The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team edged out a victory over the Penn State Altoona Lions, 71-69, on Saturday, Jan. 25. The Panthers' Alicia Kimmel completed her second-straight double-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and one assist.
Senior Geena Sneeringer finished her afternoon with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Freshman Brittany Watts capped a solid performance in the paint with 11 points, seven rebounds and one assist.
Pitt-Bradford (11-7, 7-4) opened the scoring for the game with a layup from sophomore Abby Brate on a strong finish at the basket.
The Panthers were in a battle early with each team taking turns finding the bucket. Pitt-Bradford was able to reel off several points in a row minutes later to begin to establish a lead on the Lions' court.
The Panthers worked their way to an 11-point advantage with barely four minutes remaining in the first period. With all the momentum on Pitt-Bradford's side, the lead looked to only grow.
However, the Lions were able to overcome a few turnovers in the final minutes of action and actually cut the deficit to just four points with one minute remaining on the clock. A layup by Penn State Altoona's Moira Corrigan with 26 seconds left to play had the Lions right back in the game.
As a result, the Panthers carried a 27-25 advantage into the locker room at the break.
Pitt-Bradford finished the first half shooting 37.5 percent from the field and did not attempt a triple during the first 20 minutes of play. The Panthers were just 3-of-7 from the line.
The Lions shot 32.3 percent from the floor and connected on just one three-point shot on 14 attempts. They were 4-of-9 from the line.
Penn State Altoona (5-12, 4-7) opened the second half of play by missing on its first three attempts at the net. The Panthers settled in offensively and seemed to find that rhythm they had in the first half again to create several opportunities.
Building as much as a 12-point lead in the first few minutes of play, the Panthers seemed to be in cruise control. However, similar to the first half, the Lions found a way to attack the Panthers' defense and create scoring opportunities.
With 1:20 showing on the game clock, things began to get interesting quickly. The Panthers owned a 10-point lead and looked to run the clock out. The Lions thought otherwise.
The Lions began to foul the Panthers, who had trouble connecting on free throws. This gave Penn State Altoona the ball with time to spare. Several baskets later and the Lions had cut the deficit to two points with eight seconds left.
On the inbound, Penn State Altoona's Brittany Boslet fouled Pitt-Bradford's Kaserra Owens. Owens went to the line and made only the second of two shots. The Panthers held a three point advantage now with six seconds remaining.
A free throw for the Lions with only two seconds left made it, yet again, a two-point difference on the scoreboard. This time, the Panthers were able to inbound the ball and allow the clock to expire on their victory.
"We did some good things and some not so good things, but overall we are happy to get this win," said head coach Patrick Daniel. Playing four games in seven days is tough, but we have to always play with great effort and focus to have the opportunity to win ball games. I'm proud of the ladies for finishing the week strong with two wins."
Pitt-Bradford finished the game shooting 45.6 percent from the field, including making the only attempt at a triple during the contest. The Panthers were 18-of-27 from the line.
Penn State Altoona shot 40 percent from the floor, including 36.8 percent from behind the arc. The Lions were 10-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Pitt-Bradford returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Feb. 1, as Pitt-Greensburg travels to the KOA Arena for a 3 p.m. tipoff.