ERIE, Pa. – The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team hit the boards, posting a 48-22 rebounding advantage which led to a 22-point difference on the scoreboard to defeat Penn State Behrend 66-44 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Thursday night.
The Panthers (10-7, 6-4 AMCC) completed the regular-season sweep over the Lions (2-13, 1-8 AMCC) for the first time since the inception of the conference in 1997-98. Pitt-Bradford posted a 65-38 victory on January 8.
Alicia Kimmel recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Kaserra Owens led all scorers with 16 points, six steals and four assists.
Brittany Kiger (White Oak, PA/McKeesport) tallied a career-high 11 points and Natalie Corso (Moon Township, PA/Moon) matched that with three triples.
The Lions had control for the opening 10 minutes of the game. Kiger and Corso combined for the first seven points for a 7-1 lead. Katie Carl (Troupsburg, NY/Jasper-Troupsburg) scored her first collegiate points on the ensuing possession to make it 9-1.
Pitt-Bradford quickly closed the gap with a 10-3 run and eventually took the lead on a fast-break layup by Owens.
Kiger's knocked down two free throws for a 14-13 lead, but the Panthers finished the half with a 14-3 spurt for a 27-18 advantage at the break.
Pitt-Bradford pushed its lead to 18 with 13:31 left to play. Behrend was able to cut the lead to single digits with under 10 minutes remaining. Owens took control of the game, scoring six of her 16 points over the next three minutes to get the Panthers to a double-digit edge.
Ally Burke (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) pulled down a team-best six rebounds and added eight points, three assists and two steals.
The Lions return to action on Saturday at Pitt-Greensburg, beginning at 3 p.m.