Pittsburgh 64, No. 9 Notre Dame 53

3/9/2008 4:54 PM

By PAT EATON-ROBB
Associated Press Writer

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -Pittsburgh's Xenia Stewart says she's been reluctant to take 3-point shots in a big spot.

That wasn't the case Sunday.

Stewart's 3 with 56 seconds left help Pitt break open a close game and upset No. 9 Notre Dame 64-53 Sunday in the second-round of the Big East Tournament.

``I didn't feel like I was contributing enough to my team,'' Stewart said. ``They just told me to look for my shot and that's all it took.''

Marcedes Walker had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Panthers (22-9).

Charel Allen had 17 points for Notre Dame (23-8).

The teams combined for 39 turnovers and neither shot better than 35 percent in a defensive struggle. The fourth-seeded Irish came in averaging more than 77 points per game.

Pitt trailed 35-30 early in the second half before going on an 11-2 run.

``They really believed that we could play,'' Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said. ``They rallied.''

Allen led the Irish back, and they went up 49-48 with 3:05 left.

A layup by Walker with 1:36 remaining gave Pitt a 53-51 advantage. After Allen missed a jumper on the other end, Stewart hit her big 3-pointer. The Panthers made their free throws down the stretch to earn the school's first berth in the conference semifinals.

The Panthers will play Monday against top-ranked Connecticut.

Pitt started slowly and the Irish went on 14-2 run to open the game.

The Panthers had just two points and eight turnovers in the first 8 minutes. They hit just two of their first 19 shots, and didn't score their second basket until almost the 10-minute mark of the first half when Stewart knocked down a short jumper.

Walker, who had 20 points and seven rebounds in Pitt's first-round win over Villanova, picked up two early offensive fouls, but still had eight of Pittsburgh's first 12 points.

She led the Panthers on a 15-3 run to tie the game at 17. Shavonte Zellous put back her own miss to pull the Panthers within 22-21 at the half.

``They never gave up and they never stopped,'' Berenato said.

Zellous, who came in averaging almost 19 points per game, went just 3-for-14 from the field.

Allen was 7-of-15 for Notre Dame, which shot just 30.6 percent for the game.

``It's really disappointing for us,'' Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. ``We never really got going.''

The Fighting Irish beat the Panthers 81-66 on Feb. 10 in South Bend and came in with a 17-1 record against Pitt.