PITTSBURGH, PA – The Redhawks dropped the AMCC Game of the Week, falling to Pitt-Bradford 79-62 on Saturday evening. La Roche is now 8-9 and 6-4 in the AMCC Conference.
The Redhawks outscored Pitt-Bradford 11-0 over a four minute stretch in the first quarter. La Roche allowed just four field goal attempts and outrebounded the Panthers 7-1. Shaundrea Butler, Sidney Farmer and Darrian Johnson provided three pointers.
La Roche was held without a basket for over three minutes. Nicole Boda ended the drought with a free throw with two seconds remaining in the quarter. Stephanie Thomas hit a layup at the buzzer for a 22-14 game after a quarter.
The Redhawks opened the second quarter on a 6-2 run and Butler put La Roche ahead 28-16 with a steal and coast-to-coast layup.
The Redhawks' offense slowed and Coach Salih called a timeout to change things up. La Roche responded with seven straight points and a 35-18 lead. Stephanie Thomas sparked the run with a three-point play and Johnson hit a pair of jumpers.
Pitt-Bradford closed the half on a 10-1 run and La Roche entered halftime with a 36-28 lead. Johnson had 16 first half points and the Redhawks shot 48%. The Panthers were held to 9 of 37 shooting.
Pitt-Bradford opened the second half with fifteen straight points and a 43-36 lead. Nia Thomas ended the scoreless streak at the quarter's midway point with a turnaround jumper.
La Roche held Pitt-Bradford without a field goal for over five minutes. Sidney Farmer cut the deficit to three with a three-pointer in the corner. Pitt-Bradford scored six straight but Farmer went 3 for 3 from the foul line with 0.3 on the clock. The Panthers outscored La Roche 22-8 for a 50-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Redhawks answered a 5-0 Pitt-Bradford run with six straight points. Johnson and Jazmyne Boyd hit jumpers and Butler a runner. Dalesza Regan was key on defense with a block and she drew a charge.
Pitt-Bradford widened the gap to double digits with four minutes left. The Redhawks were forced to foul late and Pitt-Bradford held on for the victory.
Johnson finished with 20 points. Stephanie Thomas had 11 points and 5 rebounds and Farmer added 9 points. Regan brought down 8 rebounds and Butler dished out 5 assists.
Pitt-Bradford outrebound La Roche 46-33 and won the turnover battle 23-14.
The Redhawks host Franciscan on Wednesday at 8pm.