Fred Beckham, Associated Press Pitt's Xenia Stewart tears a rebound away from Cincinnati's Treasure Humphries in their Big East tournament opener last night in Hartford, Conn. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Panthers miss shot at title

HARTFORD, Conn. -- It wasn't easy. But why should things be any different for Pitt in the Big East Conference women's tournament?

After battling through injuries that have threatened to dull what is now the greatest season in program history, the sixth-seeded Panthers fought back after blowing a 13-point, first-half lead to defeat No. 11 Cincinnati, 76-71, in a first-round game at the Hartford Civic Center.

The victory is the 23rd of the season for the Panthers, a record for the program. And with it Pitt (23-7) advances to the quarterfinals tonight against No. 3 Marquette, which spent Saturday enjoying one of the tournament's four first-round byes.

"That is something we all dedicated ourselves to accomplishing when we decided to come to Pittsburgh," coach Agnus Berenato said.

Pitt defeated Marquette in overtime, 91-87, in their only meeting this season Jan. 9 at the Peterson Events Center. Game time will be approximately 8:30 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPNU.

The Panthers also had defeated Cincinnati in their only regular-season meeting this season, 55-44, Feb. 13 at the Petersen Events Center, which will play host to Pitt's first NCAA game March 18.

But Berenato had reminded her team not to look forward too quickly. That wasn't a problem during a game featuring 12 lead changes in the first 37 minutes.

"It was a great game to get us started in tournament play," Berenato said. "I'd rather win by 25, never call any timeouts, but for the kids it's more important to get used to this environment. We're looking to be here for the long haul, make a run in the postseason. We don't want to be one and done."

The Panthers, who blew a 13-point lead in the first half, led, 70-67, with 2:12 to play before baskets by Shavonte Zellous and Marcedes Walker capped an eight-point run that opened a 74-67 lead with 1:11 to play.

The Panthers were led by Zellous, who had 28 points (12 for 12 from the free-throw line).

"My confidence is high, but without Marcedes getting double-teamed and Xenia [Stewart] playing the way she did, I wouldn't have been able to do it."

Stewart added 19. Walker (13 points, 10 rebounds) has seven double-doubles in her past eight games. And Stewart, a freshman guard, had 11 assists and only two turnovers in 39 minutes.