Wildcats tear apart Panthers

Although the opportunity for a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Super Bowl slipped away, the two cities… Although the opportunity for a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Super Bowl slipped away, the two cities did hook up last night for a Groundhog Day women’s basketball game between Pitt and Villanova.

The only scheduled meeting for the in-state foes in 2005 went the same way as the previous five — with the Panthers on the losing end, this time by a score of a 70-49.

Liad Suez led all scorers with 22 for Villanova (12-7 overall, 5-3 Big East), while Kate Dessart Mager added 15 in 23 minutes off the bench. For the Panthers (11-9, 3-6), Marcedes Walker scored 14, while Vika Sholokhova contributed 11 points. Sholokhova’s double-digit performance was her first in Big East play.

“I’m really, really happy that Vika had a breakout game tonight,” head coach Agnus Berenato said of her freshman forward. “Vika’s been struggling, and I think you saw some of the things that Vika’s capable of doing.”

“Marcedes [grew] tired, because we were going inside to her, and there were always a lot of kids around her. She couldn’t even get across the paint without being held,” she added on the topic of her other freshman.

The game began with both teams in rhythm on the offensive end — every possession for each team in the first three minutes resulted in points.

But when the Panthers cooled off, the Wildcats continued their hot shooting throughout the first half, taking advantage of cross-court passes to get open shots, allowing them to knock down 14 of 25 field goals.

The Panthers, meanwhile, only scored five points in the final 10 minutes, leading to a woeful total of 9 for 31 from the floor for the half. Yet, even with the poor shooting, Pitt only trailed 35-25 at halftime.

The second half provided a different story on the Panthers’ offensive end, but more of the same for Villanova. The Wildcats’ dominant shooting continued, as they finished the game shooting a blistering 57.1 percent (28 for 49).

“They run a motion offense, and they have a lot of players that look like clones,” Berenato said about Villanova. “They’re all very good at fundamentals — Passing, shooting — and they’re average at dribbling.”

The victory was an historic one for the Wildcats because it gave their head coach, Harry Perretta, 500 wins for his 27-year career at Villanova. Perretta has the most wins in Villanova basketball history — men or women’s — and has been the Wildcats’ coach since 1978, when he took the helm at age 21.

The loss for the Panthers drops them to 1-5 at the Petersen Events Center for the year, something Berenato attributed to more than just unfortunate scheduling.

“When we’re on the road, we’ve really done a great job of teaching them how to focus,” she said. “Turn it around, at home, the night before, we have no control over them, they all have night class, they stay up late and study. On the road we have a curfew, 11 o’clock.”

Saturday afternoon holds the next opportunity for the Panthers to try to break the home slump and their three-game conference losing streak, when they host No. 6 Notre Dame at 2 p.m. for their third annual “Pack the Petersen” promotion.