Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team picked up its first AMCC win of the season on Saturday, as they defeated Hilbert 73-52 in KOA Arena.
The Panthers had to work to keep up with the Hawks early, who got off to a hot shooting start. Hilbert made a three in their opening possession, and the Panthers quickly answered with two layups by Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh and a third from Paige Gratto. Hilbert went back in front with 5 quick points before Gratto converted another layup to tie the game at 8. Amber Murak matched a Hilbert three on the next possession and Gratto added two from the line to put the Panthers in front. She added a three to give Pitt-Bradford a 4-point advantage, but it was short-lived, as Hilbert made consecutive threes to retake the lead. The visitors added a layup on the next possession, but Murak made her second three of the game to end the first quarter with the Panthers trailing 20-19.
In the second, Pitt-Bradford locked down defensively and took control of the game. They went ahead on the opening possession, as Alexa Ackerman blew by the defense for an opening layup. She stole the ball from the Hawks don't he next possession and then fed Avery Benzel for another layup. The Panthers added six more points, a Raquel Sewell layup and 4 from Paige Gratto before Hilbert got on the board with two free throws. Benzel extended the advantage to double figures with a three from the wing with 3:21 left in the half. Hilbert was finally able to convert from the field with 19 seconds remaining in the quarter, but Murak had the last word again, sinking another last-second three to put the Panthers ahead 35-24 at the break.
Pitt-Bradford kept the momentum as the second half began, scoring 6 quick points on threes from Gratto and Ackerman after 90 seconds. After a Hilbert free throw, Abu-Aiadeh made another long ball to push the Panther advantage to 19 points. Hilbert rallied with a 7-2 run to force a Pitt-Bradford timeout with 5:03 left in the third. The Panthers' defense locked down again following the timeout, allowing the Hawks to score just 3 points on an and-one for the rest of the quarter. In that span, the Panthers scored 11 points. Abu-Aiadeh made a layup, and then after the Hilbert three-point play, Pitt-Bradford made three from beyond the arc. Murak made two and Ackerman hit the third.
Hilbert scored first in the 4th quarter, making a three, but Pitt-Bradford quickly responded with an Ackerman jump shot and a Gratto three. The Hawks put on another run, scoring 6 straight before the Panthers answered again to match the run with an Ackerman trey, and three points from Gratto. In the final minutes, Murak matched a Hilbert three and Gratto answered a Hawk layup, setting the final score at 73-52.
Paige Gratto led all scorers with 24 points. She made 9-19 from the field, 3-7 from three, and 3-4 from the line. She also tallied 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and a block. Amber Murak set a career-high with 18 points. She made 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. Alexa Ackerman also finished in double-figures, scoring 15 points.
The Panthers move to 2-5 with the win and have a 1-1 record in AMCC play. They will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Allegheny at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
