Women’s Basketball hit the road on Saturday, Nov. 9, for their second game of the season, a match-up against the Pittsburgh Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Bison were up 21-18 after the first quarter, led offensively by Ashley Sofilkanich ’27, who opened up the game with 11 points. Reese Zemitis ’28 added five points as well. 

Pitt turned the game around in the second quarter with five three-pointers. The Bison were outscored 26-14, including a half-court shot at the buzzer. The Panthers’ momentum only continued as the teams headed into the second half. After an 8-0 run, Pitt expanded their lead to 52-35. This would mark Pitt’s largest lead of the day. Four different Bison helped cut the gap with an 11-2 stretch to close out the third quarter. Elana Weisman ’28 led the run with seven points. 

The Bison only trailed by eight as they headed into the final quarter of the game. A three-pointer from Sophia Sabino ’26 and a quick layup from Weisman forced Pitt to call a timeout. On the next play, the Orange and Blue’s defense helped prevent Pitt from scoring. Ashley O’Connor ’26 threw up a three that would have tied the game but came up unlucky. 

Once gaining possession, Pitt replied with a 10-0 run that would put the Bison at a further distance. With only a few minutes left to play, strong defense would keep the Bison in the game. Pitt went scoreless as Zemitis, Sofilkanich and Anna Kunzwiler ’27 put points up on the scoreboard. 

As the game neared its end, the Bison resorted to fouling Pitt, who, unlike the Bison, were unable to make their free throw opportunities. Kunzwiler grabbed the rebound, and a timeout was called to move the ball upcourt. The Bison looked for a scoring opportunity, but the Panthers put on high pressure, preventing them from scoring. The final score was 64-61, a victory for the Panthers. 

Despite the loss, the Bison put up impressive numbers. Sofilkanich collected her fifth double-double of her collegiate career, 15 points coming in the first half alone. The Bison also led with 42 rebounds and outshot the Panthers 42.6 percent to 37.5 percent.

The Bison continue play on the road against Merrimack this Saturday, Nov. 16.