Sims hits 1,000-point mark in Pitt win over Cincinnati

The Pitt women haven't had many wins — easy or otherwise — to get excited about since the new year began.

So, you can bet that every single one of their points in an easy, 79-48 win against struggling Cincinnati on Tuesday at Petersen Events Center felt good — perhaps more so for senior point guard Jania Sims than anyone else.

Sims hit a 3-pointer with just over four minutes left to make it 24 for the game and surpass the 1,000-point career mark. (She now has 1,002.) She is the 17th player in team history to reach the milestone and the second this season; Taneisha Harrison did it Dec. 11 against Valparaiso.

"Finally. I've been here five years, and I've been through a lot," said Sims, who has struggled with ineligibility and multiple injuries in her career. "It feels like a great reward to be here so long and be rewarded with 1,000 points."

Leading by 18 points at halftime, Pitt (10-11, 2-6 Big East) ran its winning streak against the Bearcats (8-13, 1-8) to eight. It snapped a four-game losing streak and was Pitt's second win in the past eight games.

Three Panthers were in double figures five minutes into the second half, with Chelsea Cole locking down her 11th double-double, most in the Big East. Cole finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Shayla Scott's 15 points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers were nearly perfect on free throws, going 19 of 21, and were 44.3 percent from the field (27 of 61), their first time shooting better than 40 percent since Dec. 31.

Pitt opened on a 7-0 run, aided by the Bearcats missing their first four shots and turning the ball over twice in the first three minutes. Cincinnati, which dressed just seven players because of injuries for the fourth game in a row, was 1 of 10 in the first 12 minutes. The Bearcats have lost their past seven games.

It was a bounce-back victory for the Panthers, who fell in overtime, 74-70, to Marquette on Saturday in their second and final home game of January.

"I thought the team responded well to an adverse situation on Saturday," coach Agnus Berenato said. "Saturday was a heartbreaker. When you play so well and beat a team in almost every single category, then lose the way we did, you wonder how they're going to respond. But I'm proud of my team."