University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Pitt-Johnstown Seal

vs. Bluefield State (WV) College - 11/20/12

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ATH11_152_FratzK_TLady Cats Fall in Home Opener to Bluefield State
     11/20/12... (Box Score) Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, MD) scored 18 of her 21 points in the second half to help Pitt-Johnstown erase a 15-point deficit, but Bluefield State (WV) College hit a pair of free-throws with seven seconds remaining to defeat Lady Cats, 81-79, in Tuesday's 2012-13 home opener.  Pitt-Johnstown dropped to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the WVIAC.
     Five early points from Leah Hansen (Waterford, Pa.) followed by a pair of free-throws from Nicole Carman (Cleveland, OH) put the Lady Cats up 11-4 3:28 into the game.
     Bluefield State battled back cut it to 13-11 on a Charity Harris 3-pointer two minutes later, but Pitt-Johnstown quickly pushed it back up to six on four straight points from Inaya Stephenson (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
     The Lady Blues kept it close and eventually knotted it at 30 with a minute left in the half on another Harris 3-pointer, before Tasia Nolan's bucket with six seconds remaining put Bluefield State up 32-30 at the half.
     After scoring the final four points of the first half, Bluefield State netted the first 10 of the second half, including a three-pointer by Charlene Diggs and two free-throws from Nolan, to build a 42-30 advantage at the 16:21 mark.
      Stephenson's lay-up a minute later ended the Pitt-Johnstown drought and cut it to 10, but the Big Blues answered again to build a 49-34 lead and close the 22-4 run on Diggs 3-pointer at the 14:01 mark.
     Still trailing by 15 with 11 minutes to play, the Lady Cats began their comeback.  Pitt-Johnstown used a 33-17 run over the next 8:25 to regain the lead, 72-71.  Ten straight points from Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Pa.) got the Lady Cats to within one, before Jasmine Harper's (Cleveland Heights, OH) lay-up gave the lead back to Pitt-Johnstown with 3:37 to play.
     However, Tiffany Moorer knocked down two free-throws with seven seconds on the clock to break a 79-79 tie and give Bluefield State the victory.
     Fratz' 21 points led three Lady Cats who scored in double figures.  Hansen finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Kayla DeCriscio (Altoona, Pa.) collected 11 points.  Head Coach Sasha Palmer also got nine points and nine rebounds from Stephenson and nine points and six rebounds from Rachel Johnson (Palmyra, Pa.).  Harper added six points and six rebounds, while Nicole Carman (Cleveland, OH) six points and four rebounds.
     The Lady Cat shot 40% (24-60) from the field, but just 4-19 from 3-point range and 27-43 (62.8%) from the free-throw line.  Bluefield State ended the night shooting 41.8% (28-67) from the floor and 7-13 from behind the 3-point line.  The Big Blues also got the job done from the charity stripe, hitting 18-22.
     Nolan's game-highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds paced Bluefield State.  Harris tallied 19 points, and Diggs finished with 13 points for the Big Blues, who are 1-0 overall and 1-0 in WVIAC-play.      
     The Lady Cats travel to Lake Erie (OH) College on Saturday and to Clarion University on Tuesday for non-conference games, before returning home to host a WVIAC game against Fairmont State (WV) University on Thursday, November 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Center.


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