ERIE, Pa. — Pitt-Johnstown tested No. 8 Gannon for three quarters before a late fourth-quarter run proved to be the difference in a 78-62 setback on Saturday afternoon at Highmark Events Center.
The Mountain Cats slipped to 9-16 (6-12 PSAC), but remained just one game back of Clarion and California (Pa.) for the sixth and final Western Division playoff spot with two regular-season games remaining.
Senior Riley Childress netted an efficient 17 points on a 5 for 7 performance from the field that included a team-best three 3-pointers. She added five rebounds and three assists.
Senior Liv West contributed 12 points and pulled down four rebounds. Freshman Angel Ezirim provided 10 points, a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The last of the nine lead changes came early in the fourth, when Freshman Aubree Price drilled a 3-pointer that put the Mountain Cats on top 53-52. Gannon, however, responded with a 6-0 run to take the lead for good.
Pitt-Johnstown never went away and stayed within two possessions until midway through the frame, when West hit two free throws to trim the deficit to 60-58. The Golden Knights pulled away after that with nine straight points to seal it.
Aside from the fourth, the Mountain Cats were relentless from the opening tip as Ezirim's short jumper capped a 7-0 run to start. They went up by as many as eight after West drilled a triple that made it 10-2.
Tied at 15-all after one, the Mountain Cats faced a 22-15 deficit less than two and a half minutes into the second. Ezirim capped an efficient 9-0 flurry to take a short-lived lead with 5:29 left before halftime. Neither team went up by more than four the rest of the quarter as Pitt-Johnstown grabbed a narrow 30-29 advantage at the break.
Five lead changes defined a competitive third quarter that ended with Gannon leading 52-50. The Mountain Cats finished 44.4% (20 of 45) from the field, 52.9% (9 of 17) from beyond the 3-point arc and 81.3% (13 of 16) from the free-throw line.
Mia Slater recorded a game-high 18 points for the Golden Knights, who moved to 24-3 (16-2 PSAC).
Pitt-Johnstown will visit Seton Hill for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday.
