Panthers defeat Providence at home for first conference win

Sophomore forward Cheron Taylor had a career day, helping the women’s basketball team… Sophomore forward Cheron Taylor had a career day, helping the women’s basketball team defeat the Providence Friars 64-51 at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday.

Taylor scored 17 points while pulling down an 11 rebounds in only her second career start.

Two other Panthers, forward LaToya Kincaid and guard Jessica Allen, scored in double digits. Allen finished with 12 points, with all coming on four three-point shots. Kincaid scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Freshman guard Brooke Hughes stepped into a starting role for the first time in her collegiate career, taking the place of injured guard Amy Kunich. Hughes scored five points and led the team with six assists.

A couple of key plays kept the Panthers in the game early.

Kincaid intercepted the ball and broke away down the court, laying the ball up to put Pitt ahead, 11-10.

Right after that, Allen took a pass from Kincaid after a Friar turnover and hit a wide-open three-pointer.

Moments later, Taylor went after a ball that was heading out of bounds in the offensive zone. She saved it with her right hand and tossed it behind her back in one swift movement. The pass was perfectly placed into the hands of Hughes, who lined up the three-point shot and sent it through, putting Pitt up 21-16.

The first half shooting woes would allow the Friars to get back into the game at halftime. Pitt only hit 34.4 percent of its shots and finished the half only three points in front of the Friars, 25-22.

The second half was a whole different story. Head coach Agnus Berenato said the problem in the first half was confidence. Her players were taking shots, but they were not seeing the ball go through the hoop.

“I thought they were hesitant in shooting,” Berenato said.

The Panthers came out of the locker room for the second half with a different mentality. They saw their shots going through the hoop, and their confidence was improved.

Pitt’s shooting percentage in the second half was 51.7 percent – almost 18 percent higher than in the first half.

The higher percentage was a key to victory for the Panthers, who led by at least 10 points for most of the second half.

When the Friars tried to climb back into the game, Allen would hit a three-pointer and put the Panthers up by 13.

Allen started the Panthers’ run by hitting a three-pointer with 17:13 left in the second half to put Pitt up 31-24.

Pitt continued the run when Kincaid hit the first of her two free throws and missed the second. The rebound from the second went into the hands of forward Sheila Stufflet, who put the ball in the basket for a quick two points.

Pitt was now up by 10 points and would never look back.

“I thought that, today, the team came out, and they really did compete,” Berenato said, comparing Pitt’s efforts against Providence to its effort in its previous game against Syracuse.

According to Berenato, Pitt dominated on the boards, and the stats would back her statement 100 percent. Pitt outrebounded Providence 45-19 and held the Friars to only three offensive rebounds in the entire game.