Pitt drops road game to St. John’s

In most instances, when a team scores more than 70 points, shoots 80 percent from the… In most instances, when a team scores more than 70 points, shoots 80 percent from the free-throw line, and holds its opponent to a field goal percentage of less than 50 percent, a victory results.

Unfortunately for the Pitt women’s basketball team, these achievements were not enough as the Panthers lost to St. John’s 83-72 in Jamaica, New York last Saturday.

“Our effort was excellent,” assistant coach Marynell Meadors said. “[But] we can play better. Our defense was up and down and that’s why we lost the game.”

During the game, Pitt (6-11, 2-5 Big East) forced the Red Storm into committing 24 turnovers on 48 percent field goal shooting. However, poor shooting and 26 turnovers of their own cost the Panthers a win.

“We put St. John’s in a position to score easy points,” Meadors said. “We cut out those mistakes and we get a win.”

Early in the game, Pitt was able to take a nine-point lead on a free-throw by senior forward Latoya Kincaid. However, St. John’s (8-9, 2-4 Big East) fought back and used a 19-7 run to take a 39-34 halftime advantage. The Red Storm lead grew to 21 points in the second half before a late Pitt rally cut the score to 81-71. With the loss, the Panthers dropped their third consecutive conference game.

Despite the loss, Pitt received a strong performance from Kincaid, who registered a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

“She [Kincaid] is having a good year,” Meadors said. “We’ve been riding her and we all have to step up and give a little bit more [to take the pressure off Kincaid].”

Also playing well for the Panthers were freshman forward Jennifer Brown and sophomore guard Jessica Allen. Brown came off the bench to contribute 13 points and seven boards while Allen drilled three three-pointers to finish with 12 points.

“Jess [Allen] was more aggressive at the beginning [of the game] than she’s been in a long time,” Meadors said. “Jen gives us a spark off the bench.”

For St. John’s, Kim MacMillan, Shemika Stevens, and Reka Szavuly contributed 16 points each in the winning effort.

While Pitt suffered a disappointing loss, Meadors is pleased with the progress the team has made since the beginning of the season.

“Our players are getting so much better,” Meadors said. “Everyone’s playing hard. It’s a totally different team [than the team from last fall].”

Evidence of the Panthers’ improvement could be seen in two areas following the St. John’s contest. Pitt’s free-throw percentage was an impressive 80 percent for the game, including 11 of 12 in the second half, while the Panthers out-rebounded the Red Storm 40-34.

“We shot the ball extremely well from the free-throw line,” Meadors said.

Pitt’s next game will be against West Virginia (13-5, 4-2 Big East) on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center. The game is a rematch of a close game from earlier in the season that saw the Mountaineers win 65-58. Meadors knows that in order for the Panthers to be victorious they will need to defend well and get off to a strong start.

“We’ve got to do a great job defending Kate Bulger and we’ve got to get off to a good start,” Meadors said. “We gave the St. John’s game away so now we have to go out and get another.”