Panthers drop 11th straight in loss to Hokies

As the story has gone all year, the Pitt women’s basketball team had trouble shooting the ball… As the story has gone all year, the Pitt women’s basketball team had trouble shooting the ball against Virginia Tech on Saturday at the Cassell Coliseum.

On the other side, the Hokies shot a season-high 63.8 percent from the floor. It was also a school record for shooting percentage against a Big East opponent and on this day, it propelled them past the Panthers in blowout fashion, 85-55.

The Panthers scored the first bucket when forward LaToya Kincaid hit a jump shot. Pitt kept the game close for the first six minutes, with more strong play from Kincaid. She hit a free throw, scored two buckets and assisted on another to make the score 11-11, with 14:02 left in the first half.

But it was all Virginia Tech from then on.

Virginia Tech went on a 16-3 run, led by Davina Simmons, who scored three consecutive layups for the Hokies. The Hokies at one point extended their lead to 17 points in the first half.

“We missed a lot of shots,” Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said. “They converted blocked shots into scores.”

The Panthers cut the lead at the half to 10 points at 41-31, but out of the locker room, Virginia Tech went on a 20-5 run. It gave the Hokies a 25-point lead with 11:57 remaining in the game.

Virginia Tech kept control of the game and rolled on to win by 30 points.

Every player that played in the game for Virginia Tech scored at least one field goal. The Hokies had four players scoring in the double-digits. Starting guard Carrie Mason led Virginia Tech with 14 points. She was perfect from the floor, hitting all six of her field goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers.

The Hokies also dominated on the boards, pulling down 39 rebounds, as compared to the Panthers’ 28 rebounds.

Berenato explained that they were out-rebounded due to the fact the Panthers were outsized by the Hokies. This led to the 48 Virginia Tech points in the paint. Pitt only managed 20 points from that part of the court.

Virginia Tech forward Ieva Kublina led the way for the Hokies controlling nine rebounds. She also finished the game with 10 points.

For the Panthers, guard Katie Histed was a bright spot in the lineup. She scored a game-high 16 points, including two three-pointers. She also came up with three steals in her 33 minutes of action.

“She’s been coming along strong,” Berenato said. “She’s picking up the system.”

Kincaid was second in scoring for the Panthers with 12 points. She also grabbed five rebounds, four of which came on the offensive side.

The loss to Virginia Tech ruined the Panthers chances of qualifying for the Big East tournament. They will now finish up their season on Tuesday at the Petersen Events Center against Villanova, who just upset the No. 1 team in the nation, UConn.

The game is at 7 p.m. and the Panthers will honor its three seniors, Kincaid, Sheila Stufflet and Stacy Moore, for senior night at the Pete. All three seniors will be inserted into the starting lineup.

“I’m very sad that it’s over,” Berenato said.