After rolling to halftime advantages of more than 20 points in the last three games against Pittsburgh, things were a little more challenging on Saturday night.

Pittsburgh cut a 13-point first-half lead down to four and only trailed 34-28 at halftime. With less than 12 minutes to play, the Panthers were only down six with possession of the ball before the Huskies put the game away with a 15-2 run.

"I am proud of how we pulled it out, we couldn't pull it away more than 10 points but we kept fighting," said UConn senior forward Maya Moore. "I think the coaching staff said it really well that it is OK to struggle. We are not machines, we have off nights shooting but as far as the effort that can't happen and I thought in the second half we brought better effort and I thought that is why we are able to pull away more."

UConn coach Geno Auriemma cited an unlikely source for playing a key role - senior guard Lorin Dixon. Dixon missed her only shot, was scoreless and had two rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes but Auriemma felt that Dixon's speed and ability to push the ball helped open avenues for her teammates.

"I didn't see a whole lot, there wasn't a great flow to the game," Auriemma said. "It seemed to be a chore, a struggle to get anything done for whatever reason. Except when Lorin Dixon was in the game, there didn't seem to be a lot of good stuff happening. It seemed to be forced. Lorin I thought changed the game the whole time she was in there. Pittsburgh did a really good job of keeping the tempo at a walk, making sure we didn't get too many run outs. It wasn't until the second half that we really got organized better defensively and it made all the difference in the world."

Pittsburgh coach Agnus Berenato, while proud of the moxie her team displayed, was not quite as pleased with the disparity in fouls called and free throws taken as the Huskies attempted 20 free throws to just four for the Panthers.

"I'll be very select in my words because I felt like we really did attack," Berenato said. "In the first half we had 22 points in the paint and imagine that, we did not have a free throw. We did not have a free throw until the end of the game. I guess we weren't working hard enough to get to the free-throw line. I don't know. It is amazing to me. We like to attack. It's not like our posts are the only ones to attack, we really like to go up and down. It was a pretty fun game to watch and I guess they didn't want to stop the clock."

Berenato was also asked about UConn playing the rest of the season with six or seven players in the main rotation following Samarie Walker's decision to transfer. It is something she dealt with in the last year on her own team. She didn't seem to think it should be a cause for concern.

"I just think that if you look at his stats, he only plays about seven people anyways, that is where it comes into play," Berenato said. "The tricky part is your practices. I know they have a fun squad of men's practice players, it really affected us. We had a few injuries. (Assistant coach) Mallorie Winn plays for me. I just don't see Shea (UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph) playing for them in their practices because they have so many practice players. I don't look at that as a negative. I think whatever hand you are dealt with, with him seven, eight or nine. You want the people who want to be there and you want the people there who are committed. You only need five to win and there are many games in the history of basketball that have probably been won (with five players). If I were a player, (Stefanie) Dolson averages 19 minutes, I am think cha ching, cha ching. If I am Heather Buck, I am thinking cha ching, cha ching that is more minutes for me."