The Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball team battled back to tie Salem (W.Va.) University late in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, but the host Tigers pulled away in the final minute to defeat the Mountain Cats 71-66 in a nonconference game.
Back-to-back layups by Pitt-Johnstown forward Ashley Norling had tied the game at 64-64. Salem finished with a 7-2 run at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium to snap a seven-game losing streak and improve to 2-7 overall..
Pitt-Johnstown, which dropped to 3-5, was led by guard Makalyn Clapper. She had a game-high 19 points and shot 61 percent (8 of 13) from the floor while making three 3-pointers.
Three other Mountain Cats also scored in double figures, including guard Olivia Fasick (13 points), Norling (11) and guard Peyton Alazaus (10).
Forward Molly Wagoner, a freshman, pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds.
Daniela Quesada led Salem with 12 points, while Aleema Mongerie and Kalayne Daniels contributed 11 each for the Tigers, who outscored Pitt-Johnstown 30-9 off the bench.
The Mountain Cats shot 37.9 percent (25 of 66) from the floor and 26.3 percent (5 of 19) from 3-point range. The Tigers made 44.3 percent (27 of 61) of their shots and 30 percent (6 of 20) from behind the arc.
Pitt-Johnstown trailed 37-31 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter, but went on a 9-2 run and went ahead 40-39 lead on forward Kylah Franklin's free throw at the 3:06 mark.
Salem regained a 45-40 advantage, but the Mountain Cats forged a 45-45 tie with 49 seconds left on Fasick's two free throws.
Fasick then trimmed another five-point deficit to two, 50-48, by sinking a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter.
Pitt-Johnstown, down by as many as seven points in the opening quarter, tied the game at 23-23 on Norling's layup with 2:35 remaining. But Kendra Stanford and Quesada converted layups in the final 1:48 to give the Tigers a 27-23 halftime lead.
In the opening quarter, Pitt-Johnstown had an early 4-0 lead on a jump shot by Clapper and a layup by Alazaus, but Salem went on a 11-0 run to take an 11-4 lead. A Franklin layup with two seconds left pulled the Mountain Cats to within three points, 17-14, after one quarter.
The Mountain Cats, coached by Mike Drahos, return home at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for a PSAC crossover game against Shepherd (W.Va.) University at the Sports Center. The men play in the nightcap of the doubleheader at 7:30 p.m.
