Pitt Panthers women’s basketball team ascends ‘The Mount’

February 14, 2012; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Panthers guard Brianna Kiesel (3) drives to the basket past Louisville Cardinals guard Shoni Schimmel (23) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE
The Pittsburgh Panthers women’s basketball team had three double-doubles and four players in double figures in a 78-43 victory against Mount St. Mary’s Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
The win pushes the Panthers to 4-2 on the season. Brianna Kiesel led the way for Pitt with 17 points and tied her season high with 11 rebounds. Freshman Frederique Potvin scored a career high 16 points on five threes in the game.
“It was an impressive game across the board,” Pitt coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. “This was a great team win. One of the things we have been emphasizing is ball movement, making the extra pass and making the game easier for your teammates.
“I saw a lot of that tonight. We had great penetration and kick outs to shooters. We had great penetration and dump downs to our post players.”
Pitt’s Ashlee Anderson had 13 points to go with 10 rebounds while Asia Logan scored 12 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. This is the first time since Feb. 28, 2005 that there were three players with double-doubles in a single game.
Pitt controlled the tempo to start the game and before the first media timeout had forced four turnovers and allowed one field goal – a lay-up.
The Panthers tied their season high with 18 assists. Perhaps the most notable one came with 13:26 left in the first half. Loliya Briggs brought the ball up for Pitt on a fast break and found Kiesel with a behind the back pass for an easy lay-up which forced a timeout with the Panthers up 12-2.
“So many times we catch the ball, put it on the floor or hold it and not see the next play,” McConnell-Serio said. “We want to see who’s open whether it’s a post player posting up to the next pass or that guard seeing the reverse pass or inside pass open. Obviously that was a great play. We have been working on our decision making in transition because in previous games we have had two on one or three on two situations and have come up empty.”
Points in the paint also were key to the victory as the Panthers won that statistical battle 34-18. When the baskets weren’t going in, Pitt was capitalizing on second chance points, building a 22-8 advantage.
“Coach told us to box out and go after rebounds,” Logan said. “Mount St. Mary’s was a little undersized, so we continued going at them offensively and defensively.”
Pitt led 33-14 at the half and shot 40 percent from the field, while “The Mount” shot 17.9 percent from the field, making just five first half field goals. Jenn Carney came off the bench to lead Mount St. Mary’s with seven points.
The Panthers offense picked up in the second half scoring 45 points and improving to a 46.9 shooting percentage in the final 20 minutes. Potvin was a key part of the second half offense, scoring 10 points. Potvin first scored in double figures in the team’s last game and continued to find success.
“Coming into the season we knew that she was our true shooter so we try to get her open looks and set her up in transition,” Ashlee Anderson said. “She has confidence in herself and that is a positive.”
Pitt will next face Buffalo on Sunday, Dec. 1.