PITTSBURGH, PA – Down by one in the final seconds of the game, Melina Maietta got open and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left to send #3 Pitt-Greensburg into the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship game. It was a thrilling, back-and-forth semifinal game that ended in the Bobcats favor, 80-78, over #2 Penn State Behrend.
The game looked bleak with just over a minute to play, as the Bobcats trailed by seven. However, the resilient Pitt-Greensburg squad stepped up to the challenge and scored the final nine points of the game to keep their season alive.
The freshman, Melina Maietta led all scorers with 23 points and had the last five of the game. Good shooters keep shooting is a mantra to live by for Maietta, as her first three of the night was the game-winner and could not have come at a better time. Senior, Nadege Durand powered her way to a 22-point night and assisted on the game winning three.
After Penn State Behrend got up 8-2, two and a half minutes into the game, Pitt-Greensburg answered with seven straight points to take their first lead of the game just past the halfway mark of the first quarter. Four first quarter lead changes ensued over the next five minutes, but it was the Bobcats who got two free throws from Durand to take a 17-15 lead after the opening ten minutes.
The second quarter began with six unanswered points by the Blue and Gold to forge an eight-point lead at the eight-minute mark. The Bobcats would not surrender the lead for the rest of the half and took a 39-31 lead into the break. Pitt-Greensburg built up as much as an 11-point advantage with six minutes left in the half, but the Lions battled it back to a two-point game two minutes later. The Bobcats ended the half on a 7-1 run, which was sparked by back-to-back baskets from Durand, who had 13 first-half points.
It quickly got tied up (39-39) at the beginning of the second half after an 8-0 run for Penn State Behrend two minutes into the third quarter. A back-and-forth battle followed, but the Lions ended the third frame on a 7-0 run and took a narrow 63-62 edge into the final ten minutes.
The Lions seemingly took control of the game in the fourth, gaining a 10-point (76-66) lead with five minutes to play, but the Bobcats kept fighting. Maietta made a lay-in the next possession and that kickstarted an unthinkable 14-2 run that ended with her dagger three to send Pitt-Greensburg into the championship game.
Even though beyond the arc is what ultimately won the game for the Bobcats, they dominated the inside game throughout, outscoring Penn State Behrend 42-22 in the paint.
Shaquoia McCray posted a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Sidney McCully also had 13 points.
Pitt-Greensburg advances to play in the AMCC Championship game against La Roche tomorrow at 3 pm right back on the same court. The Bobcats are on the quest for their third AMCC Championship in program history, first since 2008-09.
