Pitt defeats West Virginia

Chick fight?

Not exactly a fight, but a bit of a shoving match broke out in the closing… Chick fight?

Not exactly a fight, but a bit of a shoving match broke out in the closing minutes of the Pitt women’s basketball game against West Virginia Wednesday night.

After Mandy Wittenmyer grabbed the rebound on a missed West Virginia basket, an Eartha White frustration foul turned into Wittenmyer taking a shot from behind from Sherell Sowho.

The intensity was as high as any Pitt sporting event is against West Virginia, but the Panthers got the best of the Mountaineers, winning 67-61.

The game was close throughout, but the Panthers pulled away and took a large lead late in the game as signs of frustration erupted from Mountaineer players that resulted in the two technical fouls.

This Big East matchup had a great deal of importance for both teams. The Panthers, now 3-9 in the Big East and 11-12 overall, were slightly behind the Mountaineers (13-10, 2-10) going into the game.

“They wanted it more than we did,” West Virginia head coach Mike Carey said. “They had bigger hearts than we did.”

One key to the Panthers’ success was shutting down Mountaineer star Kate Bulger. Bulger, an ex-teammate of Pitt guard Amy Kunich at Oakland Catholic, came into the game as the nation’s leading three-point shooter, averaging 14.8 points per game.

Pitt head coach Traci Waites liked the idea of seeing the two former teammates go head-to-head. She gave Kunich the responsibility of guarding Bulger.

“Any time people from the area come back home, we always want to make them work harder,” Waites said. “I think that Amy did a great job.”

Kunich got the job done defensively for the Panthers, but they got help from the entire team offensively.

Pitt began the game with an 8-0 run, which included baskets from four out of its five starters.

The Panthers controlled the lead for the majority of the half, but the Mountaineers played tough and snuck up on Pitt. West Virginia forward Eartha White turned things around for the Mountaineers at the 3:39 mark, making a layup basket to give them their first lead, 20-19.

The remainder of the half was filled with quick scoring up and down the court, as the lead changed hands several more times. Despite trailing Pitt through most of the first half, West Virginia walked into their locker room with a 26-23 halftime advantage.

The Panthers came out on fire in the second half, however, as they dominated the remainder of the game.

West Virginia struck first to begin the second half, and took its biggest lead at 28-23. That was the closest the Mountaineers would come, as Pitt immediately responded with its second 8-0 run of the game.

The Panthers regained the lead with 16:12 left to play after a Haley Harguth three-pointer. They never looked back and their lead continued to increase.

Jessica Allen, who came off the bench to score 10 points for the Panthers, gave the team a 39-32 lead with one of her two three-pointers.

The lead got to as many as 11, as the Mountaineers’ struggles turned into various costly fouls down the stretch.

The Panthers responded, making many of their foul shots when they needed them. They held on to their lead and picked up a much-needed Big East win to end a four-game losing streak.

The season is not over yet, however, as Pitt will need to continue winning to secure a spot in the postseason Big East tournament. The Panthers play again this Saturday, as they will host Boston College at noon.

“We still have four games left,” Waites said. “There’s still a lot of basketball [to play].”