Vol. 105 Issue 93
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Pittnews.com
Thursday,January 15, 2015
Marriage satisfying for young couples Kathy Zhao Staff Writer
Indian dance group Pitt Mastana performs at Diwanukkah, a belated celebration of Diwali and Hanukkah orgaized by Hillel Jewish University Center and Hindu Student Council. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer
Humphrey appointed senior vice chancellor Harrison Kaminsky News Editor Kathy Humphrey will assume the role of senior vice chancellor for engagement and chief of staff at Pitt after nine years as vice provost and dean of students. Chancellor Patrick Gallagher announced Humphrey’s appointment today and said in a statement that Humphrey will oversee “internal and external relations, focusing on facilitating business engagement, strategic initiatives and partnerships and government interaction at all levels.”
Kenyon Bonner will assume the role of interim vice provost and dean of students after working as director of student life for the past 11 years and associate dean of students for the past seven. Both appointments are effective immediately. Ken Service, vice chancellor for communications, said in an email that he would not provide information on whether Humphrey would be receiving a raise because Pitt does not discuss individual salaries. Gallagher said Humphrey has been an effective and transformative leader in Student Affairs.
“I am excited that now she will be addressing broader university initiatives that cut across issues and disciplines,” he said. “[This] will enable Pitt to be more effective in meeting the big challenges that should be the business of a major research university.” Humphrey said the opportunity to help Pitt move forward in new directions excites her, but she will miss working with students on a daily basis. “I am confident that all I do will contribute to enabling Pitt to continue to provide
Humphrey
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Sarah Cassalt says financial stability is an important factor in deciding whether she and her boyfriend of three years will marry. “Being married means that we are finally financially independent and capable of making the decision together,” Cassalt, a junior majoring in nutrition and dietetics, said. According to a paper published in December by the National Bureau of Economic Research, she and other millennials shouldn’t approach marriage so cautiously. The paper, titled “How’s Life at Home? New Evidence on Marriage and the Set Point for Happiness,” shows a causal relationship between people being in a marriage and feeling more satisfied in their lives.
Marriage
In 2012, 1 in 5 adults age 25+ had never been married Median age at first marriage is 27 for women and 29 for men, up from 20 for women and 23 for men in 1960 Data from Pew Research Center
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January 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1
HUMPHREY
MARRIAGE
the best collegiate experience in the world and an experience that prepares them to live lives of significance,” Humphrey said. Humphrey will work closely with Gallagher and Pitt senior management, including community and governmental relations, university communications and office of the secretary employees, according to a University release. Provost Patricia Beeson expressed confidence in Bonner assuming Humphrey’s role. “I am confident that Kenyon, together with the strong and dedicated staff in student affairs, will continue to support an exceptional student experience,” Beeson said in a statement. Humphrey said her involvement with the community will expand as part of her new role. “Pitt is an integral part of the community, and helping to develop partnerships that strengthen our community is one of the most attractive aspects of this new position,” she said.
