Dec. 30, 2007

Box Score

Staten Island, NY - The Pitt Panthers showed the Wagner Seahawks why they are considered one of the best teams in the Big East with a convincing 85-41 win on the second day of the Wagner Holiday Classic at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win, Pitt moves to 10-3 while the Seahawks are now 2-8.

The Panthers, who are ranked 33rd by the Associated Press, scored the first six points of the game and never trailed in the game. After the initial flurry, Wagner answered with a pair of baskets from freshmen Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) and Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, NY / Catholic Central). The Panthers then broke the game open with a 12-2 run to make it 18-6 at the 10:50 mark. The Seahawks briefly stopped the bleeding with a three from senior Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL / Eastland) and a lay-up from classmate Ieva Sulskyte (Vilnius, Lithuania / Daytona Beach CC) that cut the Pitt lead to 21-11 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half.

Pitt's vaunted offense then went to another level ripping off a 25-1 run over the next 8:44, highlighted by spurts of 11-straight points and 14-straight points sandwiched between a McBride free throw, as eight different Panther players scored. During the run, the Pitt defense forced Wagner into six turnovers and 11 missed field goals. Bunyer halted the run with a jumper as the Green & White went into halftime down 48-14.

In the decisive first stanza, Pitt shot a blistering 55.6 percent (20-36), highlighted by a 20-0 advantage in points off turnovers and 16 fast-break points, compared to zero for the Seahawks. Taneisha Harrison (13 points) and Shavonte Zellous (14 points) led the way offensively.

In the second half, the Seahawks shot a respectable 38.5 percent (10-26) from the floor and scored 27 points after hitting for just 14 in the first. McBride led the way for Wagner in the second period, scoring nine of her career-high 12 points while connecting on a personal-best three triples. Bunyer finished with a team-best 13 points and four steals. Sophomore Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) also had a solid performance with a game-high eight dimes as Wagner assisted on all 16 of their field goals.

Harrison led all scorers with 23 points while Zellous finished with 20 points leading Pitt.

Wagner concludes action at the Holiday Classic tomorrow against James Madison at 2:00 pm.

Notes: Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato is now 4-2 all-time against the Seahawks ... This was Berenato's fourth trip to Wagner for a Holiday event... Her Rider team won the 1982 Holiday Tournament over the Seahawks but were denied a repeat by Wagner in the 1983 Championship Game ... Olsen started her first career game for the Seahawks ... The last player from Notre Dame Academy to start a game for Wagner was assistant coach Maureen Hannafin in the 1989 NEC Championship Game.