Pitt-Johnstown battled back from a six-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, before snapping an 11-game losing streak to Edinboro with a, 78-71, Alumni Day victory, Saturday evening in the Sports Center.  Gabrielle Smith had game-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Alli McGrath added 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Mountain Cats improve to 13-10 overall and 8-9 in the PSAC West.
 
Makalyn Clapper and Ashley Norling each scored nine points off the bench, while Olivia Fasick had seven points and a game-high eight assists.  Maddie Shanahan collected six points and five rebounds, and Lindsay Shuke scored six points.
 
Pitt-Johnstown took advantage of Edinboro's 19% first quarter shooting to open-up a 21-14 advantage on 3-pointers from Norling and McGrath.
 
The Fighting Scots continued to struggle and shot just 21% in the second quarter and saw their deficit expand to a dozen when Shuke hit a 3-pointer at the 5:18 mark.  The Mountain Cats maintained at least a nine-point advantage and took a 38-27 lead in to halftime break on Smith's late layup.
 
Rana Elhusseini'a jumper with 4:19 left in the third quarter closed a 15-6 Edinboro run that cut the deficit to 44-42, but Pitt-Johnstown got the lead back out to five and went into the fourth quarter leading by one.
 
The Fighting Scots regained the lead by one on their first possession, then pushed it out to six at 58-52 with 7:01 remaining on a Michaela Barnes' bucket.  However, McGrath's 3-pointer with :33 seconds to go knotted it at 65 and forced the extra period.
 
However, Smith scored in the paint to begin the period and Pitt-Johnstown never trailed again.  Fasick and Smith went on to hit six straight free-throws in the final minute to seal the seven-point win.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 43.9% (25-57) and 11 of its 25 3-point attempts.  The Mountain Cats were also 17-24 from the free-throw line.  After the slow start, Edinboro finished the night shooting just 31.3% (21-67), including just 5-22 from behind the arc.  The Fighting Scots were 24-27 from the line.
 
Barnes's 19 points and Elhusseini's 13 points led Edinboro, which slipped to 12-8 overall and 10-6 in the PSAC West.  Bridgette Shaffer and Monica Brown each added 12 points for the Fighting Scots.
 
Pitt-Johnstown travels to Slippery Rock for a PSAC game on Wednesday, before returning home to host a conference doubleheader with the men's team against Clarion on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center.