
Makalyn Clapper and
Peyton Alazaus each scored 15 points to lead four Pitt-Johnstown double figure scorers, but Indiana (PA) was able to slip by the Mountain Cats for a 70-66 PSAC victory, Wednesday evening in Indiana. Pitt-Johnstown is now 13-10 overall and 10-7 in conference-play.
Ashley Norling tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, while
Hayden Taylor had a dozen points for the Mountain Cats.
Cassidy Crawford scored six points and grabbed four boards off the bench.
Clapper's 3-pointer followed by two of Alazaus' 13 first half points four minutes into the opening quarter put Pitt-Johnstown on top by three. IUP followed with an 11-4 run, capped by a Teirra Preston basket, to regain the lead, 17-13.
After the Crimson Hawks extended it to 28-18 on Alana Cardona's 3-pointer, the Mountain Cats got hot and connected on 57% from the floor in the second quarter to tie it with a 16-6 run over the final 6:18. Norling's bucket in the paint at the 2:15 mark got Pitt-Johnstown back to within one, and Alazaus hit a pair of free-throws :38 later to knot it at 34 going into the halftime break.


Crawford's free-throws midway through the third quarter completed the Mountain Cat 10-point comeback and gave Pitt-Johnstown a one-point lead, before Taylor's jumper made it 42-39. The Mountain Cats maintained the lead and took a slim, 49-48 lead into the fourth quarter.
IUP scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to go back in front, before another basket from Clapper tied it at 54 with 5:15 to play. It stayed close the rest of the way. However, Gina Adam's 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining put IUP up by five and the Crimson Hawks made 7-8 from the line in the final :25 to hold off the Mountain Cats.
Pitt-Johnstown shot 35% (23-57), while holding the Crimson Hawks to just 25% (27-59) shooting, including just 5-20 from behind the arc. However, IUP made 11-14 from the line, and the Mountain Cats were 13-26.
Maria Cicero finished with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, and Kiera Baughman added 14 points and eight rebounds for IUP, now 16-7 overall and 11-7 in the PSAC.
Pitt-Johnstown returns home to the Sports Center to host a conference doubleheader with the men's team against Seton Hill on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., before traveling to Mercyhurst on Wednesday for another conference game.