Marriage is a conversation topic for Cassalt and her boyfriend, she said, but they haven’t made a decision because of factors like long distance and finishing school. To author the NBER paper, Shawn Grover and John Helliwell analyzed data from the United Kingdom’s Annual Population Survey, British Household Panel Survey and the Gallup World Poll. While previous studies have shown a positive correlation between marriage and wellbeing, Grover and Helliwell’s study suggests a stronger relationship between the two — specifically that married people are happier than their single counterparts. Grover, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, said they arrived at this conclusion, specifically because of the data sets they chose. “[W]e were able to see how happy the people who ended up getting married back were when they were single,” Grover said, particularly regarding the British Household Panel Survey data, which they collected from
the same households annually for 19 consecutive years. “This allowed us to check for selection effects, such as if married people become happier or if happier people become married.” Couples who aren’t necessarily married but are living together are also significantly happier, according to Helliwell, senior fellow and co-director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s Program for Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being. The CIFAR, according to its website, is a Canadian-based global research organization that focuses on improving human health, transforming technology, building strong societies and sustaining the Earth. “Our results were parallel [to the married individuals] for those living together,” Helliwell said. “Thus the happiness benefits appear to be flowing principally from the supports provided by partners and friends, rather than the specific institutional form under which these supportive relations are formed.” Another result of their study showed that married couples who consider each other as their best friends felt even happier than those who were only married. The study’s results stress the importance of supportive friendships, Helliwell said, and
they aren’t confined specifically to the institution of marriage, nor even to any generation of people. The opportunities for developing supportive relationships are available to anyone, he said, and millennials in particular should not let economic or occupational pressures restrict them from making those connections. Anna Coleman, a recent Pitt graduate, said she feels ready to take the leap with her fiancé, Bill Fabrizi. “We both have good jobs with long-term potential, though we’re still finding our way into adulthood,” Coleman, who graduated with a degree in environmental studies in 2014, said. “But we’re figuring it out together.” The two became engaged in the spring of 2014 and are now planning their wedding. Despite feeling financially secure enough to get married, Coleman said the expenses of the wedding are already starting to become a little terrifying. “We don’t want to go into debt this early in life,” Fabrizi, who graduated from Penn State in 2013, said. “That forced us to make tough decisions and cut down on a lot of things other people do for weddings.” Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.
January 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
EDITORIAL
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OPINIONS
TNS
NCAA must keep Penn State sanctions
Penn State just can’t stay out of the headlines. The prestigious football program still faces sanctions imposed on it by the NCAA, which stem from the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal. But restrictions are easing up for the program. The NCAA dropped its postseason ban on Nittany Lion football in September, allowing the team to play Boston College in this year’s Pinstripe Bowl in New York City. And now the NCAA may further relax penalties against Penn State, according to many news outlets. Some may be happy to hear this news. Some may believe that the NCAA rushed to judgement when penalizing Penn State — after all, the media covered the story extensively. Perhaps now, a few years removed from the controversy, the NCAA thinks that current students and staff should not pay the consequences for the wrongdoings of those who came before them. However, these notions still do not deserve to take away from the strong message that the NCAA’s sanctions on Penn State send. And, thankfully, the NCAA has not yet taken any new action on these matters. But we urge the NCAA to stick to their original sanctions on Penn State’s football program, ensuring it pays the appropriate consequences for its actions. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the NCAA, state officials and Penn State are in discussions to restore Penn State wins back to the program — wins that were vacated as part of the program’s Sandusky scandal punishment. If the NCAA restores these wins and again goes back on its justly imposed sanctions against Penn State, it
will send a message of wrongful priorities to all students and individuals across the country. Remember the NCAA sanctions imposed upon University of Southern California in 2010 for wrongdoings in 2004 and 2005? The NCAA vacated the Trojans football team’s last two wins of 2004—a year in which it won the National Championship—and also vacated all of their 2005 wins. Why? Star USC running back Reggie Bush accepted gifts from agents before his collegiate career had ceased. Bush later voluntarily relinquished his 2005 Heisman Trophy in an effort to put the controversy behind him and his Alma Mater. Although Bush and USC undoubtedly broke NCAA rules, there is no doubt that accepting gifts or signing autographs is a significantly less severe offense than making a minimal effort to expose known sex abuse of children. If USC and other teams must face consequences for prematurely accepting gifts, even when the same athletes, like Reggie Bush, consistently give back to their communities, Penn State should face its penalties to the fullest extent — no questions asked. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. This behavior is despicable and unequivocally wrong, regardless of any other gray area surrounding the case. There are many areas of life far more important than sports. Guaranteeing children’s safety and wellbeing is one of them. We should all work together to ensure that nothing like the Jerry Sandusky scandal ever occurs on our college campuses again. By sticking to their initial sanctions against Penn State, the NCAA can play a major role in achieving that goal.
