Women’s basketball loses first exhibition game

Unable to overcome poor shooting, including a one-for-22 night from behind the three-point… Unable to overcome poor shooting, including a one-for-22 night from behind the three-point line, the Pitt women’s basketball team fell to UMMC Ekaterinburg, the women’s Russian national team, 72-56, in an exhibition game Friday night in the Petersen Events Center.

Panther forward Vika Sholokhova, a freshman from Russia, led Pitt with 13 points and 12 rebounds in her first collegiate game. Junior Cheron Taylor also chipped in with a double-double, registering 12 points to go along with her 13 rebounds.

“We played a really good team tonight; you could tell just by looking at them that they are a very experienced team,” head coach Agnus Berenato said of the opposition. “They work like clock-work; it’s very pretty to see.”

She added, “I think you saw a team from Pittsburgh that has a lot of youth, but a lot of excitement.”

She spoke in reference to both Sholokhova and freshman point guard Karlyle Lim, who ran the offense for most of the night. Lim scored four points and collected five assists in her debut as a Panther. She energized the crowd at one point in the second half when she beat an Ekaterinburg defender with a stutter-step crossover and hit a left-handed floater over two defenders.

“Karlyle likes to shake it up a little,” Berenato said with a smile. “She’s very, very quick. But sometimes she is too quick. At times she doesn’t make great decisions, but she has to get used to the system.”

Sholokhova led the team in scoring, but struggled in only hitting five of her 24 shot attempts, missing all nine of her three-point attempts. Berenato was still pleased with her freshman forward’s performance however, saying she was glad that Sholokhova didn’t get “trigger-shy.”

“Vika’s a shooter, she was brought here to score points and shoot,” Berenato said. “But a lot of times, especially freshmen, when they miss a couple of shots, they stop shooting. The only way you’re going to make shots is if you keep shooting.”

Despite trailing by as many as 23 in the second half, the Panthers used a late 13-4 run to close at 66-56 with 2:03 remaining. Pitt was unable to get any closer however, as Ekaterinburg converted its free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

A smaller team than the visitors, the Panthers still managed a 47-45 rebounding advantage, an effort that included 25 offensive rebounds. Taylor led the way in rebounds, with 10 of her grabs coming on the offensive glass.

But the shooting difficulties spelled early trouble for the Panthers.

After Taylor converted a fast-break layup to tie the score at five early in the first half, Ekaterinburg raced to a 23-12 lead behind the shooting of guard Iziane Castro Marques. The lefty scored six straight points for Ekaterinburg, mostly on floating shots along the left baseline, after she maneuvered around Pitt defenders.

Pitt found itself trailing 37-20 with 2:08 left in the first half after forward Irina Baraneko drilled a three-point shot for Ekaterinburg. Two free throws by Panther junior Bridget Larkin and a Jennifer Brown put-back trimmed the lead to 37-24 before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Two quick baskets to open the second half cut the Panther deficit to 37-28, but that was as close as Pitt would get until the final rally, as Ekaterinburg went on a 14-0 run to put the game out of reach.

“We were just excited to play, and I think we can take things from tonight, work on them and build on them and try to limit our weaknesses in the future,” Berenato said.

She also added that the projected starter at center, 6-foot-3-inch freshman Marcedes Walker, did not play, because she was nursing a knee injury she suffered in practice. Her presence may have helped a Panther post game that had only two blocks.

“Nobody has taken Marcedes’ spot,” Berenato said with confidence. “Nobody has come close to touching her spot. We need her back, and her health is primary to us.”

The Panthers will next be in action Wednesday when they host the OGBM Legends in their final exhibition game, set for a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Pete. Pitt’s first game will be Nov. 23 at North Carolina A’T.