Plenty of games left for women’s basketball team

Despite its biggest setback of the season on Tuesday night against No. 4 Rutgers, the Pitt… Despite its biggest setback of the season on Tuesday night against No. 4 Rutgers, the Pitt women’s basketball team (9-5 overall, 1-2 Big East) is still on pace for its highest win total in almost a decade. But continuing to win will only get harder, as the Panthers plunge into the middle of their Big East schedule, where no game will be easy.

Here’s what the rest of January will hold for Pitt.

Syracuse (Sunday, noon at Pitt) — Televised regionally on Fox Sports Pittsburgh as part of the Big East TV package, this game is a rematch of Pitt’s 63-57 win in Syracuse on Jan. 2.

The Panthers were able to come from behind in the second half of that game, on the strength of Marcedes Walker’s 20-point, 19-rebound performance, coupled with 13 points from Katie Histed. To repeat the feat, Pitt will need another outstanding defensive performance on Syracuse guard Lauren Kohn, who was held to three-of-14 from the field in the first meeting.

The Orange lost on the weekend to Notre Dame, 75-58, dropping to 8-5, 0-2 heading into a Wednesday night home game against lowly Providence (1-13, 0-3).

Seton Hall (Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Seton Hall) — The Pirates (10-4, 2-1) have been off to a hot start to both the season and Big East play. An 11-point win over West Virginia and a seven-point win over Georgetown in their last two home games have them near the top of the conference, with a 54-33 loss at then-No. 6 Notre Dame as the only in-conference setback.

Monique Blake currently leads Seton Hall with 12.6 points and eight rebounds per game, and is the current co-Big East Player of the Week. The Pirates travel to St. John’s and West Virginia this week before hosting the Panthers on Jan. 19.

Pitt will enter this game hoping for a repeat of last year, when the Panthers went on the road to stun the Pirates, 61-56, one of only two conference wins for Pitt in 2004.

Georgetown (Jan. 22, 2 p.m. at Georgetown) — Barring three straight wins by Georgetown, the Hoyas (5-8, 0-2) will be the first team with a losing record that Pitt has faced since its win against Fordham on Dec. 30.

Clearly missing the presence of All-Big East selection Rebekkah Brunson, now in the WNBA, the Hoyas have been overmatched in conference play so far under new coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. A blowout loss at home to Boston College, 78-29, followed by their tough loss at Seton Hall, leaves the Hoyas winless in the Big East so far.

Keiraah Marlow and Varda Tamoulianis are the only Hoyas averaging double-digits in scoring, at 14.5 and 10.8 respectively, and with 17.7 rebounds per game between them, the duo accounts for nearly half of Georgetown’s 39 rebounds per game.

Connecticut (Jan. 26, 7 p.m. at Pitt) — Gone are the days of Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, but while the No. 16 Huskies are not as strong as in previous years, the team is still 8-4 and 2-0 in conference play, and can play with anyone in the country.

Routs of St. John’s (60-32) and Providence (83-33) prove that the girls from Storrs are still one of the top groups in the Big East.

Without the superstar they so often have, Geno Auriemma’s team gets its leadership with the inside-outside combination of Barbara Turner (13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds per game) and Ann Strother (12.3 points, 3.3 assists per game).

The Huskies have won the last 17 games against the Panthers, the last Pitt win being a 76-74 squeaker on Feb. 24, 1993, at Fitzgerald Field House. Since 1987, Pitt is 2-30 against Connecticut.

Boston College (Jan. 29, 1 p.m. at Boston College) — Three days after hosting Connecticut, the Panthers face another stiff test at No. 14 Boston College.

The Eagles (11-1, 2-0) truly are flying high, coming off their school-record 49-point win over Georgetown. If not for an early 82-78 overtime loss at Michigan State, Boston College would be undefeated and likely the third Big East team in the Top 10, along with Rutgers and Notre Dame.

Senior guard and returning All-Big East selection Jessalyn Deveny is playing like a star for coach Cathy Inglese, scoring 18.8 points per game while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and an astounding 90.7 percent from the free-throw line.

If Pitt were to knock off the Eagles, it would break another long losing streak for the Panthers, who have not beaten Boston College since Jan. 20, 1996, a stretch of 12 games.