Altoona, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball season came to an end on Tuesday night, as the Panthers fell to Penn State-Altoona 94-50 in the first round of the AMCC Tournament.
The Panthers fell behind right away, as the hosts came out firing, while Pitt-Bradford could not get their offense started. With this start, the Lions jumped out to a 12-0 lead before the Panthers were able to get on the board with a three from Alexa Ackerman. The hosts quickly answered with a three of their own and then quickly added 5 more, while the Panthers only converted a free throw. Ackerman and Abigail Goss each made layups, but the Panthers were not able to cut into the early deficit, as the hosts answered with 5 more. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh made a layup and a free throw in the final minute of the quarter to send the game to the 2nd with Pitt-Bradford trailing 27-11.
Pitt-Bradford struggled to get restarted in the second quarter as well, allowing the Lions to score 5 straight to open the period. Paige Gratto made a pair from the line to start the scoring for the Panthers before Amber Cross hit a short jumper and Abu-Aiadeh drained a three. The Lions answered the two Panther baskets, but the Panthers followed with a 6-0 run. Abu-Aiadeh started the rally with a second-chance layup and then McKenna Kelly made two in a row to put the deficit at 14. Unfortunately, this was followed by a 2-minute dry spell, that allowed Penn State-Altoona to restore their 20-point edge. Over the final three minutes of the half, Pitt-Bradford only mustered a Goss free throw and a last-second layup from Kelly and went to the locker room trailing 51-27.
The Panthers had another slow start after the break, allowing the Lions to score the first 10 of the half. Goss was able to start the scoring with a layup after 4 minutes of the third. Paige Gratto was able to find her footing on the offensive end in the third, scoring 8 of 10 for the Panthers over 3 minutes. Abu-Aiadeh and Abigail Goss made a three and layup late, but the Panthers could not keep the Lions off the scoreboard and headed to the final quarter trailing by 30.
The hosts continued adding to their lead to start the fourth, once again starting the new period on a 14-0, as the Panthers were unable to score for the first 7 minutes of the 4th. Amber Cross ended the drought with a driving layup, and after a stop, Avery BEnzel made two from the free throw line. Two possessions later Raquel Sewell converted a putback layup before the Lions finished the game by scoring the final 5 points of the contest.
Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh led the Panthers with 11 points. She made 4-10 from the field and added 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Paige Gratto added 10 points and grabbed a team-high 5 rebounds. McKenna Kelly and Abigail Goss each added 7.
The Panthers finish their season with a 9-16 record. In the season, the Panthers equaled their win total from the past 3 seasons combined, and reached postseason play for the first time since 2018-19.