MORGENSTERN
Bridging the racial disparity gap Ben Morgenstern For The Pitt News
As we’ve realized from events in Ferguson, Mo., New York and elsewhere across the country, racism — here focused on racial inequalities and misconceptions — still exists and is nothing new. Before I came to Pitt, I was part of a group called “The Dream Team” — I know it’s cheesy — at my high school, which focused on raising awareness of racism and segregation in school systems and what we could do to combat it. I, along with four other students, our school principal and a few school administrators went to multiple schools in our district to talk to students and teachers alike about racial stereotypes, misconceptions and solutions to countering each. As someone who attended public city schools since the fourth grade, I personally have become friends and acquaintances with countless people who are a different race than me. Unfortunately, this is not the case
for many people, and we all must work to ensure that students do not fall victim to racial misconceptions and stereotypes. Racism has plagued our country since its founding in 1776. Now, almost 240 years later, racism is still a widespread issue that Americans desperately need to address. To bridge the racial disparity gap prevalent in our schools and communities, we must implement proactive educational and social programs in our schools, starting with a student’s earliest development. No one is born racist. Children form ideas and opinions based on what they see and hear. If they are surrounded by racist parents, peers, teachers or anyone else, it would be no surprise if they end up having racist thoughts as well. Just think of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic song from the musical “South Pacific,” “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.” As the lyrics proclaim: “You’ve got to be taught / To hate and fear / You’ve got to be taught / From year to year / It’s got to be
drummed / In your dear little ear / You’ve got to be carefully taught.” To successfully combat racism, school boards and parents must expose their children to real facts about different races. If children learn historical and cultural lessons early, they will more likely grow to consider all races to be equally deserving of educational, social and economic opportunity. As members of The Dream Team, my peers and I primarily discussed what we could do to prevent racism, including implementing educational programs at an early level. One of the main points we would try to convey to students was that they, especially at a young age, tend to segregate based on where they live. As seen in Pennsylvania, as well as in many states across the U.S., different areas of the state are segregated by race. Aside from Allegheny County and Philadelphia, there isn’t a single county in Pennsylvania where black people occupy more
Morgenstern
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January 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
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MORGENSTERN
than 17 percent, with most counties closer to 0.1 to 7.5 percent. Because of this racial disparity in the majority of Pennsylvania’s counties, it is not uncommon to meet people of all ages who have had very little interaction with people outside of their own race. Exposure to racial groups outside of one’s town is the most effective method for combating racism, as well as media portrayals, wheth-
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er in the news or on network programming. While it would be unrealistic to have equal representations of race in every school district — black students are a minority in the country after all — there are many more feasible alternatives to exposing kids to diversity. A resource for teachers is alimichael.org, a website run by Ali Michael, a University of Pennsylvania graduate with a Ph.D. in Teacher Education. Michael’s site, which stands by the motto “Educating for Equity,” offers multiple books, PDFs, videos and workshops for teachers to help expose their students to diversity.
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Michael also links to other diversity programs that are being offered, such as the “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit that was recently featured at The Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Resources like these, which can be accessed online and in museums, are some of the best methods to expose young students to racial equity. It is only after this sort of exposure that we can expect a change in the way people treat others based on race. Racism is still a problem that America faces, as we’ve seen in recent events such as the ones involving Michael Brown and Eric
Garner. But with education and integration, we all can improve upon this problem. This progress starts with programs and exposure in elementary and middle schools, when children are still growing into the adults they will become. It is only after this cycle is broken that we can work toward eradicating racism completely. Ben Morgenstern primarily writes about education and social issues for The Pitt News. Write to Ben at bdm46@pitt.edu.
