Pitt knocks off ‘Nova on road

Marcedes Walker got exactly what she wanted in her return home on Saturday afternoon: a Pitt… Marcedes Walker got exactly what she wanted in her return home on Saturday afternoon: a Pitt victory.

In front of a crowd of 1,679 at The Pavilion on Villanova’s Alumni Day, Walker, a sophomore center who attended University City High School in Philadelphia, came off the bench for the first time in her career to contribute 17 points and six rebounds in only 17 minutes of play. It was her clutch play down the stretch that lifted the Panthers to a 59-56 win over Villanova.

After building an early 12-8 lead, Pitt (13-6 overall, 4-4 Big East) fell behind the Wildcats (12-7, 3-5) and trailed the rest of the first half. Villanova led 27-24 by halftime. That’s when Walker and junior guard Mallorie Winn took over the game.

Winn tied the game with a jump shot at 12:51 left in the second half. The Wildcats quickly answered back and held their lead until freshman Xenia Stewart made a basket with 6:16 left in the game to give the Panthers a 45-44 advantage.

The game continued to go back and forth until Winn made a layup with 2:45 left to bring Pitt within two. After neither team made a field goal for more than two minutes, Walker was fouled on a successful offensive put-back with 18 seconds remaining in the game. She made the free throw to complete the 3-point play and gave Pitt a 57-56 lead. The Panthers held Villanova scoreless for the rest of the game to eke out their first Big East road win on the season.

With the victory, the Panthers ended a two-game slide and broke a six-game losing streak to Villanova. It was their first win over the Wildcats since Feb. 23, 2000. Their 13th victory of the season also matches last year’s season total.

Winn and Walker each contributed 14 points in the second half. Winn finished with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Stewart also added 11 points and five rebounds for the Panthers. Junior forward Jackie Adamshick paced the Wildcats with 20 points and nine rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the game. The Pitt defense held the Wildcats’ leading scorer, senior forward Liad Suez-Karni, to only nine total points.

Pitt led almost every statistical category in the game, out-rebounding the Wildcats 47-38 and shooting 34.4 percent from the field to Villanova’s 32.8 percent. The Panthers also tied a school record with only seven turnovers in the game, including only one during the second half.

The Panthers also took advantage of their opportunities at the free-throw line. Although they only got to the stripe three times during the first half, they converted 15 of 22 attempts in the second half. Pitt finished the game having made 64 percent of its free throws.

Pitt will look to carry the momentum from its win into a Wednesday night contest with Georgetown at the Petersen Events Center.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.