BATON ROUGE, La. -- Pitt has a number of interchangeable players but one player who the Panthers don't really have a true replacement for is point guard Jania Sims.

Sims twisted her ankle yesterday morning and was limited in the Panthers' 56-50 loss to Texas A&M at the State Farm Classic.

Before the game was five minutes old Sims twisted her knee and was lost for the game.

Sims was injured when she drove to the basket and tried to make a layup. Her shot was blocked and she landed awkwardly in a pack of players. Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said that Sims will be evaluated today and her status for the Panthers' next game, Thursday at Western Michigan, is not known.

Sixteenth-ranked Notre Dame played stifling defense to spark a second-half run to beat No. 24 LSU, 62-53, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in the first game of the annual State Farm Women's Basketball Tip-Off Classic yesterday.

The score was tied, 24-24, at the half and remained close during much of the second half. Notre Dame led, 43-40, with 10 minutes to play.

The Irish took control of the game with a 13-0 run sparked by their defense and the play of reserve forward Devereaux Peters, who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds and was 6 for 7 from the field.

Notre Dame was led by Ashley Barlow, 19 points and five rebounds and Lindsay Schrader, 13 points and six rebounds.

"We are so excited to get a win for the season opener," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. "LSU is a great team with great rebounding abilities. That is the first thing we tried to tackle. I thought our veterans played well. They looked poised running down the court and I was happy we were able to maintain the confidence. I think Lindsey and Ashley looked like veteran players today, and that was the key to a victory in this game.

"As a season opener, it was a great win. It was a great win to get on the road against a quality program like LSU. We learned a lot about our team. And LSU is going to be a great team. They are going to struggle just a bit on the road because of their youth. But if they can stay confident, they will be a great team because they have so much talent."

LSU has made five consecutive trips to the Final Four but has five new starters and is expected to rely on seven true freshmen.

The Class of 2009 of inductees for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was introduced yesterday. They are Jennifer Azzi (Stanford), Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Southern California), Jennifer Gillom (Mississippi), Sonja Hogg (Former coach, Louisiana Tech), Jill Hutchison (Former coach, Illinois State), Ora Washington (Philadelphia Tribune). ...The State Farm Classic is considered a premier women's basketball event of every regular season. It is in its 16th season and this is the first season the Panthers have been invited to play in it. "It is such an honor for our program, for the university of Pittsburgh, for all of us, to be here," said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato during the event's banquet Saturday night.