The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team rallied in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit, but it wasn't enough as the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats defeated the Panthers 63-58 on Saturday, Feb. 1. Junior Alicia Kimmel completed her third straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Brittany Watts was a close second with 16 points and eight rebounds. Watts nearly had her first double-double as a Panther, falling just two rebounds shy.

Pitt-Bradford (11-8, 7-5) struggled from the beginning of the game with sophomore Abby Brate turning the ball over just 17 seconds from the opening tip. Turnovers plagued both teams throughout the afternoon, with the two squads combining for a total of 24.

The game remained tight through the first eight minutes of play. Kimmel hit a short jump shot to tie things up at 11 points each.

Just minutes later, the Bobcats went on a furious run that opened the scoring. In less than five minutes of play, the deficit grew to 12 points, with Pitt-Greensburg's Chianti Sivek laying one in off the glass to make it 31-19.

Pitt-Bradford headed to the locker room for halftime trailing 32-21 and searching for a way to get back into the contest.

The Panthers shot 32.1 percent from the floor and did not attempt a triple in the first half. They were 3-of-5 from the line.

Pitt-Greensburg was 41.9 percent from the field in the first half, including 50 percent from behind the arc. The Bobcats were 2-of-5 from the charity stripe.

Pitt-Greensburg (10-9, 7-5) struggled to add to its lead early in the second half due to the intensity the Panthers' defense began to play with. The Panthers found a way to create scoring opportunities and slow began working their way back into the contest.

With just under 10 minutes to play, Madison Krebs finished a layup that put the Panthers just one point behind the Bobcats. Watts added another layup less than a minute later and the Panthers had taken the lead 42-41.

Pitt-Greensburg quickly jumped back in front, but this time the Panthers remained right behind them for the duration of the game. As the clock ticked under a minute, missed opportunities at the free-throw line became the issue for the Panthers.

When Pitt-Bradford had to turn to fouling the Bobcats late in the game, UPG had no problem connecting from the line and that gave the Bobcats the advantage it needed to seal the win.

"Defensively, we just do not play a 40 minute game," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "Every possession counts on the defensive end and once again we just did not get stops. I'm certainly disappointed with this loss, but we will be ready on Wednesday."

For the game, the Panthers shot 37.3 percent and connected on the only triple they attempted late in the second half. They were 13-of-19 from the line.

Pitt-Greensburg finished the afternoon shooting 37.3 percent, including 36.8 percent from behind the arc. The Bobcats finished 12-of-19 from the line.

Pitt-Bradford returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, Feb. 5, as D'Youville heads to town for an 8 p.m. tipoff.