Box Score

CLARION, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team ensured a return to the postseason with Saturday's 81-60 victory over Clarion. The win clinched one of four playoff spots in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. 

Gannon is currently second in the PSAC West with a 15-3 conference record. They entered the day with a one-game lead over Indiana (Pa.). Due to weather conditions, results from the Indiana (Pa.)-Mercyhurst game will be available later tonight. 

The Lady Knights shot 44 percent from long range against the Golden Eagles, hitting a season-high 14 three pointers. Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun County) drained five while Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) sunk four. 

The Lady Knights fell behind in the opening minutes with Clarion racing out to a 13-5 lead at the 13:59 mark. Twice Gannon cut the lead down to four points, but the Golden Eagles answered back each time, pushing the lead back to seven points. Mackenzie Clark's free throw at the 6:58 mark gave Clarion a 21-14 lead with just 6:58 left in the half.

However, the Gannon offense exploded from there, out-scoring Clarion 25-4 the rest of the half. Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Holy Name) started the scoring output with a three. After back-to-back turnovers from Clarion, lay-ups from Candice Hendricks (Randallstown, Md. / McDonogh) and Lowe tied the game at 21. 

The Lady Knights then caught fire from long range. After hitting just 2-of-8 three's up to that point, Gannon drained shots from behind the arc on three straight possessions. Batts fired off the first before Lowe hit the next two. 

Clarion missed their next five shots allowing scores from Sebald and Batts to quickly extend Gannon's lead to 37-23 with 1:46 left in the half. Gannon entered the break with a 39-25 edge after shooting 42.1 percent from the floor.

After Clarion opened the second half with a jumper, Gannon again connected from long-range. Lowe drained a three on Gannon's first possession of the half before Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist) added a lay-up. Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn. / E.O Smith) drained her first three of the game to give Gannon a 20-point lead. 

Clarion cut the lead to 11 with 6:07 left in the game, but the Gannon offense took over, making six of seven shots, with four coming from three-point range. Blake added two lay-ups before Batts nailed three-pointers on three consecutive Gannon possessions. 

Kelsey McCoy's (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview) three on the following possession ended Clarion's comeback effort with Gannon holding a 76-56 lead with 2:32 left to play. 

Five different Lady Knights drained long-range shots in the game. After opening 2-of-8 as a team, Gannon shot 50 percent from three-point range the rest of the game, hitting 12 of 24 shots. 

Gannon held a 48-38 edge in rebounding, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. The Lady Knights turned the ball over just 11 times while dishing out 20 assists. They held Clarion to a 37.5 percent shooting effort, including a 4-of-17 performance from three-point range.

Three Lady Knights finished in double digits, led by Batts' 17 points. The freshman was 5-of-11 from long range with three assists and two steals. Lowe was close behind with 16 points, netting 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc. 

Sebald narrowly missed her first career double-double finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds. She was 4-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Sundberg chipped in six points while dishing out a game-high seven assists. 

The Lady Knights improved their overall record to 18-4 with a 15-3 mark in conference play. Clarion fell to 6-16 overall and 5-13 in the PSAC.

Gannon returns to the Hammermill Center on Wednesday, February 15 when they take on local rival Mercyhurst.