Despite a valiant third quarter effort, Pitt-Johnstown could never quite dig its way out of an early deficit in what became a 64-54 setback to Kutztown at Keystone Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Cats had their four-game winning streak snapped and slipped to 8-3 (3-2 PSAC).

Hayden Taylor drilled four 3-pointers to rack up a team-high 14 points on a day when the Mountain Cats struggled to find their rhythm offensively. They finished 16 of 55 (29%) from the field, but stayed within a reasonable striking distance because of an 8 for 20 (40%) mark from distance.

Peyton Alazaus contributed 10 points, while Olivia Fasick added nine points. Cassidy Crawford recorded seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Fasick breathed life into a possible comeback when she knocked down a pair of 3-pointers less than two minutes into the third that cut the deficit to 39-35. The Mountain Cats clawed to within two at 41-39 on Kylah Franklin's jumper at the 6:10 mark.

Kutztown seized control for good with eight straight points over the next three minutes to go back up by 10. The Mountain Cats never scratched to within nine over the final 13 minutes. The Golden Bears held a 42-31 advantage on the glass and a 30-12 edge in points in the paint, two major reasons why they improved to 4-7 overall (2-3 PSAC).

Naia Pulliam and Abbey Hearn each totaled a game-high 18 points for Kutztown, which shot 24 of 55 (43.6%) from the field.

Pitt-Johnstown never led after being down 4-0 within the first minute and fell behind 23-16 by the end of the opening quarter. It did force 17 Kutztown turnovers, but managed only 13 points off those miscues.

The Mountain Cats host Shippensburg on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in their final PSAC crossover game.