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Pittsburgh Takes On Cincinnati
Pittsburgh Takes On Cincinnati 3/15/2000
Game 29
All-Time Series The series' first meeting came on Dec. 5, 1982 at Fitzergald Field House, and Cincinnati came away with the 85-59 victory.
Panthers and the WNIT Pittsburgh first participated in the WNIT in 1981. After suffering a 100-69 loss to Georgia in the first round, the Panthers went on to win their next two games in the consolation bracket. They won a 101-81 decision over Baylor and then a 93- 91 decision over Tennessee Tech to finish in fifth place.
Probable Starting Lineups
Pittsburgh Starters F #50 Mandy Wittenmyer (6-2, Freshman) 11.9 ppg., 7.6 rpg. F #15 Michelle Katkowski (5-6, Senior) 3.6 ppg., 2.9 rpg. F #34 Celeste Barkley (6-2, Junior) 3.5 ppg., 2.7 rpg. G #14 Gina Montesano (5-9, Senior*) 8.1 ppg., 2.7 rpg. G #24 Monique Toney (5-5, Junior) 10.5 ppg., 2.1 rpg. Key Reserves G #42 Laine Selwyn (5-7, Freshman) 6.3 ppg., 2.7 rpg. G #5 Brooke Stewart (5-8, Freshman) 8.3 ppg., 2.5 rpg. F #52 Autumn Alexander (6-0, Junior) 1.2 ppg., 1.5 rpg. G #4 Jackie Campbell (5-8, Sophomore)1.9 ppg., 1.0 rpg. F #33 LaTonya Lawrence (5-10, Senior) 1.5 ppg., 0.8 rpg. Pittsburgh Head Coach Traci Waites, the 2000 Big East Conference Co-Coach of the Year, is in her second season as head coach at Pittsburgh where she has compiled a 24-31 overall record. This season, Waites has orchestrated the top one-year turnaround in the women's basketball program's history by doubling the Panthers' win total from all of last season. Additionally, she guided Pittsburgh to its second-best start ever (and best in six years) with an 11-3 record. During her debut last season, Waites sent the Panthers on a dramatic 4-0 run to start the year, a feat that had not been accomplished since the 1982-83 season. She additionally led Pittsburgh to eight victories on the year, marking two more than it achieved in all of the prior season. Waites joined the Panthers after serving four seasons at the University of Arizona as an assistant coach, including the last two as associate head coach. While there, Waites was instrumental in the Wildcats' emergence as a Top 10 program, helping them to three straight 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament berths. Prior to Arizona, Waites was the head coach at Santa Monica Community College in Santa Monica, Calif., from 1993-94 after serving the program as an assistant for three years. During her tenure, Waites' teams finished second in the Western States Conference and qualified for the state playoffs each year. Waites enjoyed an outstanding collegiate playing career, first at Georgia and then at Long Beach State. She played in the NCAA Tournament each of her four seasons and went to two Final Fours. She holds the distinction of being the only player to appear in the Final Four for two different teams.
Cincinnati Head Coach Laurie Pirtle is in her 14th season as head coach at Cincinnati where she has compiled a 181-216 overall mark. In 18 years as a head coach overall, Pirtle holds a 264-232 career record. Pirtle has achieved five winning seasons at UC, including three-straight from 1996-99. She has additionally posted back-to- back 20-win seasons, including last year's 22-9 mark which included a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Pirtle earned the Metro Conference's Coach of the Year honor in 1989 when she led Cincinnati to its third-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1999, Pirtle was tabbed the Conference USA Coach of the Year as the Bearcats earned another berth in the NCAA tournament. Prior to her tenure with the Bearcats, Pirtle served as the head coach at Division III's Capital University where she posted an 83-16 overall mark from 1982-86. While there, Pirtle led the Crusaders to the NCAA Tournament twice, including a berth in the Final Four in 1985-86.
Turning it Around Currently, the Panthers have produced a 71/2- game turnaround from 1998-99 when it finished at 8-19. The previous mark was a 6 1/2-game turnaround in 1987-88, when Pittsburgh went 14-15 compared to the prior year when it was 7-21. Along the way the way to this accomplishment, the Panthers have doubled their win total from all of last season, and Waites was tabbed Big East Conference Co-Coach of the Year for her efforts.
Double Doses The Panthers also ensured they will finish the 1999-2000 season with a winning record, a feat they have not accomplished since the 1994-95 season. That year, Pittsburgh posted a 17-11 overall mark. Pittsburgh has strengthened its play in several categories to help it double its win total from last season. The following is a breakdown of the 1999-2000 Panthers compared to last year's team:
Movin' on Up Additionally, Pittsburgh finished sixth (tied) in the league. This was a drasatic improvement considering the Panthers were 12th in 1998-99 and were picked to finish 10th in this year's preseason coaches poll.
