Box Score
Seton Hill University broke open a two-point lead with a 35-12 run over a 14-minute span to close out first half and start the second half on its way to handing the Lady Cats an 88-66 PSAC road loss on Wednesday. Â
Olivia Rizzo's scored 13 points for Pitt-Johnstown, which dropped to 6-10 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC Western Division.
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Seton Hill, which never trailed, came out of the gate running. Mallory Sanner scored five quick points to help the Griffins take to a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game.
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Pitt-Johnstown used three 3-pointers, including one from
Kayla DeCriscio, to cut it to 17-15 six minutes later.
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However, it was all Seton Hill the rest of the half. The Griffins outscored the Lady Cats 28-12 over the final 12:44 to build an 18-point halftime advantage.
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A Tiara Stossel 3-pointer put Seton Hill in front 35-20 with just under five minutes remaining, and two Katie Gattuso free-throws at 1:02 gave the Griffins a 45-27 halftime lead.
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It was more of the same to start the second half. Piage Alviani's 3-pointer capped a 7-0 Seton Hill spurt that extended the run to 25-12 and pushed the griffins' lead out to 52-27.
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The Lady Cats got it down to 19 on Rachel's Johnson's lay-up and free-throw at 14:26, but Seton Hill wouldn't allow Pitt-Johnstown to get any closer.
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Seton Hill pushed the lead out to as many as 29 at 80-51 with 5:08 to play on another Gattuso bucket, before coasting to the 22-point victory.
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Seton Hill controlled nearly every aspect of the game. The Griffins, shot 57.6% from the field, hit 15-15 from the free-throw line, outscored Pitt-Johnstown 54-26 in the paint, and held a 41-21 rebounding advantage.
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Rizzo's 13 points paced Pitt-Johnstown. Johnson had nine points, while
Kelsey Sleighter,
Jasmine Harper, and
Nicole Carman each scored eight points. Carman also pulled down six rebounds in the loss.
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Johnson pulled down two rebounds and stands in 21
st-place on the Lady Cat All-Time Rebounding List with 536. Johnson is 12 rebounds shy of Amy Kessler (1988-92) for 20
th place on the list.
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The Lady Cats ended the night shooting42.4% (25-59) from the fireld, 8-23 from 3-point range, and 8-10 from the charity stripe.
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Gattuso had game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Alviana added 19 points and five rebounds to lead four Seton Hill players who scored in double figures.
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The Griffins extended their winning streak to four straight games and improved to 10-5 overall and 2-3 in the PSAC West.
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The Lady Cats travel to second-ranked Gannon University for a PSAC game on Wednesday, before hosting a conference doubleheader with the Mountain Cats against Mercyhurst University on January 25. The Lady Cats will tip-off at 2 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 4 p.m.