Keuka Park, NY -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball teaDam traveled to Keuka on Monday night for its second game of the new campaign. The Panthers stayed with the Wolves early, but ultimately fell 65-50.
The Panthers jumped out to a quick lead on the hosts, as after 90 seconds of play, Molly Cady made back-to-back baskets in the paint. The run ended on a foul, however, and Keuka went on to score the next 7 points, with 5 of them coming from the line. Stacy Sequeira made a jumper to stop the run before Amber Murak hit a three to put Pitt-Bradford back in front. The Panthers pushed their lead to six as Abigail Goss and Joy McBean made jumpers. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost their momentum, and the hosts outscored them 10-1 in the last two minutes of the quarter to take a 17-14 advantage into the second.
Keuka continued the run in the new period with a basket on their first possession, but Murak answered with another three to end the run. After a Keuka bucket, Goss made a three to cut the lead to one; however, it was immediately answered in kind to restore the 4-point lead. Sequeira made a three, and Dalayla Alexander converted a layup to keep the deficit at four, but the hosts closed the half with a 7-0 run to go to the break ahead 40-29.
In the third, the Panther offense struggled to get restarted, which allowed the Wolves to slowly increase their lead to 13 after 6 minutes of play. Murak made a pair of layups in the span to keep the hosts in check. Alexander made a pair of threes to cut the lead back to 10 twice, but Keuka answered each one, giving them a 53-40 lead heading into the final period.
The Panthers struggled to score once again in the fourth, as they were kept off the board for the first four minutes of the period. Keuka tacked 5 points onto their lead until Ella Gettings tipped in a rebound to stop the scoring drought. The Wolves answered with a three to keep their lead at 19. The Panthers cut into the deficit with four minutes to go, when Gettings made a layup on the break and Alexander, Gettings, and Sequeira each hit one from the stripe. Alexander made one final free throw in the final minute, but it was matched by Keuka to put the final tally at 65-50.
Amber Murak led the Panthers with 16 points. Dalayla Alexander had a strong all-around game, scoring 12 points, while also tallying 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Molly Cady and Ella Gettings each grabbed 8 rebounds, while Gettings scored 5 and Cady 4.
The loss drops the Panthers to 0-2 to begin the season. They will open their home schedule on Wednesday, when they host Geneva at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.
