Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team played their penultimate game of the regular season on Wednesday night as they hosted Penn State-Altoona in an AMCC matchup in KOA Arena. The Panthers fell behind early and ultimately fell 72-59 to the Lions.
The visitors scored first, as they hit a three from the wing after 1:40 of play, but the Panthers answered back quickly as Raquel Sewell made a layup a possession later. Unfortunately, the Lions were able to lock down the Panthers for the next five minutes of play, keeping Pitt-Bradford off the board while building a 15-2 lead. Paige Gratto was able to end the 12-0 run with a layup and then a minute later added a three. The Lions finished the quarter with 4 unanswered, leaving the Panthers down 21-7 after one.
Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh got the Panthers kick-started in the second period, hitting a three-pointer on the first possession of the quarter. The Lions answered with 6 in a row until Gratto made another long ball. With the deficit up to 19 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the half, the Panthers put together an 8-0 run of their own to cut the lead back to 11. Katie Woolson drove to the basket for a layup to start the rally and then Gratto added a three-pointer and a free throw. McKenna Kelly converted a steal into a fastbreak layup before the Lions ended the rally with a three of their own. Avery Benzel was able to add a late layup to send the game to the break with the Panthers trailing 38-25.
The Panthers started the scoring in the 3rd quarter once again, as Sewell made a midrange jumper, but her effort was followed by another Penn State-Altoona run that saw them extend their lead to 20 points. Gratto made her fourth three of the game to begin to lead a comeback effort, however, the Lions answered four more Panther free throws with six straight overall, pushing their advantage back to 19. Benzel made another layup before the buzzer to put the deficit at 17 heading into the final period.
In the fourth, the Panthers were able to get to the line early and scored on an Abu-Aiadeh jump shot and a Gratto layup, but could not cut into the lead as the Lions scored 5 straight to keep their lead at 18. Pitt-Bradford was able to trim the lead down to 12 points on an old-fashioned three-point play from Amber Cross, which was followed by an Abu-Aiadeh long ball in transition. The run came up short, and the Lions pushed their lead back to 15 quickly. Abu-Aiadeh and Cross made layups in the last minute, but the margin was to great, as the visitors were able to dribble out the clock with a 13-point win.
Paige Gratto led all scorers with 21 points. She was 7-17 from the field, but was on the mark from deep, making 4 of 5 from three. She also grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh also reached double figures, scoring 10 points. She was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 9, and also dished out 4 assists. Avvery Benzel provided some efficient minutes off the bench, as she made 3-5 from the field, scoring 8 points.
The Panthers record falls to 8-15 with the loss, including a 5-12 record in AMCC play. They head into the final game of the season holding onto the 6th seed in the AMCC tournament. They will need a win over Pitt-Greensburg, or a Hilbert loss to clinch the postseason berth. Along with being a crucial matchup for playoff standings, the Panthers will also celebrate Senior Day, as well as Alumni Day before the game. The Action is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, in KOA Arena.
