2008–09 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team

2008–09 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
2008–09 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
NCAA, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Big East Conference (1979–2013)\|Big East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 15
Record	25-8 (12-4 Big East)
Head coach	Agnus Berenato;
Assistant coaches	Jeff Williams; Caroline McCombs; Yolett McPhee-McCuin;
Home arena	Petersen Events Center
	Seasons ← 2007–08 2009–10 →

2008–09 Big East Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Connecticut†	16	–	0	1.000	39	–	0	1.000
No. 7 Louisville	14	–	2	.875	34	–	5	.872
No. 15 Pittsburgh	12	–	4	.750	25	–	8	.758
No. 23 Notre Dame	10	–	6	.625	22	–	9	.710
DePaul	10	–	6	.625	23	–	10	.697
Villanova	10	–	6	.625	19	–	14	.576
Rutgers	9	–	7	.563	21	–	13	.618
South Florida	8	–	8	.500	27	–	10	.730
Georgetown	7	–	9	.438	20	–	14	.588
Marquette	7	–	9	.438	17	–	16	.515
Syracuse	5	–	11	.313	17	–	15	.531
West Virginia	5	–	11	.313	18	–	15	.545
St. John's	4	–	12	.250	19	–	15	.559
Seton Hall	4	–	12	.250	17	–	14	.548
Providence	4	–	12	.250	10	–	20	.333
Cincinnati	3	–	13	.188	14	–	17	.452


† 2009 Big East tournament winner As of April 4, 2009^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I women's basketball season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16". The Panthers were coached by Agnus Berenato. The Panthers are a member of the Big East Conference and played their home games at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Previous season[edit]

The 2007-08 Pitt women's basketball went 24-10, tying a program record number of wins set the previous season. Pitt earned its first ever bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament advancing to the second round where it lost to eventual national champion Tennessee. Pitt finished the season ranked #16 in the Coaches' Poll, its highest finish in the polls for the women up until that point. Center Marcedes Walker and Guards Karlyle Lim and Mallorie Winn finish up their eligibility.

Offseason[edit]

Agnus Berenato is honored as the Dapper Dan Sportswomen of the Year for 2008-09.^[2]
Marcedes Walker earns a spot on the WNBA's Houston Comets's roster^[3]
Pitt hired assistant coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin from the University of Portland to replace departed assistant coach Shea Ralph, who took a position at her alma mater Connecticut.
The Pitt women's team took a preseason trip to Europe to play three exhibitions games^[4]
Shavonte Zellous is named to the State Farm Wade Trophy "Watch List"^[5]
Seven of the women's team's games are picked up for television, including two appearances on ESPN2^[6]
Former center Marcedes Walker's jersey is selected to hang in the "Ring of Honor" at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.^[7]
Shavonte Zellous is named to the preseason All-American teams of Lindy's^[8] and the Sporting News.^[9]
Agnus Berenato's contract is extended to coach the University of Pittsburgh through the 2015-16 season.^[10]
Shavonte Zellous is a unanimous selection to the pre-season All-Big East team.^[11]
Shavonte Zellous is named as one of 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award.^[12]
Shavonte Zellous, alongside DeJuan Blair of the Pitt men's team, appears on one of six covers of the Sports Illustrated College Basketball Preview Issue.^[13]

Roster[edit]

Number	Name	Height	Position	Class	Hometown
22	Chelsea Cole	6-3	Forward	Sophomore	Lumberton, NJ
10	Taneisha Harrison	6-0	Guard	Sophomore	Bowie, MD
32	Selena Nwude	6-5	Center	Sophomore (RS)	Riverdale, MD
24	Sarah Ogoke	5-8	Guard	Freshman	Sugar Land, TX
50	Kate Popovec	6-3	Center	Freshman	Canfield, OH
2	Sophronia Sallard	5-10	Guard/Forward	Junior (RS)	Syracuse, NY
25	Shayla Scott	6-1	Guard	Sophomore	Monroeville, PA
14	Jania Sims*	5-7	Guard	Junior	Newark, NJ
33	Xenia Stewart	6-0	Guard	Senior	Bowie, MD
12	Brittaney Thomas	5-8	Guard	Junior (RS)	Montgomery, AL
40	Shawnice "Pepper" Wilson	6-6	Center	Freshman	Pittsburgh, PA
1	Shavonte Zellous	5-10	Guard	Senior (RS)	Orlando, FL

*Injured during the first regular season game against Texas A&M and was redshirted.

Schedule and results[edit]

