ERIE, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Gannon women's basketball team used a 46-6 run during the span of 16 minutes that lasted during both halves and easily disposed of visiting Mansfield 80-49 Saturday night at the Hammermill Center.
All 12 Lady Knights in uniform played at least five minutes, including 11 who reached double digits in minutes played. Eleven different Gannon players scored to produce a large 47-16 advantage in bench points.
Saturday's verdict extended Gannon's win streak to 12 games, representing the program's longest since the 2009-10 NCAA Division II Final Four team rattled off 37 consecutive wins.
Gannon initially started slow, falling behind 17-10 eight minutes into the contest. However, it was all Lady Knights after that.
Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) ignited the squad with a three-pointer at the 10:23 mark, before
Kelsey McCoy (Sylvania, Ohio/Sylvania Northview) followed with one of her own. The bombs started a run of 10 consecutive points that pushed the home squad in front 20-17.
Head coach
Cleve Wright's club produced a 7-0 run and a pair of 5-0 runs later in the first half. Another Batts triple and a McCoy jumper during the final two minutes propelled the Lady Knights into halftime with a 38-23 lead.
The trend continued during the second half. Gannon opened the stanza with 18 straight points. The blitz started with three long-range missiles from Batts,
Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn./E.O. Smith) and
Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name).
Candice Hendricks (Randallstown, Md./McDonogh) nailed another three-pointer later in the run, before Sebald's jumper gave the Lady Knights a commanding 56-23 lead with 14:26 showing on the clock.
Mansfield didn't score its first points in the second half until nearly six minutes had passed. The drought lasted seven minutes and 54 seconds spanning back to the first half. Neither team could muster a significant run during the final 14 minutes, before Gannon captured an 80-49 victory.
Sebald led all scorers with 15 points off the bench. Batts and
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) added 12 points each. McCoy finished with seven points, a career-high 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Gannon shot 43.1 percent (31-72) from the field, 39.3 percent (11-28) from three-point range and 77.8 percent (7-9) from the free throw line. The Lady Knights produced large differences in bench points (47-16), points off turnovers (36-12) and second-chance points (21-5). The squad reached double digits in three-pointers made for the sixth time this season and fourth time during the last five games.
Katie Fitzpatrick headlined the Mansfield attack with 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals off the bench. McSwain chipped in 10 points with all 10 coming during the first eight minutes.
Mansfield shot 33.3 percent (14-42) from the floor, 18.2 percent (2-11) from behind the arc and 73.1 percent (19-26) from the charity stripe.
Gannon, ranked eighth in the latest USA Today Sports Division II Coaches' Poll, improved to 13-1 overall and 7-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with its 12th straight win. The Lady Knights also moved to 6-0 all-time against the Mountaineers who dropped to 3-8 overall and 1-6 in conference action.
PSAC crossover action for the Lady Knights concludes next weekend on the road. Gannon travels to Cheyney on Friday, January 11 and West Chester on Saturday, January 12.
