More Coverage: Louisville's tactics exposed Panthers' major weaknesses

The Pitt women's team played host to lowly Cincinnati last night, knowing that the Bearcats were a dangerous opponent, considering the game was sandwiched between two important Pitt road games.

Then there was the winter storm that hit the area and limited the Petersen Events Center crowd to 150 brave souls. The resulting dull atmosphere negated any home-court advantage Pitt might have enjoyed.

But the Panthers didn't get caught looking ahead, didn't wait around for a boost from the fans and, most of all, didn't overlook the Bearcats in any way.

The result was a workmanlike, 55-44, Big East Conference victory.

"I can honestly say we, as in the coaching staff and especially me, were scared too death about this game," Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said. "If I said it once, I said it to them a thousand times, 'Do not overlook Cincinnati.' I really didn't feel in my gut that we were ready to play and I thought with no crowd to feed off of we'd need to create our own excitement and it might be really tough for us tonight

"I think what this win shows is our maturity. We still have a long way to go in a lot of ways, but winning a game like this is another step. They always tell me they are ready before a game -- even when they are not -- but tonight they really showed me something and from now on when they say it I'll believe it."

The victory was significant for the Panthers (20-5, 8-4 in the Big East). It marked the first time since 1980-81 that they have recorded 20 regular-season wins. It is only the third time in school history the Pitt women have reached 20 wins in the regular season, and only the fifth time they have reached that mark when postseason victories were included.

"It is a big milestone for us, but only because we had 19 wins and this was our next game," Berenato said. "But seriously, it is a big milestone for us because I think we're getting a little better every year and this is a credit to the players, the coaches, the people who support us -- to have 20 wins and eight wins in the Big East with four games left."

The Panthers appeared sluggish on offense at the start of the game, but their defense was stellar. It enabled them to grind their way to an early 14-4 lead and they expanded it to 28-14 by the half. Pitt's offense never got going in the second half, but it was able to keep control of the game thanks to sophomore forward Shavonte Zellous, who had a game-high 25 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Zellous, who scored 11 consecutive points in the second half, said the coaches asked her to carry the offensive load. The Panthers second-leading scorer, Marcedes Walker, was in foul trouble for much of the game and eventually fouled out.

"We beat Cincinnati last year at the buzzer, so we knew they'd come after us here," Zellous said.

Cincinnati coach Laurie Pirtle said the Bearcats (13-11, 4-8), who shot a dismal 5 for 21 from the floor in the first half, had a good defensive plan for the game but just weren't equipped to handle Zellous once she got hot.

"I think it is simple -- we had a lot of trouble stopping [Zellous]," she said. "She is one heck of a player and she scored in multiple ways. When you have a low scoring, defensive game and one player scores almost half the other team's points, that's just not going to be easy to overcome."

Pitt, which was coming off an emotional win against South Florida, will play at No. 5 Connecticut (23-2, 12-0) Saturday in a game that Berenato said will be yet another gauge of how far Pitt has come ... and perhaps how far the Panthers have to go.