Dec. 8, 2005

Box Score

PITTSBURGH - Thursday's Big East opener for the Pitt women's basketball team was a tale of two halves but an overpowering first-half display by the Panthers pushed them to a 67-55 victory over the Syracuse Orange at Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers (7-2, 1-0 Big East) never trailed in the game after scoring 21 of the first 25 points in the first 6:24. Syracuse (4-3, 0-1) would get as close as 10 points twice but never threatened the Pitt defense. It was Pitt's second consecutive Big East-opening victory over the Orange.

Pitt's top two scorers, sophomore Marcedes Walker (Philadelphia, Pa./University City) and junior Mallorie Winn (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's/Georgia Tech) scored nearly half of the Panthers' 67 points, combining for 33 on 14-of-28 shooting. Winn had a team-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists, while Walker tallied 16 points and nine rebounds with three assists and two steals.

The nation's third-leading scorer, Syracuse's Vaida Sipaviciute, did pour in a game-high 22 points, but she had just four at halftime as the Panthers built a 43-23 lead. Walker and Winn made their presence known during the opening 21-4 run, along with senior forward Cheron Taylor (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King). Winn had nine of those 21 points, while Taylor scored six and Walker four, forcing two Syracuse timeouts. The Orange did cut it to 21-9 right after the second timeout but the Panthers kept coming with a 12-4 run to make it a 20-point game. Walker and Vika Sholokhova (St. Petersburg, Russia/Sacred Heart [NJ]) had four points apiece during that run. The teams traded baskets for the final five minutes of the half as Pitt kept its 20-point advantage.

That back-and-forth affair continued for the first 14 minutes of the second half as Pitt still had a 20-point lead with 6:10 remaining at 61-41. The Orange did close with a 14-6 run but the Panthers held on for the win.

Pitt dominated on the boards with a season-high 51 rebounds against the Orange's 30. Taylor had a game-high 10 boards to go along with eight points in 30 minutes of action. Freshmen Xenia Stewart (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and Shavonte Zellous (Orlando, Fla./Jones) combined for 12 points and 17 more rebounds as Pitt was able to control the tempo of the game with the advantage on the glass.

The Panthers will enjoy a long break before returning to action on the West Coast, taking on Pepperdine on Monday, Dec. 19, in the first of two games in the state of California. Pitt will also travel to San Diego State on Thursday, Dec. 22.

NOTES: The Panthers shot 54.1 percent in the first half but finished at a 41.4 clip for the game...the Panthers were 8-of-9 from the free-throw line for a season-best 88.9 percentage from the charity stripe...Pitt improved to 16-26 against the Orange and 10-14 in Big East openers...the 7-2 start matches Pitt's best since the 1993-94 season (11-2).