Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team traveled to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a matchup with 1st-place LaRoche. The Panthers were unable to keep up with the Redhawks, who won the game 103-66.
The hosts jumped in front early, scoring the first 6 points of the game unanswered. After more than three and a half minutes of play, Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh was able to break the ice for Pitt-Bradford, as she made a three-pointer off a pass from Paige Gratto. Gratto made a pair of free throws to answer a LaRoche layup, but they were followed by a quick 7-0 LaRoche run, opening a 10-point lead. The Panthers battled for the remainder of the quarter, as they kept the lead from expanding, and even cut it down to 6 points on back-to-back layups from McKenna Kelly and Raquel Sewell. They were not able to take the momentum into the 2nd quarter, however, as the Redhawks hit a three in the final seconds to end the first with a 25-16 lead.
As the second quarter began Abu-Aiadeh made a layup and Gratto added a free throw to keep the lead in single digits, but the Panthers could not keep the hosts down for long, as they eventually went on a 17-5 run to extend the advantage to 20. Gratto made a three to put the Panthers down 29-46 with 3:37 remaining in the half, however, it was all Pitt-Bradford could muster offensively for the rest of the quarter, as LaRoche closed it on a 13-0 run.
The Panthers started the 2nd half on the front foot and were able to trim the deficit by four. This included a strong stretch from Alexa Ackerman as she drove to the basket for a layup and then made a three on the next possession. The Panthers looked for opportunities to rally and chip away at the lead but struggled to stop the Redhawks offensively, allowing 86 points to the hosts through the first three quarters.
Pitt-Bradford's defense stepped up in the final quarter, limiting LaRoche to 17 points, their lowest output in a period for the game, but the offense faltered and was only able to score 16 on the other end. Abigail Goss and Abu-Aiadeh were able to score 4 points in the quarter, while Avery Benzel and Paige Gratto added 3 each.
Freshman Paige Gratto finished the game as the Panthers' leading scorer, tallying 16 points in the loss. She also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh added 14, while Alexa Ackerman and Raquel Sewell each scored 10. Sewell led the Panthers' rebounding effort with 6.
Pitt-BRadford falls to 7-11 overall, with a 4-8 record in conference play. They will return to KOA Arena in their midweek match when they will host Hilbert in a tilt that will be crucial in the final AMCC standings. The Panthers fell to the Hawks 64-46 earlier this season. Tipoff for the rematch is slated for 7:00 p.m.
