Women’s basketball fails to sweep Syracuse

On a day that saw the first major snowfall of the new year, the only thing colder than the… On a day that saw the first major snowfall of the new year, the only thing colder than the weather on the outside of the Petersen Events Center was the shooting going on inside the building.

Despite winning the rebounding battle and committing a season-low 11 turnovers, the Pitt women’s basketball team was unable to overcome its own poor shooting, missing 49 shots en route to a 55-68 loss to Syracuse (10-5 overall, 2-2 Big East).

For the game, the Panthers (9-6, 1-3) shot 22 for 71 from the floor — 31 percent — including an abysmal two for 17 from 3-point range. Syracuse shot a more respectable 42.6 percent (23 for 54) and finished with four of its five starters in double figures.

“You shoot 31 percent and you’re not going to [win] a whole lot,” coach Agnus Berenato said after the game, visibly frustrated with her team’s struggles.

Jennifer Brown was the lone standout for the Panthers, recording a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds — including nine offensive boards, improving her Big East-leading total to 69 (4.6 per game).

Jessica Richter led all scorers with 18 points for the Orange, while Chineze Nwagbo posted a double-double of her own with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 7-6 lead with 15 minutes, 52 seconds to play in the first half, but they would only score four points over the next eight minutes, allowing the Orange to gradually build a 20-11 lead. Much of the offensive futility was a result of Syracuse’s game plan, which Berenato commended afterward.

“Syracuse, I thought, came in with a great plan; they played a triangle-and-two to try and take Katie [Histed] and Marcedes [Walker] out of the game,” Berenato said. Histed and Walker were both hounded by tough man-to-man defense, while the other Orange defenders collapsed on anything inside, allowing the Panthers to take perimeter shots.

“It’s not just a two-man game. There’s five people on the court, so five people need to be able to step up if two people are being guarded,” Brown said. “I missed a lot of shots like everybody else, and that’s everyone needing to get back in the gym and make shots, because if you don’t make shots, you don’t win games.”

The Panthers were able to hang close to Syracuse until midway through the second half, when a quick 8-0 run by the Orange — the result of 3-pointers from Lauren Kohn and Rochelle Coleman, added to a Nwagbo layup — extended their lead to 50-36.

In an effort to find some sort of offensive spark, Berenato went to the end of her bench in the final 10 minutes, using reserve guards Brooke Hughes and Jessica Allen, as well as forward Allisha Morris down the stretch. Allen (10) and Morris (18) both saw season-highs in their minutes played in the game.

The bench players were unable to cut the Syracuse lead to any less than eight points in the final 10 minutes.

“We thought that Brooke should go ahead and have that chance, and Jessica Allen is a good 3-point shooter for us,” Berenato said, adding that both players had been performing well in practice over the last week as well.

The Panthers will try to find a winning rotation when they return to the road again this week, having already played 11 of their 15 games away from the Pete. Road game No. 12 is Wednesday night at Seton Hall, a 7 p.m. tip-off at Walsh Gym in South Orange, N.J.