ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women's basketball team pulled off the biggest victory in school history Saturday night. It literally pulled off the biggest victory. The Lady Knights overcame an early 23-7 deficit and knocked off No. 2 California (Pa.) 78-74 in front of a boisterous Saturday night crowd at the Hammermill Center. The Vulcans became the highest-ranked opponent Gannon has ever defeated in the program's 35-year history.

California, also ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic region, looked like it would cruise early in the game, jumping out to leads of 23-7 and 25-9. Gannon, ranked fourth in the region, slowly chipped away and pulled within 29-28 after a 20-3 run that spanned six minutes and three seconds. The Lady Knights hit three triples during the run, capped by two Kristina Freeman (Yonkers, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) free throws at the 5:07 mark.

The visitors bumped the lead back to seven points with a mini 6-0 run, before Gannon ended the half with back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 36. Carrie Nolan's (Girard, Pa./Girard) bomb with two seconds left on the clock forged the halftime deadlock.

Gannon continued the run with the first four points of the second half. Tiffany Crocker's (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) three-pointer capped a 10-0 run that spanned two halves and gave the Lady Knights a 40-36 advantage 2:07 into the half.

The second half featured three ties in the first 5:34, before Gannon produced a 12-4 blitz midway through the final stanza. Four different Lady Knights scored during the streak which gave the home team a 59-50 lead. Freeman ended the run with a lay-up at the 9:40 mark.

California (Pa.) tried to rally, cutting the deficit to 70-67 on Brooque Williams' free throw with 3:19 to play. However, Nolan quickly responded with two free throws on Gannon's next possession. In all, the Lady Knights converted 13-of-14 free throws in the final 5:14 to preserve the 78-74 victory as the Vulcans never got within four points in the final three minutes.

Freeman led Gannon with 26 points and six rebounds. The junior guard was 6-of-11 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Nolan added 18 points and seven assists while Crocker chipped in 11 points and six assists.

Gannon shot 48.9 percent (23-47) from the field, including a 55-percent (11-20) clip in the second half. The Lady Knights shot 45 percent (9-20) from three-point range and 85.2 percent (23-27) from the free throw line.

All-American Brooque Williams led all scorers with 29 points for California, making 12-of-23 shots. She added seven rebounds and four assists, before fouling out late in regulation. Lindsay Johnson and Shaquetta Mance had 13 and 10 points, respectively.

California (Pa.) shot 42.4 percent (28-66) from the floor, 33.3 percent (7-21) from behind the arc, and 57.9 percent (11-19) from the charity stripe.

Gannon improved to 18-3 overall and 6-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with its fourth consecutive victory. California (Pa.) dropped to 18-3 while suffering its first league loss in eight games. The Lady Knights return to action Wednesday, February 11 at Slippery Rock. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-California (Pa.) women's basketball game, please click here.