NEW JERSEY CITY, NJ – The new year is coming, but the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg women's basketball team may not want 2021 to end just yet. The Bobcats are off to their best start since 2003-04, at 7-1, after earning a hard-fought non-conference victory over New Jersy City University on the road this afternoon.
New Jersey City (3-4) seemed to take control of the game in the third quarter. After the score was tied at the halftime break, the Gothic Knights came out of the locker-room and outscored Pitt-Greensburg 26-17 in the third quarter to go up by nine.
The Bobcats regrouped and made an improbable 14-3 run to tie the game up in just over two and a half minutes of game time and then clawed out a victory in the final minutes. It was bleak in the opening few possessions of the fourth quarter, as NJCU converted on their first possession to extend their lead to the largest of the afternoon, at 11 points (61-50). Then, back-to-back turnovers and a missed jumper by the Bobcats on their first three possessions of the quarter put them against the wall.
Sidney McCully made a jumper with eight minutes remaining and sparked that 14-3 run for Pitt-Greensburg to tie the game at 64 with just under five and a half minutes left. The Bobcats went 6-for-8 while on the run and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, off three pointers by McCully and Lizzie Penrose. Maddie Sitler made the game-tying bucket off a dish from Penrose.
The lead went back-and-forth a couple times until the Bobcats broke a 70-70 tie with 2:30 to play on a Nadege Durand lay-in. Pitt-Greensburg would not trail again, but the game would become tied at 73 all with two minutes left. Melina Maietta drilled a three-pointer and Penrose added a layup to put the Bobcats in control of the game with five straight points. Sitler and McCully put the game away with free throws in the final thirty seconds and the defense shut down a three-point attempt by NJCU in the final seconds.
In the fourth quarter the Blue and Gold shot 61%, including 5-of-6 from distance after going 4-for-17 in the previous three quarters, leading to a season-high nine made three pointers by the team.
It was a back-and-forth battle all game, with 12 lead changes and 14 ties. Pitt-Greensburg got the early edge with a 13-11 lead after 10 minutes of play. NJCU tied it up going to the break with a two-point second quarter advantage.
Durand and McCully each poured in 22 points to lead the Blue and Gold. Durand filled the stat sheet yet again, while playing a season-high 38 minutes, with her fourth double-double of the season, with 16 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end. She also had three steals and three assists. In each of the eight games so far this season, Durand has tallied double-digit points, at least six rebounds, multiple steals.
McCully's 22 point-performance was a career-best and came off five three pointers. Three of those triples came in the fourth quarter, where she helped lead the Bobcats charge back with 11 fourth quarter points.
Sitler posted her first double-double of the season with 14 points and a tie of her career high on the glass, 12 rebounds. Maietta played a career-most 38 minutes and tallied 15 points.
The offensive boards were a difference maker for Pitt-Greensburg, as they pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and converted them to 26 second chance points.
Pitt-Greensburg will look to keep the momentum rolling on Sunday and tie the 2003-04 team for the best start to its season in school history, when they kick off the new year across town at, NCAA Division II member, Seton Hill University. The battle for the city of Greensburg is slated for a 1 pm tip-off inside the McKenna Center on the campus of Seton Hill.
Fans can follow the Bobcats all season long online at PittGreensburgAthletics.com, as well as on Twitter (@upgbobcats), Instagram (@UPG_athletics), and Facebook (@UPGbobcats).