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ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT venue, will be the Bastard Bearded Irishmen, a tribute to Irish drinking songs and mandolin-powered rock; the SpacePimps, a delightfully catchy pop punk group; Gene the Werewolf, who you may have heard on the radio with their recognizably classic rock anthem “I Only Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll;” and Identity X, a compelling mix of metal and post-hardcore, among other bands. Other venues include 21st Street Coffee and Tea, Thin Man Sandwich Shop, Framezilla and Pittsburgh Winery. At each location, attendees can browse the works of various art vendors curated by Second Shift Crafters, an organization committed to creating markets for Pittsburgh artisans. T h e 21 and up venues will serve Pabst Blue Ribbon, one of the festival’s sponsors, on special, and some will serve discounted Wigle Whiskey from a locally owned and operated distillery located on Smallman St., which is conveniently another venue. Food trucks, including Saucy Mamas Italian Food Truck, Southside Barbeque Company and Lomito Truck, will whip up food outside Altar Bar and between Framezilla and Pittsburgh Winery for those less inclined for a
S t r ip Dis t r ic t Music f es t
t o sp o t l i g h t
l oc a l a r t is t s Stephanie Roman Staff Writer Pittsburgh may not boast the famous local music scene of a New York or an Austin, but this weekend, the city will show off its scenebuilding chops. The Strip District will house more than 70 local bands and artists in at least 10 venues between noon and 2 a.m. on Saturday during its inaugural Strip District Music Fest. Everybody from metalheads, indie kids and hip-hoppers to electronic aficionados, punks and folksters will find something to chew on, assures organizer Drusky Entertainment. The best part? It’s completely free to attend. Free, however, in the sense that it doesn’t cost anything to get into the venues or see the bands. Attendees are strongly encouraged to pay-whatyou-want — a system designed to pay 75 percent of each donation to the musicians and to preserve 25 percent for next year’s event. Donating doesn’t automatically guarantee admittance into a venue, because of either age restrictions or capacity, but it ensures artists compensation and provides a possible incentive to return. Performing at Altar Bar, Drusky’s main
bar or sit-down meal. Alternatively, the Strip District boasts many restaurants and cafes unaffiliated with the festival. “We’re also encouraging fans to check out some of the other great restaurants in the neighborhood,” Drusky Vice President Josh Bakaitus said. Some local music fans won’t be joining the festival, however, because of recent controversy surrounding Drusky’s owner and president. In December, Brian Drusky posted comments on Facebook that some activists labelled as mockery of recent anti-police protests. His posts drew online backlash, resulting in several artists dropping out of the Music Fest lineup, including Roger Harvey, Chet Vincent and the Big Bend and André Costello and the Cool Minors. Drusky has since removed the comments and posted an apology to Facebook. Another Drusky show slated for February with Anti-Flag was canceled because the band refused to stand with those who “belittle the fight” against racism. This controversy provoked an outspoken “Boycott Drusky” group to arise on social media. Pittsburgh comedian Davon Magwood participated in the boycott before meeting with Drusky in December at a town-hall gathering to open the discussion about race and police violence. But the efforts have left Magwood disappointed. “The climate has not changed, there hasn’t been much action on [Brian Drusky’s] end yet,” Magwood said. “And for the black community to feel like he truly means well, he has to show it with his efforts, not what is said. His comments showcased an ignorance that has been allowed to continue in
From left: Gene the Werewolf, Bastard Bearded Irishmen and Beauty Slap. Photos via the bands’ Facebook pages
this city for way too long.” Despite any personal feelings on Drusky’s conduct, Bakaitus said the Strip District Music Fest is intended to showcase Pittsburgh’s
recent cultural development. The event will “set a stage for the neighborhood as a whole, the culture and development that has been happening over the last couple of years,” Bakaitus said. “I’m also striving to showcase the vibrant and diverse music scene within Pittsburgh.” One of the festival’s prospective attendees, Stephen Weiss, a strings teacher at Johnstonbaugh’s Music Center, admires the festival for spotlighting a music scene that doesn’t draw the acclaim of those in larger cities. “I really love these kind of events because it exposes to Pittsburgh the amount of awesome talent that exists in a city that’s not necessarily as well known for its music scene like New York and Nashville,” Weiss said in an email. “I’m also a big believer in supporting the local artists.”
