Lady Cats Dealt, 59-52, Loss at Slippery Rock

12/07/2007

Junior forward Kristin Irwin (Bellefonte, Pa.) scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds, but the Lady Cat basketball team was not able to hold on to a seven-point halftime lead and suffered a, 59-52, non-conference loss Friday evening at Slippery Rock University. Head Coach Sasha Palmer's team is now 2-4 on the season.
Pitt Johnstown battled back from a 12-3 deficit six minutes into the game to take a 31-24 halftime lead behind 17 first half points from Irwin. The Lady Cats shot 50.0% (11-22) from the field and made seven three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. However, Pitt Johnstown went cold and Slippery Rock caught fire in the second half. The Lady Cats shot just 26.7% (8-30), while The Rock shot an impressive 60.9% (14-23) to erase the halftime deficit and earn the seven-point win.
Irwin's 21 points on 7-14 shooting from the field, a career-best 5-8 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free-throw line led three Lady Cats who scored in double figures. Junior forward Krista Britcher (Johnstown, Pa.) scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds, and junior Lindsay Cale (Hummelstown, Pa.) chipped in 10 points. Coach Palmer also got six points and three assists from point guard Chrissy Forster (Lewisberry, Pa.) in the loss.
The Lady Cats finished the game shooting just 36.5% (19-52) from the field. Pitt Johnstown did make a season-best 10 three-pointers and converted on all four of their free-throw attempts. Slippery Rock ended the eveing shooting 48.1% (25-52) from the field, 25.0% (3-12) from behind the three-point line and 42.9% (6-14) from the charity stripe. The Rock also held a 31-22 advantage in rebounding.
Nikki Presto's 15 points and game-high 11 rebounds led the way for Slippery Rock. Amanda Nero (15 points) and Julie Molloy (11 points) also scored in double figures, while KellyAnn Staudinger had nine rebounds to help The Rock improve to 4-3.
The Lady Cats travel to California University (PA) on Sunday to finish the first semester. Pitt Johnstown will then break for finals and the holiday season, before opening the spring semester against Indiana University (PA) on Wednesday, January 2 at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Mountain Cats. The Mountain Cats will take on Shippensburg University at 7:30 p.m.

Print Friendly Version