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ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women's basketball team fell in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament after #21 Indiana (Pa.) recorded its second win over the Lady Knights in as many games. The Crimson Hawks left the Hammermill Center with a 71-68 overtime win.
After IUP earned a 69-64 win in the regular season finale, the Crimson Hawks made it back-to-back wins over Gannon with a win on Tuesday. The loss drops the Lady Knights from contention for a PSAC title.
It marks the second straight year that the No. 2 seed from the West ended up on the losing end of the 2-3 match-up. Last season, it was IUP that lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 California, Pa. 61-51.
The Lady Knights were able to erase an 11-point deficit in the second half, forcing overtime on a score from
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist) with five seconds left. However, the Crimson Hawks out-scored Gannon 9-6 in the extra session to escape the Hammermill with the win.
After leading by as many as 11 in the second half, the Crimson Hawks held a 49-58 lead with just over six minutes left in the game. Gannon then turned on the comeback effort, out-scoring IUP 13-4 down the stretch.
Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Holy Name) added a pair of free throws before IUP turned the ball over on the next possession. Gannon cut the lead to four after the Crimson Hawks' miscue thanks to a three-point play from Blake. The freshman added the and-one free throw after sinking her lay-up in the paint.
The next three possessions in the game resulted in missed shots, allowing Gannon to cut the lead to 58-56 after a fastbreak lay-up from
Caitlyn Lowe (Gettsyburg, Pa. / Gettysburg).
The Crimson Hawks netted their first score in nearly two minutes on the next possession with a jumper from Amy Fairman. Blake cut the lead back to two a minute later with a score in the paint.
IUP missed a three on their next trip down the floor, setting up a jumper from Lowe that tied the game. The Crimson Hawks regained the lead at the 2:03 mark with a lay-up from Marita Mathe.
Neither team was able to score over the next minute and a half. IUP missed a shot with 22 seconds that set up a final possession for Gannon. After a timeout,
Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn. / E.O. Smith) passed the ball to Blake, who hit a jumper in the paint with five seconds left, tying the game at 62.
IUP heaved a shot just past the half-court line as time expired, but the ball hit off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, the Crimson Hawks opened the scoring with a jumper from Sarah Pastorek on the first possession. IUP then went on to hit 5-of-6 free throws to extend their lead to 69-64.
Blake scored on Gannon's next possession to cut the lead down to three. With 1:04 left,
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) then gave the Lady Knights the defensive stop they needed with a steal. Blake was eventually fouled and sent to the free throw line with 43 seconds left. The freshman hit both shots from the charity stripe, cutting the lead to one.
However, Mathe hit the biggest shot of the night for IUP when she hit a jumper in the lane with 15 seconds left. Gannon got a three off with two seconds left, but it was no good, sending the Crimson Hawks to the PSAC Tournament Semifinals.
For the game, Gannon shot 42.9 percent compared to 44.8 percent for IUP. However, the Lady Knights managed to hit just two three-pointers, shooting 18 percent for the game from long range. The Crimson Hawks hit 6-of-19 shots from behind the arc. Rebounds were even at 34 each.
Gannon was led by a pair of 20-point performances. Papich surpassed 20 points for the fourth time this season, scoring a game-high 25. The sophomore had 18 after the first half. She finished with four rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Blake set a new career-best mark in scoring with 20 points. She was 7-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
Sundberg tied her career-high in assists with 11 while also recording two steals. Lowe finished with 13 points.
Gannon fell to 21-6 while Indiana (Pa.) improved to 22-5. The Crimson Hawks advance to the PSAC Semifinals to face the No. 1 seed in the East, Bloomsburg.
