A strong second half surged the Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team past Waynesburg 81-75 on Saturday afternoon, in the consolation game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament.
The Panthers top returner, junior forward Alicia Kimmel, led the squad with 16 points and six rebounds.
After the match, Kimmel was named to the Coaches vs. Cancer All-Tournament team. Kimmel finished the tournament with a total of 22 points, 10 rebounds and one assist.
Pitt-Bradford (1-1, 0-0) found themselves in a battle for the duration of the first half. The Panthers shot 33.3 percent from the floor, including 80 percent from the free throw line.
Highly touted freshman guard Kaserra Owens cracked the starting five for the second game in a row. Owens finished the game with 14 points, two rebounds and three assists.
Despite controlling the ball for much of the first half, the Panthers went into halftime trailing 35-32.
Waynesburg (0-2, 0-0) was led by Hayden Guiliani, who finished with a total of 22 points, two rebounds and two assists.
After a rather dormant offensive showing by both teams in the first half, the Panthers and Yellow Jackets combined for 89 points in the second half.
The Yellow Jackets finished the game shooting 34.7 percent from the floor, including 25 percent from behind the arc. They hit a whopping 20-of-26 shots from the free throw line.
The Panthers had five players score in double figures during the contest. Alex Vinelli, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, fell just two rebounds shy of a double-double in the second game of this young season.
Pitt-Bradford responded well after being defeated in the first round of the tournament the night before.
"Great team effort in this win," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "We did the little things today that we didn't do yesterday, most importantly making our foul shots. We had excellent effort from the second group at the start of the second half that helped keep us in the game. This provided a much needed spark."
Pitt-Bradford turns its attention to Keuka and its 2013-14 home opener set for Tuesday, Nov. 19 at the KOA Arena at 6 p.m.