Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team brought the fall portion of their schedule to a close on Thursday Evening, as they hosted Allegheny in KOA Arena. The Panthers struggled to find the bottom of the net and fell to the Gators 87-46.
Despite allowing the visitors to score the first two baskets of the game, the Panthers stayed with the Gators early using a Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh three and a layup from Paige Gratto to keep the deficit at one after three minutes of action. Allegheny went on a short run, widening the gap to 8, but Pitt-Bradford quickly scored seven straight to get the lead back to one point. Amber Murak started the run with an old-fashioned three-point play, and then the Panthers struck on the break with two quick layups by Gratto and Abu-Aiadeh to force an Allegheny timeout at 15-14. The break worked for the visitors, as it cooled off the Panthers and led to Allegheny finishing the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 22-14 lead into the second.
The drought continued for the Panthers in the next period and the lead grew to 14 before Gratto was able to get the Panthers on the board with a basket inside. The layup was only a temporary respite as the Gators continued their run, scoring 12 of 13 points. Over the final minutes, Abu-Aiadeh made a three and Gratto hit 4 from the line as the Gators added a pair of layups to send the game to halftime with the score 44-24 in favor of the visitors.
The Pitt-Bradford offensive struggles intensified in the third quarter and the Panthers were held to just three points in the period. Allegheny scored the first 12 points of the half over a 4-minute1 span before Alexa Ackerman made a three. They followed up Ackerman's longball with another long run, this time outscoring Pitt-Bradford 11-0.
The Panthers trailed by 40 heading into the final quarter but were able to turn things around on the offensive end. The Gators scored the first 6 points of the fourth before Murak made a three to get the Panthers back on the scoreboard, ending a 9-minute drought. With 4 minutes remaining, the Panthers were able to put together a scoring rally of their own, scoring 8 unanswered. Amaria Mims started the rally with a driving layup and then grabbed the defensive rebound on the ensuing possession. Gratto converted the stop into a layup. Two possessions later Katie Woolson made a layup in transition and after another defensive stop, Gratto made a final jump shot to end the run.
Paige Gratto led the Panthers with 18 points. She made 6 of 19 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line. She also led the Panthers with 8 rebounds. Amber Murak added 9 points off the bench for Pitt-Bradford, while Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh scored 8 first-half points in the loss.
The Panthers record falls to 2-6 on the season. They will take the next two weeks off for the holiday break, before returning to AMCC action in the new year. Their next game will be on the road, as the Panthers will travel to Pittsburgh to take on La Roche on Saturday, January 4th. Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.
