Buffalo, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team traveled into snow-covered Buffalo on Monday afternoon to take on Buffalo State in a game that was postponed last Friday. The Panthers struggled to find their range, as they shot 23.3% from the field on the way to a 69-42 loss.
Avery Benzel answered an early Buffalo State basket with a midrange jumper of her own to open the scoring for the Panthers, but her field goal was followed by a 4-minute long drought from the field that saw the hosts open up a 15-3 lead. Abigail Goss made a layup inside to end the run but saw her effort followed by 5 straight from the Bengals to push the lead to 15. Daizjah Brown and Trinity Lockwood-Morris each made field goals in the final minute of the first quarter, , but the Panthers found themselves trailing Buffalo State 25-9 after one period.
The second quarter began with another scoring drought, however, the Panthers were able to limit the Bengals to just four points during the stretch. The dry spell ended when Alexa Ackerman hit a three with 6 minutes to go. Brown and Lauryn Moore each made jumpers to put the Panthers down 19, but the hosts were able to score 8 unanswered down the stretch to send the game to the break with the Bengals leading 44-17.
The Panthers got off to a hot start in the second half as they were able to score 6 of the first 8 points. After a Lockwood-Morris free throw, Avery Benzel made a layup in transition and Ackerman hit another long ball on a pass from Benzel. They were not able to keep the momentum for long, however, as Buffalo State scored the next 12 points unanswered to take a 25-point lead. The Panthers were able to close the quarter strong as they scored on three straight possessions to cut into the advantage. Lockwood-Morris started the rally on a putback layup, and then Brown made back-to-back jumpers after Buffalo State turnovers. The Bengals hit a final free throw in the last minute to send the game to the 4th with the score 59-29 Buffalo State.
McKenna Kelly opened the scoring in the 4th, as she hit a jump shot on a second chance opportunity for the Panthers. Lockwood-Morris and Benzel each made baskets inside to keep the Panther deficit from growing until the defense was able to lock down the Bengals for the final 5 minutes of play. With the score 69-36, Pitt-Bradford was able to keep the Bengals off the board for the last 4:56 of play, scoring the final six points of the game unanswered. Moore and Brown each made jump shots after Buffalo State turnovers and Kelly hit two free throws with 38 seconds left to close the scoring.
Daizjah Brown led the Panthers with 10 points off the bench. She shot 5-13 from the field, grabbed 3 rebounds, and tallied two steals and a blocked shot. Trinity Lockwood-Morris finished with 8 points and grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds. She also added 2 assists and a steal. Avery Benzel added 6 points and led the Panthers with 5 assists and 3 steals.
The Panthers fall to 0-4 with the loss. They will be right back in action tomorrow, as they will play their first game of the season in KOA Arena. They will take on former AMCC foe Medaille at 4:00 p.m.