Stealing the Show The Panthers recorded a season-high 15 steals against fifth-ranked Notre Dame on Feb. 9 and posted their second-highest total versus then-sixth-ranked Penn State and St. John's in the Big East Tournament with 14. Junior guard Monique Toney leads the Panthers with 40 steals, while freshman forward Mandy Wittenmyer is second with 37.
Stellar Shooting
Home Sweet Home Pittsburgh finished the regular season with a 10-3 mark on its home court and won nine of its last 11 contests at Fitzgerald. The two losses during that stretch came at the hands of fifth-ranked Notre Dame and then 18th-ranked Boston College. Additionally, the Panthers hold a 6-2 record against their Big East Conference foes on their home court. Pittsburgh's 1999-2000 home record is a drastic improvement from last season. In 1998-99, the Panthers were 6-6 at Fitzgerald and 3-6 in Big East play.
Postseason Honors The honors mark the first for any Pittsburgh player or coach since the 1994-95 season. That year, Pittsburgh had one player each on the second, third and rookie teams. The last, and only other Panther coach to earn Coach of the Year honors was Judy Sauer at the conclusion of the 1983-84 season
Fabulous Frosh Wittenmyer, a 6-2 forward, is leading the Panthers with 11.9 points per game. Stewart, who comes off the bench, is third in scoring with 8.3 points. Wittenmyer is also the Panthers' leading rebounder with a 7.6 average in both games overall and in conference play, which ranks her second in the Big East in both categories.
Dishing it Out Several Panthers have been a part of this success. Junior Monique Toney leads the way with 4.46 assists per game, while freshman point guard Laine Selwyn is not far behind with 3.0.
Panther Points For the season, Pittsburgh is averaging 65.3 points to rank them fifth in the conference. In conference play, the Panthers are sinking 63.1 points per game to rank them fifth in the Big East as well. The Panthers' highest scoring output was 86 points against Hampton on Dec. 12. Their second-largest was an 84-point effort in the Feb. 16 win over Seton Hall.
Scoring Surge The second-half scoring surge has keyed five Panther victories, including Pittsburgh's victory over Cincinnati. The Panthers outscored the Bearcats, 36-17, in the second half as they went on to the win in the final seconds. Pittsburgh also secured a win over Syracuse when it netted 44 points compared to 28 of the Orangewomen's. Pittsburgh outscored Georgia Tech by 11 points in the second half for a 75-69 come from behind victory. At Hampton, the Panthers held a 52-35 scoring advantage in the second half.
Freshmen Impact Their second-largest output came when they had 39 of 56 points against sixth-ranked Penn State. In that game, three freshmen scored in double-figures, including Wittenmyer with 12 points and Laine Selwyn and Williams who each had 11. Most recently, the Panther freshmen chipped in over half of the scoring in the Big East tournament when they had 32 of the 62 points. Wittenmyer had 14 points, while Stewart had 13 and Selwyn had five.
The following is a breakdown of each freshman's statistics: Name GP/GS Ppg. Rpg. Apg. Mandy Wittenmyer. 27/26 11.9 7.6 1.6 Dallas Williams . 24/13 6.7 4.3 1.1 Laine Selwyn 28/11 6.3 2.7 3.0 Brooke Stewart. . 28/0 8.3 2.5 1.3 Robyn Swain. 10/0 2.0 1.4 --
Superb Start The Panthers' start is their best since the 1993-94 season. That year, Pittsburgh finished 21-10 overall and went to the National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT). Pittsburgh's best start ever was a 13-2 record, achieved during the 1980-81 season. The Panthers went on to play in the NWIT that season and finished with a 22-7 overall mark.
Following is Pittsburgh's best records after 14 games: 12-2:. . .1980-81
11-3:. . .1976-77, 1993-94,
1999-2000
10-4: . . 1979-80, 1981-82,
1992-93, 1994-95
Big East Best The Panthers' largest margin of victory in a Big East game is 40 points, achieved in a 90-50 win over Georgetown Jan. 26, 1985.
Following is Pittsburgh's five largest margins of victory in a Big East game:
Pittsburgh Player Notes
Making an Impact
Seeing Double Wittenmyer has scored in double-figures 20 times, including nine of the last 11 games. She posted a career-high 19 points Jan. 12 at Providence and had an 18-point effort Feb. 5 versus the Friars. She also has eight double-doubles to her credit with her most recent effort coming with a 14-point and 12-rebound performance versus St. John's in the Big East Tournament.
