ERIE, Pa. – The No. 11 Gannon women's basketball team produced a whooping 52-8 edge in points off turnovers and got 45 points from its bench en route to a 100-48 non-conference victory against Ursuline Wednesday night at the Hammermill Center. It represented Gannon's first 100-point game since a 113-31 win against Penn State Greater Allegheny during last year's season opener.
Things got off to a rocky start early for Ursuline, which is in its third-year of a four-year transitional process from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
Doriyon Glass (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) hit a three-pointer 1:02 into the contest and the blitz was on. The Lady Knights opened the game with a 15-2 run during the first six minutes. The stretch included long-range bombs from Glass,
Amanda Berchtold (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) and
Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County).
The Gannon lead never dipped to single digits the rest of the way. The advantage ballooned to 34-10 after 13 consecutive points midway through the first half.
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) had six points and Batts posted five during the run.
Back-to-back lay-ups by Glass gave Gannon its biggest lead of the half at 50-20 with 1:34 remaining, before consecutive three-pointers from Laura Campbell spurred an 8-2 Ursuline run to end the half. The late push left the Gannon lead at 52-28 at the intermission.
Gannon immediately reestablished command after the break. The Lady Knights opened the second half with 12 straight points behind five points from Papich and another triple by Batts. The difference slowly grew for the rest of the game.
Candice Hendricks (Randallstown, Md./McDonough) drilled a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to reach the 100-point plateau and give the Lady Knights a 52-point lead at 100-48. It equaled the largest lead of the evening and proved to be the final score.
The statistics showed the big difference in the score. Gannon held large advantages in points in the paint (48-14), points off turnovers (52-8), second-chance points (23-1), bench points (45-10), assists (29-13), turnovers forced (32-8), blocks (12-5) and three-pointers (13-3).
Papich led the way with a season-high 25 points and eight rebounds while hitting 11-of-17 shots. Batts poured in a season-high 19 points and tied a career-high with five three-pointers in seven attempts. Glass and
Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) added 14 and 10 points, respectively. All 11 Lady Knights in uniform played at least seven minutes and converted at least one field goal.
Gannon shot 51.9 percent (42-81) from the field, 43.3 percent (13-30) from three-point range and 33.3 percent (3-9) from the free throw line. The 13 triples were the most by the Lady Knights since hitting 14 at Clarion on February 11, 2012.
Campbell topped the Ursuline offensive unit with 15 points and seven rebounds. Natalie Cook was the only other Arrow in double digits with 10 points off the bench.
Ursuline shot 47.2 percent (17-36) from the floor, 25 percent (3-12) from behind the arc and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the charity stripe.
Gannon, ranked No. 11 in the USA Today Sports Top 25 Poll, improved to 4-1 overall with its third consecutive victory. Ursuline remained winless at 0-4. The Lady Knights will now have nine days off until opening Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action Saturday, December 1 against Kutztown at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
