The Pitt women’s basketball team’s Blue-Gold scrimmage showed promise for this season and… The Pitt women’s basketball team’s Blue-Gold scrimmage showed promise for this season and those to follow. In the 20-minute game, Gold took an early lead and never let go, winning 28-17.

Head coach Agnus Berenato switched players from team to team to keep the score fairly even.

The Gold team was led by Mallorie Winn, a transfer student from Georgia Tech. Winn scored nine points and assisted on five scores. She hit a three-pointer and displayed her ability to crash the paint and score.

“Mallorie is capable of taking over the ballgame at any time; she is that in control of herself and her teammates,” Berenato said on Pittsburghpanthers.com this summer. “She can score at any time, and is so fluid on the court. Mallorie plays with such finesse and will have an immediate presence in our backcourt.”

However, she will not be allowed to play this season because of NCAA transfer rules. She will sit out this season, and will have two years of eligibility starting in the 2005-06 season.

Two recruits who will be allowed to play this year are freshman forward Vika Sholokhova and freshman center Marcedes Walker. Walker, a 6-foot-3 center, powered her way down low to score five points and record four rebounds. Sholokhova earned seven points in the contest, scoring three of her points from the free-throw line.

Returning guard Katie Histed started off the season where she left it last year, hitting three-pointers. She gave the Gold team an early 3-1 lead when she took a pass from center Allisha Morris and fired off a shot from beyond the three-point line. She finished the contest with six points.

The team will play its first game against the Russian National Team on Nov. 12. The exhibition contest will be played at the Petersen Events Center at 7 p.m. Pitt will begin the regular season on the road at North Carolina A’T on Nov. 23.