Exhibition
Date	Opponent	Location	Television	Result	Score	Record (Conference)
11/05/08	vs. Ohio Legends	Petersen Events Center		W	73-58
11/11/08	Premier Players	Petersen Events Center		W	76-65
Regular Season
11/16/08	vs. Texas A&M	Baton Rouge, La. State Farm Tipoff Classic	ESPN2	L	56-50	0-1
11/20/08	at Western Michigan	Kalamazoo, Mich.		W	88-60	1-1
11/24/08	vs. Penn State	Petersen Events Center Pitt–Penn State rivalry		W	80-59	2-1
11/28/08	vs. Elon	Petersen Events Center Pitt Thanksgiving Tournament		W	84-49	3-1
11/29/08	vs. Youngstown State	Petersen Events Center Pitt Thanksgiving Tournament		W	99-42	4-1
12/03/08	at Duquesne	Pittsburgh, Pa. City Game		W	66-47	5-1
12/07/08	vs. Maryland	Petersen Events Center		W	86-57	6-1
12/13/08	vs. West Virginia State	Petersen Events Center		W	85-37	7-1
12/16/08	vs. Wagner	Petersen Events Center		W	98-41	8-1
12/19/08	at Florida A&M	Tallahassee, Fla.		W	89-59	9-1
12/21/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.		L	90-83	9-2
12/30/08	vs. Western Kentucky	Petersen Events Center		W	93-50	10-2
01/04/09	vs. West Virginia	Petersen Events Center Backyard Brawl	ESPNU	W	72-63	11-2 (1-0)
01/07/09	at Providence	Providence, R.I.		L	77-69	11-3 (1-1)
01/10/09	vs. DePaul	Petersen Events Center	Big East TV	L	69-62	11-4 (1-2)
01/17/09	vs. USF	Petersen Events Center		W	79-47	12-4 (2-2)
01/20/09	at Seton Hall	South Orange, N.J.		W	76-40	13-4 (3-2)
01/24/09	at Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.		W	77-75	14-4 (4-2)
01/27/09	at Georgetown	Washington, D.C.		W	50-39	15-4 (5-2)
01/30/09	vs. Marquette	Petersen Events Center		W	86-54	16-4 (6-2)
02/03/09	vs. Notre Dame	Petersen Events Center		W	82-70	17-4 (7-2)
02/10/09	at Rutgers	Piscataway, N.J.	CBS College Sports	W	61-53 (OT)	18-4 (8-2)
02/15/09	at Connecticut	Storrs, Conn.	ESPN2	L	95-42	18-5 (8-3)
02/18/09	vs. Villanova	Petersen Events Center		W	70-54	19-5 (9-3)
02/21/09	vs. Cincinnati	Petersen Events Center		W	68-53	20-5 (10-3)
02/24/09	at West Virginia	Morgantown, W.Va. Backyard Brawl	CBS College Sports	W	72-60	21-5 (11-3)
02/28/09	at Louisville	Louisville, Ky.	Big East TV	L	75-51	21-6 (11-4)
03/02/09	vs. St. John's	Petersen Events Center		W	79-60	22-6 (12-4)
Big East Women's Basketball Championship
03/08/09	vs. DePaul	Hartford, Conn. (Big East Quarterfinals)	ESPNU	W	62-59	23-6
03/09/09	vs. Louisville	Hartford, Conn. (Big East Semifinals)	ESPNU	L	69-63	23-7
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
03/21/09	vs. Montana	Seattle, Wash. (NCAA First Round)	ESPN2	W	64-35	24-7
03/23/09	vs. Gonzaga	Seattle, Wash. (NCAA Second Round)	ESPN2	W	65-60	25-7
03/29/09	vs. Oklahoma	Oklahoma City, Okla. (NCAA Regional Quarterfinals)	ESPN2	L	70-59	25-8

Rankings[edit]

Ranking Movement
**Legend:** ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. rv=Others receiving votes.
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	WK 17	Final
AP	rv	rv	rv	24	16	16	19	19	19	rv	25	21	22	19	19	15	14	15	n/a
Coaches	23	rv	rv	rv	20	19	23	22	20	rv	rv	24	24	23	22	20	19	16	15

Team players drafted into the WNBA[edit]

Round	Pick	Player	WNBA Club
1	11	Shavonte Zellous	Detroit Shock

References[edit]

^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
^ "University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Pitt Women Take Preseason Voyage to Europe, August 8–18 - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Shavonte Zellous Named to Preseason Wade Watch - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Pitt Women's Basketball to Play on Television Seven Times in 2008-09 - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Former Pitt Center Marcedes Walker's Jersey to be Placed in Women's Basketball Hall of Fame - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Shavonte Zellous Named to Lindy's All-America Team - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Shavonte Zellous Named to the Sporting News' Preseason All-America Team - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "University of Pittsburgh Extends Head Women's Basketball Coach Agnus Berenato's Contract - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Shavonte Zellous Unanimous Selection to Preseason All-Big East Team - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Shavonte Zellous Named John R. Wooden Award Preseason Candidate - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
^ "Pitt on Cover of Sports Illustrated College Basketball Preview Issue - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

External links[edit]

Official Site Archived 2013-08-17 at the Wayback Machine

[standings-1] "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.

[2] "University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[3] "University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[4] "Pitt Women Take Preseason Voyage to Europe, August 8–18 - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[5] "Shavonte Zellous Named to Preseason Wade Watch - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[6] "Pitt Women's Basketball to Play on Television Seven Times in 2008-09 - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[7] "Former Pitt Center Marcedes Walker's Jersey to be Placed in Women's Basketball Hall of Fame - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[8] "Shavonte Zellous Named to Lindy's All-America Team - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[9] "Shavonte Zellous Named to the Sporting News' Preseason All-America Team - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[10] "University of Pittsburgh Extends Head Women's Basketball Coach Agnus Berenato's Contract - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[11] "Shavonte Zellous Unanimous Selection to Preseason All-Big East Team - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[12] "Shavonte Zellous Named John R. Wooden Award Preseason Candidate - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

[13] "Pitt on Cover of Sports Illustrated College Basketball Preview Issue - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

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v t e Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
Venues	Trees Gym (1914–1925) Pitt Pavilion (1925–1927) Fitzgerald Field House (1970–2002) Civic Arena (alternate, 1984–2002) Petersen Events Center (2002–present)
Rivalries	Duquesne West Virginia
Culture & lore	History "Hail to Pitt" "Pitt Victory Song"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–1970 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24