Olivia Fasick matched her career-high with 16 points to help Pitt-Johnstown erase a 10-point deficit, but Shippensburg used an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead for good and lead the Raiders to a 78-71 PSAC Crossover victory over the Mountain Cats, Friday evening in Shippensburg.  Pitt-Johnstown slipped to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
Fasick's 16 points and seven assists paced three Mountain Cats who scored in double figures.  Gabrielle Smith and Alli McGrath each scored 14 points, while Makalyn Clapper added nine points off the bench, and Maddie Shanahan grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for Pitt-Johnstown.
 
Pitt-Johnstown clawed back from an early four-point deficit to knot it at 18 with just over a minute remaining in the opening quarter on Clapper's steal and layup.  Shippensburg followed with a late steal and bucket from Lauren Pettis to regain the lead to close out the period.
 
The Raiders used a 12-4 run over the six minutes of the second quarter to extend the lead to 32-22 on 3-pointers from Ariel Jones and Fiona Rowan.  Three-pointers from Fasick and McGrath narrowed Pitt-Johnstown's gap to three, but Shippensburg was able to outscore the Mountain Cats 6-2 over the final 2:23 to go on top, 41-34 at the break.
 
Shippensburg's lead quickly evaporated.  A layup from Gabrielle Smith and another 3-pointer from Fasick knotted it at 43 early in the third quarter, before Clapper's 3-pointer at 4:52 gave Pitt-Johnstown its first lead of the night at 46-45.  Shippensburg went back in front and took a slim 57-55 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Shanahan's jumper briefly gave the lead back to the Mountain Cats at 61-60 with six minutes to play, but the Raiders scored the next eight points, including a free-throws from Kryshell Gordy and Jones, to rebuild the seven.  Fasick's layup and free-throw with :56 left got Pitt-Johnstown's deficit down to two, but the Mountain Cats were not able to complete the comeback.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 41% (26-63) from the floor, 7-23 from behind the arc, and 12-15 from the free-throw line.  Shippensburg connected on 51% (28-55) of its shots from the field and was 5-13 from 3-point range.  The Raiders were also 17-23 from the charity stripe.
 
Jones finished with a game-high 34 points on 11-15 shooting to help Shippensburg win its third straight game and improved to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in the PSAC East.  Aubrielle Green(13 points) and Lauren Mills (10 points) also scored in double figures, and Gordy chipped in eight points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Raiders.
 
Pitt-Johnstown ends the first semester with a PSAC game at Lock Haven on Saturday.  The Mountain Cats will host their next home game on January 6 when Gannon visits the Sports Center for a PSAC doubleheader with the men's team.