Box Score
GREENSBURG, Pa. - For the first time since the 2009-10 season, the No. 2 Gannon women's basketball team open the season with a 4-0 overall mark after defeating Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division opponent Seton Hill, 80-66, on Saturday afternoon at the McKenna Center. The Lady Knights improve to 2-0 in West Division play, while the Griffins fall to 0-2 in the division and 3-2 overall.
Leading the Lady Knights' offense was junior Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist), who recorded team game-highs with 14 points and 10 rebounds en route to her second double-double of the season. Junior Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun County) and junior Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Holy Name) each scored 11 points with Sebald setting a season game-high. Senior Kelley Sundberg (Mannsfield, Conn. / E.O. Smith) recorded a season game-high in assists (10), including eight points and two steals. Gannon's bench contributed 30 points to the team's total.
Seton Hill's Katie Gattuso earned a double-double off 20 points and 13 rebounds. Meghan Mastroianni also made it to double digits with 10 points.
The Lady Knights shot a much improved season-best 85.7 percent (18-21) from the foul line, after shooting an average of 63.2 in the three previous games. Blake led the Lady Knights nailing all four attempts for a perfect free-throw percentage. Sebald, freshman Mikayla Deguire (Watervliet, N.Y. / Watervliet) and sophomore Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y. / Southwestern) each converted their two attempts at the line to join Blake with a perfect percentage.
Seton Hill managed to out-rebound the Lady Knights, 39-35. It marked the first time the Lady Knights were out-rebounded by an opponent this season.
In the opening five minutes of the game, the Lady Knights pushed their lead to 15-4 off a 10-0 run including two three-pointers by Batts. On an 11-2 run, the Lady Knights extended their lead to 30-12 with 9:14 left, including shots behind the arc by Sundberg and two by sophomore Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville South). Despite holding a double-digit lead most of the opening half, the Griffins whittled the Lady Knights' lead down to nine, 42-33, heading into the break.
The Lady Knights pushed their advantage back to double digits to open the second half after Blake pulled inside on a layup for a 46-35 lead with 18:37 left. The Lady Knights remained in the lead by double-digits for the rest of the half, capturing their widest lead of the half with 8:35 remaining, 64-43. A three by Seton Hill's Mariah Wells with five seconds left finish the game's scoring, as the Lady Knights captured an 80-66 victory.
Allowing only nine turnovers, the Lady Knights registered less than ten turnovers for the first time since Nov. 21, 2012 against Ursuline (8). The Lady Knights generated 12 Seton Hill turnovers, leading to 19 points.
The meeting between the Griffins and Lady Knights marked the first PSAC West Division game in conference history. The Griffins are in their first year as conference members. The Lady Knights improve to 3-0 in the all-time series.
Gannon will travel to the islands of Hawaii for the Oahu Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Nov. 28-29. The Lady Knights open the Classic against the Chaminade Silverswords on Nov. 28 with the tipoff set for 7 p.m. EST.
