The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team's comeback bid fell short Saturday, and the Panthers lost to visiting Mt. Aloysius, 63-59.
The Mounties led for nearly the entire game, building an 18-point second half lead, and held on in final minute as the Panthers missed three attempts to tie the game.
Pitt-Bradford struggled to hit shots all afternoon, shooting 27 percent from the floor and missed its first 13 attempts from long-distance.
Mt. Aloysius built a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter behind a 10-3 scoring run and led 37-23 at the break. The Panthers compounded matters by shooting 6-24 in the opening 20 minutes.
With the third quarter winding down, Mt. Aloysius rattled off five straight points to extend its advantage to 18, 54-36. Darien Lantz scored just before the horn sounded, and Pitt-Bradford trailed by 16 entering the final frame.
The Panthers trimmed the Mountie lead to nine twice in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, yet the visitors responded each time to push it back to double-digits.
Following a free throw by Ali Rinfrette, Pitt-Bradford forced a turnover, and Kaserra Owens scored on a putback to pull the Panthers within 61-54. Brittany Watts' jumper with 2:32 left made it 62-56, and after the teams exchanged free throws, Rinfrette's layup with 1:32 shaved the Mt. Aloysius margin to three, 62-59.
The Mounties missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, but Rinfrette was off the mark on her shot. Pitt-Bradford again forced a turnover, yet Lantz' try from long-range missed. As the Mounties attempted to push the ball up the court, Lantz recorded her only steal of the day, affording the Panthers another chance to tie the game.
Rinfrette had her first attempt at a tying triple with 23 second left blocked, and her second attempt rolled off the rimmed. After a Mounties rebound, Kara Cordell hit a one-of-two free throws to ice game with seven seconds left.
Pitt-Bradford finished 5-30 from behind the three-point line and was 22-32 from the line, including missing three in the final quarter. Mt. Aloysius hit 36 percent of its attempts and connected for seven threes. The Mounties outrebounded the Panthers by four and scored 14 second-chance points.
Rinfrette had a game-high 21 points and was 8-12 from the stripe. Watts added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Lantz finished with 11 points. Owens pulled in 11 rebounds, and Shirleah Ragin dished out four assists.
Pitt-Bradford, which had its three-game win streak snapped, falls to 12-9 on the season and 9-5 in the AMCC. The Panthers host Medaille Wednesday in a matchup of two teams tied for second in the AMCC.
