JOHNSTOWN – The East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team trailed by just four points at halftime before Pitt-Johnstown pulled away for a 79-41 victory in a PSAC game on Tuesday afternoon inside the Sports Center.
The Warriors slid to 3-6 on the season and 1-3 in the PSAC while the Mountain Cats extended its win streak to four to improve to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
ESU trailed Pitt-Johnstown 28-24 after the first 20 minutes, but a strong second half for the Mountain Cats, in which they outscored the Warriors 51-17, helped them pull away.
Notables
- In 28 minutes off the bench, junior Katie Geisler scored a team-high 11 points (5-for-8) to go with seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist
- Junior Emily Chmiel added 10 points (5-for-8) and eight rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench while fellow classmate Izzy Vogel tallied six points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals
- Corrin Gill did a little bit of everything for ESU as the junior finished with six points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds
- Four Mountain Cats finished in double figures led by an all-around performance from Cassidy Crawford, who registered 16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Olivia Fasick (six assists, two steals) and Peyton Alazaus (two rebounds, one block) added 15 and 14 points respectively while Lexi Margolis poured in 12 points (4-for-4 3FG) in four minutes off the bench.
- Despite being held in check the first 20 minutes, Pitt-Johnstown finished the game shooting 28-for-61 (45.9%) overall after knocking down 18-for-30 (60.0%) in the second half while the ESU went 20-for-48 (41.7%).
- The three-point line separated the two teams as the Panthers shot 11-for-20 (55.0%) compared to 0-for-8 (0.0%) for the Warriors
- Pitt-Johnstown took advantage at the charity stripe with the Panthers going 12-for-18 (66.7%) whereas the Warriors went 1-for-5 (20.0%)
- The Panthers, who committed just seven turnovers, forced the Warriors into 19 and scored 19 points off the miscues
How It Happened
- It was a slow start for both teams as ESU and Pitt-Johnstown combined to shoot 4-for-17 with the score tied at 4-4 headed into the media break. Over the final 4:28 of the first quarter, the Warriors outscored the Mountain Cats, 6-3, to take a 12-9 lead.
- The Mountain Cats knocked down a three-pointer in the opening seconds of the period to tie the score and after ESU regained a 14-12 advantage on a layup from Vogel, Pitt-Johnstown went on a 5-0 spurt to pull ahead 17-14. Out of a Warriors' timeout, a Mountain Cats' layup made the score 19-14 until ESU battled back with four quick points to trim the deficit to 19-18 with 5:45 on the clock. The Warriors were able to even it up at 20-20 and 22-22 but Pitt-Johnstown closed out the half on a 6-2 run to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room.
- Pitt-Johnstown opened the third quarter on a 7-0 spurt until Gill converted a layup to make the score 35-26 in favor of Pitt-Johnstown. Following an ESU timeout, the Mountain Cats outscored the Warriors 4-1 over the next minute and a half to extend the lead to 39-27 going into the media break. Over the final five minutes of the period, Pitt-Johnstown tallied 13 of the 21 points scored to push their edge to 52-35.
- The Mountain Cats carried over momentum into the fourth quarter as Pitt-Johnstown outscored ESU 27-6 to earn a 79-41 victory.
Up Next
Following the holiday break, the Warriors close out the calendar year on Saturday, December 30 as IUP visits Koehler Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. for a PSAC contest
