Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team returned home on Wednesday evening, as they hosted Alfred State in an AMCC matchup. The Panthers closed strong, but could not overcome an early deficit and lost 70-50.
The Panthers started strong, as Dalayla Alexander found Molly Cady and Raquel Sewell for layups on each of the Panthes first two possessions. Unfortunately, the visitors matched each of the baskets and shut down the Panther offense, going on a 13-0 run to open up a 17-4 lead. Pitt-Bradford battled back and scored 10 unanswered points of its own to trim the lead to three quickly. Sewell started the run with a layup, and then Amber Murak made a pair of three-pointers around an Ella Gettings putback. The Pioneers ended the run with a layup, and then closed the quarter with a 7-point run to take a 24-14 lead into the second.
Murak answered an opening possession basket with a driving layup to begin the second quarter; however, it was followed by 6 straight by the pioneers. Zennette Zigler stopped the run with a three from the wing, and Alexander made back-to-back field goals to cut the deficit to 9. The Panthers struggled to score over the final minutes of the half, as they could only muster a tip-in and a free throw by Sewell as Alfred State tacked on 9 more to send the game to the break with the Panthers trailing 41-26.
Alfred State started the 2nd half with two layups, but the Panthers answered them with a pair of Sewell free throws and an Alexander layup. After the Pioneers added a layup, Murak swished a deep three; however, her effort was matched by the visitors on their next possession. Over the final 5 minutes of the third, the Panthers only scored on a long Zigler jumpshot, while their opponents scored 12 points in the same stretch.
In the fourth, the Panthers scored on their first possession with a Sewell putback, and then after a Pioneer layup, Gettings made back-to-back jump shots. With two minutes left, Murak hit three consecutive three-pointers on consecutive possessions; however, the deficit was too great, and the Pioneers added one final free throw to bring the final score to 70-50.
Amber Murak led all scorers with 19 points in the loss. She made 5 three-pointers and also added 4 rebounds. Raquel Sewell recorded her first double-double in two seasons, as she finished the game with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Dalayla Alexander scored 6 points, while also tallying 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Zennette Zigler scored a career high 5 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
The loss drops Pitt-Bradford to 0-13 and 0-5 in AMCC play. They will be back in action this weekend, when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on Carlow. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
