Lexi Margolis scored a career-high 17 points to lead three double figure scorers and Pitt-Johnstown shot 55% for the game in a convincing, 75-44, PSAC victory at Slippery Rock, Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Cats are now 15-10 overall and 10-9 in conference-play.
Margolis shot 7-8 from the field and 3-3 from 3-point range and dished out a career-best four assists, while
Kylah Franklin scored 17 points and
Cassidy Crawford added 10 points for the Mountain Cats.
Belle Bosch chipped in eight points and four rebounds,
Camille Dominick grabbed a game-high eight boards, and
Olivia Fasick had five rebounds and six assists.
The Mountain Cats established momentum right out the gate and shot 57%, while holding Slippery Rock to just 1-8 shooting, to build a 16-point advantage after one quarter. Five straight points from Margolis gave Pitt-Johnstown a 10-1 lead, before Franklin's basket pushed in into double digits at 3:36.
Peyton Alazaus knocked down a 3-pointer, and
Riley Childress' made it 21-6.
Another 3-pointer from Alazaus at the 3:37 mark of the second quarter increased it to 17. The Rock answered with five straight points, including a bucket in the paint by Regan Atkins, to cut it to 32-20, but Bosch's layup with :38
seconds left in the half gave the Mountain Cats a 34-20 lead.
Pitt-Johnstown hit 11 of its 16 shots in the third quarter and outscored let Slippery Rock, 26-13, to break it open. A 21-6 run to begin the second half, highlighted by six more points from Franklin and a basket from Margolis, extended the lead to 55-26 and the Mountain Cats coasted into the final quarter with a 60-33 lead.
Pitt-Johnstown maintained at least a 22-point cushion the rest of the way and saw its lead balloon to as many as 32 on
Krista Troyer's driving layup with 1:00 remaining.
The Mountain Cats dominated the glass, 37-22, and shot 31-56 from the floor and 7-22 from behind the 3-point line, while limiting the Rock to just 34.1% (15-44) shooting and 1-11 from 3-point range.
Atkins' game-high 17 points and six rebounds and Kristina Donza's 12 points paced Slippery Rock, which dropped its seventh consecutive game and fell to 2-19 overall and 2-16 in the PSAC.
The Mountain Cats return home to host a PSAC doubleheader with the men's team against California (PA) on Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Center, before traveling to nationally-ranked Gannon on Sunday, Feb. 25.
