No. 14 Pittsburgh 72, Villanova 63

1/30/2008 7:59 PM

By BOB LENTZ
Associated Press Writer

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) -Marcedes Walker scored 23 points and Mallorie Winn added 18 as No. 14 Pittsburgh withstood a tough second-half challenge and extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 72-63 victory over Villanova on Wednesday night.

Xenia Stewart added 14 points, and Shavonte Zellous had 13 for the Panthers (17-3, 7-0 Big East) who prepped for Saturday's key conference matchup against No. 4 Rutgers with a win.

Pittsburgh's 11-game run is its longest winning streak since opening the 2006-07 season 12-0.

Laura Kurz led Villanova (12-9, 2-6) with 19 points. Tia Grant scored 15 and Stacie Witman finished with 10.

The Wildcats relied on their long-range shooting to stay within striking distance of the Panthers, but faded in the second half. Villanova shot 9-for-27 from beyond 3-point range.

Villanova has lost four of its last five and six of eight.

Nova refused to buckle under Pitt's stepped-up second-half defense, and the outcome was in doubt until about six minutes remained.

Consecutive baskets by Stewart gave Pitt a 10-point lead at 54-44, and Walker followed with a putback of her own miss and a free throw to stretch the lead to 57-44.

Nova hung around and tried to make a game of it down the stretch, closing within five points, 65-60, on a 3-pointer by Siobhan O'Connor with less than two minutes remaining.

Zellous quieted the crowd with a driving layup that pushed the lead back to seven points and, after a rebound, made one of two free throws for an eight-point cushion with 48 seconds left.

A slow start in the second half fueled Villanova's hope for an upset. The Panthers missed their first six shots until Zellous hit a runner at the 16:17 mark.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were on the move. A pair of driving layups by Grant at the start of the second half pulled Villanova within two points, and a putback of a 3-point miss by Kurz tied the score at 17:35. A jumper by Kurz moments later put the Wildcats ahead.

But ultimately, the Panthers' strong inside game proved too difficult to handle.

Hard as they tried, the Panthers couldn't shake Villanova in the first half, despite the Wildcats' tepid shooting. Pitt moved out to an eight-point lead at the 8:17 mark, but Nova battled back and got within two points late in the half. But a lay-in and two free throws by Walker bumped the Panthers' lead to six points, 32-26, at the break.

Villanova was 6-for-16 from long range in the first half and 9-for-29 (31 percent) overall.

Witman's seven first-half points paced a balanced scoring attack for Villanova that included six points each by Lisa Karcic and Grant and five from O'Connor.

Conversely, Pitt concentrated on working the ball inside and capitalized from short range, shooting 13-for-26 overall and a conservative 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.

Walker led the way with 10 points, while Winn added eight points and five rebounds. Zellous scored eight points on 4-for-9 shooting.