BRADFORD, Pa:  Despite holding a 37-32 lead at the half, the Pitt Greensburg women's basketball team fell on the road Saturday to branch campus rival Pitt-Bradford.  Saturday would have a silver lining though with senior guard, Emily Nelson (New Stanton, PA, Hempfield) becoming the program's 11^th 1000 point scorer. 

Nelson joins former teammates Kayla Dames and Morgan Biddle who both accomplished the feat during the 2014-15 season.  She currently resides in 11^th place all-time in the UPG record books with 1001 points, but with six regular season games and playoffs remaining, Nelson has the chance to move up the top 10 scorers.

The Bobcats sit in fifth place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference after the loss with an even 6-6 mark while posting an 8-11 overall record.  The second place Panthers improve to 10-2 in conference action and 14-5 on the year.

Pitt-Greensburg would throw the first punch on Saturday, jumping out to an early 12-6 lead by the midway point of the first quarter.  They'd add to the advantage over the next few minutes, going up 23-14 thanks to a Chianti Sivek (Finleyville, PA, Ringgold) steal and successful front end of free throw attempts for the nine point lead with 18 seconds remaining.  A Bradford layup would close out the quarter and bring us to the first break at 23-16.

The Panthers would open the second and narrow the deficit to just one point, 23-22 at the 7:43 mark.  UPG would promptly answer with two Nelson threes and another from Amanda Estok (Monroeville, PA, Gateway) to stretch things to 32-22 with 5:31 remaining to the half.  Things remained close down the first half stretch and with both teams trading threes in the final 12 seconds, it would be the Bobcats heading into halftime up 37-32.

Pitt-Greensburg would hold a slight shooting advantage from the floor 39% to 34%, and shoot well from behind the three point arc converting 60% (9-15) of their chances.  Bradford would convert just 2-10 (20%) from three.

Nelson's 1000^th point would come by way of a jumper 1:25 into the third quarter, helping UPG maintain a five point lead 42-37.  Unfortunately for the visitors, Bradford would begin to chip away and gain their first lead since the 7:17 mark of the first quarter.  The Panthers would go ahead 44-42 with 5:24 remaining in the third, and this time keep the visitors playing catch up for the remainder of the game.

A strong fourth quarter by Pitt-Bradford stretched the Bobcat deficit to double-figures.  UPG would get as close as 14 down the stretch but fall by an 81-67 final.

The Bobcat shooting from the floor would drop slightly in the second half to 37%, including just 1-8 (13%) from three point land.  Conversely, the Panthers would see a large improvement to 47%.  UPG would win the rebounding battle 43-41, but commit 29 turnovers compared to Bradford's 13.

Kelsey Oddis (Lower Burrell, PA, Burrell) led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, her third double-double in as many games.  Nelson was next with 14 points, three assists, and a pair of steals while Sylvia Stuart (Harrisburg, PA, Central Dauphin East) rounded things out with 11 points, six rebounds, and a block.

The Bobcats look to get back on track next week with a pair of games at Chambers Hall.  Up first is 8:00pm AMCC matchup with Franciscan University on Wednesday, February 3^rd.  A midweek win would help UPG create some needed separation from the 7^th place Barons who currently sit at 4-7 and are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.