Pitt
West Virginia
PITT WOMEN FALL TO RIVAL WEST VIRGINIA 57-46
2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2007
PITTSBURGH - Marcedes Walker posted another double-double on the night, but it would not be enough in the Pitt women's basketball team's (20-7, 8-6 Big East) 57-46 loss to West Virginia (18-9, 9-5) Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Walker (Philadelphia, Pa./University City) shot 6 of 9 from the field for 21 points and 12 rebounds on the night, giving her 10 double-doubles on the season and 32 in her career at Pitt.
"I just think it was a really tough loss," head coach Agnus Berenato said. "I felt we were well prepared, but we just didn't execute the preparation. When you don't execute your preparation, you're probably not going to beat a team like West Virginia. Marcedes [Walker] tried to carry the team. She really battled tonight and put up a double-double. And compliments to West Virginia's defense, you can't win when you shoot 13-54. You just can't win."
Excluding Walker's 6 of 9 from the field, the remainder of the team hit just 7 of 45 for a 15.6 percent average. West Virginia hit 37.7 percent from the field on the night including shooting 8 for 18 from three-point range. Pitt's 24.1 field goal percentage marks the lowest of the season for the Panthers.
West Virginia jumped out to a quick lead compliments of Olayinka Sanni, who scored the team's first eight points. Sanni was taken out of the game, however, at the 13:00 minute mark in the first half with three fouls and finished the day with 14 points.
The Panthers tied up the game at 6-6 and again at 8-8, but that would be the closest they would get. West Virginia put together a 9-1 run to pull away at 17-9 and led by as many as 11 in the first half at 24-13. Pitt threatened late in the half and entered the lockerroom down just four at 27-23.
Early in the second half, the Mountaineers added to their lead, taking a 47-29 advantage at the 12:05 mark. Pitt would attempt a comeback, but missed opportunities prevented a real threat. The Panthers' best opportunity came late in the game when Pitt cut the West Virginia lead to nine at 55-46 with 1:40 on the clock. In that final 1:40, the Panthers missed a free throw and three field goals, giving the Mountaineers the 11-point victory.
Pitt leading scorer Shavonte Zellous (Orlando, Fla./Jones) shot just 1 of 15 from the field and ended the night with seven points and eight rebounds. West Virginia leading scorers were LaQuita Owens with 19 points and eight rebounds and Sanni with 14.
"People are going to ask, 'What does this mean for Pittsburgh's women's basketball team?'," Berenato said. "We're fine. The sun will come up tomorrow and these kinds of games are going to come up when you're trying to build a program. You have to credit West Virginia. They're a tough, strong and physical team. And they're strong mentally. We'll learn from this and the way that you learn from it is to get back into the trenches and work on becoming physically and mentally tough."
Pitt rounds out its regular season home schedule Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. DePaul for Senior Day. The DePaul game can be heard live on www.PittsburghPanthers.com as a part of All Access or locally on FOX Sports Radio 970 AM with Greg Linnelli and Mike Clark calling the action.
