Pitt-Johnstown went toe-to-toe with 15^th-ranked Edinboro University, but the Fighting Scots regained the lead with just over two minutes remaining and went on to hold off the Cats for a 61-56 PSAC victory, Monday night in Edinboro.  Olivia McCabe's 16 points and six rebounds led Pitt-Johnsotwn, which slipped to 7-7 overall and 4-5 in conference-play.
 
Pitt-Johnstown scored five straight points to take a 5-4 lead on a pair of Alexis Hartwick free-throws three minutes into the opening quarter.  Edinboro followed with a 12-4 run over the next five minutes, capped by baskets from Whitney Allen and Michelle Jahn, to build its lead to 16-9, but Gabrielle Smith's layup got the Cats back to within five at 16-11.
 
Jontay Walton's 3-pointer and a basket by Michaela Barnes to start the second quarter quickly got the Fighting Scots' lead into double digits at 23-13.  Pitt-Johnstown came back with 3-pointers from Olivia McCabe and Mia Oterson to get the deficit back down five midway through the quarter, before Smith's bucket in the paint made it a 3-point game with 1:17 left in the half.  Edinboro countered with a short jumper from Ciara Rosten to take a 30-25 lead into the halftime break.
 
Edinboro came out in the third quarter and outscored Pitt-Johnstown 9-4 to extend it lead back to double digits at 39-29 on Allen's layup at 6:15.  The Cats battled back again.  Pitt-Johnstown got baskets from Hartwick and McCabe to get it down two at the 2-minute mark, and Oterson's 3-pointer with time running down closed a 13-3 run that knotted it at 42 entering the fourth quarter.
 
After the Fighting Scots made it 47-42 with Jahn's 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, Pitt-Johnstown came back to tie it at 49 on Smith's free-throw and retake, 51-49, on Nicole Olkosky's jumper with 4:12 to play.  However, Barnes connected on a 3-pointer and knocked down a jumper to put Edinboro back in front by two at 2:10 and Walton went on to make 3-of-4 free-throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the Fighting Scots' five-point victory.
 
McCabe finished with 16 points and six rebounds to lead three Pitt-Johnstown players who scored in double figures.  Hartwick had 14 points and a caareer-high eight rebounds, and Smith had 11 points and nine rebounds.  The Cats also got six points apiece off the bench from Oterson and Maddie Shanahan.
 
McCabe currently stands in 36^th place on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring List with 1,026 points and 13^th on the All-Time Rebounding List with 702 rebounds.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 37.7% (20-83) from the field and 5-14 from 3-point range, while holding the fighting Scots to just 33.8% (24-71) shooting, including just 5-23 from behind the 3-point line.  The Cats were also 11-16 from the free-throw line.  Edinboro made 8-14 from the charity stripe.
 
Walton led all scorers with 18 points to help Edinboro improve to 12-1 overall and 8-1 in the PSAC.  Barnes had 14 points, Allen had 11 points, and Rosten scored eight points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds for the Fighting Scots.
 
Pitt-Johnstown travels to a PSAC game at No. 10 California (PA) on Wednesday, before returning home to host a conference doubleheader with the Mountain Cats against Mercyhurst University on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center.