Nettie Blake was a force at post player for four years at Gannon where she became one of only three players in GU history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Blake ranks seventh on Gannon's all-time scoring list with 1,536 points, and she ranks third with 1,029 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 forward/center was a three-time PSAC West All-Star, making the First Team as a junior and senior after landing a spot on the Second Team as a sophomore.
For her career, she averaged 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while appearing in 126 contests, including 112 starts.
One of the highlights of her Gannon career was being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional after helping the Golden Knights earn a trip to the Elite Eight. Just a sophomore then, she had 12 points and 16 rebounds in a 50-47 win over California (Pa.) in the title game at then-Hammermill Center. Afterward, head coach Cleve Wright said Blake "showed so much heart. She put us on her back."
As a senior, Blake averaged a double-double with 13.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. She pulled down 311 rebounds, the fourth-highest, single-season total in school history. That included a 19-point, 23-rebound performance against Mercyhurst and a 28-point, 18-rebound effort against Edinboro.
She was selected as the Gannon Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 2014-15. Blake graduated from Gannon in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and went on to get her master's degree in social work at Rutgers University in 2019.
For the past five years, the Jersey City, N.J., native has worked in New York City as a Program Director overseeing a homeless shelter funded by the Department of Homeless Services while assisting families and adults in need of permanent housing.
