Houghton scored 14 of the game's final 16 points Tuesday night to defeat the Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team 70-59.
The Panthers went ahead 57-56 with 3:26 remaining on Ali Rinfrette's ninth basket of the game. During the ensuing play, Houghton's Cori Beck drilled the go-ahead three-pointer, the 11th lead change of the game. Elle Reed followed with a three of her own on the next Highlander possession, and Emily Swanson's layup with 2:20 left stretched the advantage to 64-57.
Rinfrette's bucket trimmed deficit to five, but Reed countered with another triple to stretch the margin to 67-59. Reed added a three-point play for good measure in the game's final seconds to account for the final score.
The first half featured seven different lead changes. Pitt-Bradford led 15-5 in the first quarter before Houghton used a 16-2 spurt to go ahead 21-17. A back-and-fourth second quarter produced a 35-31 Highlander halftime lead.
The Panthers led by as much as six in the second half before fading down the stretch. Rinfrette's three-pointer with one minute remaining in the third quarter gave the visitors a 49-43 lead. Two Houghton free throws and a last-second three narrowed the lead to one entering the final frame.
After surrendering 10 made three-pointers in Saturday's loss to Fredonia, Pitt-Bradford yielded 13 to Houghton. In the team's first two games, the Panthers allowed just six total made threes.
Pitt-Bradford shot 32 percent from the field compared to 46 percent for Houghton, and the Panthers attempted just four free throws. The Highlanders outrebounded the Blue and Gold 48-34, and despite forcing 25 turnovers, the Panthers netted just 15 points off the miscues.
Rinfrette logged a game-high 24 points, Darien Lantz added 11, and Brittany Watts totaled 10. Kaserra Owens and Watts each had seven boards apiece, and Rinfrette collected four steals.
Pitt-Bradford drops to 1-3 on the season and has a quick turnaround as it travels to Hilbert Wednesday night for the start of AMCC play.