Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team battled back from a 14-point deficit to take a 53-52 lead in their game at Alfred State but were unable to maintain their momentum, ultimately falling 66-59.
The Panthers got out to a strong start, as they build an early 8-2 lead over the hosts. Ashley Hall started proceedings with a three-pointer on the Panther's first possession, and Alexa Ackerman added another a few minutes later to put the Panthers up 6-2. Abigail Goss made a layup with 5 minutes left in the first to add to the lead, but her effort was answered quickly as the Pioneers were able to score 6 straight as the Panthers were held off the board for four minutes to tie the game at 8. Daizjah Brown added a pair of free throws in the final minute of the quarter, but the hosts made a three in the last seconds of the period to send the game to the 2nd with Pitt-Bradford trailing 11-10.
Alfred State continued their run as the game moved into the second, scoring the first eight of the quarter. Hall ended the run with a pair of free throws and Goss followed that with an inside basket. McKenna Kelly made a second-chance layup to cut the lead back to 8, which started a personal 6-point run to reduce the deficit to 4. The Pioneers responded with four unanswered over the final 2 minutes to put the Panthers behind 20-28 at the break.
After halftime, the Panthers were slow to get their offense started, as the hosts outscored them 8-3 over the first 4 minutes of the 3rd, with Goss making a layup for the lone Panther basket. With 5:19 in the period, Trinity Lockwood-Morris made a three to begin the Pitt-Bradford comeback. Kelly hit another after a pair of Pioneer free throws before a Lockwood-Morris layup got the Alfred State advantage back to single digits. The Panthers continued to chip away at the lead over the last 2 minutes of the half, culminating with another Kelly three with 16 seconds to go, whittling the lead down to just four points heading into the 4th.
The Pioneers were able to push their lead back up to 7 over the first 2 minutes of the final period, before a pair of Lockwood-Morris layups and two Katie Woolson free throws put the Panthers down one point. After a Pioneer turnover, the Panthers kept rolling, and Lockwood-Morris drained another three to give the Panthers their first lead since the first quarter. The teams traded baskets for two minutes before a Panther free throw tied the game at 56 with 2:42 remaining. Over the final minutes, the Panthers were unable to keep their momentum rolling, as they were kept off the scoreboard for 2:33, allowing the hosts to score 9 unanswered points. Hall was able to make a final three-pointer with 19 seconds to go, but it was too little, too late as the Panthers fell 66-59.
Freshman Trinity Lockwood-Morris scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Panthers. She made 7-11 from the field, including 3-6 from three. McKenna Kelly Scored 13 points off the bench and led the Panthers with 6 rebounds. Ashley Hall also reached double figures, scoring 10 points while also finishing with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
The Panthers fall to 3-16 on the season with a 1-8 record in AMCC play. They will return home for a matchup with Mount Aloysius on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.