The Pitt women's basketball team finished this past season with a winning record and made its fifth consecutive postseason tournament appearance.

Neither streak had been accomplished before by the Panthers, yet, in some ways, Pitt coach Agnus Berenato has seemingly spent the past two months on the defensive about the state of her program.

"Reading some of the stuff that was out there about us, you'd have thought we finished 3-28," Berenato said. "But, if you look at it, we had 16 wins and, frankly, we had four games which came down to the final bucket. That really is the difference between us being in the NCAA tournament and us being in the WNIT -- four baskets.

"But we're fine, the program is in great shape, I have a new staff I am really excited about, our recruiting is great -- there is nothing to feel down about this program right now, the best is still ahead of us."

Berenato is revived and walking with a bounce in her step again, and is ready to make sure this past season -- a season that ended without a trip to the NCAA tournament -- is not repeated.

Truth be told, however, she became a victim of her own success. The fact that some people were calling this past season a failure is testament to the high standards and high expectations that now envelop a program once left for dead.

Since she arrived, the program has improved in every area -- academically (all five rising seniors have graduated or will graduate on time), in recruiting (she has four high-profile recruits coming in this fall) and attendance (an increase of about 1,500 fans per home game).

Ten seasons ago, the Panthers were 16-13 (7-9 in the Big East Conference) and lost in the first round of the WNIT, yet then-coach Traci Waites was named Big East coach of the year and hailed as a great young coach.

Three losing seasons later -- the Panthers won a total of 10 Big East games in 2000-01, '01-'02 and '02-'03) -- Waites was fired, and Berenato was hired to restore some dignity to a program that was one of the worst in the six major conferences.

After two rebuilding seasons, Berenato took the Panthers to a 22-win season and the NIT in '05-'06, then, in '06-'07 the Panthers won 24 games and made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time. That was followed by two consecutive trips to the Sweet16, and it appeared as if this past season would bring at least a fourth consecutive NCAA appearance. But the team never developed chemistry, lacked a clutch player and lost a lot of close games. The Panthers finished the regular season 16-14 (5-11 Big East).

The run of five consecutive winning seasons, however, is unprecedented for Pitt.

In addition to not making the NCAA, Berenato indefinitely suspended one of the top players (senior Sophronia Sallard), all three members of the sophomore class transferred and two assistant coaches left the program.

"If you look at it in its entirety, I guess it does seem like a lot," Berenato said. "But each individual situation was different, and not one of them had anything to do with our program. The three kids that transferred are great kids. I still talk to them often, and we wish them all the best, but the reality is that those three kids combined to average 7.7 points and 7.8 rebounds [in Big East games], and we didn't lose any of our regular players to graduation.

"Transferring seems to be an epidemic right now in college sports. I think nationally there was about 170 kids who transferred, and a lot of times it is about the right fit -- and I transferred when I played, and it was the best decision I ever made, so it isn't a negative."

Center Pepper Wilson transferred for personal issues unrelated to basketball.

Forward Kate Popovec transferred to Northwestern for an opportunity to play more. The school also had a academic program better suited to her major.

Guard Sarah Agoke transferred to a small school in Texas so she would have an opportunity to play more and be close to home.

Associate head coach Jeff Williams left for the head-coaching job at La Salle.

Assistant coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin left for Clemson for a significant pay raise as well as a chance to move up from third assistant to second.

Further proof that the program remains in good shape comes from the fact that Berenato was able to lure former New York Liberty coach Patti Coyle to Pitt to replace Williams and replaced McPhee-McCuin with Khadija Head from NCAA tournament-participant Middle Tennessee State.

All five starters will return next season, and Berenato said they have been working hard on their own.

Point guard Jania Sims, who missed nearly two years because of major injuries, surgery and ineligibility, should be back to form by the time the season begins.

Sims struggled with consistency early and often last season and did not find her form until late in the season after the Panthers had endured a long losing streak.

Also, senior Brittaney Thomas sat out the 2008-09 season as a transfer, and it took her until February to settle in. Down the stretch, she was the team's top offensive player.

"One lesson I learned is that no matter how good a player is, it is unfair as a coach to try to put the leadership role on them after they missed a significant amount of time like Jania did," Berenato said.

"And Brittaney took some time to find her confidence, to find her role -- but, once she did, she took off. Both of them will be ready to go from the start of the season. Chemistry can be a tricky thing, and this group didn't really develop it until late for a lot of reasons."

Pitt also will return two second-year players who redshirted last year because of health issues. Of the four highly touted freshmen coming in, Berenato said at least two of them need to be ready to contribute.

That means the Panthers will consist of five seniors and six freshmen, and that will make for interesting times early in the year.

"I'm really interested in seeing how the old mixes with the new," Berenato said. "But the great thing is we have five seniors returning who are all starters. Those are the kinds of teams -- teams with a lot of seniors starting -- that take a big step forward, and I expect us to do the same.

"I am as excited about this offseason and next season as I have ever been in my career."

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