Box Score
Nicole Carman scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but it was
Kelsey Sleighter's driving lay-up with 1:00 left in the second overtime that put the Lady Cats in front for good and lifted Pitt-Johnstown to a 90-86 PSAC Western Division victory over Slippery Rock, Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center. The Lady Cats made it two straight wins and improved to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in conference-play.
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Sleighter's bucket broke an 86-86 tie , before
Leah Hansen and
Rachel Johnson each hit free-throws with less than 20 seconds remaining to help Pitt-Johnstown seal the win.
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Slippery Rock ran out to an 22-12 lead 8:27 into the game on Kara Houppert 3-pointer.
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Each time Slippery Rock would pull ahead, Pitt-Johnstown battled back to keep close. Sleighter's lay-up with 1:49 left in the half cut it to six, and Hansen scored with time running out to get the Lady Cats to within three at 29-26 at the half.
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It was more of the same in the second half. The Rock quickly rebuilt the lead to double digits on D'Asia's Chambers' basket three minutes in, but Pitt-Johnstown used a 12-2 run, capped by Sleighter's 3-pointer, to knot it at 39 with 14:17 left.
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Slippery Rock pushed it back out to seven three minutes later, before
Kayla DeCriscio's finished an unconventional five-point play. DeCriscio knocked down a 3-pointer and was hit a pair of free-throws when she was fouled after the play.
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However, The Rock never gave up the lead until
Nicole Carman's free-throws put the Lady Cats in front 67-65 with 19 seconds remaining. Slippery Rock answered with two free-throws by Jazmyne Frost with six seconds to force overtime.
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In the first overtime, Slippery Rock built a 79-74 advantage with 1:22 on the clock, but Hansen's late free-throws tie it at 81 to set up the second overtime.
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Carman led five Lady Cats who scored in double figures with20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Hansen had 18 points, while Sleighter had 16 points and seven rebounds, and
Jasmine Harper added 15 points and seven rebounds. DeCriscio finished with 10 points, including 7-8 from the free-throw line.
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Rachel Johnson, who grabbed seven rebounds, currently stands in 25
th place on the Lady Cat All-Time Rebounding List with 495 rebounds, three shy of Denise Gallo (1992-96) for 24
th place.
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The Lady Cats both shot 50% from the floor for the game, but Pitt-Johnstown made seven 3-pointers and connected on 33-47 from the free-throw line. The Rock was 5-14 from behind the 3-point line and 21-33 from the charity stripe.
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Chambers poured in a game-high 30 points and pulled down nine rebounds, and Frost chipped in 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Slippery Rock, which dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the PSAC West.
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The Lady Cats will break for finals, before hosting doubleheaders with the Mountain Cats against Shippensburg on December 17 and Kutztown on December 18. The Lady Cats will tip-off both doubleheaders at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Center, with the men's games to follow at 7:30 p.m.