Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – Despite Bloomsburg firing 26 three-pointers the Gannon women's basketball team allowed just nine fall through the net, limiting the Huskies to a season-low 53 points Friday night at the Hammermill Center. Gannon won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest by a 63-53 final.
The Lady Knights were able to erase a seven-point deficit at the break, limiting Bloomsburg to 23.1 percent shooting from long range in the second half. Bloomsburg, who entered the game ranked 18th in the country in three-point field goal percentage, shot an impressive 46.2 percent from long range during the first 20 minutes.
The Lady Knights opened with the hot hand, running out to a 9-4 lead. The run was sparked by a three from
Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) on the opening possession.
However, the Huskies quickly answered with three straight three-pointers after missing their first four attempts of the game. A pair of Bloomsburg free throws from Kelsey Gallagher made it an 11-0 run before Papich made the score 15-11 with a layup.
Bloomsburg hit three of their next five long-range shots to extend their lead to 26-17 with 3:14 to play in the half.
Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Holy Name) for Gannon and Lauren Ellis for Bloomsburg traded baskets before
Kelley Sundberg's (Mansfield, Conn. / E.O. Smith) bucket with 34 seconds finished off the scoring in the first 20 minutes.
The Lady Knights started the second half with a higher energy level and erased the Bloomsburg lead in the first four minutes of the half. A free throw and a basket from
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist) followed by buckets from
Doriyon Glass (Boardman, Ohio / Boardman) and Sebald accounted for the 7-0 run to open the half, tying the game at 28.
After the score tied three more times, a three from Lowe propelled the Gannon offense to a 10-0 run. Blake swished a pair of free throws before Lowe nailed another three, this time from two feet behind the arc. A pass from
Jeni Jordan (Plain City, Ohio / Marysville) led to a lay-up from Blake, giving Gannon a 44-34 lead with 8:32 left in the game.
Bloomsburg then cut the lead down to six before Lowe drained another three to put the Gannon lead back to nine. The Lady Knights would take their largest lead of the night moments later when Blake's jumper made it 51-40 with 5:20 to play.
The Huskies then staged a comeback effort to cut the lead down to three. A three from Dana Wieller fell through the hoop followed by a pair of points from the charity stripe and another Wieller three to make the score 51-48.
Lowe then provided another big shot for the Lady Knights, nailing a three-pointer in the corner with exactly three minutes on the clock to extend the lead back to six. After Bloomsburg missed the front end of a one-and-one the Gannon edged the lead to eight with a lay-up from Lowe.
Gallagher followed with a three, but the Lady Knights were 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to stifle a Bloomsburg comeback.
After scoring just 21 points during the first half, Gannon doubled up the offensive output in the final 20 minutes and out-scored the Huskies 42-25. The 53 total points mark only the third time this season that Bloomsburg has been held to 70 points or fewer.
Blake recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman pulled seven of her 10 boards down from the offensive glass. She also added three blocks, two assists and a steal.
Lowe counteracted Bloomsburg's three-point threat by finishing 5-of-8 from long range, adding a team-high 17 points. The senior also grabbed five rebounds. Papich's 14-point effort was coupled with five assists and three steals.
Sebald added a defensive spark in the second half and finished with seven points, three steals, three rebounds and one assist in just 14 minutes of work off the bench.
Gallagher and Wieller combined for 36 of Bloomsburg's 53 points. The Huskies shot just 33.9 percent from the floor compared to 39.7 percent for the Lady Knights. Gannon held a 44-37 edge in rebounds and added 28 points in the paint.
The win moved Gannon to 10-1 overall with a 7-0 record in the PSAC. Bloomsburg fell to 10-3 and holds a 4-3 record in PSAC action. The Lady Knights return to the court tomorrow, Janauary 7 to host Mansfield at 5:30 p.m.