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January 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
REVIEW
Viet Cong’s debut a visceral fusion of ugliness and beauty Dan Willis Staff Writer
Viet Cong Viet Cong Grade: A Viet Cong have a reverence for menace — the particular dynamic of pain and pleasure that they display on their wiry self-titled debut makes this much obvious. Arising from the ashes of the much-missed Women, this Albertan art-rock quartet co-opts agony into songs that are wild, ominous and stunningly gorgeous. In other words, their regrettably inflammatory band name is a lot more Francis Ford Coppola than it is Ken Burns. Viet Cong is their high-energy tour through the war-torn wasteland of modern life. The album begins with the martial trash can drumming and ghastly screeches of
“Newspaper Spoons,” a song appropriately named after William S. Burroughs’ term for the arbitrary moral guidelines that a culture constructs to obscure its obscene and hateful underpinnings. This song reveals the basic elements of the band’s style: needly guitars, muscular drumming, murky production and the monolithic presence of frontman Matt Flegel, whose fondness for the polysyllabic language of bureaucracy acts as a sort of newspaper spoon for otherwise visceral songs. Flegel croons like Bowie at his most detachedly coked-out, with lyrics like “overdeveloped in incompetent ways” or “failed to keep the necessary papers for evacuation.” This way, he can provide a sublimely unfeeling foil for the death-wails and banshee screeches of his bandmates. But it’s not all texture here. Listen closely, and you’ll find that these songs are over-
Viet Cong
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Jagjaguwar
January 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 6
VIET CONG
The Pitt News Crossword, 01/14/15
flowing with detail: mathy guitars, melodic basslines and a surprisingly sophisticated sense of harmony for what is essentially an album of moody punk rock. The album is also fantastically sequenced. It’s concise, with seven distinct tracks coming in at under 40 minutes. Eerie moments always push toward raucous ones — jammy passages always guarantee pop payoff. These contrasts maintain the momentum and prevent the tracks from blurring together. The ambivalent, droning “March of Progress” breaks into a heavenly section of polyrhythmic guitar in its final minute, but immediately after, the listener’s patience is rewarded by the tetchy, post-punk workout “Bunker Buster.” So beyond the band’s obvious appreciation for eye-widening terror and sub-zero groove, its surprisingly delicate compositions keep the album fresh, play after play. Then we have the closing track, “Death,” which clocks in at a whopping 11 minutes and 17 secACROSS 1 Parking lot fillers 5 “Me too!” 10 Cutlass automaker 14 Nike competitor 15 Valuable violin, for short 16 Genesis or Exodus, e.g. 17 Like the 1920s’30s, economically 19 Wild revelry 20 Audition hopefuls 21 Enjoyed a sail, say 23 Indian melodies 24 Excellent work 27 Dean’s email suffix 28 Japanese sash 30 Back of a flipped coin 31 2,000 pounds 32 Uncooked 34 Greek messenger of the gods 35 Dramatic weightloss program 38 Geek Squad member 41 Fireworks reaction 42 EPA-banned pesticide 45 Roger who broke Babe Ruth’s record 46 Refusals 48 Prior to, in poems 49 Deadeye with a rifle 53 “A Doll’s House” playwright 55 Decorative inlaid work 56 Watchful Japanese canines 57 Comet Hale-__ 59 Hectic predeadline period 61 Thought from la tête 62 Hayes or Hunt 63 Slaughter in the Baseball Hall of Fame 64 Surrender, as territory 65 Grab 66 Emailed DOWN 1 Musical set at the Kit Kat Club 2 Guacamole fruit
onds, that deserves its own paragraph. Viet Cong make long-form seem effortless here, without resorting to episodic patchwork or extended improvisation. The song is in a state of constant emotional flux — but it never betrays itself — returning to the same motifs at the same breakneck speeds across its entirety. It barrels forward while intelligently maintaining the stakes for its own rage, undeniably the same song throughout — and never losing credit, no matter how many twists and turns it makes. Women were divisive for how readily they blended dark and light. Every song of theirs, no matter how sunny, felt like it was 30 seconds away from being demolished by atonal bowed guitar or ice shelves of white noise. But with Viet Cong, you can’t easily make the distinction between beautiful and ugly. They make music that is so dark it has to be beautiful. The fury of “Silhouettes” has such certainty that it has to be meaningful; the uncanniness of “Continental Shelf” is so insistent that it has to have a point. Viet Cong is glamorously inky, more like a perfectly polished sphere of obsidian than a gilded lump of coal.
