Kunich’s return gives Panthers a lift

How many teams play well without their leader?

That is a difficult feat to accomplish,… How many teams play well without their leader?

That is a difficult feat to accomplish, yet the Pitt Panthers’ women’s basketball team has been doing just that for the past 11 games.

Amy Kunich, the Panthers’ starting point guard and team leader, had been sidelined since suffering a stress fracture in her foot in early December.

“She was our starting point guard, and she is our heart and soul,” said Panther head coach Agnus Berenato. “We covered for [Kunich] while she was gone, but we are glad that she is back.”

Over the stretch when Kunich was out, the Panthers went 5-6, with freshman Brooke Hughes taking over the point guard duties.

On Wednesday night, Kunich returned. After a slow start against No. 23-ranked Virginia Tech, Kunich began to find her game again.

” I was excited to come back and play, but it was a good learning experience to watch from the bench,” she said. “It’s hard to sit there and watch, but it feels great to be back.”

Kunich added to a very important 9-0 run by hitting a key three pointer in the first half. The three marked Kunich’s first points back, in an excitement-filled first-half return.

“I wasn’t really nervous; if anything I was too excited with all the adrenaline,” Kunich said. “I just wanted to play hard. I did not know what was going to happen; it was my first game back after 11 games off. I didn’t feel nervous – less nervous than the first game of the season.”

The lead was short lived, but Kunich’s return was not. During the second half, the Panthers battled with the higher ranked Hokies, getting a big contribution from sophomore Katie Histed. Histed, a backcourt mate of Kunich, was happy to see her point guard back, and showed it with a career-high 19 points while coming off the bench.

“It was great to have Amy back,” Histed said. “There was one time, during a dead ball, where she got our team together, and told each one of us where to go and what to do. She is our coach on the floor when she is out there. It is great to have her back, ’cause she is a great leader.”

Although the Panthers fell 67-57, Berenato thought Kunich’s return helped her team compete with a very good Virginia Tech team.

“She gave everybody a lot of confidence against a really good ranked Virginia Tech team,” commented Berenato.

Everyone in attendance was happy to see Kunich step onto the court and show everyone that she was back and healthy. Kunich responded with seven points in the second half to give her a total of 10 for the game.

In addition to her 10 points, Kunich added two steals, one rebound and one assist while playing 22 minutes.

“It was really nice to have her back,” Berenato added. “It really made my heart smile when I walked on the court tonight and saw her warming up in uniform. I think that the team felt like that too.”