Providence College Athletics
Providence College
(6-7, 1-2BE)
Pittsburgh
(8-5, 1-1BE)
Women's Basketball Holds On To Defeat Pittsburgh, 80-77
1/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2003
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Providence College women's basketball team defeated Pittsburgh, 80-77, in BIG EAST Conference action on Saturday, January 11 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The victory marks the first BIG EAST win for the Friars this season, as they improve to 6-7 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The win also marks the first victory for the Friars in Pittsburgh, Pa. since January 2, 1997, when Providence defeated the Panthers, 78-65.
Providence was led by sophomore guard Michal Epstein (Rehovot, Israel) who netted a game-high 25 points. Epstein's 25 points matches her career high. She also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists. Senior center Kacee Wheeler (Bakersfield, Calif.) recorded the first double-double of her career with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Brooke Freeburg (Waterford, Pa.) was the only other Friar to reach double figures in scoring with 11 points. Freeburg added eight rebounds, four assists and one steal in the victory.
Providence led Pittsburgh, 35-33, at halftime. In the first half, the Friars were led by Epstein and Wheeler who scored nine points and seven points, respectively. Freeburg and sophomore guard Keisha Blackwell (Baltimore, Md.) added six points each. Ten of Providence's 35 points in the half came off of Pittsburgh's six turnovers. PC committed nine turnovers in the half, but Pittsburgh was unable to capitalize offensively. The Friars also outrebounded the Panthers, 24-18, in the first half.
The Friars led by as many as 12 points (55-43) with 10:28 remaining in the game, but Pittsburgh would rally to cut the deficit to three points (65-62) with 4:14 remaining on the clock. During that scoring run, Panther guard Laine Selwyn netted 13 of her team-high 16 points. PC's Epstein stopped the rally at the 3:52 mark and pushed the Friar lead to seven points (69-62) as she connected on a three-point basket and was fouled in the act of shooting. Epstein then converted the free-throw attempt. Wheeler added a layup with 3:03 remaining to extend the Friar lead to nine points (71-62).
The game was far from over as Pittsburgh went on a 15-7 scoring run to cut the Friar lead to one point (78-77) with 11 seconds remaining in the game. However, PC junior guard Kristin Quinn (Sewell, N.J.) iced the game with two free-throws with five seconds left to seal the Friar victory. Quinn connected on six-of-six attempts from the free-throw line in the last 41 seconds of the game to keep the Friars on top.
Providence (6-7, 1-2 BIG EAST) returns to Providence, R.I. to take on West Virginia in BIG EAST Conference action on Wednesday, January 15. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be played in Alumni Hall's Mullaney Gymnasium on the campus of Providence College.
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