ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women's basketball team shot a red-hot 62.1 percent (18-29) from the field in the second half and picked up its first-ever Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division victory Saturday afternoon with a 77-62 victory over Clarion at the Hammermill Center.

Gannon looked like it would blow Clarion out of the building, scoring the first 15 points of the game. Clarion didn't record its first field goal until Lizzie Suwala's lay-up 8:10 into the game. The Lady Knights extended their lead to 21-4 at the 8:40 mark, before Golden Eagles rallied and cut the deficit to six points on three different occassions in the final 2:24 of the half. Kristina Freeman (Yonkers, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to send the Lady Knights to the break with a 33-26 advantage.

Head coach Cleve Wright's squad needed only 2:36 into the second half to push its lead back into double digits and a 20-4 run to build a 59-35 lead with 11:22 to play. The Golden Eagles were never able to cut the deficit into single digits the rest of the way.

Kim Vargas (Sterling, Va./Broad Run) led all scorers with 20 points off the bench, hitting 8-of-14 shots. Brittany Tabron (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic) netted 17 markers on 7-of-13 shooting. Carrie Nolan (Girard, Pa./Girard) and Allison Rothlisberger (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) added 14 and 14 points respectively.

Gannon shot 51.7 percent (31-60) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (10-14) from the free throw line.

Bethany Koch led Clarion's offensive unit with 16 points. Katrina Greer and Shaina Smith posted 13 points each. Clarion shot 35.7 percent (20-56) from the floor, 33.3 percent (8-24) from behind the arc, and 87.5 percent (14-16) from the charity stripe.

Gannon, ranked 24th in NCAA Division II, improved to 13-2 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West. Clarion dropped to 5-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Lady Knights return to action Wednesday, January 21 against Slippery Rock at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-Clarion women's basketball game, please click here.