When she first found out she was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, Mallorie Winn wept. The date was March 28, 2007, and Winn, starting point guard for the Pittsburgh women's basketball team, had just missed what would have been her senior season. She missed the school record-setting 24 victories. She missed the Panthers' first NCAA Tournament bid in history. She missed playing at home in the NCAAs at Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center. And finally, months after applying to the NCAA for a sixth year, having missed the entire season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee suffered in November, Winn was granted a reprieve she wasn't sure she'd get. “She's so happy she has the opportunity to finish her career,” Pittsburgh coach Agnus Berenato said this week of Winn, back in the starting lineup for the 18th-ranked Panthers. “She's truly grateful. ... The storm passes and you say, 'Phew,' and sometimes the sun shines just a little brighter.”

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