Alli McGrath had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Maddie Shanahan added a career-high 16 points and six rebounds, but Wheeling Jesuit (WV) University broke open a two-point halftime lead and turned it into an 82-67 non-conference victory over Pitt-Johnstown, Monday evening in Wheeling, W.Va.  The Mountain Cats slipped to 3-2.
 
Wheeling Jesuit used a 10-2 run over a four minute span in the first quarter to open-up a 13-7 lead on Aislynn Hartman's layup and two Rya Nelson free-throws.  The Mountain Cats answered with five straight points from McGrath and a late basket by Abbie Pechin to narrow it to 18-14.
 
Chenelle Moore's layup and Alyssa Edwards-Frick's 3-pointer early in the second quarter increased the Cardinals' lead into double figures at 27-17, but Pitt-Johnstown came back to outscore Wheeling Jesuit 13-2.  Six points from Gabrielle Smith sandwiched around a 3-pointer from Katie Bolden got the Mountain Cats to within one, before Maurina Nunn's free-throws at 4:43 put Pitt-Johnstown on top 30-29.  Shanahan's basket tied it at 39, but the Cardinals Allie Taylor followed with a bucket as time expired to give Wheeling Jesuit a slim, 41-39 halftime advantage.
 
After Tori Moreland's 3-pointer 2:19 into the third quarter put the Mountain Cats back up by one, Wheeling Jesuit scored the next 10 points, capped by buckets from Khira Burton and Hartman, to rebuild its lead to 54-45 at the 4:03 mark.  The Cardinals kept the momentum and got a 3-pointer from Khira Burton two minutes later to push the lead out to 13 and held a 64-53 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Moreland's 3-pointer with 5:48 to play narrowed the Mountain cats' gap to eight, but Taliah Cashwell answered right back with a 3-pointer of her own to get the Wheeling Jesuit lead back out to 11 at 73-62.  The Cardinals never let it get any closer.
 
Along with McGrath and Shanahan, Smith had 11 points and six rebounds, while Moreland and Bolden chipped-in eight and six points, respectively for Pitt-Johnstown.  Nunn finished with five points and seven rebounds.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 40.4% (23-57) from the floor and 7-19 from 3-point range, while holding the Cardinals to just 37.7% (26-69) shooting, including 7-22 from behind the arc.  However, Wheeling Jesuit hit 23-26 from the foul line.  Pitt-Johnstown was 14-18 from the charity stripe.
 
Burton collected a game-high 22 points and Cashwell had 17 points to lead the Cardinals.  Wheeling Jesuit, which evened its record at 3-3, also got 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds from Moore.
 
Pitt-Johnstown opens PSAC-play at Mansfield on Saturday and at Shippensburg on Sunday.  The Mountain Cats will make their home debut with a PSAC game against Kutztown as part of a doubleheader with the men's team on December 8 at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center.