Box Score
HONOLULU, Hawaii - Junior Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist) scored a career game-high 24 points to lead the No. 2 Gannon women's basketball team over the BYU-Hawaii Seasiders, 80-49, on Friday afternoon at McKinley High School in the Oahu Classic. The Lady Knights finish their time at the Classic with a perfect 2-0 record, bringing their season mark to 6-0. In the loss, the Seasiders drop to 0-5 on the season.
Behind Blake, junior Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun County) added 17 points including six from behind the arc followed by sophomore Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville) with a season-high 14 points.
In a battle off the glass, the Lady Knights pulled in one more rebound to hold a 41-40 advantage. After leading the Lady Knights the night before on the scoresheet, redshirt junior Doriyon Glass (Boardman, Ohio / Boardman) led the team with six rebounds. Blake turned in a six-rebound performance, while senior Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) collected five and redshirt freshman Lanise Saunders (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Taylor Allderdice) registered a career game-high four rebounds.
Papich added a season-high five steals in the Lady Knights' defensive efforts with sophomore Amanda Berchtold (Erie, Pa. / Merchyhurst Prep) adding a career-high four takeaways.
Three Seasiders registered double-digits like the Lady Knights. Marquessa Gilson led the Seasiders with 13 points, Talyn Bevell added 12 points and Danna Lynn Hooper rounded out the list with 11 points.
Following three missed Gannon chances to open the game in the first 1:30, the Seasiders captured their only lead off a jumper by Hooper. The Lady Knights answered back on their next possession after Blake followed through on a put-back off her original shot. Blake went on to score the Lady Knights' first nine points, handing her team a 9-2 lead off a 9-0 run.
The Seasiders stormed back with a 9-3 run to pull within one of the Lady Knights' 12-11 lead with 14:09 remaining. With 5:44 left, Berchtold handed the Lady Knights their largest lead of the half with a layup, 28-20. The Seasiders whittled away at the Lady Knights' lead, pulling within one once again, 32-32, with 1:45 left on the clock. A Seasiders foul with three seconds remaining in the opening half, put Neighbors at the line. The sophomore hit both chances to take a 36-31 Gannon lead into the break.
To open the second half, the Lady Knights went on a 13-3 run for a 49-34 lead started by consecutive three-pointers by Batts. With 13:54 remaining, the Lady Knights took a 54-36 lead off a three by Batts, her third of five second-half treys forcing the Seasiders to regroup on a timeout.
Holding a 65-44 lead, the Lady Knights pushed their lead further off a 12-0 run capped by a three by Neighbors to put Gannon ahead 77-44. Berchtold recorded the Lady Knights' three final-points in the closing 1:39, giving the Lady Knights their widest lead of 34 points. A three by the Seasiders' Gilson shaved the Lady Knights' lead to 31, as Gannon captured an 80-49 win.
The Lady Knights continue to build upon their win streak, as they remain unbeaten after six games to open the season. The team is off to its best start since the 2009-10 season when the team finished 37-1 overall.
Gannon opens the month of December on the road when the team returns to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action against Slippery Rock on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m.
