STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team suffered a 61-57 defeat to the Franciscan Barons in its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opener on Sunday.
Pitt-Bradford (2-3, 0-1) overcame a large first half deficit that reached 13 points late in the opening period to trail by just two, 33-31, at the break.
Freshman Ali Rinfrette continued her strong start to her rookie season with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists to go with five steals. Rinfrette's 17 points marks the fourth straight game the freshman has scored in double figures.
Also putting together a solid performance was sophomore Kaserra Owens. Owens tallied 14 points, three rebounds and one assist.
The Panthers fell behind early and did not take the lead during the first half. Franciscan (1-4, 1-1) posted a 13-point advantage at the 7:46 mark of the half before Pitt-Bradford made a late run.
A pair of free throws from Owens started the scoring for the Panthers and Rinfrette cut the deficit to single digits with a quick layup. Junior Abby Brate went to the line with 1:30 remaining to move the Panthers to within two points.
In the second half, it was Rinfrette's layup in the opening minute that tied the game as the Panthers erased what was at one point a large deficit in the first period. The lead bobbled back and forth between the two squads for the duration of the second half with the score was once again being tied with 1:48 to play.
Two turnovers inside the final minute of action proved too costly to overcome for Pitt-Bradford as Franciscan tacked on four points to claim the win.
"It is very discouraging that we are playing such poor defense that allows teams to get uncontested layups and shots in the paint," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "I am very disappointed in how we are playing right now."
The Panthers shot 43.1 percent from the field for the game and did not connect on a three point shot on five tries. They were 7-for-11 from the line.
Franciscan finished its afternoon shooting 55.8 percent from the floor, including 50 percent (3-for-6) from behind the arc. The Barons were 10-for-16 from the stripe.
Pitt-Bradford returns to the KOA Arena to host Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday, Dec. 13. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.