Pittsburgh head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio motions during a game between the Panthers and the University of North Carolina at the Peterson Events Center earlier this season. Two years removed from a 36-game conference losing streak, the Panthers appear headed for an NCAA Tournament berth.

PITTSBURGH — Two weeks. That’s all Suzie McConnell-Serio asked. Give it two weeks, the new Pittsburgh coach told point guard Brianna Kiesel.

If Kiesel didn’t like what she saw and still wanted to focus on graduating early so she could transfer somewhere else for her senior season, McConnell-Serio, hired in 2013 to revive the sagging program, would do everything but help Kiesel pack.

“She was just tired of losing,” said McConnell-Serio.

Hard to blame her.

Kiesel spent a pair of painful winters as one of the lone bright spots on a team that dropped 33 of its last 34 Big East games before jumping to the ACC.

That’s not what Kiesel signed up for.

Better to maybe just get her degree and get out of there.

Of course just by telling Kiesel to give it some time, McConnell-Serio had already earned her first crucial victory. You don’t become a two-time Olympian, the NCAA’s all-time assist leader and the WNBA Coach of the Year without turning skeptics into believers.

A few days into workouts, Kiesel — won over by her coach’s relentless optimism and energy — told McConnell-Serio she was sticking around.

“You can’t not buy into someone that is an Olympic gold medalist, someone who is one of the best point guards to play the game,” Kiesel said.

Less than two years later, the rebuilding project that once looked daunting has turned imminently doable.

The Panthers enter the final two weeks of the regular season 18-8 and 8-5 in the ACC following a thrilling overtime win against Virginia on Thursday night.

They’re assured of at least a spot in the WNIT and can near NCAA lock status with a productive run through the ACC tournament.