Women’s basketball opens the Pete with victory

In a night that featured several firsts for Pitt’s women’s basketball team and the Petersen… In a night that featured several firsts for Pitt’s women’s basketball team and the Petersen Events Center, it was the past that prevailed in the end for the Panthers.

With a solid lineup that featured four returning starters, the Panthers handed the Robert Morris Colonials a 90-51 defeat in the inaugural game at the Pete Friday night. The victory marked the 20th consecutive victory against the Colonials and maintained the perfect series record for Pitt against Robert Morris.

The game featured five Panther players in double figures. Leading the way for Pitt were Laine Selwyn and Amy Kunich with 16 points apiece, while senior Brooke Stewart used three-pointers to grab 12 of her 15 points.

The Pete was opened in grand style as freshman Shavon Earp drained a 10-foot baseline jump shot to register the first official basket in the new arena and gave the Panthers a lead that would translate into an easy 39-point victory for the Panthers.

“It was a special night because we got to play everybody, but we still have a long way to go,” head coach Traci Waites said. “I’m really proud of how our team performed tonight.”

Pitt’s offense came out clicking on all cylinders, grabbing a quick 15-4 lead on the Colonials. But as the first half continued, the gap shrunk as Robert Morris quietly chipped away at the Panther lead. Because of early foul trouble for the Panthers, the Colonials had a chance to regroup, as three Pitt starters watched from the bench with two fouls apiece.

With five minutes and 55 seconds to go in the first half, the Colonials would use two three-pointers and a seven-for-11 first-half foul-shooting performance to pull within three points of the Panthers at 28-25. However, that would be as close as Robert Morris would get for the remainder of the game as the Panthers’ offense and defense exploded.

Pitt used the last 5:18 in the first half to rattle off a 19 to four run heading into halftime. Throughout the run, Pitt used the clutch shooting of Selwyn and Stewart to extend its lead, while Kunich pulled down four rebounds and Earp registered two steals to lead the Panther defense in shutting down the Colonials.

“Their defense really picked up the intensity and played a very physical game,” Colonials head coach Lynn Roman said.

In the first half alone, the Panthers forced 13 of the 29 Robert Morris turnovers that turned into 27 first-half points for Pitt off the Colonials’ miscues.

The second half would continue much like the first for both Pitt and Robert Morris as the Panthers picked up where they left off in the first half by starting the decisive half on a 17-6 run. Pitt’s defense allowed the six Robert Morris points in a span of 10:11, which in the end would prove costly for the Colonials.

For the game, the Panthers enjoyed a solid shooting performance from the floor, netting 53.2 percent of their shots from the field in addition to a 50-percent performance from behind the three-point line to solidify the victory. Stewart served as the biggest outside threat for Pitt as she netted four three-pointers, which was one more than the entire Robert Morris team would have for the game.

“Pitt is extremely athletic and very fast,” Roman said. “Coach Waites is running the perfect system for her players, and as a result of their quickness, they get a lot of open looks at three-pointers.”

For Pitt, the victory showed a lot of good things offensively and defensively according to both players and coaches. Waites was quick to praise her redshirt freshman guard Jessica Allen who came off the bench and turned in a solid game with 10 points.

“I love her intensity and she really took advantage of her minutes tonight,” Waites said. “She’s a real thinker.”

The Panthers played much of the game with a slightly different lineup because of Mandy Wittenmyer’s recovering ankle injury, but still managed to out-rebound the Colonials 35-30.

“Tonight we played most of the game with four guards on the floor, but we need to improve our rebounding,” Waites said. “The low number of turnovers was definitely another positive for us tonight.”

The Panthers will continue their season tonight as they host Furman. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Pete.