The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team clawed its way to a first round victory over Pitt-Greensburg, 72-67, in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament.
The Panthers used strong offensive performances from five players finishing in double figures. Junior Alicia Kimmel led the charge with 14 points, five rebounds and one assist. Sophomore Abby Brate finished just behind with 12 points, two rebounds and three assists.
The trio of senior Geena Sneeringer, freshman Kaserra Owens and sophomore Madison Krebs wrapped up the top scorers with 10 points each. Sneeringer added one rebound; Owens had one rebound and two assists, while Krebs finished with eight rebounds from her low-post position.
Pitt-Bradford (14-12, 11-7) did not hit the court running the way it would finish offensively, with a slow start to begin the night. The Bobcats hit a quick 5-0 run to open the contest, and just two minutes later were leading 9-3 before the Panthers had a chance to settle in.
The lead continued to mount for Pitt-Greensburg (15-11, 10-8) in the first few minutes, but a jump shot from Kimmel ignited the Panthers bench with 12:40 to go before the break. It was after that bucket that Pitt-Bradford seemed to settle into a groove.
It was Kimmel again just two possessions later tacking on a layup and the Panthers were in business offensively. Sophomore Carly Dalton cut the deficit to three points with seven minutes to go after she drained a short jumper of her own.
Freshman Brittany Watts, a force both offensively and defensively for the Panthers in her first season on the court, went to the line and connected on two shots to tie the game at 27 points each with 4:34 left to play.
The Panthers snagged their first lead of the night with a Krebs layup to go up 33-31 with less than a minute on the clock. Pitt-Bradford added two more buckets from Owens and Brate to finish the half on a strong note and with the lead, 37-31.
Pitt-Bradford shot a strong 55.2 percent from the field and did not connect on a triple in two tries. The Panthers were a perfect five of five at the line.
The Bobcats shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 35.7 percent from behind the arc. They did not make a trip to the line.
The Panthers hit the court for the second period determined not to lose their edge or the lead. They worked their way to a nine-point advantage with less than 15 minutes to play and showed no signs of slowing.
Increasing its lead to double digits, Pitt-Bradford controlled the ball and the clock when Pitt-Greensburg caught momentum and began to find ways to the basket.
The Bobcats worked their way back into the game and managed to snag the lead, 58-57, with 5:17 to go for the first time in the second period.
Two possessions later, Owens found the net from inside the arc and gave the Panthers the lead again. It became a dog fight as both teams battled to make shots and not turn the ball over in the final minutes of action.
A trip to the line for Sneeringer with 49 ticks left on the clock, saw her drain both shots and slowly put the game away. Nine seconds remaining and it was Sneeringer again at the line, this time making both shots in the clutch to hand the Panthers the victory.
"I am so proud of this team for playing so hard for the entire game," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "Even after trailing for much of the first half, we never quit. This is a huge win for our program. It's been a long time since we have been in the semi-finals. We are looking forward to Friday."
Pitt-Bradford shot 49.1 percent for the night without connecting on a triple in three attempts. The Panthers were 18 of 22 from the line.
The Bobcats finished the night shooting 41 percent from the floor, including 35 percent from three. They were 10 of 14 from the line.
The Panthers advance to the second round of the AMCC Tournament with the win. They travel to face La Roche on Friday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Pittsburgh.