The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team needed every minute of action to claim its sixth-straight victory of the season on Saturday against visiting Penn State Altoona, 75-69. The Panthers fell behind early but were able to make up ground and seal the win heading into the holiday break.

Sophomore point guard Abby Brate paved the way with 22 points, two rebounds and five assists. Brate's consistency at the line fueled her point total, as she finished a whopping 14-of-15 from the charity stripe.

Sophomore center Madison Krebs erupted for 13 points and six rebounds as she remained a force in the paint for the duration of the contest. Senior forward Geena Sneeringer and junior forward Alicia Kimmel each finished with 11 points. Sneeringer also tallied six rebounds and one assist, while Kimmel had nine rebounds and one assist.

Pitt-Bradford (6-1, 2-0) remains unbeaten in league play after the bruising victory, but it wasn't always easy. The Panthers began the game a little slow and found themselves in a dogfight early. It wasn't until the clock showed three minutes remaining in the half before Pitt-Bradford turned on the jets and moved to a 34-26 lead.

The Lions refused to go lightly and when the horn went off, the Panthers entered the locker room leading 39-30.

Pitt-Bradford shot just 35 percent from the floor in the first half compared to Penn State Altoona's 62 percent. The Panthers were solid from the line, shooting 72 percent. The Lions were just 42 percent from the stripe.

Penn State Altoona (1-7, 1-3) continued to put the heat on the Panthers as second-half play began. The Lions stayed bucket-for-bucket with Pitt-Bradford, and with 9:30 showing on the clock, actually held a 50-45 advantage.

The lead quickly dwindled as the Panthers went on a six-point run with 3:27 to go. With just 1:35 remaining, the Panthers held a five point advantage and the Lions were forced to turn to fouls in an attempt to get back in the game.

The Panthers remained clutch from the free throw line, as they were all game, and closed out the victory.

"I'm very happy to go into our holiday break at 6-1, 2-0 in the conference," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "We have a lot of work to do but I am so proud of each player on this team for giving great effort and doing the things necessary down the stretch to win this game."

Pitt-Bradford returns to the court on Saturday, Dec. 28, when it travels to Westerville, Ohio, to compete in the Otterbein Smokey Ballenger Classic. Tip-off against first-round opponent Denison is set for 5 p.m.