Jan. 8, 2006
Box Score |
Photo Gallery
PITTSBURGH -
There was little doubt in any of Pitt's players or coaches' minds that Mallorie Winn was going to take the shot with the clock winding down and the game tied. Winn's jumper with three seconds remaining rattled around the rim before falling through and giving Pitt a 66-64 win over visiting USF at the Petersen Events Center on Sunday afternoon.
Winn (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's/Georgia Tech) had a team-high 21 points, including a 4-of-6 performance from the three-point line, but it was her shot from inside the free-throw line that was the difference.
"We practice that play a lot, either with 12 seconds left on the clock, or 10 seconds or five," Winn said. "I didn't have time to think about the shot. I just knew I had to go down the court and make one."
The Panthers (11-3, 2-1 Big East) trailed by five at halftime but outscored the Bulls (11-4, 1-1) by seven in the second half to get the win. USF lost for the first time this season in 11 games when it had a halftime lead.
Sophomore center Marcedes Walker (Philadelphia, Pa./University City) posted her third double-double of the season and the 12th of her career, with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and 10 rebounds. Winn and Walker combined to score 40 of the Panthers' 66 points. USF forward Jessica Dickson, the nation's leading scorer, did tally a game-high 24 points but was forced into seven turnovers by the Pitt defense, namely freshman Xenia Stewart (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist).
"For a freshman, Xenia did an excellent job on Jessica Dickson," Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato said. "She had ownership. That's what you call accountability and ownership on the team."
Nalini Miller and Rachael Sheats added 12 points apiece for USF, while Sheats had a game-high seven assists while playing all 40 minutes. The Bulls also forced 21 Pitt turnovers, 16 of which came in the first 20 minutes.
It was a very close game throughout, but neither team gained more than a four-point advantage until Dickson connected on a three-pointer to give the Bulls a 25-19 advantage with 3:05 remaining in the first half. The Panthers closed the gap to one point on a three-pointer by Winn and two free throws by
Shavonte Zellous (Orlando, Fla./Jones). Zellous finished with a season-best 10 rebounds.
USF had its biggest lead of the game a little under two minutes into the second half at 33-27 after a three-point play by Dickson but the Panthers chipped away until they tied it at 41-41 on a three-pointer by Maddy Brown (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima). With 11:23 left in the contest, junior Danielle Taylor (Cleveland, Ohio/Villa Angela-St. Joseph) hit a jumper to give the Panthers a 45-43 lead. The Panthers were able to maintain the lead for the final minutes, pushing the advantage to five at 64-59 with 1:56 to go on a lay-up by Walker.
After Dickson made two free throws to cut the lead to three, Shantia Grace added three from the charity stripe in the final minute to tie the game with 17 seconds. The ball was inbounded to Winn, who brought the ball up the court the entire way and connected for the winning shot.
Brown had nine points off the bench for Pitt, including two big three-pointers, while Taylor made all three of her field-goal attempts to finish with seven points. In addition to Dickson's 24 points, she pulled down five rebounds and had five steals in the defeat.
The Panthers will head to Jamaica, N.Y., to take on St. John's on Wednesday, Jan. 11, before returning home for "Pack the Petersen" on Saturday, Jan. 14 against Providence. All tickets for that 2 p.m. game are $1 with plenty of activities and contests for the entire family.
NOTES: The Panthers outrebounded the Bulls, 44-29, and connected on 43.1 percent of their shots, including a 50 percent clip from three-point land...the Panthers' 11-3 record matches their best after 14 games since the 1980-81 season (12-2)...the game was broadcast live on several stations as part of the Big East TV package...Amy Lawrence (play-by-play) and Rebecca Lobo (analyst) called the action.
