Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team returned home for an AMCC matchup with Mount Aloysius on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers fell behind early, and then rallied to start the 4th, but could not overcome the deficit, ultimately losing 79-61 to the Mounties.
The Panthers were able to get on the board first, as Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh hit a midrange jumper after a minute of play. After the visitors took a one-point lead, Paige Gratto hit a three from the wing to put the Panthers back in front. Pitt-Bradford's advantage was short-lived, as the Mounties scored 6 of 8 to go back in front. Alexa Ackerman made a three to erase the deficit on the following possession. The visitors stayed in front with a three and a pair of free throws, but the Panthers stayed within a possession on layups from Abigail Goss and Gratto.
Pitt-Bradford hit a dry spell after the Gratto basket, allowing the Mounties to score 8 in a row. Gratto ended the run with another basket inside and Abu-Aiadeh cut the lead to four on a three with just under a minute left. The visitors hit a jumper in the final seconds, but Ackerman was able to get to the line and make one of two to end the quarter with Pitt-Bradford down 26-21.
The second quarter started with a Mount Aloysius layup and another three from Abu-Aiadeh. Her long ball was followed by another scoreless streak, as the Panthers were held off the board for nearly three minutes, which the visitors took advantage of, building a 15-point lead. The Panthers quickly cut into the lead as Goss ended the rally with a layup and after a few stops on both sides, Paige Gratto converted a three-point play. Mount Aloysius restored their advantage with a pair of threes and then answered a three from Amber Cross with a mid-range jumper. Ackerman ended the half with another free throw, sending the game to the break the Panthers trailing by 14.
Pitt-Bradford matched early Mountie baskets to start the second half and then was able to cut the lead to 11 on back-to-back baskets from Katie Woolson and Goss. Woolson made another jumper to answer a Mount Aloysius layup, but it was followed by a 7-0 lead pushing the Panther deficit back to 18. Following a free throw from Goss, the visitors pushed their lead to 22 before Abu-Aiadeh made two from the line to put the Panthers down 65-45 heading into the final stanza.
The Panthers began the 4th quarter on the front foot, outscoring the Mounties 11-1 over the first three minutes of the period. Amber Cross started the rally with two from the line, and then Ackerman made a heads-up play, sneaking in to steal the inbounds pass which she converted to an easy layup. The Panthers continued the rally with a Gratto three-point play before Goss and Cross drove to the basket on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 10 and force a Mountie timeout.
After the Mounties ended the rally with a three, Gratto added another layup, but the visitors put together a run of their own following the basket, scoring 8 in a row to push their lead back to 19 and put the game out of reach. Gratto made one more jumper in the last two minutes and Sewell added a free throw to finish the game.
Paige Gratto led the Panthers with 17 points and 6 rebounds. She also tallied 3 assists and 3 steals. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh added 12 points, while Abigail Goss scored 10 off the bench. Alexa Ackerman was limited to 9 points but recorded 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals.
The Loss drops Pitt-Bradford to 6-10 on the season with a 3-7 mark in conference play. They will be back on the road for the midweek matchup as they head to Aurora, N.Y. for a rematch with Wells. The Panthers dominated the Express in their first matchup, winning 97-15. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
