Feb. 6, 2007

Box Score |  Quotes

PITTSBURGH - Shavonte Zellous again led the Pitt women's basketball team (18-5, 6-4 Big East) to a 66-53 win over Villanova (7-16, 1-9) with 23 points on Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers move closer to the Big East and NCAA Tournaments with the victory, giving them 18 on the year with six regular-season games remaining.

"I think our scout and our scout team did a great job of running their [Villanova's] sets in practice," head coach Agnus Berenato said. "We were very prepared for what they were going to run against us. Villanova's offense is very difficult and you can get confused when trying to defend it."

Zellous (Orlando, Fla./Jones) finished the game on 10 of 19 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw line while adding six rebounds and a team-high six assists with no turnovers.

Pitt had a school-record-low three turnovers on the night, which led to zero Wildcat points. Villanova had just 11 turnovers, but the Panthers converted those turnovers into 14 points.

Marcedes Walker (Philadelphia, Pa./University City) finished the game with her seventh double-double of the season and 29th of her career with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Jania Sims (Newark, N.J./Shabazz) added a career-high 10 rebounds while scoring seven on the night.

Villanova's Jackie Adamshick scored the team's first 13 points of the game to give the Wildcats a 13-10 advantage. Pitt then shut down the forward, however, from the 11:45 mark in the first half to the 6:43 mark in the second half. Adamshick ended the game with 15 points.

From that 13-10 Pitt deficit, the Panthers went on a 12-0 run to take the 22-13 advantage at the 7:41 mark in the first half. Pitt entered the lockerroom with a 40-25 lead, turning over the ball just once and shooting 52.9 percent from the field.

Pitt led by as many as 19 in the second half at 44-25 and again with 2:18 remaining at 64-45 on a Zellous jumper. Adrian Semrau hit a three-pointer with just :02 on the clock for Villanova to cut the Pitt lead to 13 for the smallest Panther lead of the half at 66-53.

Pitt heads on the road Saturday, Feb. 10 at South Florida for a 2 p.m. re-match. Pitt defeated the Bulls 73-48 at home on Jan. 20. The USF game can be heard live on www.PittsburghPanthers.com as a part of All Access or locally on FOX Sports Radio 970 AM with Greg Linnelli and Mike Clark calling the action.