The Pitt women’s basketball team entered Saturday afternoon’s game against Georgetown hoping… The Pitt women’s basketball team entered Saturday afternoon’s game against Georgetown hoping to avoid dropping its eighth straight contest.

Things got off to a rocky start for the Panthers as Georgetown guard Mary Lisicky hit two consecutive three-pointers, which put her past the 200 mark for her career and helped her team get off to an 8-0 start.

Despite trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Panthers were able to take advantage of a few scoring opportunities to make things close.

Late in the first half, freshman guard Brooke Hughes and sophomore guard Katie Histed each hit key three-pointers. After that, Histed hit two free throws to bring the Panthers within four with only 2:51 remaining in the half.

But the momentum was short-lived, as Georgetown was able to bring its lead back to nine by the end of the first half, and took a 34-25 lead into the break.

Pitt was able to come within four points several times in the second half, but never got closer. After a 10-0 Georgetown run with 12:59 left, the Hoyas never looked back and won by the score of 72-61.

Histed, who was making her first career start for the Panthers, led the team in scoring with 13 points.

“It was great to finally start,” Histed said. “I just tried to take it like any other game, like I was coming out off the bench.”

After the game, Head Coach Agnus Berenato said that she would continue to look at the positive things the team has been able to accomplish.

“This could’ve been a 30-point game, but it wasn’t,” Berenato said. “I think what hurts is the mentality, and that’s going to develop in time.”

The Panthers (6-16, 2-10) were able to improve in a number of key areas. They won the turnover battle by committing two fewer than Georgetown. Pitt was also able to out-rebound the Hoyas 39-34.

The biggest difference in the game, however, was shooting accuracy. Pitt shot a meager 34 percent from the field, while Georgetown was able to shoot 56 percent.

The skid continues for Pitt. Berenato said that she would continue with the learning process. She has not given up hope on her team, and said that she will not use wins and losses as a way to gauge the team’s progress.

“We keep teaching and they keep learning,” Berenato said. “And I think any time you can learn, that’s really exciting. And so if I didn’t have any hope, then I would be depressed, because I need hope. But something happened today with 2:01 to go on the clock. We had a kid step up and say something that I have been trying to get said for the whole year. That is a huge victory for me. I just keep looking at all the victories we’re having.”

Histed echoed Berenato’s positive attitude, commenting on the importance of looking at the small victories.

“We’ll come in Monday and coach [Berenato] will have gone over film,” Histed said. “And she’ll point out something that we haven’t done all year, or one victory, like out-rebounding them, and that’s great. [Georgetown is] a great rebounding team.”

The Panthers will travel to the Hartford Civic Center tonight to take on two-time defending national champion Connecticut. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Although Pitt has lost the past 16 games in a row to the Huskies, Berenato said that her team is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m really excited,” Berenato said. “I know [people] probably think that I’m on drugs, but I am undoubtedly excited for this. I believe that on any given day, anything can happen. We can’t prepare for Connecticut; we have to get better for Pitt. Our team will be excited for it. It’ll be a great challenge, we won’t back down.”