Pitt suffers 61-53 loss to Va. Tech

Despite forcing 23 Virginia Tech turnovers and senior center Mandy Wittenmyer setting a… Despite forcing 23 Virginia Tech turnovers and senior center Mandy Wittenmyer setting a milestone, the Pitt women’s basketball team suffered a 61-53 defeat in Blacksburg, Va., last night.

The Panthers (8-6 overall, 0-3 Big East) were able to win the turnover battle against the Hokies, 23-16, but they were outscored 28-20 in the first half. The 28 points that Virginia Tech put up in the first half turned out to be the difference as both teams scored 33 points in the second half.

Pitt began the game tied at two and the Hokies (11-4, 2-2) made the score 4-2. The Panthers eventually tied the score at four with a layup by Wittenmyer and took the lead on a jumper and foul shot by LaToya Kincaid, putting them ahead 7-4.

This would be the last lead of the evening for the Panthers as the Hokies proceeded to go on an 11-2 run, which ate up 11 minutes plus.

When Pitt scored its next basket, the score was 21-12 with four minutes and 31 seconds left in the first half.

The Panthers followed the Hokies’ run with an 8-5 run of their own as they cut Virginia Tech’s lead to 26-20. Virginia Tech added one more basket at the end of the half.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, they were not able to build on their run at the end of the first half. The Hokies began the second half with a 9-3 run, giving Virginia Tech a 14-point lead, which was its largest of the evening.

Pitt again mounted a comeback before giving way to a large Hokies run toward the end of the half. The Panthers made up some points at the foul line as senior guards Laine Selwyn and Brooke Stewart hit both of their foul shots to bring the Panthers within six. The Hokies went back on top by eight as they made both of their foul shots on their next possession.

Once the score reached 42-35 with the Hokies on top, the score continued to fluctuate between five- and seven-point leads for Virginia Tech before Wittenmyer took over. Wittenmyer made two layups in a row, increasing the Panthers’ score to 45, only three points less than Virginia Tech.

The Hokies followed up with an 8-0 run, putting them ahead 56-45. The Panthers finished the game on a 7-5 run, but the closest that they would come during the final stretch was seven points with 1:11 left in the game.

Wittenmyer led the Panthers in points with 16, was eight-of-16 from the field and had four rebounds.

Selwyn was right behind her with 12 points, six assists and nine rebounds. Jessica Allen contributed 11 points and two rebounds.

The Hokies were able to outrebound Pitt 46-30 and they also had a higher field goal percentage as they shot 48 percent from the field compared to the Panthers’ 35 percent.

Wittenmyer joined Stewart and Selwyn as the third Panther to eclipse the 1,000-point career total this season. This is the first time in school history that three players have reached the milestone in one season.

The Panthers are next in action against Big East foe St. John’s Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. The game will be played at Walsh Gym on Seton Hall’s campus.