A young Pitt Johnstown team was firing on all cylinders in the first half as they took a 32-23 lead into the locker room against PSAC West leading Seton Hill in the Sports Center on Saturday night.

A back-and-forth game early, the Mountain Cats came out of the first media timeout and opened their first double digit lead of the game by going on an 11-5 run in the last 3:08 of the first quarter.  Freshman, Peyton Alazaus knocked down a deep 3 point shot from the corner that started the run that was capped by Freshman Molly Wagoner's lay up at the buzzer, as Pitt Johnstown took a 22-11 lead after one quarter of action.

The second quarter saw the Mountain Cats go punch for punch as every time Seton Hill tried to make a run, Pitt Johnstown had an answer as they maintained a lead of 8 or more points for the entire period.  The first half was highlighted by Freshman Kylah Franklin's hot hand, as she went 4-6 from the field and 4-4 from the foul line for 12 first half points. Molly Wagoner also contributed 8 points on 4-6 shooting and added 4 rebounds.  Pitt Johnstown went into the half with a 9-point advantage, 32-23 over the conference leading Griffins.

The second half started much the same as Pitt Johnstown built their lead to 14 points, 37-23, on a Molly Wagoner lay up and a deep three-point bomb from Olivia Fasick.  However, the Mountain Cats would find their shooting go cold as that would be their only three-point make of the third quarter.  The Cats also failed to attempt a foul shot in the period and Seton Hill managed to shoot five free throws and convert on 8 of their 15 FG attempts to take a 44-41 lead with under a min to play.  Kylah Franklin again answered with a strong lay up to cut the lead to 44-43 heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter saw the veteran Griffins use their experience to slowly build a lead, but the Mountain Cats came storming back as they cut the Seton Hill lead to a single possession, 56-58 with 1:45 to play, on a huge trifecta from Freshman guard Hayden Taylor.  Unfortunately, the Griffins made their foul shots down the stretch and the Mountain Cats were unable to convert on several open looks to give Seton Hill their first win over the Cats since the 2018-19 season.

For the game, Freshman Kylah Franklin led the Cats with her career high 18 points. Sophomore Ashley Norling netted 12 points to go along with 7 rebounds, and Freshman Molly Wagoner added 10 points to round out Pitt Johnstown's double-digit scorers.  Sophomore Olivia Fasick dished out 9 assists in 32 mins of action.  The game also saw the return of Pitt Johnstown's leading scorer, Freshman Cassidy Crawford, as she saw limited action in her return from an early season injury. 

The Pitt Johnstown Mountain Cats will be back in action on Monday 1/24/22, as they take on IUP in the Sports Center.  The game is slated for a 5:30pm tip-off.