Pitt
Villanova
No. 19 Panthers One Win Shy Of 20
2/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2009
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Shavonte Zellous scored 23 points and Shayla Scott hit a pair of 3-pointers during a late 11-0 run and No. 19 Pittsburgh withstood Laura Kurz's 35 points to beat Villanova 70-54 on Wednesday night.
Kurz made 14 of 21 shots and all six free throws, but no other Villanova player had more than seven points.
Pittsburgh (19-5, 9-3 in Big East) rebounded from a 95-42 loss to No. 1 Connecticut on Sunday by closing to within one victory of its fourth consecutive 20-win season. The Panthers, who have four regular-season games remaining, tied Villanova (17-9, 9-3) for third place in the conference standings but own the tiebreaker by virtue of the win.
The top four teams in the conference receive a two-game bye in the Big East tournament.
Kate Popovec added 12 points and Xenia Stewart scored 11 for the Panthers, who led 54-50 with 7:20 remaining before going on the decisive run ended by Scott's 3-pointer with 3:03 to play. Scott scored nine points.
Pittsburgh, which held a 37-25 rebounding edge, used a 12-2 run to take a 32-20 lead in the first half.
