Women's Basketball Hosts Mount St Mary's Saturday
12/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2010
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's basketball team begins a two-game home stand on Saturday, Dec. 4 when the Panthers entertain Mount St. Mary's at 6 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.
Pitt (3-3) is coming off an 85-71 loss to St. Francis (Pa) on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Five players scored in double figures for the second straight game, but it was not enough to stifle the Red Flash.
The Mount (1-4) also last saw action on Wednesday, falling at home to Towson, 66-48. The Mount are lead in scoring by freshman Ashley Chrstie (9.6 ppg). Senior Mary Dunn paces the team in rebounding (6.0) and is second in points per game (8.8).
Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato is a 1980 graduate of Mount St Mary's, where she was a three-year basketball letterwinner. She has earned numerous accolades from the University, including the Distinguished Alumni award from the Mount St. Mary's National Alumni Association. In 1995, Berenato was given an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters and was awarded the Bicentennial Medal of Distinction from the University in 2008.
The Panthers are 3-0 all-time against the Mount. The teams last met the final game of 2009 (Dec. 31, 2009) with Pitt grabbing a 57-47 win at the Petersen Events Center. Shayla Scott led Pitt with 18 points, the only player to score double figures. As a team, Pitt shot 33.9 percent in the game (19-56) while Mount St. Mary's shot at a 24.6 percent clip (15-61), including a 3-of-24 showing (12.5%) in the first half.
Berenato has met her alma mater on six previous occasions. Prior to Pitt's meeting with the Mount in 2006, Berenato had not faced her alma mater since the 2000-01 season. Berenato defeated Mount St. Mary's 102-90 on Nov. 11, 2000 when she was the head coach at Georgia Tech.
She faced the Mount twice when head coach at Rider. Rider dropped a 67-37 contest to the Mount in 1983.T he next season, Mount St. Mary's posted a 72-50 win over the Broncs in the opening round of the Mount St. Mary's Tip-off Classic on Nov. 30, 1984.
Dec. 3, 1983, Mount 67, Rider 37
Nov. 30, 1984, Mount 72, Rider 50
Nov. 25, 2000, Georgia Tech 102, Mount 90
Nov. 17, 2006, Pitt 77, Mount 55
Nov. 20, 2007, Pitt 82, Mount 31
Dec. 31, 2009, Pitt 57, Mount 47
Serving as guest coaches for the game are Mr. and Mrs. Everette James. Mr. James is the former Secretary of Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and currently serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Policy and Planning at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also serving as Professor of Health Policy and Management at university's Graduate School of Public Health.
Mr. James served as the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health from 2008 to 2010 during which time he helped to implement a statewide smoking ban, a program to eliminate hospital-acquired infections, and the creation of stringent nutrition and physical education standards in Pennsylvania's public schools.
He and his wife, Gretchen have two daughters - Katie and Charlotte - who will serve as ball girls.