Bradford, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team returned to action on Wednesday night, falling to LaRoche 106-47 in their AMCC opening game.
The Panthers struggled to find their footing, as the Redhawks quickly jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first quarter. McKenna Kelly scored the first 4 points of the game for Pitt-Bradford and added a layup at the buzzer to finish the quarter with 6. Abigail Goss also added a couple of baskets inside in the period.
Trinity Lockwood-Morris started the second period by stealing the ball from LaRoche and racing down court for a fast break bucket to open the quarter, but the Redhawks scored the next 12 points unanswered to push their lead over 20 points. Summer Anderson made 3 field goals in the quarter to keep the deficit near 20 points, but LaRoche was slowly able to build their lead to 29 points before Kelly hit another shot in the final minute to send the game to halftime with Pitt-Bradford trailing 51-24.
After the break, the Panthers got the 2nd half off to a good start as Goss made short jumpers on back-to-back possessions. She added another bucket a minute later, but the Redhawks answered with another run, outscoring the Panthers 18-0 over the next five minutes to extend their lead. Goss added another jump shot in the quarter, while Kaite Woolson and Ashley Hall each made short field goals to finish the third.
LaRoche scored 5 quick points to start the 4th before Daizjah Brown opened the scoring for Pitt Bradford with a mid-range jumper. The Redhawks continued to add to their lead throughout the remainder of play while Kelly added 7 more points to her total.
McKenna Kelly set a career-high with 17 points, making 7-11 from the field and 1-1 from three. Abigail Goss also reached double figures, making 7-12 shots t finish with 14 points. She also had 5 rebounds. Ashley Hall grabbed 10 rebounds in the game, while Trinity Lockwood-Morris led the Panthers with 5 assists.
The Panthers fall to 2-9 overall after the loss, with an AMCC record of 0-1. They will return to action this Saturday, taking on Mount Aloysius in an AMCC road matchup. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. or approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men's game.
