ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team will finish up a two-game road swing with a trip to Clarion. The Lady Knights will face the Golden Eagles Saturday, February 11 with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off scheduled.
Despite Gannon's loss to Edinboro on Wednesday, the Lady Knights retained their one-game lead over Indiana (Pa.) in the Pennysylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) standings. The Crimson Hawks' loss to California (67-64) prevented a tie with Gannon for second place. The Lady Knights can clinch a PSAC tournament berth Saturday with either a win or a Mercyhurst loss.
The first meeting between Gannon and Clarion this season saw the Lady Knights earn a 72-58 victory. The Lady Knights used 14 steals and 23 points off turnovers to stymie the Golden Eagles. Gannon finished with 11 three-pointers, shooting 39.3 percent from behind the arc. Five different Lady Knights drained long-range shots.
Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) is leading Gannon's long-range attack this season. The senior is sixth in the conference and 27th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.3). She ranks second among PSAC players and 18th nationally in three-point field goals per game (2.7). Lowe is fifth on Gannon's all-time three-point list with 171. She needs 11 to tie Kelly Irwin's (01-04) mark of 182. She is 31st on Gannon's all-time scoring list with 758 points and is 35 points shy of tying current assist coach Tiffany Crocker.
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) is leading all Lady Knights in scoring this season with 15.5 points per game. She has reached double-digits in scoring in 19 of Gannon's 21 games this season and has crossed the 20-point mark four times. She hit a new career-high mark against California (Pa.) with 31 points.
Clarion enters the contest with a 6-15 overall record and a 5-12 mark in conference action. The Golden Eagles are led by freshman forward Hannah Heeter who is averaging a double-double with 11.6 points and 10.7 rebounds. She reached the 200-rebound mark for the season during Clarion's 84-56 loss to Mercyhurst on Wednesday.
Heeter, who is also a member of Clarion's volleyball team, has been named PSAC West Freshman of the Week five straight weeks and is second in the PSAC in both rebounding and field goal percentage (57.6).
Emma Fickel and Ann Deibert both enter Saturday's match-up averaging double figures. Fickel paces 10.7 points per game while Deibert averaged 10 points and six rebounds. Raven Jones is fourth in the conference in assists with five per game.
