Despite a poor first half defensively against Penn State-Altoona, there was no big halftime speech from Pitt-Bradford women’s basketball coach Patrick Daniel.

He didn’t need to give one.

Leading 36-35 at the half, the Panthers outscored the Lions 35-20 in the second half to secure a 71-55 victory and maintain sole possession of second place in the AMCC standings.

“Normally I get a little animated at halftime when we play like that, but not today,” Daniel said. “We knew we didn’t play a good first half. What helped is we went on a little run to end the half and went into halftime with the lead.”

With the game tied 44-44 in the early stages of the second half, Kaserra Owens and Ali Rinfrette came up with back-to-back steals that turned into easy layups, spearheading a 24-7 run that saw Pitt-Bradford (14-6 overall, 11-3 AMCC) take control.

It was part of a collective effort that saw the Panthers come up with 14 steals — nine of which came in the second half.

Abby Brate led the way with five thefts and Rinfrette had four.

“We knew that if we turned up the pressure and played the type of defense we’ve played pretty much all year, we were going to get easy baskets and build confidence,” Daniel said. “Once we started getting some easy layups off steals we started hitting jump shots.”

Another reason the defensive tide turned can also be attributed to a tactical change.

The Panthers switched over to a zone defense, which limited the inside touches of talented Altoona (9-12, 8-7) forward Moira Corrigan, who finished with a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds.

“I had to change it up because Corrigan is an incredible basketball player,” Daniel said. “That gamble paid off in terms of defensive strategy.”

Rinfrette and Kimmel led an efficient offensive effort that saw the Panthers shoot 54.4 percent from the floor for the game. Each player scored 18 points and Rinfrette, a leading candidate for AMCC Freshman of the Year, tallied five rebounds and five assists with zero turnovers.

Rinfrette’s 3-pointer gave Pitt-Bradford its biggest lead of the game, 68-51 with 8:32 to go, effectively putting the game out of reach.

“We played a great second half,” noted Daniel.

One player who played a terrific first half was freshman forward Brooke Osborne.

Osborne scored all 12 of her points in the opening 20 minutes, showing off her mid-range game to the tune of 6-of-8 shooting.

Because the Lions chose not to pressure Osborne away from the basket, it left her open for those jump shots and she was able to convert.

“Brooke was unbelievable in the first half,” Daniel said. “If she didn’t play the type of offense and defense in the first half that she played, it would have been a much different story. She kept us in the game and that’s what we needed. I told her she’s not a freshman anymore. This was the best game she’s played all season.”

Kimmel also did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 12 of her 18 points.

All-in-all, it was a win the Panthers had to have on their home floor and they were able to take care of business.

Daniel has stressed protecting home court all season and his team has done just that, losing just once at the KOA Arena.

Next up is a home date with D’Youville on Wednesday (6 p.m.).

“It’s so crucial that we protect our home court,” he said. “We had great crowd support tonight and had our alumni back and really wanted to win this game. Every game from here on out is tough, because it’s the second time through the conference. There aren’t many surprises. It’s about execution on both ends.”

PENN STATE-ALTOONA (55)

Boslet 6-12 1-2 16, Mossellem 3-0 1-2 7, Gripp 1-9 1-2 4, Erb 0-1 0-0 0, Corrigan 10-18 0-0 20, Brooks 0-0 0-0 0, Stessney 1-10 0-0 2, Wheeler 3-6 0-0 6, Totals 24-65 3-6 55

PITT-BRADFORD (71)

Brate 3-7 1-2 7, Owens 2-4 2-2 6, Rinfrette 8-14 1-2 18, Kimmel 7-11 4-4 18, B. Osborne 6-13 0-2 12, Ware 0-0 0-0 0, A. Osborne 1-2 0-0 2, Watts 4-5 0-0 8, Lantz 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 31-57 8-12 71

Halftime: Pitt-Bradford 36-35

Three-point FGs — PSU Altoona (4) — Boslet 3, Gripp; Pitt-Bradford (1) — Rinfrette; Fouled Out — None; Rebounds — PSU Altoona 29 (Corrigan 12), Pitt-Bradford 37 (B. Osborne, Brate 8); Assists — PSU Altoona 14 (Gripp 5), Pitt-Bradford 24 (Brate 8); Total Fouls — PSU Altoona 13, Pitt-Bradford 7