University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
at #22 Fairmont State (WV) University - 01/10/08
#22 Fairmont State Deals Lady Cats 68-41 Loss
01/10/08...Head Coach Sasha Palmer's Lady Cat basketball team traveled to Farimont State (WV) University on Thursday and battled the #22-ranked Falcons for the first 20 minutes, but a strong second half led Fairmont State to a 68-41 WVIAC conference win over Pitt Johnstown. With the loss, the Lady Cats fell to 2-9 overall and 1-3 in the WVIAC.
Pitt Johnstown trailed 20-12 with 8:25 to play in the first half, before the Falcons increased the lead to 14 points with 4:51 left in the half. Pitt Johnstown continued to battled and cut the lead to 32-22 at halftime. However, Fairmont State came out in the second half on a 16-0 run over the first 9:09 to increase the lead to 48-22. The Falcons continued to build on that lead, before going on to the 27-point win.
Lindsay Cale's (Hummelstown, Pa.) 17 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line led all scorers. Kristin Irwin (Bellefonte, Pa.) scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds, and Krista Britcher (Johnstown, Pa.) chipped in seven points for the Lady Cats. Coach Palmer also got six points and four rebounds from freshman Sheena Aden (Sandy Lake, Pa.) and a game-high six rebounds from Jill Maurer (Johnstown, Pa.).
Pitt Johnstown struggled shooting the ball. The Lady Cats made just 27.1% (13-48) of their shots from the field and just 22.7% (2-9) of their three-point attempts. However, Pitt Johnstown, ranked fifth in the nation in Free-Throw Percentage, did connect on 13 of their 15 free-throws (86.7%). The Falcons finished the game shooting 50.9% (28-55) from the field, 57.1% (4-7) from three-point range and 53.3% (8-15) from the free-throw line.
Samantha Wanichka scored 16 points and Danielle Cornish added 13 points to lead a balanced Fairmont State attack. With the win, the Falcons improved to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in the WVIAC.
The Lady Cats travel to West Virginia Wesleyan College on Saturday for a of WVIAC conference game, before returning home to host WVIAC rival Seton Hill University on Thursday, January 17 as part of a doubleheader with the Mountain Cats. The Lady Cats will tip-off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.