ERIE, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team mounted a third-quarter comeback but fell short, 84-75, Saturday in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game.
"We have to continue to work on being disciplined," Head Coach Sharay Hall said. "We also have to work toward playing a full 40 minutes each game."
Ali Rinfrette led the Panthers with 28 points, her fifth game of 20 points or more of the season and second straight.
Jennifer Isenberg earned her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Shaelyn Snipes dropped 17 points, her fifth game of double-figure scoring of the season.
The two teams started out neck-and-neck, tied 10-10 at the 4:13 mark.
But Behrend pulled away and took a nine-point advantage into the second quarter with a 23-14 lead.
Rinfrette and Snipes both knocked down three-pointers in the first quarter and Isenberg made up the other two of the Panthers' first-quarter field goals with a pair of buckets.
An "and-one" from Rinfrette at the start of the second quarter cut the Behrend lead to six, but the Lions later went on a run and took its largest lead of the half at 15 points, 46-31, with a buzzer-beating bucket.
Rinfrette did most of the scoring for the Panthers in the second quarter with eight points in the period and connecting on three of Pitt-Bradford's six field goals.
The Panthers turned it on in the third quarter, outscoring Behrend 24-11 and climbing within two points.
The Pitt-Bradford defense stifled the Lions' offense, holding them to just 23.5 percent from the field and a 0-5 mark from long range in the quarter.
Rinfrette went 3-4 from the field and hit a three-pointer in the quarter for seven points and Snipes also hit from long range and scored five total points.
A layup from Rinfrette 30 seconds into the quarter tied the game at 57-57, but that would be as close as the Panthers would come to regaining the lead.
Behrend scored nine-straight points to open up a 66-57 lead at the 5:53 mark.
The Panthers went on a run, though, sparked by an Anna Colebert layup followed by a three-pointer from Rinfrette and a layup from Etreece Adams to pull within three points, 70-67, with 3:28 remaining.
But Behrend capitalized on turnovers and made its free throws the rest of the way to ice the game and take the 84-75 win.
Snipes grabbed three steals to lead the Panthers.
Rinfrette, Snipes and Bri Wells each led the team with four assists.
Pitt-Bradford will have a quick turnaround, as it will head to D'Youville Monday for an AMCC showdown.
