It’s been a tough start for Pitt-Bradford women’s basketball opening, but the Panthers, who came in 0-4, are now in the win column tafter beating Penn St DuBois on Monday, 83-76.
It looked like things were going south for UPB early when the Nittany Lions quickly established a 10-2 lead four minutes in. The Panthers didn’t let the lead get any bigger as they slowly worked their way back into a tie. Junior Panther forward Raquell Sewell scored five straight points making it 18-18 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
The rest of the half was pretty even. After the slow start, UPB went into the break up 35-32.
At the start of the second half, senior guard Alexa Ackerman helped the Panthers develop a 46-38 lead with two three-pointers. Sophomore guard Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh then added a 3-pointer and a layup as the lead grew to 51-42.
Freshman Smethport product Elizabeth Hungiville did her best to get the Lions back in the game, scoring nine points in less than two minutes.
The sudden scoring burst was matched by UPB though as the third quarter was winding down. The score was 62-57 heading into the final quarter.
Things were looking good for the Panthers early in the fourth. Senior guard Katie Woolson sank back-to-back three pointers to extend their lead to 68-59.
As the game was getting into its final minutes, UPB failed to subdue Penn St Dubois. The Nittany Lions closed the gap to 80-76 with 2:11 remaining in the game. Neither team could score until Abu-Aiadeh made a crucial layup with 44 seconds left to make it a six-point lead. The Nittany Lions failed to make a late game push as the Panthers won 83-76.
Hungiville made the Smethport contingent in the stands at KOA Arena proud in a losing effort. She scored 34 points to lead all players, a program single-game record. She also had 14 rebounds. Sophomore forward Natalie Bowser was the other main contributor for the Lions with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
Ackerman played the whole game and led the Panthers with 22 points and six assists. Abu-Aiadeh added 18 points while sophomore Paige Gratto snagged 13 rebounds.
Perhaps the most important stat of the game was Penn St DuBois finishing 0-15 from the three-point-line.
“Perimeter defense was definitely an emphasis for us,” Panther first year head coach Melloni Benson said. “No uncontested threes or layups, we knew that they had the advantage in the paint. We were willing to live or die with the free-throw jumper.”
The Panthers overcame losing the rebounding battle and got outscored in the paint 52-32.
“We are working on rebounding daily,” Benson said. “Of course, height is a thing, but we are really just trying to work on boxing out.”
UPB Improved to 1-4 with the victory while Penn St DuBois is now 3-3 on the season. Up next for the Panthers will be an away game against Mount Aloysius on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. Penn St DuBois will play at Penn St Mont Alto Friday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
