ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Wyoming plays a patient and disciplined style of basketball and shoots the ball extremely well, creating a matchup nightmare for any team.

When Pitt found itself trailing by a point with four minutes to play in an NCAA women's tournament Spokane regional first-round game yesterday, the Panthers scrapped most of their game plan and dialed up some good old-fashioned grit.

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Next

• Game: No. 6 Pitt (23-10) vs. No. 3 Baylor (25-6).
• When: TBA, tomorrow.
• TV: ESPN2.
• At stake: The winner advances to the Spokane, Wash., Region semifinals.

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The Panthers, who rely on athleticism and defensive pressure, took the lead on a 3-pointer by senior Mallorie Winn, then snuffed the life out of the Wyoming offense with their defensive intensity.

The result was a hard-fought 63-58 Pitt victory at The Pit and a trip to the second round for the second consecutive year. The sixth-seeded Panthers (23-10) will face No. 3 seed Baylor (25-6) tomorrow night for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said though it wasn't pretty at times, the victory was due to the Panthers' focus and mental toughness.

She said the Panthers were lucky to have played a team such as Villanova, which plays a similar patient style to Wyoming. Because of that, Pitt was prepared for the grind-it-out type of game.

"I thought we had exceptional performances from our entire team," Berenato said. "There really is a sense of frustration because teams like Wyoming are so disciplined, so good at what they do and they are so patient and there were a number of times where we defended them and defended them and then they'd get a shot with three or four seconds left on the shot clock and twice we fouled with one second.

"And teams that play that way are highly successful and I think had we not had some experience against [that style], the outcome today very well might have been different."

Pitt entered the game hoping to do three things -- get a lead, pound the ball down low to center Marcedes Walker early and often, and limit the Cowgirls' 3-point attempts -- and failed on all three goals. The Panthers trailed for most of the first half, Walker got two quick fouls and the Cowgirls made four 3-pointers in the half and had a number of open looks.

But the Panthers have proven all year they are more than just a one-man show and yesterday they got a huge performance from sophomore Sophronia Sallard, who carried the offense while Walker was on the bench. Sallard scored 13 of her career-high 15 points in the first half and helped the Panthers play to a 28-28 tie at the half.

"Sophronia Sallard was awesome today," Berenato said. "I thought we got exceptional performances from both Sophronia and Shavonte Zellous in the first half and really, we were happy to be tied and I felt like we were OK because Marcedes and Xenia were sitting out for a lot of the half."

Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said he was proud of how his team played but admitted it was a little frustrating to play so well in the first half -- and get Walker in foul trouble early -- and still be tied. He said Pitt obviously made the plays down the stretch to win the game, but a big factor was the offense from Sallard in the first half, especially considering she had averaged only 2.3 points per game this season.

The contest was, as expected, close the entire way with neither team able to get more than a one or two possession lead.

Wyoming senior Justyna Podziemska, who hurt the Panthers with five 3-pointers and 23 points, made a layup with 4:02 to play to give the Cowgirls a 54-53 lead. The two teams traded several possessions before Winn gave the Panthers a 56-54 lead with 2:27 to play with a 3-pointer -- her first points of the game.

Walker then pushed the lead to 58-54 with 1:41 left by making two free throws, but Wyoming's Jodi Bolerjack got a wide open look at a 3-pointer from the corner but missed. Pitt got the rebound and then closed the game at the free-throw line.

Winn finished with seven points -- all in the final 2:30 -- and in the process surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career. Zellous led the team with 21 points and five rebounds.