The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team grinded out a 57-52 overtime victory over host Grove City on Friday night. The Panthers' Alicia Kimmel and Abby Brate each finished the night scoring in double figures.
Kimmel left the court with 18 points and nine rebounds, falling just one rebound shy of the double-double. Brate finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Pitt-Bradford (3-1, 0-0) opened the game by allowing Grove City to race out to a 6-0 lead. A few steals and some important finishes at the boards, and the Panthers were right back in the match with the scored tied 10-10.
It was at that time the Panthers opened up their offense to move the game to 20-12, before allowing the Wolverines to come back just before half. Pitt-Bradford carried a 25-20 lead into the break.
The Panthers finished the first half shooting 40 percent (10-for-25) from the floor, including 100 percent (1-for-1) from behind the arc. The Wolverines headed to the locker room shooting 39 percent from the field and missed both attempts from the three point line.
Grove City (1-3, 0-0) stepped up its effort in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 29-24.
Pitt-Bradford put together a 10-point run to begin the second half, before the Wolverines settled down and began an offensive attack of their own.
With just two minutes remaining in regulation, the Panthers trailed 49-48. Pitt-Bradford's Geena Sneeringer grabbed a defensive rebound and the Wolverines fouled Kimmel to send her to the line where she went 1-for-2 to tie the game.
Each team had its chances to steal the win, but neither could find the bucket and time expired in regulation with the score knotted at 49 each.
The Wolverines found the basket first in OT, but it would be the only bucket made by Grove City.
Pitt-Bradford scored the next seven points in a row to bring the game to its final score and send the Panthers home victorious.
"This was a very big win for us on the road tonight," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "I told the team we needed these types of wins throughout the season in order to be successful. Our defense won this game for us, and it is very good to be 3-1 early in the season. We still have a lot to work on, but we are very happy with our progress so far this year."
Pitt-Bradford is back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 26, when they host Houghton at 8 p.m. at the KOA Arena.