Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team got the season started with a victory on Wednesday night, defeating Thiel 67-61 in KOA Arena.

The Panthers never trailed in the game, as they jumped out to an early 16-9 lead. Abby Goss started the scoring for the Panthers with a basket inside before Paige Gratto scored 7 straight Panther points to put Pitt-Bradford ahead 9-5. The Tomcats cut the lead to 2 with just over a minute to go, but the Panthers scored 5 unanswered to finish the period. Gratto finished the quarter with 10 points.

In the second period, another freshman, Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh scored 8 points off the bench, making 3 of 3 from the field, and 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. After Thiel cut the lead to 4 from the free-throw line, Abu-Aiadeh scored 5 straight to put the Panthers up 9. She hit another three with 4:35 to extend the advantage to double digits. 

The visitors made a comeback after the break, as they went on a 12-2 run over the final 4 minutes of the third, cutting the lead down to 5. Alexa Ackerman was able to slow the Tomcats' comeback, as she scored 6 points in the quarter, and assisted two more Panther baskets.

In the fourth, the Panthers pushed their lead back to 8 points after a pair of Gratto free throws, but the Tomcats were resilient, eventually getting the Panther advantage down to 3 points with 2 minutes left. McKenna Kelly made a clutch layup to stem the comeback and the Panthers made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

 Paige Gratto led the Panthers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, recording a double-double in her first collegiate contest. Alexa Ackerman was 2 rebounds and 2 assists shy of a triple-double, as she finished with 11 points. 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Yasmine Abu-Aiafeh added 11 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, while Abigail Goss also reached double figures with 10 points.

 The Panthers are 1-0 after their season-opening win. They will be on the road this weekend but will be back at home next Wednesday night when they host Houghton at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.