Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team hosted Penn College in a non-conference matchup in KOA Arena on Saturday. The Panthers led after the first quarter, but could not keep up with the Wildcats in the final three periods, ultimately falling 77-34.
The visitors started quickly, scoring on their first two possessions of the game, but the Panthers settled in defensively and limited them to just 5 points over the final 9 minutes of the first quarter. Amber Murak made three layups around a basket by the wildcats to tie the score at 6 with 6:49 left in the quarter, and then, after both teams had a four-minute drought, Dalyala Alexander gave Pitt-Bradford its first lead with a three-pointer. Penn tied the game at 9 with a 3-point play; however, the Panthers immediately responded when Molly Cady hit a baseline jumpshot to end the quarter with the Panthers ahead 11-9.
The Wildcats tied the game after a minute of action in the second quarter, and then went in front with a pair of fast-break layups. Another Alexander long ball cut the deficit to one, but the Wildcats shut down the Panther offense and pushed their advantage to 5 with four minutes left in the half. Alexander and Stacy Sequeira each hit another three around a Penn layup to put the Panthers down 22-20, but the visitors closed the half on a 7-0 run to go to the locker room ahead 29-20.
After the break, the Panthers struggled to attack the Wildcats' 1-3-1 zone, which allowed the visitors to quickly add to their lead. Penn College scored the first 6 points of the half to push the lead to 15 before Joy McBean made a layup to start the scoring in the half for the Panthers. Ella Gettings made two free throws and a short jumper in the next few minutes; however, it was all that Pitt-Bradford could muster offensively, and the Wildcat lead grew to 29 by the end of the third.
Pitt-Bradford's scoring drought continued into the 4th, as the Wildcats scored the first 16 points of the final period. After 5 minutes of play in the fourth, Gettings made two more from the line to end the drought. Over the last four minutes of play, Murak and Alexander each added a short jumper and a free throw while the Wildcats pushed the final score to 77-34.
Dalayla Alexander led the Panthers with 12 points in the loss. She also tallied 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. Amber Murak added 9 points, while Ella Gettings finished with 6 points and 12 rebounds.
The Panthers drop to 0-4 on the year with the loss. They will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 19th when they hit the road for a matchup at John Carroll. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
