Coach Patrick Daniel and his Pitt-Bradford women’s basketball team had lost three straight games to Franciscan dating back to last season and, quite frankly, were sick and tired of it.

Led by 19 points from Kaserra Owens and a collective 24-of-27 effort from the free throw line, the Panthers (11-5 overall, 8-2 AMCC) earned a hard-fought 73-63 win Saturday at the KOA Arena.

“This was a real good win,” Daniel said. “We lost to them by four earlier this season and we felt like we let that one get away. We felt like if we play like we should then we had a really good chance of doing what we needed to do.”

Owens was one of four players in double figures, with Ali Rinfrette finishing with 15 points, Allison Osborne 14 and Abby Brate 11.

Together, that quartet was 22-of-25 from the line, including 6-of-6 from Rinfrette and 4-of-4 from Owens in the final 2:42 to secure the victory. What made Rinfrette’s effort even more impressive was the fact that she took an elbow to the face just minutes earlier, having to leave the game while dripping blood.

It’s that type of toughness and grit that not only personified the win against the Barons, but the Panthers’ season to date as well.

“I’ve been asked all year why I don’t have anyone up on the free-throw line and it’s because the expectation is we’re going to make it,” Daniel said. “That was a huge part of the game. They (Franciscan) were physical, aggressive and were putting us on the line and that’s where we were able to get some separation.”

That separation was hard to come by in the first 30 minutes. UPB built an eight-point lead, 24-16 after a pair of free throws by Alicia Kimmel, but Franciscan stormed back and took a three-point lead right before halftime. Osborne’s layup with 15 seconds left in the half, however, gave the Panthers the lead back, 36-35 at the break.

It was part of a half that was strange at times, as Franciscan started off the game with a technical foul for an error in their scorebook and Daniel was whistled for a technical that was puzzling to say the least.

Osborne, however,  was the big story early, as she received just her second start of the season and responded on both ends of the floor.

She made her first seven shots of the game and also came up with a key block on Katie Rhodes’ three-point attempt with under three minutes to play and the Panthers up 64-57.

“Her defense,” Daniel said simply of why Osborne was in the starting lineup. “The last few days of practice she has been playing outstanding defense. We made the decision because of what we wanted to do defensively and because of how well she’s been practicing. Offensively, her game was going. As a coach, people say ‘that’s a great decision,’ but she earned it.”

Osborne was the story of the first half, scoring 10 of her 14 and Owens was in the second half, scoring 12 of her 19.

She attacked the basket with ease, blowing by defenders for layups and drawing fouls.

“We don’t believe there’s many out there that can stop her on the drive when she gets going,” Daniel said. “She was struggling a little bit and hadn’t been able to finish, but today she was able to finish and get to the free throw line. She’s also one of our best rebounders. The box score doesn’t always show that, but she’s always around the ball. We need that every game from her and she’s capable of it.”

Conversely, Franciscan was able to stay close thanks in large part to Rhodes.

Kimmel’s jumper gave Pitt-Bradford it’s first double-digit lead of the game, 62-52, with 4:25 left, but Rhodes kept the Barons (6-10, 4-7) in it.

She drilled five three-pointers in the game, most of which were contested.

Rhodes and Lacey Huck, who scored a team-high 19 points, were the main reason why the Barons never went away.

“They hit some tough shots,” Daniel said. “I give a lot of credit to 23 (Rhodes). She hit some shots where we had people in her face and that’s going to happen.”

It was a big win for the Panthers, as they took care of business at home and maintained their grasp on second place in the AMCC standings. Next up is a three-game road trip, beginning Wednesday at Penn State Behrend.

“It’s been great to be home and we’ve done what we needed to do at home,” Daniel said. “Now we’re going to show what we’re made of this year when we go on the road for the next three. We need to come together and continue to be focused and disciplined. If we do that and give our best effort, we’ll be fine.”

FRANCISCAN (63)

Schriner 0-7 0-0 0, Roach 0-1 0-0 0, Huck 8-14 2-3 19, Dawyot 1-1 1-2 3, Gonzales 5-9 7-7 17, Rhodes 5-11 0-0 15, Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Pahren 2-7 0-0 3, Totals 23-55 11-14 63

PITT-BRADFORD (73)

Rinfrette 3-7 9-10 15, Brate 2-10 7-7 11, Owens 6-9 6-8 19, A. Osborne 7-10 0-0 14, Kimmel 3-6 2-2 8, Watts 1-2 0-0 2, Lantz 0-4 0-0 0, B. Osborne 2-4 0-0 4, Ware 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 24-52 24-27 73

Halfime: Pit-Bradford 36-35

Three-point FGs — Franciscan 6 (Rhodes 5, Huck), Pitt-Bradford 1 (Owens); Rebounds — Franciscan 23 (Pahren 6), Pitt-Bradford 36 (Kimmel 10); Assists — Franciscan 12 (Dawyot 4), Pitt-Bradford 10 (Rinfrette 4); Fouled Out — Brate; Total Fouls — Franciscan 21, Pitt-Bradford 12