CALIFORNIA, Pa. - The Gannon women's basketball team used a second-half 18-3 run en route to a 66-51 victory over Molloy on the first day of the California (Pa.) tournament on Saturday evening. 

Molloy took an early lead thanks to a 10-0 run that included a three-pointer from Christina Marra and three free throws from Courtney Dolnick after she was fouled attempting a three. 

Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) responded for Gannon with a pair of three-pointers that would cut the lead to three with 8:40 left in the game. 

Gannon would take control from there using a 15-5 run to close out the half and lead 30-21 at the break. A steal and layup from Jessie Tamerlano (North Royalton, Ohio / North Royalton) would swing the momentum for Gannon. Lowe, Jennifer Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa / Fox Chapel) and Amanda Dacek (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Berea) would all add buckets in the run. 

Gannon regained the lead thanks to 14 points off 19 Molloy turnovers in the first half. The Lady Knights also added seven steals during the first 20 minutes. 

Molloy would fight back in the second half, cutting the Gannon lead to three points with a Delmara Reece jumper with 11:38 left in the game. Papich would maintain Gannon's lead with back-to-back buckets, putting the Lady Knights ahead by seven at the 10:46 mark. The Lions would cut the lead to four with a Dolnick three, but steals by Papich on the next two Molloy possessions would allow Gannon to put the score at 46-35 with 9:21 left. 

The three from Dolnick would be the only points for the Lions over a five minute span, allowing Lowe and Papich to take over the game. During the 18-3 run, Papich scored 11 points while Lowe added the other seven. Papich also had three steals, two rebounds and a blocked shot during the four minute span. Gannon held a 53-35 advantage before Ashley Addison ended the Molloy drought with a layup at the 5:49 mark. 

The Lions were able to cut the lead to nine with, but with 1:18 left were unable to overcome the large lead Gannon had built in the second half. 

After scoring just two points in the first half Papich scored 15 second-half points, pushing Gannon to the win. The freshman finished with the first double-double of her young career with 12 rebounds and 17 points. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native shot 7-of-12 from the field while adding three assists and five steals. 

Lowe scored a game-high 25 points after nailing five long-range shots. The junior was 8-of-16 from the field with four rebounds an assist and a steal. 

Tamerlano finished with six points and three rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. 

After shooting 35.3 percent in the first half, the Lady Knights rebounded with 44 percent shooting effort in the second half. Gannon won the rebound battle grabbing 41 to Molloy's 34. Gannon's 20 offensive rebounds led to 14 second-chance points. Gannon finished 14-of-20 from the free throw line while Molloy was just 8-of-15. 

Gannon improves to 2-1 this season, while Molloy is now 0-5. Gannon will wrap up play at the California (Pa.) Tournament when they take on Wilmington (Del.) tomorrow at 5 p.m. 

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