a 34-31 lead over the visiting Cardinals at the half.

Pitt pushed its lead to five at certain times in the second half, but missed shots and shaky defense allowed Louisville to retake the lead and never look back. The Cardinals’ Jazz Covington converted an old-fashioned, 3-point play for a 45-42 lead that Louisville would never relinquish.

Louisville guard Connie Neal paced the visitors with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and, along with Olson, caused concern for Berenato’s defense.

“We were trying to press to get the game to be up-tempo,” Berenato said. “We did switch. We used both of our presses, man-to-man and a zone, but they just matched us shot-for-shot.

“Honestly, I don’t think we played great defense. When we watch the tape we’ll see they took open shots and when you shoot open shots at this level it’s like when you’re playing pig when you’re a little kid, you’ve got to be able to stick it.”

The loss drops Pitt into a sixth-place tie in the Big East with DePaul and South Florida, but the Panthers still remain in line for their most wins and best finish in recent years.

The Panthers resume Big East play Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. when they travel south for a matchup with South Florida.

“Our goal has always been to get to the NCAA tournament,” Winn said. “I think the way our season has gone is that we’ve learned from some of our losses and our mindset is still set on that goal.”

A break will also help Pitt as Winn claimed a lack of energy after the recent games. And she believes the shooting will definitely improve.

“We were just off tonight,” she said.