Panthers pick up three victories during break

The Pitt women’s basketball team played seven games over winter break, including its Big… The Pitt women’s basketball team played seven games over winter break, including its Big East conference opener against West Virginia. The Panthers won three of the seven games with victories over Norfolk State, Robert Morris and an upset victory over Fordham. Pittsburgh is now 4-7 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

Despite the 3-4 record over the past seven games, there was one major setback to the Panther roster. Pitt lost its team leader in a practice before the game against Penn State; starting point guard Amy Kunich went down with a stress fracture in her left foot. She is expected to be out until at least late January.

Kunich was the only returning starter on the Panthers roster. Stacy Moore has been starting in place of the injured Kunich.

The team’s second conference game is tonight at 7:00 in the Petersen Events Center against Syracuse.

“I don’t know if I would have said we would have four wins by Jan. 6,” head coach Agnus Berenato said. “I probably would have said one win. I’m pleased we’ve had victories. Our best win was Fordham; it inspired the team. We had a phenomenal effort at West Virginia even though we lost. We’re missing playing experience, but I have a lot of hope.”

No. 7 Penn State 96, Pitt 44

With the Panthers coming off of their only win ever in this series one year ago, the Nittany Lions avenged last year’s loss with their biggest margin of victory ever in the 15-game series. Kelly Mazzante had a game-high 31 for Penn State, while Latoya Kincaid led Pitt with 16 points.

Pitt 64, Norfolk State 44

Behind Jessica Allen and Kincaid’s 17 points, the Panthers rebounded from their loss to Penn State with a strong defensive and shooting performance against Norfolk State. Pitt shot 19-of-21 from the free throw line, while recording 17 steals on defense. Jennifer Brown also recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Pitt 61, Robert Morris 47

Pitt put together its first two-game winning streak of the season and recorded its 21st consecutive victory over Robert Morris. Sheila Stufflet led the Panthers with a career-high 16 points, while Allen had 15 and Kincaid had 12 points. Pitt shot 50 percent (7-for-14) from beyond the arc, and used a 13-2 run to open the second half to seal its third victory of the season.

Clemson 62, Pitt 47

Playing their third game in five days, the Panthers showed fatigue, making only 27 percent of their shots from the field. Pitt played the Tigers to a 27-27 tie at halftime, but Clemson pulled away in the second half. Brown had a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Kincaid had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Xavier 72, Pitt 48

Again, poor shooting hurt the Panthers who didn’t score for over a 10-minute stretch in the first half. Meanwhile, Xavier came out on fire, hitting 62 percent of its shots from the field. Kincaid once again led the Panthers with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Brown had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Pitt 62, Fordham 48

Playing on New Year’s Eve, Pitt handed Fordham its first loss in its last six games. Again, Kincaid led the way with another double-double – 13 points, 12 rebounds – while Brown finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers held a slim 30-23 halftime lead, but were able to pull away in the second half thanks in part to Fordham shooting only 28 percent from the field. Allen also chipped in with 10 points.

West Virginia 65, Pitt 58

The Mountaineers came out firing in the game, scoring the first 16 points. Pitt rallied back behind three three-pointers from Allen to knot the game at 32 at halftime.

A Brooke Hughes jumper gave the Panthers their first lead of the game 13 seconds into the second half. With the game tied at 51 with five minutes remaining, West Virginia went on a game-winning 9-0 run.

Cheron Taylor led the way for Pitt, scoring a career-high 13 points. Allen had 12 points, while Kincaid added 11.