ERIE, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Gannon women's basketball team concludes a two-game homestand Saturday, February 16 with its sixth annual Pink Zone game against Clarion at the Hammermill Center. The contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be heard live locally on 90.5 WERG. A Gannon victory would clinch a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament first-round bye and a conference quarterfinal home game.
Admission to both games of Saturday's PSAC doubleheader is free of charge. The twinbill concludes with the men's teams at 3 p.m. The day will be jammed packed with activities revolving around the Pink Zone.
The Gannon women's basketball team has chosen “Together We Can Dominate” as the theme for this year's Pink Zone game. The Lady Knights, coached by
Cleve Wright, have set a goal of raising $20,000 for the Erie chapter of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and for Linked by Pink. In the past five years, Gannon has raised nearly $68,000 in support of breast cancer research.
Funds will be raised in part through the sale of Dri-FIT t-shirts. The shirts are black and are adorned with “Together We Can Dominate… Gannon Basketball Pink Zone 2013.” They can be purchased for $15 in the front lobby and by contacting the Gannon women's basketball offices at (814) 871-5791. The Lady Knights will also raise money through gameday raffles and other activities. Cancer survivors will be recognized throughout Saturday's contest.
The game's “Hall of Fame” sponsors are the Gannon University Athletics Department, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, WJET-24/FOX-66 and UPMC Hamot.
Additional sponsors include Giant Eagle, UPMC Health Plan, Silkscreen Unlimited, Johannes Chiropractic, ErieBank, Erie Sports Store, Panera Bread, FastSigns, Ambridge Rose Spa and Salon, and Romolo Chocolates. General donations can be made by contacting the Gannon University women's basketball offices at 814-871-5791.
Gannon (22-3, 16-2) is coming off an emotional 71-62 victory against 21st-ranked and two-time defending PSAC champion Edinboro Wednesday night. The Lady Knights rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to snap a five-game losing streak against the Fighting Scots.
Jen Papich will more than likely become the 24th women's basketball student-athlete in school history to score 1,000 career points during Saturday's contest. The junior forward brings 992 career points with her onto the 'Mill floor after rattling off 26 points against Edinboro.
The
Brittany Batts' three-point watch continues this weekend. The sophomore guard is still on pace to break Gannon's all-time record for three-pointers in a season. She enters Saturday's game with 78 three-pointers, needing 12 to break Gannon Hall of Famer Jacki Windon's record of 89 set during the 2000-01 campaign.
Clarion (12-12, 8-10) has played well during the month of February, winning three of four games. The Golden Eagles posted a 51-49 home victory against Mercyhurst Wednesday night behind Raven Jones' game-winning lay-up with 7.3 seconds remaining. It was Clarion's first game-winning field goal in the final 10 seconds of a game since My'Kea Cohill did so February 25, 2007 during a 76-74 victory against Slippery Rock.
Hannah Heeter poses a big-time threat for opposing teams. The sophomore forward ranks fourth among all NCAA Division II players in rebounds per game (13.0), sixth in double-doubles (12) and 26th in field goal percentage (52.0). If basketball wasn't enough, Heeter is also a star volleyball student-athlete for the volleyball team which advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last fall.
Clarion can clinch its first PSAC Tournament bid since 2009 with a victory Saturday or a Lock Haven loss against California (Pa.) The Golden Eagles sit three games behind Cal for the final PSAC Tournament first round home contest.
Gannon has defeated Clarion 11 consecutive times and leads the all-time series 28-14. The Golden Eagles haven't won a game in the series since a 72-50 victory at the Hammermill Center during the 1994-95 campaign. Gannon has won the last five games in the series played the 'Mill where it is 13-6 all-time against Clarion.
