For the Pitt women’s basketball team, it was a night of surprise, determination and heart…. For the Pitt women’s basketball team, it was a night of surprise, determination and heart.

However, despite their second half charge, the Panthers fell short to the visiting Miami Hurricanes, 79-76. Even with four starters scoring in double figures, the Panthers were unable to slow down the quick and agile Hurricanes, who also had four starters scoring in double figures.

“We scouted Pitt extensively before we traveled here to play them because they have the ability to score in bunches,” Miami head coach Ferne Labati said. “We knew we had to shut them down on their penetration and then defend their excellent outside shooting.”

In the first half, that is exactly what the Hurricanes did. From the start, Miami controlled the tempo of the game, crashing the boards and holding the sharp-shooting Panthers to numerous one-shot trips down the floor.

Pitt’s early misses played right into the game plan of Miami, as it scored 24 of its 39 first half points in the paint. These fast breaks did not allow the Panthers to set up in their half-court defensive sets because they were constantly chasing Miami ballhandlers down the floor.

“We executed very well in the first half,” Labati said. “Holding Pitt to only one three-pointer in the first half was huge.”

Entering the game ranked eighth in the nation in three-point percentage, the Panthers shot just 8.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the first half. Pitt recovered only slightly in the second half to finish the game shooting just below 23 percent.

The Hurricanes’ defense did its job in the first half, as Miami also shut down Pitt from the floor, holding the Panthers to a dismal 30.6 percent showing. In addition to Pitt’s inability to make baskets, the Hurricanes frustrated the Panthers on the boards, outrebounding them 32-24.

“We didn’t come out and play from the start,” head coach Traci Waites said.

As the first half came to a close, Pitt trailed Miami 39-28 as the Hurricanes held the momentum heading into the locker room.

In the second half, the Panthers came to play. Led by senior guard Laine Selwyn, Pitt found its range and got tough on the boards. Selwyn nearly had a triple double, fueling the comeback by scoring 13 points to go with her 11 assists and eight rebounds.

“We played our game in the second half,” Selwyn said.

Trailing by as much as 14 points in the second half, the Panthers’ heart and determination took over. Needing players to step up, the trio of Mandy Wittenmyer, Jessica Allen and Brooke Stewart helped Pitt roar back, as they accounted for 43 of Pitt’s 76 points in the game.

“We knew we were better than that,” Wittenmyer said. “We dug down deep and played in the second half.”

The Panthers also found themselves in good position underneath as they closed the rebounding gap to 43-42 by the game’s end. For the second half, Pitt improved its shooting from the floor drastically, as it converted on 48.4 percent of its shots.

Entering the last minute of play, the Panthers only trailed by a single point at 71-70. Following a timeout, Miami took the ball the length of the floor and Meghan Saake converted on a layup with only 35 seconds to go in the game.

With 13 seconds left, Pitt trailed by five and needed a big shot from the outside. Utilizing solid and quick ball movement, Selwyn found a wide-open Stewart who tossed in a long three-pointer, slicing the score to 75-73.

After Miami converted on its foul shots, Pitt came back yet again as Allen dumped in another three-pointer with only 1.8 seconds left in regulation.

After a quick foul, the Hurricanes’ free throw shooting put them up by three with about one second remaining. The inbound pass was intercepted, and the Hurricanes were able to increase their season record to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in the Big East. The loss dropped Pitt to 9-7 and 1-4, respectively.

“I was really proud of how our team didn’t quit,” Waites said. “We could have easily given up, but they didn’t and that’s what I am the most proud of.”

Despite the loss, the Panthers will now prepare to play in front of a capacity crowd Saturday night as No. 2 Connecticut comes to the Petersen Events Center.

“Hopefully we can put a complete game together and make no mistakes Saturday against UConn,” Waites said. “We’re going to keep fighting.”