Pitt
Minnesota
Women's Basketball Falls at Minnesota, 73-63
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS - Senior guard Brittaney Thomas (Montgomery, Ala.) led all scorers with 24 points, but it was not enough as Pitt women's basketball dropped a 73-63 decision to Minnesota at Williams Arena. The contest was part of the Super Six Series, pitting the teams from the top-six conference against one another.
Thomas, who scored 18 of her 24 points in the second half, led the Panthers for the second time in as many games.
Senior point guard Jania Sims (Newark, N.J.) added 16 points for Pitt (1-1).
The Golden Gophers (2-1) were paced by China Antoine with 18 points, all coming from 3-point range.
Sims scored Pitt's first seven-straight points. The guard collected 12 of the team's first 16 points as her lay-up in the lane tied the score at 16-16 at the 12:08 mark.
The Panthers reeled off an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the game. A pair of free throws from senior Shayla Scott (Monroeville, Pa.) put Pitt ahead, 24-18. After UM countered with scores on consecutive possessions, senior Taneisha Harrison (Bowie, Md.) drained a baseline 3-pointer to push Pitt's advantage back to five (27-22) with 5:04 to go in the first stanza.
The Gophers closed to one, but Harrison reacted with her second-straight triple to make it 30-26. Minnesota clawed back and out-scored Pitt, 15-4 over the final 3:48 of the first period to take a 41-34 lead into the locker room.
The Panthers opened the second half on a 7-0 scoring tear. Thomas started the run by converting an old-fashioned three-point play and closed it with a up-and under bucket in the paint to tie the game at 41-41. The Golden Gophers responded with nine-straight points to move ahead, 50-41. It was a lead UM would not relinquish. The Panthers got within seven on two separate occasions, but could not gain ground on the home team.
Pitt is next in action on Sunday, Nov. 21, entertaining Radford at 2 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.
Game Notes
• Senior Brittaney Thomas tallied her fourth career 20-point contest and her third in her past five outings.
•Senior Jania Sims registered 15 first-half points, the most ever in a first half in her career. The senior recorded 15 points in the second half last season at West Virginia (Jan. 5, 2010).
•Sims had three assists, pacing the team in that category. It marked the 50th time in her career she led Pitt in assists in a single game.
•Senior Taneisha Harrison scored in double-figures for the second-straight game (12 points) and 41st time in her career. She has tallied double-figures more than any current player.
•Senior Chelsea Cole finished with 12 rebounds and is averaging 12.5 boards in Pitt's two games.
•Pitt had 66 possessions to the Gophers' 51.
•The three-point field goal attempts (20) are the most since the season closer last year versus Toledo (March 19, 2010/21)
