Pitt
Georgetown
Panthers Best Hoyas in Defensive Showdown
1/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shavonte Zellous scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half to lead No. 21 Pittsburgh to a 50-39 win against Georgetown.
Xenia Stewart scored all 11 of her points in the first half for the Panthers. Shayla Scott had her third double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Pittsburgh (15-4, 5-2 Big East) tied its season low for total points, but still won its fourth game in a row.
For Georgetown (13-7, 3-4), it was the fewest points the Hoyas have scored since losing to Pittsburgh 70-33 in the final game last season.
Karee Houlette led the Hoyas with 11 points.
The Panthers trailed 27-23 at halftime, but took the lead with a 13-0 run to open the second half--with nine of the points coming from Zellous--holding Georgetown scoreless for nearly eight minutes.
Zellous led the Big East in scoring entering the game, averaging 23.6 points, but she finished the first half with nearly as many fouls--three--as points, picking up a personal and a technical in a skirmish for a loose ball in the final seconds before halftime.
After going 1-of-6 from the field in the first half, she came out aggressively in the second half, sparking the Panthers' moribund offense and helping Pittsburgh build the lead.
Both teams struggled on offense before halftime--Pittsburgh's 23 first-half points tied their lowest output in any half this season. But while the Panthers' fortunes improved after halftime, the Hoyas' did not. Georgetown was 4-of-26 in the second half, scoring a season-low 12 points.
Jaleesa Butler, Georgetown's leading scorer this season, left the game with 5:25 left in the first half, limping to the bench after making a layup. Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said Butler injured her ankle, but she did not know the extent of the injury.
