Women’s basketball has improved, but is no UConn yet

Marcedes Walker being named Big East Co-Freshman of the Week is a clear sign that the strength… Marcedes Walker being named Big East Co-Freshman of the Week is a clear sign that the strength of this year’s women’s basketball team was on the low post.

If that is true, then Wednesday night’s 89-53 loss to Connecticut was another sign: Pitt is not yet ready to compete in the same class as the defending national champions.

Connecticut attacked the strength of the Panthers — the interior — and exploited it over and over again, leaving an astounding statistic in its wake.

Points in the paint: Connecticut 60, Pitt 16.

Much of the gap can be attributed to a part of Connecticut’s offense, utilizing a high-low game and back screens to free up post players underneath. That offensive set resulted in much of Jessica Moore’s game-high 19 points, and also Barbara Turner’s 11 points and four assists off the bench.

“When they go zone, those are the areas they’re going to leave open,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said, “If you have a good passer up there, and you have a good shooter, it’s very hard to defend.”

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato concurred.

“Why that works so well is that you can’t really have your guards pinch in, because they have people like Ann Strother, who is a great 3-point shooter, and they go both sides. It’s very difficult to guard, and it’s a great offense. It’s a very simple offense, but it’s a very effective offense.”

The offense is simple, because it basically revolves around getting the ball into the high-post area — often to Connecticut’s Turner, Charde Houston or Ashley Battle — and that player simply takes what the defense gives them.

Using a back screen under the basket, a lob pass over a fronting defender, or, if the Pitt defense collapsed, a pass out for a 3-point shot, Connecticut’s high-post play created countless scoring opportunities for the Huskies.

“We just knew we had to get in the open area in the middle of the floor and look to go high-low, and Jessica did a good job of getting position in the post, and then we did a good job of getting her the ball. That’s what opened everything up for us,” Turner, a junior forward, said.

Not only did the Huskies’ high-low game create scoring, but it also frequently put the Panthers in a compromised defensive position, leading to heavy foul trouble for the Pitt players inside, as they had to fight to get back into position and challenge Connecticut on shots.

Walker, Jennifer Brown, and guard Jessica Allen each had two fouls in the first 12 minutes of the game, and that, coupled with Vika Sholokhova’s absence due to sickness, left the Panthers with a frontcourt of Allisha Morris, Cheron Taylor, and Bridget Larkin — the only three post players not in foul trouble. Even that didn’t last, as Morris picked up three fouls before halftime.

“At halftime, we made an adjustment and we switched,” Berenato said. “We drew it up on the board, and we adjusted.”

The change was somewhat effective, as the Panthers avoided further foul trouble and held the Huskies to only 54.5 percent shooting, down from 61.3 in the first half.

But unfortunately for the Panthers, they were already in an 18-point hole at the half, and Connecticut’s talent was too great to be stopped on the night, leaving the Pitt post players to take their lesson and regroup for the next game.