GREENSBURG – Penn State Behrend survived the battle for an early claim to the top of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference standings with a defeat of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, 78-73, this evening inside Chambers Hall.
The Lions outscored the Bobcats by 11 points in the fourth quarter to overturn a six-point edge that Pitt-Greensburg had built in the third quarter and win the game. Penn State Behrend stays perfect in AMCC play at 6-0 and improves to 13-2 on the season, while Pitt-Greensburg suffered their first loss of the conference slate, moving to 5-1 and 10-3 overall.
The freshman, senior duo of Melina Maietta and Nadege Durand combined for 50 of the Bobcats 73 points. Maietta scored a career-high of 25 points and connected on 7-of-10 three pointers, the most by any Bobcat in a game this season. Durand also had 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a season-high 10-for-14 performance from the free throw line.
The lead changed hands four times and it was all square seven times in a game that was full of runs by each side. Pitt-Greensburg had the first large one with a 13-0 spurt over nearly four minutes in the middle of the first quarter to get up 18-9 seven minutes into the game.
The Bobcat lead stayed at double digits for the first couple minutes of the second quarter, but then the Lions erupted for a 13-0 run of their own. Penn State Behrend held Pitt-Greensburg scoreless for seven-plus minutes and took the lead back, 34-31. Maietta drained a huge three-pointer in the Bobcats' final possession of the half to energize the team heading to the locker-room tied up at 34.
That energy stayed with Pitt-Greensburg into the start of the second half, as they opened it on an 8-2 run to go up six. The Bobcats were able to get to the charity stripe 10 times in the third frame, and made seven, as they built up a six-point lead heading into the last ten minutes.
The Lions scored seven of the first nine points in the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game. After a three by Maietta to tie the game with five minutes to play, Behrend's Mia Cuccaro scored her first points of the night on a banked three-pointer to put the Lions back up three, a lead that they would never relinquish. Maietta made another clutch three to bring Pitt-Greensburg within one with under two-minutes to play, but that's the closest it would get.
Free throw shooting sealed it for Behrend, as they went 5-for-6 in the final minute, with a 4-for-4 effort from Caitlin Carnuche, who led the Lions with 20 points on the night. Pitt-Greensburg missed two potential game-tying free throws, and then a three-pointer when down by four in the last minute of game play.
Sidney McCully dished out a career-best 10 assists and handled the Lions full court pressure with a +6 assist to turnover ratio as the Bobcats point guard.
That full court pressure by Behrend forced 17 team turnovers by Pitt-Greensburg and the Lions were able to capitalize on them with 20 points off turnovers.
The Bobcats were on fire from beyond the arc all game long, thanks in large part to Maietta. Sitler and Durand added a three apiece, as the Blue and Gold went 9-for-29 (45%) from deep. While the Bobcats were sharpshooting, the Lions had the edge on the inside, where they outscored Pitt-Greensburg 44-14 in the paint.
Penn State Behrend also gained an advantage on the glass (37-35), just the fifth time this season the Bobcats did not have a positive rebounding margin. The damage came on the offensive end for the Lions, where they pulled down 13 offensive boards and converted them into 17 second chance points. Shaquoia McCray pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Bobcats.
Pitt-Greensburg will have another quick turnaround ahead of them, with Penn State Altoona coming to town on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm.
Fans can follow the Bobcats all season long online at PittGreensburgAthletics.com, as well as on Twitter (@upgbobcats), Instagram (@UPG_athletics), and Facebook (@UPGbobcats).