Motorin' Monique
The following is a breakdown of the all-time assist leaders: Career Assist Leaders
The Talented Toney Toney has stepped up her play and scoring in recent games. She has posted double-figure scoring totals in each of the last six contests and in 17 games overall. During that six-game stretch, Toney is averaging 14.2 points per game well above her season average. She posted a season-high 21 points versus Providence Jan. 12 and has led the Panthers in scoring in six games overall. Even though Toney is scoring a great deal, she is being unselfish with the basketball. She is averaging 4.46 assists with a team- high 125. She also leads the team with 40 steals and with three more thefts this season, Toney will crack the top 15 career steals leaders list.
Pittsburgh - CINCINNATI Series
Series Quick Facts
Statistical Comparison PITT UC 16-12 Overall Record 17-12 7-9 Conf. Record 9-7 .437 Field Goal Pct. .396 .344 3-Pt. Pct. .312 .648 Free Throw Pct. .684 .412 Opp. FG Pct. .444 .354 Opp. 3-Pt. Pct. .360 .687 Opp. FT Pct. .682 36.3 Rebound Avg. 36.5 +1.6 Rebound Margin +0.9 65.3 Points Per Game 66.0 64.1 Points Allowed 64.2 Last Meeting Pittsburgh 27 31 58 Cincinnati 30 25 55
Pittsburgh (58) Player Min. FG-FGA 3FG-FGA FT-FTA RB PF TP Williams 29 4-7 0-1 0-1 6 2 8 Wittenmyer 30 6-10 0-0 2-5 9 1 14 Morris 32 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 1 6 Montesano 25 1-4 0-0 0-0 3 2 2 Toney 29 6-15 2-6 0-0 3 3 14 Campbell 16 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 Stewart 8 0-1 0-0 2-2 1 0 2 Katkowski 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Barkley 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 Selwyn 24 3-5 1-1 1-2 3 3 8 Totals 200 25-54 3-8 5-10 37 16 58
Cincinnati (55) Player Min. FG-FGA 3FG-FGA FT-FTA RB PF TP Wilder 26 1-7 0-4 1-2 7 2 3 Merriweather 14 2-3 0-0 1-1 1 0 5 Holley 21 2-6 0-0 2-2 3 0 6 Slaise 32 7-18 0-4 2-4 2 2 16 Roberson 31 3-8 1-5 0-1 2 2 7 Dozier 2 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 Groeber 20 1-2 0-0 0-0 3 1 2 Sharp 25 2-4 1-2 0-1 3 0 5 Flourney 12 1-4 0-0 1-2 3 0 3 Perry 15 3-6 2-5 0-0 3 1 8 Dunlap 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 Totals 200 22-59 4-21 7-13 32 10 55 (Team Rebounds included in totals)
Halftime- C 30-27. FG pct. - Pitt .463; C .373. Turnovers - Pitt 20, C 19. Steals - Pitt 5 (Montesano, Selwyn, 2); C 13 (Slaise, 5). Assists - Pitt 9 (Toney, 6); C 13 (Slaise, 4). Blocked shots - Pitt 3 (Morris, 3); C 1 (Slaise, 1). A-1,086. Officials - Teresa Dahlem (R), Beverly Roberts, Lisa Mattingly.
The Last Time Versus the Bearcats... Junior Monique Toney sank a 3-pointer with just five seconds remaining to propel the Panthers to a 58-55 victory over host Cincinnati Nov. 28, 1999 at the Shoemaker Center. Pittsburgh trailed by three points (55-52) before freshman Laine Selwyn hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 55 with 15 seconds to go in the game, setting the stage for Toney's game-winning basket. After trailing 30-27 at intermission, the Panthers came out strong in the second period and went on a 12-2 run through the initial five minutes to take a 39-32 lead at the 15:02 mark. The Bearcats, however, battled back to regain the advantage, 43-41, on a jump shot from Madinah Slaise at 9:16. Cincinnati increased its lead to 55-50 with 2:25 to go, but Pittsburgh responded with eight unanswered points to provide the final margin. Toney tallied 14 points for the game, while also adding six assists and three rebounds. Freshman forward Mandy Wittenmyer scored in double-figures for the second time of the season with her 14 points while adding a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman Dallas Williams had a very productive game playing in front of her home crowd. The two-time Cincinnati Player of the Year out of Mason High scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Selwyn also chipped in eight points in Pittsburgh's effort. 
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