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University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

PITT-JOHNSTOWN MOUNTAIN CATS

Women's Basketball

Lady Cats Defeat Clarion, 98-81, For First PSAC Win

Clarion, PA

Box Score
The Lady Cats used a 22-3 first half run to build an 18-point advantage on their way to earning their first PSAC victory with a 98-81 win at Clarion University on Wednesday.  Kelsey Sleighter scored a career-high 26 points to lead Pitt-Johnstown, now 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
Kayla DeCriscio knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers that erased a three-point Pitt-Johnstown deficit and gave the Lady Cats a 20-14 lead seven minutes into the game.
 
Clarion came back to regain the lead 3:27 later on a Raven Jones basket, but Pitt-Johnstown answered and took control the rest of the half.
 
Sleighter and Inaya Stephenson combined for 15 points, before a Jasmine Harper free-throw capped a 22-3 Lady Cat to run to put Pitt-Johnstown in front 44-26 with 2:22 left in the half.
 
Clarion scored the next six points to cut it to 12, but Olivia Rizzo followed with a 3-pointer of her own that helped the Lady Cats go into the halftime break up 47-34.
 
Eight unanswered points to start the second half extended the Lady Cat lead to 21 at 55-34 on Rachel Johnson's basket.
 
Kelly Johnson's basket in the paint 3:19 later got the Golden Eagles' deficit down to 60-46, but Sleighter hit two 3-pointers and Nicole Carman added another one to rebuilt the lead to 71-52 with 12:31 to play.
 
Clarion countered with a 19-9 run to narrow the gap to 80-71 on Delrica Jones-Carey's bucket at 6:07, but Pitt-Johnstown would not let the Golden Eagles get any closer, and went on to the 17-point win.
 
Sleighter's 26 points and six rebounds led five Lady Cats who scored in double figures.  Decriscio finished with 19 points and Leah Hansen had 12 points.  Pitt-Johnstown also got 11 points and 13 rebounds from Harper and 10 points and 12 rebounds from Carman in the victory.
 
Rachel Johnson, who grabbed five rebounds, currently stands in 26th place on the Lady Cat All-Time Rebounding List with 488 rebounds, one shy of Melissa Park (1999-02) for 25th-place.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which held an lopsided 51-34 advantage on the glass, shot 53.1% (34-64) with 12 3-pointers.  The Lady Cats also hit 18-28 from the free-throw line.  Clarion was held to just 39.2% (29-74) shooting, including just 1-11 from behind the 3-point line.  The Golden Eagles were also 20-28 from the charity stripe.
 
Johnson scored a game-high 28 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and Tania Holmes added 11 points for the Golden Eagles, who dropped to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the PSAC West.
 
The Lady Cats host a PSAC doubleheader with the Mountain Cats against Slippery Rock University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center, before hosting doubleheaders with the men's team against Shippensburg University on December 17 and Kutztown University 18 starting at 5:30 p.m.
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