CLARION, Pa. – The No. 10 Gannon women's basketball team is getting defensive. The Lady Knights held their second consecutive opponent under 50 points Saturday night and rolled to a 68-47 victory at Clarion.
It was quite a week for Gannon on the defensive end of the floor after holding rival Mercyhurst to 43 points Wednesday night. The Lady Knights last held consecutive opponents under 50 points February 20-24, 2010 when they defeated Indiana (Pa.) 69-48 and Mercyhurst 71-47.
After a defensive first 10 minutes, Gannon began to pull away during the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza. An 8-0 run gave the Lady Knights an 18-9 lead midway through the first half.
Doriyon Glass (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) converted back-to-back lay-ups, before
Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) drilled a three-pointer for a nine-point edge.
Gannon's lead slowly drifted into double digits after
Mollie Sebald's (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) triple stretched the difference to 23-13 with 7:02 left in the half. Clarion cut the deficit to 23-15, before the Lady Knights rolled off seven consecutive points.
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) started the run with a lay-up.
Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) followed with a long-range bomb, before a
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) jumper allowed Gannon to double up the home team at 30-15 with 3:44 showing on the clock.
The Gannon lead eventually stood at 35-19 when the first-half buzzer sounded. The Lady Knights limited Clarion to three field goals in 25 attempts for a 12-percent slate during the first half. The Golden Eagles made only 1-of-11 three-pointers during the opening 20 minutes.
Gannon methodically increased its lead throughout the second half. An opening 14-1 run pushed the Lady Knights' advantage to 49-20 at the 13:06 mark. The biggest lead came at 62-29 following consecutive lay-ups by Blake and another three-pointer by Neighbors.
Clarion stopped the bleeding during the latter part of the game. The Golden Eagles out-scored the Lady Knights 18-6 over the final 7:15 to account for the final 68-47 score.
Blake was the only Gannon player in double digits with 13 points and nine rebounds. It was a balanced attack that saw 11 players reach double digits in minutes played and nine Lady Knights dent the scoring column.
Gannon shot 44.3 percent (27-61) from the field, 23.3 percent (7-30) from three-point range and 58.3 percent (7-12) from the free throw line.
Leisha Crawford headlined the Clarion attack with 14 points as her 9-of-9 showing at the line offset her 2-of-9 shooting. The Golden Eagles shot 22.9 percent (11-48) from the floor, 9.5 percent (2-21) from behind the arc and 82.1 percent (23-28) from the charity stripe. It was the worst shooting performance by a Gannon opponent since Cheyney shot 22.2 percent (12-54) during a 75-30 loss at the Hammermill Center on December 9, 2011.
Gannon, ranked 10th in the
USA Today Sports Division II Coaches' Poll, improved to 18-2 overall and 12-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with its third consecutive victory. The Lady Knights captured their 11th straight win against Clarion to increase their lead in the all-time series to 28-14. The Golden Eagles' last victory in the series came during the 1994-95 season. Clarion dropped to 9-10 overall and 5-8 in league play.
Head coach
Cleve Wright's club returns to action Wednesday, January 30 at Slippery Rock. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