1/26/15
By Clement McKay
3 Tear gas weapon 4 Margaret Mead subject 5 Georgia and Latvia, once: Abbr. 6 Horseplayer’s haunt, for short 7 Island near Curaçao 8 Perry in court 9 Convention pinon 10 Section of a woodwind quintet score 11 Conrad classic 12 Guard that barks 13 Big __ Country: Montana 18 Approximately 22 One-to-one student 24 Prejudice 25 Corrida cry 26 Undergraduate degrees in biol., e.g. 29 Scottish hillside 33 Detective’s question 34 Sunshine cracker 35 Massachusetts city crossed by four Interstates
Saturday’s Puzzle Solved
©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
36 Insurance covers them 37 “Please stop that” 38 Film lover’s TV choice 39 Corn serving 40 Hardly roomy, as much airline seating 42 Preordain 43 “It’ll never happen!” 44 Most uptight
1/26/15
47 Many a Punjabi 50 Goldman __: investment banking giant 51 New employee 52 Eyelike openings 54 Tugs at a fishing line 56 Clearasil target 57 Clic Stic pen maker 58 Poem that extols 60 Pince-__ glasses
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January 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
SPORTS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Carey, Panthers face third straight ranked opponent Jeremy Tepper Staff Writer
Stasha Carey admitted it. After beating then-No. 8 North Carolina, she and the rest of the Pitt women’s basketball team reveled in the victory in the locker room. “We got in the room and danced a lot,” the freshman forward said. “It’s crazy to be able to beat a ranked team knowing we came in as an underdog.” But after celebrations wound down, Pitt focused on the next opponent, The Florida State Seminoles (16-2, 2-1 ACC), whom the team (11-4, 1-1 ACC) will oppose tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. Like North Carolina, Florida State is ranked 20th in the country. Similar to Pitt, Florida State is coming off of its own big win — a 74-58 victory over then-No. 13 Duke. “It’s back to business,” senior guard Brianna Kiesel said. “They’re coming off a really big win like we are, so it’s going to be a really good game.” Head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said she doesn’t see many weaknesses on Florida State’s team. Offensively, Florida State averages 78.7 points per game, good for 17th in the country. “They’re definitely good at ball movement,” Carey said. “Moving with-
out the ball, making plays, just having a good vibe together.” Beyond ball movement, Florida State’s offensive success is largely based on the team’s balanced scoring — seven players average 7.8 points or more per game — and its ability to push the ball in transition. As opposed to a team with one or two main scorers, the Seminoles are harder to defend because of numerous weapons. “Usually, when there’s one specific person, you focus a lot on them,” Carey said. “But since everyone [scores], we definitely need to come in focused, ready, know what their players are doing and ready to stop them.” In transition, Florida State thrives from the cumulative athleticism and quickness of its roster. “They run in transition, they’re quick, they’re athletic, their post players run, so they do a great job advancing the ball and being able to score in transition,” McConnell-Serio said. Florida State’s athleticism also bleeds into other facets of its strategy. Most notably, Florida State is one of the country’s best offensive rebounding teams, averaging 18 per game, the 10th-best in the country. In total, the
Seminoles boast a 14.6 rebounding margin, fourth in the country. Mostly, Florida State’s success on the offensive boards comes from a unique, aggressive strategy. “They’ll send four, five players to the boards. Most teams only send three, maybe four, when they’re sending four, maybe five,” McConnell-Serio said. “They’re just persistent, and they’re relentless on the boards.” Within that aggressiveness, however, McConnell-Serio believes her team can take advantage by getting out in transition. “Sometimes the shooter, if it’s a [3-point shot] being taken, she’s the only one not crashing the boards,” McConnell-Serio said. “If we can rebound, we can get scores in transition.” Individually, junior center Adut Bulgak sticks out as a particularly effective rebounder for the Seminoles, averaging 10.3 rebounds per game, 34th in the country. Carey, who averages 8.4 rebounds, said she matches up well with Bulgak. “It will be a good matchup. She can definitely go up and get rebounds, but I can do the same,” Carey said.
