East Stroudsburg outscored the Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball team by 13 in the second half to erase a one-point halftime deficit on its way to an 81-69 PSAC Crossover victory, Sunday afternoon in the Sports Center.  Gabrielle Smith's double-double of 13 points and game-high 13 rebounds led Pitt-Johnstown, which slipped to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
The Warriors took an early three-point first quarter lead on Tiffany Lapotsky's jumper.  Pitt-Johnstown came back to tie it at 10 on Smith's layup, and go up by four on two Laurel O'Barto free-throws and an Olivia McCabe jumper in the paint.  East Stroudsburg got a basket from Dominique Rayam with 20 seconds left in the quarter to cut it 14-12.
 
East Stroudsburg started fast in the second quarter and took a five-point lead on Alison Bauman's layup, before Ann McKnight's 3-pointer extended it 26-18 at the 6:09 mark.  Pitt-Johnstown bounced back to outscore the Warriors 17-8 the rest of the way.  Nicole Olkosky's basket at 2:15 put the cats back on top, and O'Barto's layup with under a minute remaining gave Pitt-Johnstown a slim 35-34 halftime advantage.
 
Pitt-Johnstown held the momentum to begin the second half and built the lead to 47-39 on Smith's free-throw and Alexis Hartwick's jumper midway through the third quarter.  This time, East Stroudsburg answered with a 16-3 run to regain the lead.  Bauman's basket put the Warriors back on top, and Lapotsky's jumper as time expired made it 55-50 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Maurina Nunn's 3-pointer got Pitt-Johnstown to within three at 60-57 with 7:39 to play, but East Stroudsburg never let it get any closer.  Noelle Powell hit a 3-pointer at 5:36 to increase the lead to double digits, before Powell of Imani Brown combine to make 5-of-6 free-throws in the final 44 seconds to seal the victory for the Warrriors.
 
Smith finished with 13 points (7-8 free-throws), 13 rebounds and four assists to lead four Pitt-Johnstown players who scored in double figures.  Olivia McCabe had 13 points and six rebounds, while Hartwick collected 13 points and six rebounds, and O'Barto had a dozen points, four rebounds and three assists.  Olkosky grabbed six rebounds, and Alexis Harris and Nunn each scored five points.
 
The Warriors held Pitt-Johnstown to just 34.9% (22-63) shooting for the game.  The Cats were also 5-17 from 3-point range and 20-32 from the free-throw line.  East Stroudsburg ended the day shooting 42.2% from the field, 6-25 from behind the 3-point line, and 19-22 from the charity stripe.
 
Lapotsky's game-high 21 points and eight rebounds led the way for the Warriors, who improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC Eastern Division.  East Stroudsburg also got 17 points from Powell, and 11 points and 11 rebounds from Brown.
 
Pitt-Johnstown will host a non-conference game against Lincoln on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Center, before traveling to PSAC Games at Cheyney on December 2 and Millersville and December 3.