STEUBENVILLE, Ohio- The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg women's basketball team extended their winning streak to six on Wednesday (Jan. 22) night, when they took down Franciscan University 69-51. Sidney McCully drained 5-of-6 three pointers on her way to a career high 21 points in the win that moves Pitt-Greensburg to 10-7 overall and 8-4 in the AMCC, while the Barons drop to 5-11 and 3-8 in conference with the loss.
Shaquoia McCray earned herself a double-double by pulling down a game best 12 rebounds and to go along with 13 points. Maddie Sitler added 13 points and four assists for the Blue and Gold.
Nadege Durand drained a three pointer on the Bobcats opening possession to take a 3-0 lead, and UPG never gave it up. With two minutes left in the opening frame, the Barons narrowed the Bobcat lead to one, at 11-10. Pitt-Greensburg made their last four shots to end the quarter on a 9-0 run and took a 20-10 lead into the second quarter. Sitler netted five of the 10 points during the run including a jumper just ticks before the first quarter horn.
Franciscan trimmed it to 25-20 with 1:54 to play in the second quarter. The same score stood for the next minute, then Sitler made a three pointer to make it an eight-point game. Franciscan had what they thought would be the last possession of the half and made a layup with four seconds left. Cat Gollihugh said that's enough time and swished a half-court heave at the buzzer, making the score 31-22 at the half.
Pitt-Greensburg went on a 12-2 run from 8:07 to 4:13 in the third quarter to gain a double-digit lead for the first time on the night. McCray capped off the run with an old fashioned three-point play to make the score 45-2. After a Franciscan bucket to stop the run, UPG scored eight of the final 10 points in the third frame to increase their lead up to 20 points (53-33). Seven of the eight points came off the hand of Sidney McCully.
The Bobcats stayed ahead by 15 or more during the fourth quarter. Two free throws by McCray at 8:49 gave UPG their largest advantage of the night at 24 (57-33).
UPG forced 22 Baron turnovers and converted them into 26 points. The Bobcats had 36 bench points, which was the second most this season.
Pitt-Greensburg returns home on Saturday (Jan. 25) for a battle with Hilbert College at 3 pm inside Chambers Hall. The Bobcats were edged out 58-50 by the Hawks in their earlier matchup.
