Pitt-Johnstown got 17 points from Gabrielle Smith and 14 points from Alexis Hartwick to give the Cats a four-point fourth-quarter lead, but 12^th-ranked Indiana University (PA) used a 14-0 run to secure a 57-47 PSAC victory, Thursday night at the Kovalchick Center in Indiana.  Pitt-Johnstown slipped to 9-14 overall and 6-12 in the PSAC.
 
Hartwick hit three early 3-pointers and knocked down a jumper to help Pitt-Johnstown tie it at 13 with 2:55 left in the opening quarter.  IUP came back with 3-pointers from Audrey Stapleton and Lauren Wolosik to get the lead back out to six, but the Cats closed out the quarter with baskets from Maddie Shanahan and Smith that cut it to 19-17.
 
After Maurina Nunn's free-throw to begin the second quarter got Pitt-Johnstown back to within one, the Crimson Hawks outscored the Cats, 10-1, over the next six minutes to push the lead into double digits at 29-19 on back-to-back Wolosik 3-pointers.  Smith's 3-pointer at 1:10 and a pair of free-throws from Smith with 16 seconds left narrowed the Pitt-Johnstown gap to 29-24 at the half.
 
Pitt-Johnstown kept it close in the third quarter and battled back to regain the lead by one.  Tori Moreland's 3-pointer, followed by two Olivia McCabe free-throws at 3:04 knotted it at 36, before Smith made one-of-two from the line with 1:11 remaining that put the Cats back on top, 37-36.  IUP then got a bucket in the paint from Megan Smith as time expired to take a 38-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Smith's lay-up quickly gave the lead back to Pitt-Johnstown, and Hartwick connected on a 3-pointer to give the Cats a 44-40 advantage at 6:58.  However, the Crimson Hawks took control and used a 14-0 run, including seven straight points from Carolyn Appleby and a Megan Smith 3-pointer to rebuild the lead to 54-44 with a minute to play.
 
Smith finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Hartwick had 17 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range to lead Pitt-Johnstown.  The Cats also got five points and seven rebounds from McCabe.
 
McCabe currently stands in 28^th place on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring List with 1,125 points and seventh on the All-Time Rebounding List with 784 rebounds.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which out-rebounded IUP, 30-22, shot 40.0% (14-35) from the field, 6-11 from 3-point range, and 13-19 from the free-throw line.  The Crimson Hawks also shot and even 40% (21-53).  IUP was also 7-17 from behind the 3-point line and 8-11 from the charity stripe.
 
Appleby had 16 points, while Megan Smith had 13 points and Wolosik chipped-in a dozen points to help the Crimson Hawks improve to 20-2 overall and 15-2 in the PSAC.
 
Pitt-Johnstown returns home to celebrate Senior Day as part of a PSAC doubleheader with the men's team against California (PA), Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center, before hosting a conference doubleheader against Seton Hill on Wednesday.