Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team returned to KOA Arena on Saturday afternoon for a home game against the LaRoche Redhawks. The Panthers fell behind the visitors early and ultimately lost the matchup 92-55.
LaRoche got off to a quick start against the Panthers, scoring on their first two possessions before Paige Gratto was able to Put Pitt-Bradford on the board with a layup off of a feed from McKenna Kelly. The Redhawks continued their rally after the Gratto basket, scoring the next 10 points to force a Panther timeout. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh ended the rally with a three and then after three LaRoche free throws Abby Goos completed an old-fashioned three-point play to keep the deficit to single digits. LaRoche finished the period on a 10-6 run as Gratto and Raquel Sewell each made jumpers and Alexa Ackerman hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds, sending the game to the 2nd quarter with LaRoche ahead 28-14.
The Panthers started the second quarter slowly as well, allowing the Redhawks to score the first 10 points of the period over 3 minutes. Avery Benzel ended the rally with a field goal inside, starting a six-point run for Pitt-Bradford, which forced a LaRoche time-out. Alexa Ackerman made a shot in the lane on the following possession and Benzel closed the rally with another jumper. The visitors settled down after the time out, scoring ten of the next 12 points, pushing their lead to 26 points. Ackerman made two more free throws and a midrange jumper over the final few minutes of the half, but LaRoche pushed their lead to 29 by the break.
Pitt-Bradford had their best period of play in the third, as they were able to outscore the Redhawks 17-13. LaRoche had success early, outscoring Pitt-Bradford 7-2 over the first four minutes of play, but the Panthers were able to limit the visitors to just a layup and a free throw over the next 5 and a half. The Panthers scored 15 in that span, starting with back-to-back baskets from Sewell. After Paige Gratto matched the LaRoche layup with one of her own, Abu-Aiadeh made a pair of threes, cutting the lead down to 22. The Panthers were not able to close out the quarter, as the Redhawks converted a three-point play in the final seconds, giving them a 25-point edge heading to the final stanza.
In the 4th, the Panthers matched early field goals from LaRoche with a Sewell jumper and a three-point play from Abu-Aiadeh. Pitt-Bradford went cold after the and-one, allowing LaRoche to close the game on a 19-7 run. Gratto added a jumper and a free throw over the final minutes, while Katie Woolson and Sewell made baskets inside.
Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh led the Panthers with 14 points in the game. Paige Gratto added 11, while Raquel Sewell scored 10 off the bench while grabbing a team-leading 8 rebounds. Alexa Ackerman finished with 9 points and 5 assists.
The Panthers head into winter break with a 4-4 overall record, and a 1-3 mark in AMCC play. They will return to action after the holiday, as they will travel to New York City late in December for the CUNY Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. They will take on the hosts, Lehman at 2:00 p.m. on December 28th with a second game scheduled for the 29th. They will resume AMCC play after the new year with a home matchup against Penn State-Behrend on January 3rd.
