WILLIAMSPORT — The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women’s basketball team traveled to Williamsport on Saturday, as they took on the Penn College Wildcats in a non-conference matchup. The Panthers shot just 29.3% from the field, including 16% from three, losing the contest 71-47.
The Panthers started strong, answering 5 early Wildcat points with a three by Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh and a layup from Raquel Sewell. They took a short-lived lead after an Avery Benzel free throw but quickly fell back behind with a three on the next possession. After falling behind 12-7, the Panthers scored 5 quick points on another Abu-Aiadeh three and a layup from Paige Gratto. They could not maintain the momentum, however, and were outscored 9-2 over the final 5 minutes of the quarter. Raquel Sewell made another field goal to close the quarter, but the Panthers trailed 21-14 after one.
Pitt-Bradford started the second quarter strong, making layups on their first three possessions of the period. Gratto made the first and then after a Penn three, Benzel and Sewell added two more. The Panthers went cold after the third layup, going on a 3-minute drought that saw the hosts extend their lead back to 8. Gratto made a layup and Alexa Ackerman hit a three late in the quarter, however, the Panthers trailed 36-25 at the half.
Benzel started the second half with a free throw and Amber Murak made a jumper to cut the deficit to single digits, but the hosts took over, scoring the next 10 points to regain control.
Gratto ended the dry spell with a layup at 5:17, however it was quickly matched. Gratto and Benzel each made a set of free throws and Ackerman converted a layup in the final seconds to send the game to the final quarter with Pitt-Bradford trailing 56-36.
The hosts started the final period with two straight jumpers before Murak was able to get the Panthers back on the board with a jumper of her own. Abu-Aiadeh added another three with 6:45 to go and a minute later Gratto and Murak made field goals to trim the lead to 17. Over the final 5 minutes of the game, the Panthers were limited to just two Abu-Aiadeh free throws leading to the 24-point final deficit.
Paige Gratto led the Panthers with 12 points in the loss. She also grabbed 9 rebounds and tallied 2 assists and a steal. Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh also reached double figures, finishing with 11 points.
The Panthers fall to 0-3 on the season. They will return to action on Friday when they hit the road to take on Houghton. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
