Bradford, Pal. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team erased a late 6-point deficit against Hilbert on Wednesday night, ultimately defeating the Hawks 52-50 in a matchup that could be crucial in the final AMCC standings.
The Panthers fell behind early, as the visitors scored the first 6 points of the contest. The Panthers were finally able to break the ice 3 and a half minutes into the game when Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh made a three from the corner. Abu-Aiadeh followed this with a short jumper to quickly cut the lead down to one. The hosts pushed their lead back to 3 points at 10 7 before Alexa Ackerman banked in a back-to-back threes to give Pitt-Bradford their first lead. The Panthers were not able to add to this over the final two minutes of the quarter, while the Hawks scored 4 unanswered to take a 14-13 lead into the 2nd quarter.
The second period was tough sledding on the offensive end for both teams as they combined for 10 points in the quarter. Neither team was able to score until there was 5:34 remaining in the half when Paige Gratto made a short jumper. A few minutes later she added a layup, but the Panthers were able to keep Hilbert from scoring until the last minute of the half. In that minute, the Hawks scored twice around a Panther turnover, but Ackerman was able to bank home a running jump shot in the final seconds to give Pitt-Bradford a 19-18 lead at the break.
The third quarter got off to a much faster start than its predecessor when McKenna Kelly made a layup on the opening possession of the half. The Hawks answered with a three-point play to tie the game at 21, and then shortly afterward made a three to go back in front. Gratto made a pair of from the charity stripe, but her free throws were followed by a quick 6-0 run that saw the deficit expand to 7. The Panthers cut into the lead twice over the final few minutes of the quarter, but could not erase the lead, and headed into the final quarter trailing by six.
The Hawks continued adding to their lead as the fourth quarter began, scoring twice in the first minute to push their advantage to double-digits. Pitt-Bradford was able to lock down defensively keeping Hilbert scoreless for 4 minutes. In that span, Kelly made a layup and Ackerman added a long ball to cut the lead in half. The Hawks maintained their lead until the final two minutes.
Trailing by six with 2:22 remaining, Kelly was able to make a layup off of a feed from Abu-Aiadeh to start what would become a 7-0 Panther run. On the ensuing defensive possession, Raquel Sewell came away with a huge steal, which Paige Gratto converted into a fast break layup. Gratto then drew an offensive foul, and on the next trip down the floor picked out Kelly for another easy layup, tying the game at 48. Following an exchange of turnovers, the Panthers got another defensive stop, and Kelly was fouled as she hauled in the rebound. She made one of two from the line, giving the Panthers their first lead since the early stages of the second half.
The Panthers were unable to get a stop on the next possession, as Sewell nearly came away with a steal but was called for a foul. Hilbert converted both free throws to take the lead, setting up a thrilling finish. The Panthers ran the clock down into the final five seconds of play before Gratto drove to the basket and drew a foul. She made the first free throw to tie the game at 50, and then after coming up short on the second, hustled to grab the offensive rebound. She was fouled a second time with 3 seconds remaining and made both clutch free throws to put the Panthers in front. The job was not quite done yet for the Panthers, as Hilbert used a timeout to advance the ball to the offensive end and draw up a play. On the ensuing inbound pass, Kelly was able to deflect the ball and come away with a steal to secure the victory.
Paige Gratto led the Panthers with 18 points in the win. She also tied for the team lead in rebounds with 7. McKenna Kelly had a huge fourth quarter for the Panthers, scoring 10 of her 14 points, while also securing 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the comeback effort. Alexa Ackerman also reached double figures, as she finished with 11 points.
The victory moves the Panthers to 8-11 on the season with a 5-8 record in AMCC play. They will face a tough task this weekend as they head to Erie to take on perennial AMCC powerhouse Penn State-Behrend. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. in the Junker Center.
