There is plenty of reason for optimism ahead of the 2022-23 season for 10^th-year Head Coach Mike Drahos and the Pitt-Johnstown's women's basketball program.
 
The Mountain Cats retained all 13 players a year after finishing 13-17 (10-12 in the PSAC West) on their way to clinching a third straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament, where they made the quarterfinals for the first time since joining the conference in 2013.
 
Most notably, Pitt-Johnstown brings back three double-digit scorers in senior forward Ashley Norling, who led the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and finished second in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and assists (71), sophomore guard Peyton Alazaus (10.4 ppg) and junior point guard Olivia Fasick (10.2 ppg).
 
Alazaus led the team in 3-point field goals with 70, which ranked third in the PSAC and 36^th in NCAA Division II.  Pitt-Johnstown's offense last season was largely directed by Fasick, who ranked fifth in the PSAC and 33^rd nationally in assists with 125.
 
Experienced senior guard Makalyn Clapper will anchor the defense after ranking fourth in total steals (64) and fifth in steals per game in the PSAC last season. Sophomore forward Molly Wagoner enjoyed a stellar freshman season, leading the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and blocked shots (52).
 
Pitt-Johnstown will also have reinforcements coming in the form of redshirt freshman guard Krista Troyer and versatile junior guard/forward Cassidy Crawford, who both will be returning from injuries.
 
Senior guard Kendyl McKissock and sophomore forward Kylah Franklin, who started three games and scored 163 points, both logged significant minutes last season and will look to build on the experience they acquired.  Coach Drahos will also look to junior Hayden Taylor to provide a spark for the Mountain Cats.  Taylor played in all 30 games a year ago and shot 41% from beyond the arc over the final six weeks of the season.  Taylor also proved to be a reliable contributor for both her shooting and defensive prowess.
 
Three sophomores in Madeline Cecere, Kalei Carson and Alana Belknap, who all received game experience in 2021, will look to establish more refined roles this season and give Pitt-Johnstown additional depth off the bench.
 
In addition, Coach Drahos added a pair of talented freshmen who are in position to join the fold immediately in guards Kennedy O'Brien and Lexi Margolis.
 
O'Brien, a Bishop McDevitt High School graduate, scored nearly 900 points and was named the Capital Conference Most Valuable Player and a Penn Live Big 15 selection in both 2019-20 and 2021-22.  Margolis, a four-year letter winner from Gateway High School in Monroeville, scored 705 points, pulled down 165 rebounds, dished out 151 assists and racked up 100 steals in her high school career.
 
Since the Mountain Cats will not have to replace any starters in the lineup, the group should be more cohesive as a unit after four players (Norling, Alazaus, Fasick and Clapper) started all 30 games together in 2021-22.  The depth Pitt-Johnstown added will also allow coach Drahos to go deep into his bench—should he need to.
 
The Mountain Cats were picked to finish sixth in the PSAC Western Division by the league's coaches in the preseason poll but find themselves in a favorable position to exceed those expectations of the team is able to navigate a difficult non-conference schedule and a grueling PSAC schedule.
 
Pitt-Johnstown kicks off the 2022-23 season with a pair of games at the Frostburg State (MD) University Jim Crawley Conference Challenge on November 11-12.   The Mountain Cats will face Salem (WV) University in their home-opener on November 22 in the Sports Center, before opening conference play with a matchup at Bloomsburg on December 2.