Pittsburgh Defeats Howard, 94-75, To Improve To 8-3
12/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Pittsburgh Defeats Howard, 94-75, To Improve To 8-3
12/31/2002
PITTSBURGH?Senior Brooke Stewart became the second Pittsburgh player this year to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier as she poured in a career-high 31 points in the Panthers? 94-75 victory over Howard on Tuesday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. Stewart, who now has 1,013 career points, joins fellow senior Laine Selwyn, who picked up her 1,000th career point in the win over Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 17. Stewart (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) connected on 13-of-19 shots from the field, including two 3-pointers, and added two assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. Pittsburgh opened with a 15-point lead, 29-14, at the 8:11 mark of the first half after consecutive layups by Stewart and Latoya Kincaid (West Helena, Ark./Central). However, the Lady Bison came on strong over the final part of the half and cut the lead to two points (40-38) with just over a minute remaining, but Pittsburgh added a quick four points and led 44-38 at the half. In the second half, the Panthers began with a 19-6 run to open up the game to a 63-44 lead by the 13:44 mark. Howard responded and narrowed the advantage to 10 points with just under 10 minutes remaining, but Pittsburgh built the lead back up to 22 points in the final minutes and held on to mark their best start (8-3) since the 1994-95 season. Mandy Wittenmyer (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) posted her first double-double of the season as she finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Selwyn (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs) added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and also tallied seven rebounds and six assists. For the second consecutive game, Pittsburgh shot over 50 percent from the field, making 34-of-66 shots (51.5 percent). The Lady Bison shot 44 percent (34 of 76) from the field, but hit just 18 percent (3 of 16) from behind the arc. Courtney Kirk led four Howard players in double figures with 18 points. Pittsburgh opens Big East play this weekend as it travels to Seton Hall for a 4 p.m. contest. The Panthers? last conference-opening win came against the Pirates during the 1998-99 campaign when they defeated Seton Hall, 55-46, at Fitzgerald Field House. NOTES