Pitt-Johnstown has every reason to believe it can be a factor in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) just one year removed from a 17-win season that included a second straight trip to the conference quarterfinals.
 
The Mountain Cats started to piece the puzzle together through long stretches last year, but will look to take another step forward under 11^th-year Head Coach Mike Drahos, who took over when the program first made the move to the PSAC back in 2013.
 
Drahos and his new first-year assistants, Mia Oterson and Sarah Bosch, will be tasked with replacing the production left behind by departed senior Ashley Norling, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season.
 
The pressure to figure out the logistics of that early on should be lessened with the return of senior guards Olivia Fasick and Peyton Alazaus. Alazaus averaged more than 14 points per game and led the team with 73 3-pointers, while Fasick averaged more than 11 points per game and finished third in the PSAC in assists per game at 5.1 as the starting backcourt combination earned Second-Team All-PSAC West honors in 2022-23.
 
Senior guard Hayden Taylor scored more than nine points per game last year and joins the pair as another returning starter that can assist in anchoring an offense coming off a season in which it finished ninth in the PSAC at 68 points per game.
 
Pitt-Johnstown will also have plenty of experienced players who have logged significant minutes and will compete to start multiple games in Molly Wagoner (1.6 ppg., 3.1 rpg.), Krista Troyer (1.0 ppg., 1.0 rpg.), Cassidy Crawford (6.5 ppg., 3.4 rpg.), and Kylah Franklin (3.0 ppg., 1.9 rpg.). Alana Belknap, Madeline Cecere, Lexi Margolis and Kalei Carson are all capable of filling in on the second unit as the season progresses.
 
As is typical with every offseason, the Mountain Cats welcomed four new recruits in freshmen Riley Childress, Belle Bosch, Camille Dominick, and Hayden Keith. The quartet will have a chance to work their way into the rotation while making the necessary adjustments to the collegiate level.
 
No matter who secures the remaining starting spots on a nightly basis, taking care of the basketball while simultaneously creating quality shots within the outlined system will be paramount to success. The Mountain Cats were third in assist-to-turnover ratio last year and finished sixth in 3-point field goal makes.
 
If those numbers can be replicated, it would all but guarantee Pitt-Johnstown a fourth straight ticket to the PSAC Tournament that commences in March.
 
Pitt-Johnstown opens the 2023-24 campaign at the Frostburg State Tip-Off Tournament against Salem (WV) University on Friday and Frostburg State on Saturday, before making its home debut with a non-conference game against Malone on Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Center.