UConn vs Pittsburgh Game Preview

UConn (25-2, 12-1) vs Pittsburgh (9-17, 0-13)
Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 7:00 pm
Hartford Civic Center, Hartford CT
TV – SNY

Probable Starters

UConn

#5 Caroline Doty	5-10 G, RSr	3.9 pts	2.6 asst	2.4 reb
#14 Bria Hartley	5-10 G, Jr	9.2 pts	3.4 asst	3.1 reb
#34 Kelly Faris	5-11 G, Sr	10.7 pts	4.1 asst	5.1 reb
#23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	6-0 F, So	17.0 pts	2.2 asst	6.2 reb
#31 Stefanie Dolson	6-5 C, Jr	14.0 pts	3.2 asst	6.4 reb

Pittsburgh

#13 Marquel Davis	5-9 G, Jr	6.2 pts	0.3 asst	3.8 reb
#3 Brianna Kiesel	5-7 G, So	14.7 pts	3.1 asst	4.9 reb
#1 Loliya Briggs	5-10 G, Jr	6.5 pts	2.2 asst	3.8 reb
#0 Asia Logan	6-0 G/F, Jr	14.9 pts	0.5 asst	7.4 reb
#22 Krista Pettepier	6-3 F, Fr	0.9 pts	0.4 asst	2.7 reb

I have to start this preview with a confession – I have no idea who will actually start for Pitt. I wonder if Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato, who is one of the truly nice people in the Big East coaching ranks, knows. In 26 games this season, Berenato has started 9 of her twelve players at one point or another. It’s not like someone was filling in for a sick teammate, either. Eight different Panthers have seven or more starts.

Pittsburgh is a very young team. There are five freshmen, four sophomores and four juniors on the roster. They’ve had a rocky season, one in which the Panthers are winless in conference play although they’ve scared several teams, losing five games by 4 points or less.

The player that will attract the most defensive attention from the Huskies will be guard Brianna Kiesel. Not only does the offense run through her, she has been the offense for Pitt in recent games. Kiesel had been playing point guard but was moved to the off-guard spot in December to take advantage of her scoring abilities. Kiesel is second on the team in scoring and rebounding and leads the Panthers in assists, steals (1.5 spg), shots taken (132-386, 34.2%) and threes attempted (26-98, 26.5%). She will take a lot of shots.

The player that is supposed to have taken over the point guard spot is 5-8 freshman Brittany Gordon, but Gordon has suffered a shoulder injury and is out for the season. Junior guard Marquel Davis has stepped into the point guard spot with mixed results – she averages 0.3 assists per game (not a typo).

The top scorer for the Panthers is a 6-0 wing, Asia Logan. She had a shoulder injury in December and was expected to miss several games but returned January 27th to score 19 points in a loss to Georgetown. She continues to play with a sore shoulder and her scoring has been uneven as a result.

Like Kiesel, Logan also leads her team in several categories. She’s first in scoring, rebounding, blocks and free throw attempts. Berenato doesn’t want her handling the ball, though, as Logan has only 13 assists to 39 turnovers, a really bad .3 Assist to Turnover ratio – and Logan is a wing. Another concern for Berenato is that Logan has fouled out of two games this year.

Unfortunately for Pitt, although Kiesel and Logan can put up a lot of points, they don’t get a lot of help from their teammates. Ashlee Anderson, a 5-9 redshirt junior guard, averages 7.0 points a game and she actually has a higher field goal percentage than Kiesel. Anderson will have big games occasionally but is rather inconsistent. Freshman guard Loliya Briggs averages 6.5 points but makes less than 30% of her shots.

The player with the highest field goal percentage at 49.3% is 6-2 sophomore forward Chyna Golden. However, she takes only about 3 shots a game and averages 3.3 points in 22 minutes a game. She does rebound 5.6 rpg. Starting forward Krista Pettepier doesn’t take a lot of shots. She’s just a freshman and has understandably struggled with her consistence but Coach Berenato has said she’s preparing her team for seasons beyond 2012-13 and plays her freshmen liberally.

Cora McManus is a sophomore center, only 6-0 tall. She, too, has struggled with consistency although she manages 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in only 14.7 minutes a game. She has fouled out three times, though.

Incidentally, anyone wondering whatever happened to Maryadene “Bubbles” Anderson will want to know that she is a scholarship player at Pitt. Even though Anderson is very tall at 6-11, she’s a raw talent who will take advantage of a reshirt year to hone her skills.

Unfortunately for Pitt, the Panthers are small team that rebounds and shoots poorly. You could make up for one if you’re strong in the other but this very young Pitt team is at a disadvantage playing against a Husky team with the second best center in the country (there, I said it!). Logan has a tough task of both scoring enough points to keep her team in the game and defending Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. With turnovers also a problem for the Panthers (they average 16.8 a game), the Huskies are going to feast on loose balls.

This is a young Pitt team that’s been struggling with injuries and an inconsistent lineup. Geno will no doubt call off the press early and give liberal playing time to the end of the bench.

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