NORTH CANTON, Ohio – Six different Lady Knights hit a three-pointer and
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) recorded her seventh career double-double as the No. 8 Gannon women's basketball team rolled to an 82-60 victory Saturday afternoon at Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member Walsh.
Gannon extended its current win streak to 10 games with Saturday's verdict during the final non-conference game of the season. The remaining 17 contests will be played against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents.
Saturday's game was never in doubt as Gannon led from start to finish. The Lady Knights scored the first eight points, starting and ending the burst with three-pointers from
Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) and
Kelsey McCoy (Sylvania, Ohio/Sylvania Northview). The Lady Knights held the Cavaliers without a field goal until three minutes and 10 seconds had expired.
Gannon seemed to be unconscious from long range during the early going. The Lady Knights drilled their first five three-point attempts. Following the first two,
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and
Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) hit from behind the arc. Batts then buried another for a 23-10 lead with 12:45 left in the first half.
Although Gannon finally missed a three-point attempt at the 11:47 mark,
Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) then stepped up with a pair of her own bombs. In all, the Lady Knights converted seven of their first eight three-point attempts.
Despite Gannon raining three-pointers, Walsh hung tough and remained within 11 points with under two minutes left in the half. But a McCoy triple and a Blake jumper pushed the lead to 41-25. The Lady Knights grabbed their biggest first-half lead at 46-29 following Batts' third long-range bomb of the half with 15 seconds remaining. A Walsh lay-up with five seconds left cut the Gannon lead to 46-31 at the break.
The second half was played on even terms as Gannon used its entire bench. Walsh was able to claw within 57-47 midway through the half, but never cut the deficit to single digits. Leading 72-59, the Lady Knights rattled off seven consecutive points to assume an 82-59 advantage with 1:13 remaining. A final free throw by Walsh accounted for the final score.
Blake recorded her third double-double of the season and seventh of her career with a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Eight of her rebounds came on the offensive glass. Gannon had 25 offensive rebounds as a team, representing the program's most since grabbing 25 during a 71-68 home victory against Hillsdale on January 31, 2004. It was the most on the road since at least the 2001-02 season.
Papich had a team-high 18 points and six rebounds, hitting 7-of-15 shots. Batts rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.
Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn./E.O. Smith) dished out seven assists compared to only one turnover during 26 minutes at the point.
Gannon shot 42.6 percent (29-68) from the field, 55.6 percent (10-18) from three-point range and 63.6 percent (14-22) from the free throw line. The Lady Knights hit double-digit three-pointers for the third consecutive game and fifth time this season. It marks the first time the program has performed the feat in three straight games since hitting double figures during four consecutive games January 3-14, 2009.
Tracey Payne led all scorers with 26 points for Walsh, aided by an 11-of-15 chart from the free throw line. Whitney Dabbelt added 10 points.
Walsh shot 36.4 percent (20-55) from the floor, 38.5 percent (5-13) from behind the arc and 57.7 percent (15-26) from the charity stripe.
Gannon, ranked eighth in the latest
USA Today Sports Division II Coaches' Poll, improved to 11-1 overall with its 10th consecutive victory. Walsh dropped to 4-5 overall. The Lady Knights return to PSAC crossover action Friday, January 4 against 22nd-ranked Bloomsburg at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
