Pitt loses in final seconds

With the shot clock nearing zero, Pitt guard Amy Kunich dribbled the ball around the… With the shot clock nearing zero, Pitt guard Amy Kunich dribbled the ball around the three-point arc. She spun, she juked, and she took all the time in the world to find an open look at the basket. Two seconds came and went on the shot clock and Kunich still had her back to the basket.

Then with two Notre Dame (17-8 Overall, 10-3 Big East) defenders in her face, she fired what seemed to be a last-second heave, but the shot was on a perfect line to the basket.

The three-point bucket by Kunich gave Pitt a 68-67 lead and sent most of the 7,814 fans to their feet screaming.

On the following possession, Irish guard Jeneka Joyce was fouled while driving toward the basket. She missed the first free throw, but tied the game at 68 with her second.

The Panthers (6-18, 2-12) then had three chances to win or tie the game in the final minute, but turnovers on poor passes allowed Notre Dame to hit four free throws to win the game 72-68.

With Notre Dame ahead 70-68 and 35 seconds left in the game, Pitt made a critical error. Kunich dribbled the ball up the court and was pressured by Irish guard Megan Duffy, causing her to force a pass to guard Stacy Moore.

Irish guard LeTania Severe stepped in front of Kunich’s pass and ran the other way. Kunich fouled Severe, but it was to no avail, as she would connect on both of her free throws to make it a two-possession game with 4.7 seconds left.

Though turnovers in the final minutes of the game contributed to the loss, Panther head coach Agnus Berenato thought the game was lost in the final minutes of the first half.

“We lost the game when they hit those threes,” Berenato said.

She was referring to the end of the first half when the Panthers had a 35-32 lead over the Irish.

The Panthers’ defense then allowed Joyce to hit two consecutive three-pointers. She was wide open on both plays and her shots were uncontested.

“I guess [Pitt’s] defense just fell asleep,” Joyce said.

The two three-pointers allowed Notre Dame to cruise on to a 40-37 halftime lead. Notre Dame took its momentum into the second half as it went on an 11-2 run to start the half, which gave the Irish a 14-point lead.

Pitt had three players in double-digit scoring. Forward LaToya Kincaid finished with 24 points and six rebounds, but fouled out with 4:56 left in the game.

“I thought [Kincaid] was really the difference in the game,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “We had no answer for her.”

Pitt was also hurt by the 23 personal fouls it committed, allowing Notre Dame to attempt 28 free throws. The Irish only hit 15 of the 28 shots, which allowed Pitt to hang around until the end.

Freshman forward Jennifer Brown came off the bench and scored 12 points, while pulling down nine rebounds.

The Panthers have the week off and will travel to Virginia Tech where they will look to end their 10-game losing streak. The game is at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 28.