Panthers win exhibition

Last night, the players of the Pittsburgh Women’s Basketball Association must have felt like… Last night, the players of the Pittsburgh Women’s Basketball Association must have felt like they were participating in a track meet rather than an exhibition hoops game, since the Pitt women were running circles around them in a 98-78 victory.

The PWBA is made up of former players from Pittsburgh area colleges, some of them very former, and Pitt kept those older legs moving by experimenting with a quick-paced offense in its first action of the season at the Fitzgerald Field House.

The result was fast break lay-ups aplenty and rave reviews for the new offensive style from coach and players.

“We really wanted to go with an up-tempo style,” said head coach Traci Waites, “and to put 98 points on the board, I was really impressed with that.”

The quarterback for many of those touchdown passes was junior point guard Laine Selwyn.

“I like the fast-tempo game,” said Selwyn, who finished the night with four assists to go along with 12 points and two steals. “I’m very comfortable with it.”

So too it seems was junior center Mandy Wittenmyer, who wreaked havoc in the paint, despite often being double, triple, and even quadruple teamed. Wittenmyer didn’t often allow the defense to get set on the inside, and when she did, she still got her way, finishing the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Wittenmyer got creative and her highlight reel move of the game came early, when she spun 360 degrees and went in for a lay-up untouched to put Pitt up 9-2.

“They weren’t a very physical inside team,” said Wittenmyer of the PWBA. “It’s good to be able to try out different things.”

While Pitt continued to get the ball quickly up court in the first half, its defense of the PWBA was just as disruptive. The team had three steals and forced 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The score at halftime had Pitt up 52-40.

Sophomore forward Sheila Stufflet, who finished with 10 points, opened up the second half with a jumper from the left side to keep Pitt rolling.

Soon after that, freshman guard Amy Kunich from nearby Oakland Catholic, got in on the fun. She lofted a pass just over the fingertips of the defense, and it bounced right to a cutting Brooke Stewart who swept in for a lay-up to give Pitt a 65-51 lead. Stewart finished with 15 points and three assists.

Later Kunich hit a three and hit a floater in the lane, to finish with nine points on top of four assists.

“I was excited at first,” said Kunich, who also committed six turnovers in the game. “I tried not to think about it too much.”

Waites was pleased with the performance of the three freshmen who played, Kunich, guard Haley Harguth and center Allisha Morris, and expects them to get many minutes in the rotation this season.

“Amy was a little nervous, but she knows what she needs to do,” Waites said. “I’m really proud of Haley for stepping in there and getting 10 points.”

Harguth also had an assist and a steal.

Pitt had its ups and downs in the second half. At one point it led by 30, but the PWBA went on a 13-3 run to end the game.

“I think we got a little content,” Waites said.

“We thought a lot about running, but we’ve got to [rebound], too,” Wittenmyer said.

Overall, though, with six players scoring in double figures, including Bettina Love with 14, and all but two players clocking more than 20 minutes, Waites didn’t have much reason to complain.

“It was just a lot of fun.”