UConn hands Pittsburgh its 3rd-straight loss
PITTSBURGH – Renee Montgomery scored 17 points and No. 2 Connecticut used an 18-2 run to end the first half to beat No. 18 Pittsburgh 90-64 on Sunday, handing the Panthers a third consecutive loss. Getting points from six different players during the spurt, the Huskies (24-1, 11-1 Big East) turned a 27-25 deficit into a 43-29 halftime lead while holding the increasingly frustrated Panthers without a field goal during the last 8:30 of the half. It didn’t get any better for Pitt in the second half.
Maya Moore, averaging 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds, went to the bench after drawing her second foul with 13:29 left in the first half and didn’t return until the second half, but it hardly mattered as the Huskies won their 22nd in a row over Pitt (18-7, 8-3) since the 1992-93 season.
Tina Charles outmuscled Pitt’s Marcedes Walker inside for 16 points and 12 rebounds. Charde Houston, averaging only 5.3 points, came off the bench for a second strong game in as many seasons against Pitt with 13 points and six rebounds.
Since starting 18-4, Pitt has lost to No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 11 West Virginia and No. 2 UConn by a combined 62 points and is in danger of falling out of the Top 25 on Monday. The Panthers have lost four of five, all to ranked opponents.
The Panthers got an early lift when Mallorie Winn hit her first four 3-point attempts during the opening nine minutes. But Winn went 0-of-5 after that beyond the arc while ending with 16 points as the athletic but physical Huskies shut down Pitt stars Shavonte Zellous and Walker.
Zellous, averaging 19.3 points, was held to nine points on 2-of-10 shooting, and Walker, normally a strong presence inside with averages of 13.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, didn’t score until early in the second half before ending with five points and seven rebounds.
Moore, a freshman who has scored in double figures in all 25 UConn games, returned to finish with 14 points and Ketia Swanier added 12 points as the Huskies shot 50 percent (34-of-68) to Pitt’s 31.7 percent (19-of-60).
Despite Moore’s absence for much of the first half, UConn had the depth and the size to give Pitt matchup problems inside and outside during a run that began with Houston’s steal and layup that tied it at 27 and ended with Kaili McLaren’s three-point play and point guard Renee Montgomery’s two free throws. Houston had 23 points and 12 rebounds in UConn’s 82-68 win over Pitt last season.
Connecticut, 6-1 against ranked opponents this season, is 3-0 with an average winning margin of 34 points since its only loss, at now No. 5 Rutgers 73-71 on Feb. 5.
Copyright Associated Press 2008