Box Score
BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- With only three seconds remaining, senior Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) pulled inside with a quick layup off an in-bound pass, as the No. 2 Gannon women's basketball team defeated the reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champion Bloomsburg Huskies, 65-63, at the Nelson Field House on Saturday afternoon in conference-crossover action. The Lady Knights improve to 12-0 on the season, while the Huskies drop to 7-3.
Trailing 63-59 following a three pointer by Catherine Noack with 1:55 remaining, the Lady Knights stormed down the court to pull within two of the Huskies off a layup by Papich. On Bloomsburg's next possession, Papich forced the Huskies into a turnover off a steal leading to an inside bucket by junior Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) to tie the game at 63 with 38 seconds remaining.
A missed opportunity by Bloomsburg with 17 seconds was pulled off the glass by Blake with the Lady Knights calling a timeout. Off the inbounds pass, Papich slid inside for the go-ahead bucket, putting the Lady Knights in the lead, 65-63, with only three seconds remaining. Bloomsburg's last desperation shot missed, as the Lady Knights rallied for the win.
The Lady Knights trailed the Huskies for most of the final five minutes of the game until the team went ahead for the win in the final three seconds. A rematch of last season's PSAC title game, the Lady Knights and Huskies battled each second of the game until the final horn.
The Lady Knights and Huskies played each other close to open the game with only five total points scored in the opening 4:03. Back-to-back threes by Jocelyn Ford and Maggie Borski gave the Huskies an 11-7 lead with 14:28 left in the opening half.
Trailing by four with 2:41 remaining, a three by senior Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn./E.O. Smith) gave the Lady Knights a 28-27 lead. A steal by freshman Brianna Brennan (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) followed up with a Huskies foul put the freshman at the line, as she hit both shots from the line to take a 30-27 Gannon lead with one minute left. The Huskies closed the half with a layup, as the Lady Knights headed into the break with a one-point lead, 30-29.
To open the second half, the Huskies' Noack tied the game at 32 off her second three of the afternoon with 18:03 remaining. A layup by sophomore Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) off an assist by Papich allowed Gannon to recapture the lead, which the Lady Knights held on to for the next 10:08 of the contest until the Huskies took a 47-45 lead off a three by Morgan Klunk with 7:38 left.
The next 2:56 resulted in eight lead changes including two tied scores, leading to the dramatic rally by the Lady Knights in the final two minutes of the game to capture their 12th win of the season.
Papich led the Lady Knights with 18 points, reaching double figures for the eighth time this season. The senior added four rebounds and a steal, while tying a career game-high five assists. She also went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Junior Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudon County) finished with 12 points, tying a career game-high with five rebounds in a season best 37 minutes. Batts reached double digits for the tenth game this season.
Off the bench, sophomore Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) and Thies each tallied nine points, a career game-best for Thies. Neighbors set a career game-high with six rebounds, leading the Lady Knights on the boards.
The Lady Knights registered a shooting percentage of 36.4 (20-55), the team's second lowest shooting percentage of the season. To open the game, the Lady Knights shot 28 percent (7-25), improving in the second half to 43.3 percent (13-30). From the charity line, the Lady Knights shot 87 percent (20-23). The Lady Knights only hit five threes, the team's second lowest total from the year.
Three Huskies reached double digits in the loss. Noack led the team with 15 points in a game-high 39 minutes followed by Adreana Sadowski and Klunk each with 14 points.
Shooting 48 percent (24-50) from the field in the game, the Huskies improved on their opening percentage of 46.4 (13-28) to reach 50 percent (11-22) in the second half. The team went scoreless from the foul line in the first half with two opportunities, finishing at 88.9 (8-11) for the game. The Huskies shot 50 percent (7-14) from beyond the arc for the game.
The Lady Knights held a 35-26 edge in rebounds, as Neighbors led the team with six followed by Batts and Blake each with five.
Gannon return to action in the New Year with a weekend of PSAC-crossover action on the road. The Lady Knights first face East Stroudsburg on Friday, Jan, 3, at 1 p.m. followed by West Chester on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m.
NOTES: Papich made her 500th career field-goal… The Lady Knights improve to 5-1 in the all-time series and 2-1 at the Nelson Field House… The game featured a rematch of last season's PSAC title game at the Nelson Field House when the Huskies defeated the No. 7 Lady Knights, 74-57, on March 9, 2013... When holding the lead heading into halftime, the Lady Knights are 12-0… The Lady Knights hold an all-time record of 29-2 in PSAC-crossover play... For the 10th game this season, the Lady Knights' reserves outscored the opponents' bench… Lady Knights improve to 2-0 in games decided by less than five points this season.
