Hamburg, NY -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford had a strong start in their penultimate game of the season, as they led Hilbert at the half. Unfortunately, the hosts battled back, and the Panthers could not finish a late comeback, falling 57-52 to the Hawks.
The Panthers dominated the beginning of the game, keeping the hosts off the scoreboard for the first six and a half minutes of play, while building a 12-0 lead. Ella Gettings started the scoring after 90 seconds with a short jumper, and then Raquell Sewell converted a turnover into a three-point play on the next possession. Gettings made another jumpshot and tipped in a rebound to give the Panthers a 9-0 lead before Dalayla Alexander hit a three. The Hawks finally struck back with threes on consecutive possessions and then answered a pair of GEttings free throws with a layup to end the first with the Panthers ahead 14-8.
Sewell started the second quarter with a layup, but quickly saw her basket matched. The Panthers maintained their lead and extended it to 9 points with 5 minutes left in the half after an Alexander three-pointer and a Gettings field goal. Amber Murak kept the Panthers in front with a pair of baskets, but the hosts rallied and cut the lead to 3 with 5 straight points. Gettings added one more jumper to extend the lead to 5, and then neither team scored in the final 1:41 of the half, sending the game to the break with Pitt-Bradford leading 27-22.
Pitt-Bradford kicked off the second half in the same manner that they started the game, scoring the first seven points unanswered. Murak began the third with a layup and a three, and then, after a steal, Alexander made a midrange jumper to put the Panthers up 12. The Hawks answered with a three and began chipping away at the lead with a 10-4 run. After two Murak free throws, the hosts went on a 14-0 run to end the quarter with a 6-point advantage.
The Hawks added four more points to their lead to start the final quarter before Murak ended the drought with a three-pointer. Alexander answered a Hilbert basket with another long ball and then added a free throw to cut the deficit to 5. Molly Cady converted a three-point play to put the Panthers down four, and then a Murak jump shot cut the lead to one possession. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they were kept off the board for the final 4:37 of the game. They had three possessions with a chance to take the lead, but could not convert. With 3 minutes left, the hosts got possession of the ball and were able to trim nearly two mintues off the clock with offensive rebounds. They finally ended the possession with a three, and the Panthers could not find an answer in the final 47 seconds, ultimately losing the game 57-52.
Amber Murak led the Panthers with 16 points in the loss. She also had 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Ella Gettings recorded a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dalayla Alexander also scored 12 points, while tallying 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Raquel Sewell scored 9 points and blocked 4 shots.
The Panthers fall to 0-23 on the season, and 0-15 in AMCC play. They will bring the season to a close on Saturday, when they take on Pitt-Greensburg on the road. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
