Women take out Georgetown

It was inauguration weekend for the president in Washington, D.C., but on Saturday afternoon,… It was inauguration weekend for the president in Washington, D.C., but on Saturday afternoon, Allisha Morris took charge in the nation’s capital. The senior forward came off the bench to tally career-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes of play, leading Pitt to an 85-81 win over Georgetown.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 3-3 in Big East play — topping their conference win total of last year — and 11-6 overall, while the Hoyas drop to 1-5 in the conference, and 6-11 on the season.

“She’s one of our hardest practice players all the time,” head coach Agnus Berenato said. “And I think this was a game that Allisha just felt like they really need me, and I need to contribute.”

“She’s our best post defender, and also one of our best perimeter defenders, but sometimes we don’t play her because she gets so upset when she makes a mistake, but Allisha didn’t make a mistake early on, and her game came to her,” she said..

Morris’ contribution, which also included two assists and two blocks, was invaluable for the Panthers. Along with junior guard Katie Histed (14 points) and senior guard Jessica Allen (11), who also came off the bench, Pitt’s reserves outscored their starters 47-38.

“Jess Allen came in and was huge for us,” Berenato said, “and I think that’s what we needed. We had to have a total team effort.”

The Hoyas, on the other hand, got all but 11 of their points from the starting lineup, led by Varda Tamoulianis and Kieraah Marlow, who each scored 17 points. Marcedes Walker continued her impressive scoring run for Pitt with 20 points in the game.

The Panthers trailed much of the first half, falling behind by as many as nine points before going to the break with a 40-38 lead.

Georgetown pulled the score level twice in the second half but they never regained the lead, as solid shooting performances from the floor and the free-throw line brought the Panthers home as winners. Pitt shot 47 percent from the floor (27 of 58) and made 24 of 32 free throws, including six of eight in the final 31 seconds to clinch the victory.

“We have been spending an hour to an hour and a half every morning before practice on video, and I think sometimes players tend to think if they’re open, they take the shot,” Berenato explained. “And now we’re trying to distinguish between an open shot and a good shot.”

Not only did the win put the Panthers at .500 in the conference — the first time since 2000 they have won three of their first six — but it also gave Berenato her 300th career win as a collegiate head coach. But because of the snowstorm across the East coast, only 382 were in attendance to see the Panthers’ win and Berenato’s milestone at McDonough Arena.

Jumping over .500 will be a tougher task for the Panthers, as defending national champion UConn comes to the Petersen Events Center for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday night.