Greensburg, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Women's Basketball team hit the road on Saturday, as they traveled to Greensburg for a matchup with the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats. The Panthers struggled to find their range early, and could not recover, falling to the Bobcats 87-51.
The Panthers fell behind right off the bat, as the hosts scored the first 4 points of the game on their first two possessions. Pitt-Bradford was able to respond with a run of their own, as they scored 7 in a row to take the lead. Paige Gratto made a free throw to break the ice for the Panthers and then followed that up with a midrange jumper and a layup after two steals on consecutive trips down the court. On the ensuing possession, Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh intercepted a pass at the top of the key and raced to the basket for a fast-break layup. Pitt-Greensburg answered with 10 in a row, taking a commanding lead that they would not relinquish. Alexa Ackerman slowed the run with a three-pointer, but it was all the Panthers could muster as the hosts led 23-10 after one quarter.
The situation did not improve for the Panthers as the game resumed. The Bobcats kept the Panthers off the board for the first 4 minutes of the second, scoring 7 unanswered points. Gratto made a layup to end the drought with just over 6 minutes left in the half, but the Panthers were limited to only 4 more points in the quarter. Gratto hit a three and added a single free throw over the remainder of the period, sending the game to the break with Pitt-Bradford trailing 42-16.
Pitt-Bradford got off the mark much faster in the 2nd half, as it took one minute for Gratto to make a layup and start the scoring. The Bobcats answered with two straight inside before she added another basket inside, which was followed by a layup from Abby Goss a possession later. The Panthers were able to trim away some of the lead over the next four minutes when Gratto and Abu Aiadeh made long balls ro cut the lead to 22, but the rally was shortlived, and the hosts finished the quarter with a 9-3 run to take a 30 point lead into the final quarter.
In the 4th, the Panthers were unable to rally, when the hosts answered each of the Panther points with some of their own, eventually extending their lead throughout the period. Abu-Aiadeh stepped up with 6 points in the quarter, while McKenna Kelly added a pair of layups. The Panthers were limited to an Abby Goss layup over the final 4 minutes, as the hosts extended their advantage to its largest point of 36 in the final seconds.
Paige Gratto led all scorers in the game with 23 points. She also accumulated 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in the game. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh also reached double-figures for the Panther, scoring 14 points in the game. She led the team with 7 rebounds. Abby Goss added 6 points in 18 minutes of action.
Pitt-Bradofrd drops to 5-9 overall with a 2-6 record in AMCC play. They will be back on the road for their midweek matchup, as they take a long trip to Altoona for a 7:00 p.m. tip on Wednesday.
