By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
BRADFORD, PA – Despite a second-half surge, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women’s basketball team watched their lead slip away late, losing their home opener to Keuka 63-57.
The game on Wednesday night was the Lady Panthers second of the newly christened season. Last Saturday, Pitt-Bradford opened their campaign on the road against Alfred University, losing 72-59.
“Last game, we got out-rebounded by 30 so we got back in the lab, worked out checking out and rebounding,” said first-year head coach Melloni Benson. “The other part of our game plan was just getting comfortable. We wanted to just get into our flow.”
Early in the contest against the Lady Wolves, it seemed as if Pitt-Bradford had forgotten their offense in the locker room. Through the first seven minutes of play, the Lady Panthers failed to make a shot, missing badly on successive trips down the floor. In that time, Keuka ran up an early lead by feeding their shooters on the perimeter and crashing the offensive glass for numerous second-chance points. With three minutes left in the first quarter, when Pitt-Bradford made their first field goal of the game, the Lady Wolves held a 11-4 lead – Katie Woolson made two free throws for the first points of the game.
Despite the dry spell early, the Lady Panthers just needed to see the ball go in the hoop. Following the initial make from Amaria Mims, Pitt-Bradford began to kickstart their offense and went into the second quarter only down 14-10.
“We’re getting better at building our chemistry and using each other. The one dribble shots don’t work well for us so we need to move the ball back and forth,” said Benson. “We’re getting better at it, we just need more reps.”
With both squads feeling comfortable and settled in, they began to score tick-for-tack. The Lady Wolves opened the quarter with an and-one from Caiden Crego before the Lady Panthers responded with five points from Amber Murak. Pitt-Bradford’s comeback continued to close the deficit and at the five minute mark, Yasmine Abu-Aiadeh sunk a deep triple to tie the game at 20-20. After a missed pair of Lady Wolves free throws on the other end, Pitt-Bradford would take their first lead of the game from a drive from Paige Gratto. However, in the closing minutes, Keuka took control of the game with a 10-5 run that put them back on top going into the break.
“We wanted to get out in transition, use the ball and use each other. Attack, kick, swing, drive and try to get layups or open shots,” said Benson on her message at halftime. “They worked it out and did just that.”
Recollecting themselves in the intermission, the Lady Panthers came out red hot to kick off the second half. Sparked by a revamped aggression deep in the paint, Pitt-Bradford opened with eight unanswered points, spearheaded by Gratto. Fighting hard for looks at point-blank range and battling under the glass, Gratto scored seven of the Lady Panthers’ first nine points as they snuck out a slim lead.
“Paige is going to go all out. She’s going to give you everything she has and propel her teammates to do the same,” said Benson of the team’s lone All-Conference select from a year prior. “I expect that from her night in and night out. She’s never shown me anything different.”
The Lady Wolves would eventually counter with a wave of shots from beyond the arc. Driving and cutting towards the basket forced the Lady Panthers to collapse their defense, allowing Keuka to dish out to wide open shooters who made more than they missed. At the end of the third, the Lady Wolves clung to a 42-40 advantage.
Entering the fourth, both teams kept an emphasis on aggressive and physical play and with that came several trips to the free throw line. However, both teams were far from perfect at the line and as they scored back-and-forth, one at a time, the lead swapped hands with every trip down the court.
Midway through the period, the momentum shifted. Down a 50-49, Crego drove through traffic and connected on a tough layup that also earned her one shot at the free throw line. Hitting the shot and welcoming an applause from her teammates, the Lady Wolves looked ready to seal the deal. In the meantime, the Lady Panthers depth, or lack thereof, began to show signs of wear and tear.
“The only challenge is that we get winded. I only have one big so when we do sub, we’re guard-heavy now so the rebounding becomes that much harder,” said Benson or her nine-person roster. “I love it honestly for this group because it’s going to build up that fight in us, release some of the fight that they just let lie dormant. We want to play a real physical game, a real scrappy game.”
In the closing minutes, the Lady Panthers watched as the gap on the scoreboard grew to six with just one minute remaining. Forced to intentionally foul a team that was already in the bonus, Pitt-Bradford was ultimately helpless as their first win of the season became an impossibility.
“We just got to break some old habits, spend some more time together, get to know each other and build our chemistry,” said Benson. “We’ll be just fine.”
Gratto led the Lady Panthers with a double-double, registering 22 points and 15 rebounds alongside three assists and a block. Murak followed with 10 points, three rebounds and a steal while Raquel Sewell and Abu-Aiadeh each finished with eight points.
The Lady Panthers will head back out on the road on Saturday, where they will face Penn College.
Men’s Basketball
Pitt-Bradford 83, Grove City 78
Grove City, PA. — The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men’s basketball team battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat the Grove City Wolverines 83-78 on Wednesday night.
The Panthers stayed even with the hosts for the majority of the first half as Jamarion Butler kept the Panthers afloat with 18 first half points. After a Butler lay-up put the Panthers ahead 33-32 with just under four minutes left in the half, Pitt-Bradford went cold, scoring only three points for the remainder of the first. This allowed the hosts to build a 43-36 lead at the break.
For the second straight game, the Panthers came out of the locker room firing in the second half, scoring the first six points of the period to quickly cut the deficit to one point. They could not maintain their momentum and allowed Grove City to score the next 9 points to push their lead to 12. Chris Martin hit a three with 14:40 on the clock which started a 13-0 Pitt-Bradford run to get them back in the game.
The Panthers finally retook the lead on a pair of Jesse Laster free throws with six minutes left in the game. Xavion Boone made a pair of layups to give Pitt-Bradford a 78-70 lead, and despite a late Grove City run, the Panthers were able to put the game away from the charity stripe, holding on for the 83-78 victory.
Jamarion Butler led the Panthers with 28 points and 11 rebounds. He made 11-17 from the field and also added 3 steals. Jesse Laster also reached double figures, finishing with 16 points. Coby Farley provided a valuable spark off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
The victory moves Pitt-Bradford to 2-0 on the season. They will open their home slate on Saturday, Nov. 16, when they host Penn State-DuBois. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
