BUFFALO, NY- The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg women's basketball team was trailing by one point going into the fourth quarter and went on to outscore D'Youville 18-4 in the final frame to gain their fifth straight win on Monday (Jan. 20) at D'Youville, 58-45.
Nadege Durand scored a season best 25 points and hauled down 19 rebounds, including eight points and nine rebounds in the fourth quarter to lead the Bobcats, who move to 9-7 overall and 7-4 in the AMCC with victory. Maddie Sitler added 13 points and Colleen Murphy notched six points and hauled down a season-high 10 boards.
In the first quarter the Bobcats got up by six points (15-9) after a 9-3 run from 4:24 to 1:21. Durand (5) and Sitler (4) combined for all the points on the run. The Spartans, now 9-7 and 7-4 in the AMCC, managed to cut the Bobcat lead down to two (17-15) after the first frame.
Four of the five ties on the afternoon came in the second quarter. Pitt-Greensburg used an 8-0 run over about four minutes in the middle of the quarter to reach their largest lead of the half at seven points (29-22). Durand and Sitler accounted for all the points over this run as well, with four each. D'Youville closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a one-point (32-31) lead into the half.
D'Youville continued their scoring run into the second half, as they netted the first five points of the third quarter. UPG responded by scoring nine of the next 11 points to take the lead (40-39) back with 2:08 left in the third. D'Youville scored one more bucket and held Pitt-Greensburg scoreless for the last two minutes of the third quarter to grab a 41-40 lead into the final frame.
The Bobcats stormed out to an 11-0 run in the first three minutes and 20 seconds of the fourth quarter to take control of the game. It was the first time there was a double-digit lead in the game. The Bobcats stayed in front by double figures for the final six minutes of the game, as they held D'Youville to just four points in the fourth quarter. Sitler's jumper with five seconds left clinched the largest lead of the game by UPG at 13 points (58-45), which was the final score.
The Bobcats power on the offensive boards was evident in the win. They outrebounded the Spartans 21-8 on the offensive end, which led to a 17-0 advantage in second chance points for UPG. Pitt-Greensburg was able to capitalize on D'Youville's 13 turnovers, as UPG turned them into 17 points. The Bobcats also held advantages in points in the paint (34-16) and fast break points (6-2).
Durand and Murphy each had seven offensive boards to lead the squad. The game saw eight lead changes and had five ties.
Pitt-Greensburg has one day off then will take a trip to Franciscan University on Wednesday (Jan. 22) for an 8 pm tip against the Barons. UPG took down Franciscan 67-49 in their first matchup back on November 26.