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Stasha Carey leads the Panthers against Florida State on Thursday. Heather Tennant | Staff Photographer
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Dixon notches 300th career win over Florida State Chris Puzia Sports Editor
Jamie Dixon had a chance to earn his 300th career win against Clemson University on Saturday, but his Pitt team lost the game. Luckily, that didn’t happen twice. The Panthers (12-5, 2-2 ACC) defeated the Florida State Seminoles (11-8, 1-3 ACC) at the Petersen Events Center by
a score of 73-64 behind the efforts of sophomore guard Chris Jones. The game remained relatively close to start out — Florida State led by a narrow score of 20-18 with just less than six minutes remaining in the first half. Head coach Jamie Dixon had hinted earlier in the week that reserve center Aron Phillips-Nwankwo might see time on the court against Florida State, and
he didn’t lie. The former walk-on entered the game early in the first half. He finished the game with a careerhigh seven points and chipped in two rebounds. Late in the first half, senior guard Cam Wright deflected a pass into the air and was fouled as he jumped up to recover the ball. The play instigated a short heated exchange between Wright
and a Florida State player after the whistle blew. Despite some stretches of poor shooting, the Panthers entered the half leading 33-32. Early in the second half, Nwankwo continued to spark Pitt’s offense, drawing a foul on a made basket and throw-
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WBulgak’BASKETBALL s success in rebounding is twofold. Not only is she
ing down a big dunk in transition a minute later. This continued a stretch in which Pitt extended its lead to double digits, a lead that the team maintained for most of the rest of the game. Pitt continued to make shots and secured a few important offensive rebounds late and went on to win the game 73-64. Michael Young led the Panthers with 16 points, as well as tacking on 12 rebounds. Forward Phil Cofer, who averaged less than seven points per game entering the contest, led the Seminoles with 21 points. The Panthers next take the court on Saturday against Georgia Tech at the Petersen Events Center.
individually proficient in rebounding, but her guards help free her up, effectively penetrating the hoop. “Their guards help in that regard, because when their guards are effective at penetration, if someone’s guarding [Bulgak], your post players guarding her have to rotate and help and then you have a smaller defender rotating to her,” McConnell-Serio said. In her own right, Bulgak excels at putting herself in mismatches by often setting on-ball screens and picking and popping, the second-year head coach added. Though there isn’t one singular key to beating Florida State, controlling the offensive boards will go a long way in stopping its offense and getting out in transition for easier buckets against the team’s usually stout 42nd-ranked defense. “We have to limit their second chances, not give up offensive rebounds and take away their transition,” McConnellSerio said. If the Panthers can follow her advice and limit transition points, they will likely put themselves in a favorable position to secure another ever-important ACC win. “Any win is crucial in the ACC when you’re talking about the standings at the end of the year, and putting yourself in a position, if you have any aspirations of being in the postseason,” McConnell-Serio said.
To read Mark Powell’s full game recap, go to pittnews.com. Michael Young scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on Wednesday. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer
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