Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team headed to Thanksgiving break on a high note as they defeated Penn State-DuBois in a matinee matchup 66-62.
The Panthers dominated play in the 1st, outscoring the Lions 15-6 in the opening stanza. Paige Gratto got the Panthers started on their first possession, making a layup off of a feed from Abby Goss. A few minutes later, McKenna Kelly banked in a three, putting the Panthers ahead 5-0. The visitors got on the board after 5 minutes of play but saw their efforts matched by Pitt-Bradford. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh made a three with just under a minute to go to put the Panthers up six. Following a Lions layup, Abu-Aiadeh made another three-pointer and then seconds later Alexa Ackerman stole the ball in the backcourt and beat the buzzer with a layup.
Abby Goss added to the Panther lead to start the 2nd quarter but saw the Lions battle back afterward, scoring seven in a row to cut the lead down to three. The Panthers answered quickly, matching the run with a 6-point rally of their own. Gratto started the run with a free throw, followed by a basket in the lane and then Ackerman made a three from the wing to push the lead back into double digits. The lead stayed around ten points for the remainder of the half as each time the Lions scored to reduce the lead, the Panthers answered and restored it. Amber Cross made a second-chance layup to put the Panthers up 12 with a minute left in the 2nd, however, Penn State Dubois added a pair of late free throws to send the game to the break with the Panthers leading 33-23.
Pitt-Bradford started the third quarter on the front foot as well, as McKenna Kelly hit a jumper after 90 seconds to open the scoring for the half. The Lions answered with back-to-back layups, but Ackerman kept the lead in double digits as she hit a three from the wing, her first of four in the period. The lead hit a high point of 15 points after Ackerman made consecutive threes for the Panthers around a Lion turnover. The Lions slowly chipped away at the Panther lead for the last 5 minutes of the third quarter, outscoring Pitt-Bradford 12-7 in the stretch, putting the Panther lead back at 10 points for the final period.
The Panthers scored 5 early points in the 4th but saw their efforts answered by 6 from the visitors. Ackerman made another three-pointer with 6:39 to go, putting Pitt-Bradford ahead 60-49, but her shot was followed by a four-minute drought, that saw the Lions cut the lead from 11 points to just two. Abby Goss ended the drought with a layup at 2:23, but her basket was matched on the following possession by the Lions. Goss made a mid-range jumper to put the lead back at four, but after a timeout the Lions scored again, making a basket through contact to cut the lead to two and send a shooter to the line for one more. The Lions missed the free throw and Avery Benzel grabbed a tough rebound. She was fouled and converted both of her shots from the charity stripe, securing the win for the Panthers.
Alexa Ackerman led all scorers with 22 points. She made 7-16 from the field, including 6-13 from beyond the arc. She filled up the rest of the stat sheet, as she also had 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. McKenna Kelly was the only other Panther to reach double figures, as she scored 11 points. Abigail Goss scored 8 points and also led the team with 8 rebounds.
The victory moves the Panthers to 3-1 on the season. After the holiday break, they will return to action on Wednesday, November 29th, when they open up their AMCC schedule with a home matchup with conference newcomer, Wells. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
