Bronx, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team returned to action after the holiday break on Thursday as they traveled to Bronx, N.Y. to play in Lehman's Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The Panthers took on the hosts in the opener, falling to the Lightning 69-61.
Pitt-Bradford jumped out to a quick start as Abigail Goss and McKenna Kelly made baskets in the paint during the first few minutes of play. After the hosts tied things up at 4, Paige Gratto converted a three-point play and Goss made a putback layup to put the Panthers up 5. The Lightning were able to battle back, eventually tying the game and taking a 5-point lead with a minute left in the period. In the final minute, Avery Benzel made a midrange jumper and then after a Lehman turnover, hit a three to tie the game at 18 at the end of one.
In the second period, Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh carried the Panthers to another 5-point advantage, making 3 shots from beyond the arc in a little over 5 minutes of action. The Panthers went cold after the third three from Abu-Aiadeh, as the Lighting limited them to a layup and free throw from Gratto in the last 4:49 of the half. In the Span, the hosts were able to tally 11 points of their own, leaving the Panthers with a 3-point deficit at the break.
Lehman added to their lead after the restart, scoring the first four points of the half to extend their lead to seven points. Trailing by 8 with 4:39 left in the third, Kelly started a 12-3 Panther run that would see them take the lead once more. Kelly converted a three-point play to start the rally and then Gratto made a transition layup to quickly cut the Lehman lead to three. The Panthers continued to hold the Lightning off the board after a timeout and following a Kelly Free throw and a defensive stop, Amber Cross tied the game at 46 with a layup. Lehman was able to slow the run with a layup and a free throw, but Kelly added a pair from the line and a putback layup to cap the rally and send the game to its final stanza with the Panthers up by one.
Kelly continued her scoring form as the game moved into the 4th, as she scored two more early baskets in the first minute of the quarter. Unfortunately, her second basket was followed by a three-minute dry spell that saw the Lightning score nine unanswered to go ahead by six. Trailing 64-56, Abu-Aiadeh made a three to cut the lead to five, but that was as close as the Panthers would come, as they could only muster one more layup in the last 2:52 to fall 69-61.
McKenna Kelly led the Panthers with 16 points, shooting at a 50% clip. Paige Gratto recorded her 2nd double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh and Abigail Goss also reached double figures for the Panthers, finishing with 12 and 10 points respectively. Amber Cross was a force on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
The Panthers (4-5, 1-3) will be right back in action tomorrow, as they will play in the tournament's consolation game at 12:00 p.m. They will play the Salem State Vikings, who lost to #16 Hope College 73-57 in the first game of the tournament.
