Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pitt's Marcedes Walker takes a shot against Villanova's Jackie Adamshick and Heather Scanlon last night. Click photo for larger image. Related story Pitt seniors: You have to be there to believe it

The Pitt women's basketball team routinely has been on the losing side of Big East Conference blowouts in recent years, particularly when the Panthers would play against a quality conference opponent. But the Panthers have climbed into the top half of the conference in the past two seasons and it seems they are one of the teams who are putting down the hammer against the bottom-feeders.

Pitt (18-5, 6-4 Big East) beat last-place Villanova, 66-53, last night before a crowd of 1,908 at the Petersen Events Center to give the Panthers their second consecutive easy victory against conference foes.

It also was yet another sign of just how far the program has come in four seasons under Agnus Berenato, considering the Wildcats had beaten the Panthers in six of the past seven meetings between the teams.

In Berenato's first season (2003-04), Villanova beat the Panthers twice by an average of 21 points en route to the NCAA tournament while the Panthers finished in last place. Berenato said she remembered getting pounded by Villanova -- and just about everyone else -- that first season and after the game talked with her team about the significance of a lopsided win against a quality team such as the Wildcats (7-16, 1-9).

"Villanova might be down this year, but that is a great program and they've been to the Elite 8 just a couple of years ago," Berenato said. "So from that standpoint this was a good victory for us because I can remember when we really couldn't even compete with them. This was satisfying also because I thought we played an exceptional game. We are trying so hard to get to that upper echelon of the conference, but it takes time and each win is another step in that direction."

The two teams played fairly even for the first 10 minutes but Pitt sophomore Shavonte Zellous heated up and led a 15-5 run that gave the Panthers a 29-18 lead with 3:41 to play in the half.

Zellous, who scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds, also made a basket at the buzzer to push the Panthers halftime lead to 40-25. Pitt maintained a 15- to 20-point cushion for the entire second half. The only time the margin dipped below 13 points was at the final buzzer when Wildcats forward Adrian Semrau hit a 3-pointer.

Marcedes Walker had a big game under the basket for the Panthers as she scored 14 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked 7 shots. Point guard Jania Sims added seven points and 10 rebounds.

Berenato said defense was the main reason the Panthers were able to control the Wildcats, who play an unconventional ball-control offense that is based on precision passing and cutting. The style allows the Wildcats to be efficient on offense against most teams and can drive defenses crazy.

"That is a such a difficult offense to play against, but I thought we were very prepared for it and that's a credit to our practice players who I thought did an excellent job of running it the past two days," Berenato said. "That is an offense that can confuse you, that you can bored playing against and lose your concentration but we didn't ever let down.

"I think the other thing I'm proudest of is the fact that we set a school record by having only three turnovers."

After the win Pitt immediately set it sights on its next game, Saturday at South Florida (17-5, 7-2). The Bulls are tied for second-place in the Big East, but were crushed by the Panthers, 73-48, Jan. 20 when they visited the Petersen Center.

"We all know how we beat up on South Florida here so when we go down there we know it will be a dogfight because they'll be waiting for us," Zellous said. "But we also know we are going to come out with the victory. We just need to come out with our 'A' game and play to our best ability."