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ERIE, Pa. – For the second time this season, the Gannon women's basketball team hosted a nationally ranked team at the Hammermill Center. However, this time the Lady Knights came out on the winning end, rolling to a 71-40 win over Indiana (Pa.) Wednesday night.

With the win, Gannon takes control of second place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division. Gannon now holds a one-game lead over the Crimson Hawks after entering tonight's contest with identical records.

Against the team ranked seventh in the country in scoring defense (51.7), the Lady Knights were able to net 71 points, just the fourth team this season to score 70 or more points against the Crimson Hawks. 

In a game that the Lady Knights never trailed, Gannon shot 43.9 percent from the floor against an IUP team who entered the contest limiting opponents to 33.6 percent, a number that ranked ninth in the country.

The game started on a defensive note, with the two teams combining for only 12 points through the first seven minutes. A steal from Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun County) lead to a fast-break lay-up for Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) and sparked the Lady Knights to a 11-2 run.

With the Gannon faithful loudly supporting their Lady Knights, IUP went cold from the floor during the run. The Crimson Hawks were just 1-of-7 from the floor, allowing Lowe's three and lay-ups from Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) and Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn. / E.O. Smith) to put Gannon ahead 21-8 at the 7:27 mark.

Indiana (Pa.) cut the lead to 10, but Gannon wasted no time in starting another big scoring run as Gannon's three-point shooters caught fire from long range. The 9-0 run consisted of back-to-back three's from Batts and Lowe before the senior guard drained another long-distance shot to make the lead 32-13 with 4:16 to play. 

IUP added one free throw before Sundberg got in the action with a three-pointer of her own. Papich's steal on the Crimson Hawk's ensuing possession gave the Lady Knights a 37-14 lead with under two minutes in the half. 

The Crimson Hawks added a free throw and then hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to trail by 19 at the break. The box score at the half featured Gannon holding a 22-8 edge in points in the paint and 14 second-chance points after grabbing 11 offensive rebounds. Gannon also had a 16-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Lady Knights turned the ball over just four times in the first half, while IUP had 12 turnovers at the break.

Gannon continued to pour it on in the second half, posting a 13-3 run that spanned just over three minutes. Kelsey McCoy (Sylvania, Ohio / Northview) and Batts both drained threes while Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist) and Papich each added lay-ups during the stretch. The Lady Knights held a 64-31 lead with just over eight minutes to play. 

The lead would grow to as many as 35 during the remaining minutes of the second half before ending with a 71-40 final score. 

Gannon finished shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from behind the arc. The Lady Knights defense limited IUP to a 31.8 percent shooting effort while the Crimson Hawks turned the ball over 20 times. Gannon finished with a 43-34 edge in rebounding.

Lowe finished with a game-high 18 points after shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. She was 4-of-8 from long range with five rebounds and three assists.

Papich had 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The sophomore added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

Batts added nine points, all coming from three-point range. The freshman dished out three assists, turning the ball over just once during 25 minutes of action.

Blake added five points and six rebounds while Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio. / Holy Name) finished with six points and eight rebounds. 

The win improves the Lady Knights to 16-3 overall with a 13-2 record in conference play. IUP moves to 16-3 this season and 13-2 in the PSAC.

Gannon will finish up a stretch that featured four of five games at home when the Lady Knights host California (Pa.) at the Hammermill Saturday, February 4. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.