Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team took on former AMCC foe Medaille in their home opening game on Tuesday evening. The Panthers were able to battle back from an early deficit to build a 6-point lead but were unable to hold on late, falling 71-60 to the Mavericks.
The Panthers fell behind early as the Mavericks quickly took a 4-0 lead, but they were able to keep Medaille off the board for 4 minutes and tied the game at 4 on baskets from Abigail Goss and Lauryn Moore. The guests quickly retook the lead and went up 5 before a jumper from Alexa Ackerman and three from Ashley Hall on consecutive possessions tied the game once again. The teams remained separated by one possession for the remainder of the quarter and Goss made a close-range jumper to put the Panthers down 16-15 after one.
The Mavericks quickly scored to begin the 2nd quarter, restoring their 5-point edge. Ackerman hit a three from the wing with 4:47 in the half to tie the game at 22 and after a Medaille free throw, a Hall layup gave Pitt-Bradford their first lead of the night. Medaille responded immediately, retaking the lead with a three on the following possession and scoring 8 straight to go ahead 31-24. Daizjah Brown cut the lead to 4 with a layup and mid-range jumper before a Medaille free throw in the final seconds sent the game to the break with the Panthers trailing 32-27.
Pitt-Bradford came out firing in the second half, as they quickly cut the lead to one with a Trinity Lockwood-Morris jump shot and a pair of Hall free throws. Pitt-Bradford was able to answer each Medaille field goal to stay within one possession for the next 3:30 before the visitors scored a quick 5 points on a putback layup and a three to restore their 6-point advantage. With just over a minute to go in the quarter, Hall made a three on a pass from McKenna Kelly to put the Panthers down 4, and after a free throw, Moore was able to score on a second chance to continue to cut into the lead. Following two Medaille free throws, Alexa Ackerman closed the period with another three with just seconds left to send the game to its final quarter with Pitt-Bradford down 48-46.
Kelly opened the 4th quarter with a putback layup to tie the game at 48 and Brown hit long pull-up jump shots on back-to-back possessions to give Pitt-Bradford a 52-48 lead. They pushed their lead to six as Goss answered two Maverick free throws with a layup and Hall made another three after a third Medaille free throw. Ackerman made a running jump shot with 5:37 to go, but the Panthers were shut down after the basket, as Medaille outscored them 18-1 over the final 5:15 to close the game.
Alexa Ackerman and Ashley Hall each scored 15 points for Pitt-Bradford in the loss. Ackerman also pulled in 4 rebounds and had 3 assists and a steal. Hall shot 50% from the field, going 5-10 and 3-6 from three. She also grabbed 5 rebounds. Daizjah Brown added 9 points on 4-7 shooting and Abigail Goss finished with 8 on 4-8 from the field. McKenna Kelley led the Panthers with 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Panthers fall to 0-5 after the loss to Medaille. They will have a short break over the holiday and return to action on Wednesday, November 30th, when they host Villa Maria at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
