Jan. 13, 2007

Box Score

PITTSBURGH - Pitt's late surge was not enough as the 23-ranked Panthers (13-3, 1-2 Big East) fell 76-69 to St. John's (5-10, 1-3) Saturday afternoon in front of 5,700 fans at the Petersen Events Center for its annual "Pack the Petersen" event.

"This was a very disappointing loss." head coach Agnus Berenato said. "It is hard to know that one game doesn't completely make or break your season, but we have to be able to bounce back after today."

Junior Marcedes Walker (Philadelphia, Pa./University City) led the team with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six steals in 31 minutes for her fifth double-double of the season and the 27th of her career. Also scoring in double figures for the Panthers were Shavonte Zellous (Orlando, Fla./Jones) with 14 points and Xenia Stewart (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist) with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Freshman Ashleigh Braxton (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) set her career high with nine points on the day.

In the first half, Pitt led by five early but the Red Storm fought back to take a six-point lead. There were nine lead changes and was tied six times in the half, which concluded with a 41-37 St. John's advantage. The Red Storm took advantage of its fast breaks, scoring 13 points to Pitt's two.

Early in the second half, Walker went out with an injury and the Panthers continued to struggle going down by as many as nine points at 50-41. Walker returned at the 13:40 mark and helped lead the team on an 11-1 run, which included a steal at the top of the key for a layup on the other end. Walker tied up the game at 61-61 with a three-point play.

"Marcedes [Walker] had a great game," Berenato said. "She had a double-double tonight. I was confident when she went back into the game after the injury and we tied it up. But this was a Big East conference game and we just didn't bring enough of what we had to tonight to win."

St. John's hot shooting was too much for Pitt, however, as the Red Storm again pulled away for the 76-69 win. SJU shot 45.3 percent from the field and was 21 of 28 from the free throw line. Guard Kia Wright was outstanding hitting 4 of 6 from three-point range ending the day with 23 points and 10 assists. Pitt was held to just 55.0 percent from the free throw line and shot 42.4 percent from the field.

The Panthers will now travel to Syracuse Tuesday, Jan. 16 for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Orange. The game will be broadcast live on www.PittsburghPanthers.com as a part of All Access or on the radio at Fox Sports Radio 970 AM.