BRADFORD, Pa. – Senior forward Alicia Kimmel scored a season-high 24 points as the Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team blew past the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats 73-57 in front of a large crowd at the KOA Arena on Saturday.

Kimmel tallied six rebounds and one assist to go with her strong shooting. She was 10-for-12 from the stripe. Junior Abby Brate registered 17 points, also a season-high, with one rebound and four assists. Brate finished 11-for-12 at the free-throw line.

Sophomore Kaserra Owens rounded out the top performers with 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists, finishing just two rebounds shy of a double-double.

The first half began as a chess match as each team took turns taking the lead. There were a total of five lead changes in the first seven minutes of play. At that point, Pitt-Bradford (3-3, 1-1) seemed to take control of the contest moving forward.

Kimmel's three pointer at the 12:41 mark gave the Panthers a steady advantage. Pitt-Greensburg (4-5, 1-2) managed to tie the game at 19 points each before the Panthers went on a late first half run. It was that run that gave the home team a decisive 38-24 lead heading into the locker room.

Pitt-Greensburg's Morgan Biddle opened the second half with the first bucket, a quick layup, before Brate responded immediately with a bucket of her own. Several turnovers later, Pitt-Bradford held a commanding 18-point advantage with another jumper by Kimmel.

The lead would grow to as many as 22 points with 13:07 left to play before Pitt-Greensburg attempted to chip away at its deficit. With each bucket made by the Bobcats however, Pitt-Bradford was there to respond with one of its own.

The end result was a statement win in conference play for the Panthers and some time for the backups to enter the game and get meaningful minutes on the court early in the season. Pitt-Bradford eventually closed out an impressive win in its 2014-15 home opener.

"There is no place like home," said head coach Patrick Daniel. "I'm so proud of how we played defensively. We needed this type of game to get some confidence moving forward."

For the game, Pitt-Bradford shot 36.9 percent from the field, including 50 percent from three. From the line, the Panthers shot 72.7 percent (24-for-133).

Pitt-Greensburg shot 37.3 percent and connected on just three of 13 three pointers. The Bobcats shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the line.

Pitt-Bradford has a quick turnaround as Buffalo State comes to the KOA Arena for a 6 p.m. contest on Monday, Dec. 15.