BRADFORD, Pa. – The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team ended its season with a 17-8 overall record and finished second in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a 14-4 conference record.
The Panthers finished with 17 wins, the most wins in program history since Pitt-Bradford became an NCAA Division III member in the 1997-98 season. The Panthers also collected the most conference wins in program history with 14 and the best home record in program history going 9-1 at KOA Arena.
Pitt-Bradford's second-place finish is the best AMCC conference finish for the Panthers since the 1997-98 season, which was the inaugural year of the AMCC conference.
It's no surprise that the Panthers were able to put together a record-breaking season as they finished at the top in numerous categories, including first in turnovers per game (12.9), turnover margin (7.1), assist-turnover ratio (1.1), field-goal percentage (41.9) and scoring defense per game (56.9).
The Panthers finished second in the AMCC in points per game (66.7), steals per game (10.7) and free-throw percentage (70.6).
Headlining the year was senior Alicia Kimmel (Pine Grove/Pine Grove) who received numerous awards throughout her career as a Panther.
Kimmel scored her 1,000th point this season on Nov. 15 and is only the eighth player in program history to score 1,000 points. Kimmel finished her career with 1,385 points, which puts her fourth for all-time points scored by a Panther.
Kimmel is also second in career field goals made (545), fourth in career free throws made (274), fourth in career free-throw percentage (73.3), fifth in all-time rebounds (643) and eighth in career field-goal percentage (46.8).
She finished her senior season leading the Panthers in scoring (15.8), rebounds (6.9) and field-goal percentage (50.1). Kimmel was also named the AMCC Player of the Year for 2015 and selected First Team All-Conference.
Among the supporting cast for the Panthers were freshman Ali Rinfrette (Bradford/Bradford), sophomore Kaserra Owens (Bradford/Bradford) and junior Abby Brate (Wrightsville/Eastern York).
Rinfrette provided the Panthers with big minutes every game, leading in minutes played per game with 36.7. She led the team in free-throw percentage and posted the second-best free-throw percentage in program history at 81.4 percent.
Rinfrette finished second in scoring (12.6), rebounds (6.7) and assists (3.6). Her efforts this season landed her a Second Team All-Conference selection, making her only the fourth freshman selected to an AMCC All-Conference team.
Owens provided the Panthers with a great outside shooting presence as she led the team in three-point-shooting percentage with 40.6 percent.
Owens finished the year second on the squad in free-throw percentage and is currently tied for the best free-throw percentage in program history after two seasons at 75.8 percent.
She finished the year third on the team in scoring (11.4) and steals (2.1). Owens was able to capture AMCC Third Team All-Conference honors.
Brate commanded the point for the Panthers in 2015, dishing out 3.8 assists per game and registering 2.2 steals a game, highest on the team.
With her 269 assists, Brate is now fifth in all-time assists for the Panthers and sixth in all-time career free throws made with 244.
Head Coach Patrick Daniel said, "I am extremely proud of this team for all that we accomplished this year. It was a very tough way to end the season, losing that semifinal game by one point with one second left, but that moment does not define our season. This team played with heart, pride, and effort all year and it showed with us having the best conference record in program history and most wins since Pitt-Bradford joined NCAA Division III. I am truly thankful for my assistant coaches and the players for all they did this year to keep this program moving in the right direction."
The Panthers will look to improve in 2016 as they return four of five starters. Coach Daniel and his team are looking toward an AMCC title run in 2016.
