Women rebound against PC

After being punished at St. John’s last Wednesday, the Panthers took their frustrations out on… After being punished at St. John’s last Wednesday, the Panthers took their frustrations out on Providence with a 75-65 win in front of a season-high crowd.

“Pack the Pete,” the annual game at which general admission is just a dollar, brought in some additional faces to cheer Agnus Berenato’s bunch.

The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Mallorie Winn’s trey started a 9-0 run that gave the Panthers a 13-6 lead early in the first half, and the Lady Friars never approached the lead again. Pitt led at halftime, 35-27, and extended its lead to as many as 18 with 10:52 remaining in the second half.

The Panthers improve to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in Big East competition.

A major sign of encouragement for Berenato was the Panthers’ shooting percentage. After Wednesday’s dismal 29 percent, the Panthers showed the 3,385 in attendance that they weren’t satisfied with the effort, boosting their percentage to 45.8 in this win.

Marcedes Walker dominated underneath for the Panthers, with most of her 25 points coming in the paint. She shot 10 of 13 on the day, and added seven rebounds.

“I thought Marcedes really came to play,” Berenato said. “I felt whenever Marcedes touched the ball, she could score at will. Sometimes the team doesn’t see that here but I thought she really came focused.”

Berenato was also very pleased with Walker’s control of the ball. Walker had entered the game with a team-high 43 turnovers.

“I don’t think she forced anything tonight. The thing I am most proud of Marcedes for [this afternoon] is that she didn’t have any turnovers,” Berenato said. “She was more collected.”

Winn’s floor presence kept her team in steady control. She brought back visions of her South Florida performance by scoring nine of her 19 points in a four-minute stretch late in the second half to put the game out of reach. Her flurry came after Shante Darrian’s 3-point play cut the Pitt lead to eight, preserving some hope for Providence.

Winn highlighted the Panthers’ run with an off-balance scoop layup that gave the Panthers a 68-54 lead with 4:03 remaining. The Lady Friars got back within eight on a four-point play by Shauna Snyder courtesy of Winn’s foul, but Winn sealed the game by ending her impressive run with two foul shots of her own.

Freshman Maddie Brown stood tall on the defensive side, taking away four steals. She also scored 11 points. Fellow frosh Xenia Stewart finished with nine points and a game-high nine assists.

Freshman Chelsea Marandola’s 14 points and Darran’s eight boards paced Providence in those categories. Darran also added 11 points. But in the end, turnovers did in the Friars. They committed 22, compared to the Panthers’ 13.

“They have a guard team. They have a lot of guards that can shoot the 3, so we really wanted to get in their face and try to prevent them from shooting,” Winn said. “I think that may have caused them to turn the ball over.”

While a conference win makes for a nice dose of momentum, the Panthers know they’re in a dogfight to reach the upper level of the Big East standings. It won’t get any easier this week as Pitt heads to Milwaukee to take on Marquette at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. They will then return home to take on Geno Auriemma’s Connecticut Huskies at the Pete on Saturday.

If the Panthers are to make the leap to the top, they will have to find a way to remedy their struggles at the charity stripe. Pitt shot 17 for 29 at the foul line on Saturday, their 58.6 percent a small improvement from Wednesday’s 57.7 mark. Still, Berenato uses their 7-1 home mark as a springboard for optimism.

“We’re home, and the difference is being home. We are comfortable here. We do well when we play here,” she said.

“We’re going to steal a couple. It’s hard to win on the road, but we’re going steal a couple, mark my word,” the coach said. “I don’t know who it’s going to be, but with this crew, we’re going to get it done.”