TicketsFeb. 4, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio - A 17-point comeback for the Bearcats was all for naught as Mallorie Winn's jumper at the buzzer gave Pittsburgh a 64-63 win over Cincinnati in BIG EAST action on Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
In front of a season-high crowd of 652 people who braved the wintry weather to make it to the game, UC exploded for 29 points in the final 10 minutes of the game to erase a 51-34 deficit and claim the lead. The Bearcats made five of their seven three-pointers in a 25-7 run and made 6-of-7 triples in the second half.
Pitt was held without a field goal for five minutes at one point as Shelly Bellman led the UC charge. The reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week scored 15 of her 20 points in the second stanza. She started the comeback with a pair of free throws and added two three-pointers and a jumper off her own missed free throw. Her fourth trey of the game closed the score to 58-57 with 3:12 left and Treasure Humphries followed with a pair of free throws for UC's first lead since 22-21.
Pitt reclaimed the lead on a lay-in by Cheron Taylor with 1:41 to go, but Bellman got it back on the next possession by making a steal and scoring with 55 seconds left. Marcedes Walker, who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, answered just 12 seconds later for a 62-61 advantage.
Humphries drove hard to the basket on the next possession and scored for 63-62 lead with 24 seconds left. As Pitt raced down the court, Humphries tried to take a charge but was instead called for a block with 17 seconds left and had to leave the game after hitting her head on the floor.
Pitt was not in the bonus and Walker took a shot with six seconds left and missed. The rebound ended up a held ball with 2.1 seconds left and the possession arrow pointed to the Panthers. Winn got the ball off a Walker screen on the left side and took one dribble and drained a 12-footer as the horn went off.
"We knew they would go to (Winn) or (Walker)," said head coach Laurie Pirtle. "We were trying to stop a good look by on of their go-to players."
The Bearcats shot 48.1 percent from the floor in the second half after making just .344 of their shots in the first half. Bellman added three assists and three steals to her 20 points and Humphries recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Winn finished with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for Pitt, who held a 40 to 35 rebounding edge and scored 22 second-chance points off of 19 offensive rebounds.
"We dug ourselves such a big hole and allowed so many offensive rebounds," added Pirtle. "It was incredibly disappointing."
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for UC and dropped its record to 14-6 overall and 4-5 in the BIG EAST. Pitt climbed to 15-6 and 6-4. The Bearcats now take to the road for two games next week, starting with No. 11 DePaul on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. ET.
The first half featured nine lead changes and three ties and the largest lead for either team was five points as UC managed its second-smallest first-half scoring output of the year. Bellman made a three-pointer three minutes into the game for the Bearcats' first points and Anne Stephens followed with a pair of scores to give UC a 7-6 lead after five minutes.
Pitt went out to a 14-10 lead on baskets by Winn and Walker, but Jill Stephens scored twice in 34 seconds to even the score again. Maddy Brown answered for the Panthers with a three-pointer and a jumper, UC responded with a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 20-19, with 5:50 left in the half.
Both offenses sputtered after that, managing just 15 combined points in the final five minutes. Brown made a three-pointer and had a three-point play in the final 1:43 to give the Panthers a 30-26 lead at the break.
Brown had 11 points in the first half to lead all scorers and Walker had five rebounds, as Pitt held a 22 to 19 edge on the boards. Pitt's 10 second-chance points in the first half was more than the Bearcats average allowing per game.
Jill Stephens led UC with six points as eight different players scored. The Bearcats shot just 34.4 percent from the field and Pitt was at just 39.4 percent.
The Panthers looked to blow the game open to start the second half as the Bearcats managed just a Michelle Jones three-point play in the first eight minutes of the stanza. Walker scored six of her points in this 15-3 run that put Pitt up, 45-29, with 12:39 to play.