Coming off of two straight conference wins, the Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball team looked to make it three straight when California (PA) visited the Sports Center, Wednesday evening. However, the Mountain Cats ran into a hot shooting Vulcans' team and suffered a 61-40 setback.
Olivia Fasick's 11 points paced Pitt-Johnstown, now 11-14 overall and still holding the sixth spot in the PSAC West at 9-10.
Cal U got off to a quick start and climbed out to an eight-point lead. Fasick's 3-pointer at 5:26 got Pitt-Johnstown to within a basket at 7-5, but nine first quarter points from Dejah Terrell gave the Vulcans a 15-8 advantage.
After shooting 58% to start, Cal U got even hotter and connected on 67% of their shots in the second quarter. Shawna Harrison's basket at 7:07 got the lead into double digits, before Fasick and
Cassidy Crawford each hit a pair of free-throws for Pitt-Johnstown to narrow the gap, but the Vulcans were able to take a 21-point halftime lead.
The Mountain Cats didn't give up and played Cal U even during the second half.
Makalyn Clapper's steal and layup at 3:44 of the third quarter got Pitt-Johnstown back to within 18 and helped the Mountain Cats outscore the Vulcans by two in the quarter.
Pitt-Johnstown bounced back from a tough start to shoot 39% in the second half and stay even with the Vulcans at 26-26 over the final two periods.
Along with Fasick, Crawford scored seven points off the bench for the Mountain Cats, while
Ashley Norling and
Peyton Alazaus each had five points and three rebounds.
After the Vulcans shot 62.5% in the opening half, Pitt-Johnstown limited Cal U to 41.7% in the second half.
Terrell's 21 points and six rebounds, and Harrison's 13 points led Cal U, now 17-4 overall and 12-4 in the PSAC West.
Pitt-Johnstown will wrap-up its regular season home schedule with a PSAC game against Mercyhurst on February 21 at 5:30 p.m. The Mountain Cats will then visit Seton Hill on Feb. 23 and IUP on Feb. 26, before the 2022 PSAC Women's Basketball Tournament begins on Feb. 28.
