Women fall to UConn

The Pitt women’s basketball team was competitive with one of the elite teams in the country… The Pitt women’s basketball team was competitive with one of the elite teams in the country for 15 minutes.

Unfortunately for them, the remaining 25 minutes were spent experiencing exactly what makes the University of Connecticut (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) so elite in Wednesday night’s 89-53 loss to the Huskies in the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers (11-7, 3-4 in Big East) trailed the Huskies (13-4, 6-0) by only three points with five minutes remaining in the first half, but couldn’t stay close down the stretch.

“We got into some really tough foul trouble and we had some sickness,” head coach Agnus Berenato said, “But that’s not an excuse, it’s a fact.”

Captain Jennifer Brown saw limited time, and forward Vika Sholokhova was unable to play at all; both due to illness.

Early on, things looked good for the Panthers. Trailing 9-7, Brown stole the ball and Amy Kunich tossed a long pass over the Huskies’ defense to guard Katie Histed who scored on a layup. Brown then got the ball back with a blocked shot, and Marcedes Walker banked in a shot to give the Panthers their only lead of the game, 11-9, with 13:59 remaining in the half.

Connecticut quickly reclaimed the lead, but Pitt managed to keep the game close until there were five minutes remaining in the half. The Huskies’ speed, size and strength took over.

The Huskies went on a 17-0 run led by senior Jessica Moore, who finished with a game-high 19 points despite having played only 21 minutes. Pitt was held without a field goal for the final 5:48 of the first half and trailed 47-29 at the break.

“The last four minutes (of the first half) were very disappointing,” Berenato said. “But at the same time it gives you something to go back to work for tomorrow in practice.”

At times, all the Panthers could do was admire the Huskies and what they were able to do.

“When they went on that run,” Berenato said. “We had everyone in foul trouble sitting on the bench watching, going ‘Dang! Look at her.’ In a couple years that’s what we want people to say about us, and we need to experience that to get where we want to go.”

Foul trouble hampered the Panthers for much of the game. Allen, Brown and Walker all had two fouls within the first 13 minutes of the game. Allisha Morris picked up her third foul late in the first half.

In the second half, the Huskies scored at will, while the Panthers continually missed shots and turned the ball over. Pitt shot 37 percent in the second half and 14 percent from 3-point range.They turned the ball over 14 times.

Connecticut, winners of the last three national titles, had four players score in double figures, including Pittsburgh native Ashley Battle, with 14. The Huskies shot 58 percent from the field, outscored the Panthers 60-16 in the paint and pulled down 35 rebounds to Pitt’s 25.

Histed led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points. Morris, who came into the game with only two 3-pointers on the season, shot 3-for-6 from behind the arc.

The loss was the Panthers’ 18th in a row to the Huskies. Pitt is back in action Saturday at Boston College, a 1 p.m. tip-off.