Peyton Alazaus netted 27 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to secure a much-needed 85-72 victory over Seton Hill on Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats improved to 14-10 (11-7 PSAC).

Ashley Norling added 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals for the Cats. Olivia Fasick nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, which included going 8 of 8 from the free throw line, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Makalyn Clapper provided 11 points and snatched a season-high nine boards.

After a back-and-forth affair over the first six minutes of the second half, a layup by Hayden Taylor at the 4:14 mark of the third gave the Cats a lead they would never let fade away. Pitt-Johnstown ended the third quarter on an 11-6 flurry capped off by two free throws from Norling with 34 seconds left.

Seton Hill cut it to a four-point deficit early on in the fourth, but a three by Alazaus followed by a layup from Taylor pushed the lead back to nine with 7:10 left. 

From there, it was all about free throw shooting for the Cats to maintain their lead. Pitt-Johnstown went 14 of 14 down the stretch to close the Griffins out. The Cats finished a perfect 21 for 21 from the charity stripe as a team. 

Pitt-Johnstown shot 53% (15 of 28) from the field in the second half to break a 36-all halftime tie. There were 17 lead changes throughout the contest. 

Christiane Frye and Alie Seto each scored a team-high 20 points for the Griffins, who fell to 16-11 (9-9 PSAC).

The Cats, who currently sit tied for fourth place with California (PA) in the PSAC Western Division, visit Mercyhurst on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.