Pitt-Johnstown erased a 15-point third quarter deficit, but Alderson-Broaddus (WV) University never gave up the lead and held off the Mountain Cats, 79-70, Wednesday evening in Philippi, W.Va.  Alli McGrath, this week's PSAC West Player of the Week, and Gabrielle Smith each scored 19 points for Pitt-Johnstown, which slipped to 2-1.
 
Hannah Henderson's layup just over two minutes into the game put the Battlers on top 8-2, but Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 14-5 to regain the lead 16-13 on Olivia Fasick's 3-pointer at 2:34.
 
Alderson-Broaddus regained the lead late in the first quarter on a Yolanda Florido 3-pointer, the extended it to 32-25 on Madeline Moyer's 3-pointer with 5:40 left in the second quarter.
 
The Battlers held the momentum and made it 41-29 at the break on Moyer's free-throw.
 
Another 3-pointer from Moyer 2:24 into the third quarter gave Alderson-Broaddus its largest lead of the night at 46-31.
 
Pitt-Johnstown followed with a 19-4 run over the next six minutes.  Smith's lay-up cut it to six and a pair of Lindsay Shuke buckets knotted it at 50, but the Battlers used a Jeana Weatherspoon lay-up as time expired in the third quarter to rebuild the lead to 55-50.
 
Alderson-Broaddus got its lead back out to nine when the Mountain Cats responded to pull to within one at 66-65 on McGrath's basket with 2:18 to play.
 
However, the Battlers never relinquished the lead and hit 5-of-6 free-throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the nine-point victory.
 
Smith finished with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, and McGrath had 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists to pace the Mountain Cats.  Fasick added career-highs of 16 points and six steals, and Shuke had a career-high nine points for Pitt-Johnstown.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 37.9% (22-58) from the field, 5-23 from 3-point range, and 21-25 from the charity stripe, while the Battlers shot 47.2% (25-53), including 7-19 from behind the arc.  Alderson-Broaddus was also 22-34 from the free-throw line.
 
Henderson's game-high 33 points and eight rebounds, and Florido's 14 points and six rebounds led four Battlers who scored in double figures and helped Alderson-Broaddus improve to 1-2.
 
Pitt-Johnstown begins a five-game homestand with non-conference match-ups against Wheeling Jesuit (WV) on Saturday at 1 p.m. and West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Sports Center.