ERIE, Pa. – The No. 10 Gannon women's basketball team held its rival to 43 points for the first time since 1988 and posted a defensive 59-43 victory against Mercyhurst Wednesday night at the Hammermill Center.
The 43 points represented the lowest output in the all-time series since Gannon produced a 62-39 victory February 24, 1988 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. It was also Gannon's best defensive scoring effort since throttling Indiana (Pa.) 71-40 February 1, 2012.
Gannon initially jumped out to a 22-14 lead on the heels of a quick 5-0 burst.
Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) accounted for all the scoring with a lay-up and a three-pointer to extend the 17-14 lead to eight points.
However, Mercyhurst would not go away and trimmed the deficit to four points on three different occasions until Gannon scored the final four points of the half to assume a 29-21 lead at the break.
Brittany Batts' (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) three-pointer with 41 seconds sent the Lady Knights into the halftime locker room with momentum.
Gannon needed only 22 seconds of the second half to push its lead into double digits.
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) scored on a lay-up to cap a 7-0 run that spanned both halves, giving the Lady Knights a 31-21 edge.
The lead ballooned to 38-23 after Blake sandwiched a pair of lay-ups between an old-fashion three-point play from
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel). The 9-2 run to start the second half gave the Lady Knights a 15-point lead. It was part of an overall 13-2 blitz that began with 1:11 left in the first half.
Outside of a brief time span of three minutes and 10 seconds, Gannon held a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Lady Knights used a 7-0 run late in the game to build their biggest lead of the evening at 58-41 with 1:26 to play. Batts ignited the run with a three-point bomb and Blake ended it with a lay-up and free throw after being fouled.
Blake was nearly unstoppable in the paint, recording her fourth double-double of the season and eighth of her career with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore forward went 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from the line. Batts was the only other Lady Knight in double digits with 12 points with every point coming on four three-pointers.
The lack of big scorers didn't mean there wasn't a balanced attack though. Eleven Lady Knights played double-digit minutes and all eleven grabbed at least one rebound. Ten dented the scoring column.
Gannon shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field, 33.3 percent (6-18) from three-point range and 52.9 percent (9-17) from the free throw line.
Alayna White was the only Mercyhurst player to reach double figures, netting 10 points and seven rebounds on 4-of-10 shooting. The Lakers shot 34 percent (17-50) from the floor, 20.8 percent (5-24) from behind the arc and 28.6 percent (4-14) from the charity stripe. The Gannon defensive pressure has held 10 opponents under 30 percent from three-point range this season, including five of the last six.
Gannon, ranked No. 10 in the
USA Today Sports Division II Coaches' Poll, improved to 17-2 overall and held onto sole possession of first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division at 11-1. In the process, the Lady Knights won their 14th consecutive regular-season home game and 20th straight contest when leading at halftime. Mercyhurst dropped to 5-11 overall and 5-7 in conference action. The Lakers fell against Gannon for the third consecutive game and 16th time in the last 18 affairs.
Head coach
Cleve Wright's squad returns to the road Saturday, January 26 at Clarion. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
