Gabrielle Smith scored a career-high 37 points and Alli McGrath added a career-high 32 points to lead the Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball team to a 98-93 double-overtime victory at Mansfield in Saturday's 2018-19 PSAC-opener.  Pitt-Johnstown improved 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
McGrath's 3-pointer and a basket from Smith gave Pitt-Johnstown a 5-0 lead to start, but Mansfield came back to outscore the Mountain Cats, 20-6, to build a nine-point lead.  Seven straight points, capped by McKenzie Hatch's 3-pointer at 6:29 put the Mounties on top by two, before Erin Gibbons connected on a 3-pointer as time expired to put Mansfield on top 20-11 at the end of the opening quarter.
 
Pitt-Johnstown slowly cut into the deficit and was able to regain the lead late in the second quarter.  Ashley Dean's free-throw at 2:30 got the Mountain Cats to within one and Abbie Pechin hit a pair from the line with 2:11 remaining in the half to give Pitt-Johnstown the lead at 34-33.  Mansfield went on to score the final five points, including a 3-pointer by Kira Merritt, to give the Mounties a 38-34 advantage at the break.
 
An 8-2 Mansfield spurt midway through the third quarter extended the lead to 48-39 on back-to-back buckets from Mia Leonard, but the Mountain Cats countered with a 13-4 run, closed by Smith's layup and free-throw, to regain the lead 53-52.  Pitt-Johnstown held a 60-58 lead entering the fourth quarter.
 
The Mountain Cats pushed it out to 68-63 on Pechin's lay-up three minutes into the fourth quarter, before the Mountaineers battled back to retake the lead by two on Merritt's basket with :52 to play.  The Mountain Cats were able to tie it and force overtime when Maddie Shanahan scored in the paint with under :20 remaining.
 
In the overtime period, McGrath's free-throws knotted it at 85, and Smith's steal and lay-up with :20 left gave Pitt-Johnstown an 87-85 led.  Mansfield tied it on Merritt's layup to send it to a second overtime.
 
Pitt-Johnstown scored the first six points to build a 93-87 advantage on McGrath's layup.  Mansfield got as close as two at 93-91, but the Mountain Cats rebuilt the lead to five, and held on to that lead.
 
Smith had a game-high 37 points, including 16-23 from the free-throw line, to lead Pitt-Johnstown.  Smith also grabbed six rebounds and made five steals, while McGrath collected 32 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high six assists.  The Mountain Cats also got eight points and a game-high nine rebounds from Shanahan, eight points from Moreland, and six points and six rebounds off the bench from Pechin.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 44.6% (33-74) from the field, but just 2-19 from behind the arc.  The Mountain Cats were also 30-42 from the free-throw line.  Mansfield shot 48.5% (32-66), 6-21 from 3-point range, and 23-28 from the charity stripe.
 
Mia Leonard's 16 points and eight rebounds, and Erin Gibbons' 20 points and six rebounds paced five Mountaineers who scored in double figures.
 
With the loss, Mansfield slipped to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC East.
 
Pitt-Johnstown will make its 2018-19 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.  The Mountain Cats will also host a non-conference doubleheader against Cheyney on December 18 and a PSAC doubleheader with the men's team against Millersville on December 19.