ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team appears to be heading into the postseason at the top of its game. The Lady Knights opened Wednesday's game against Slippery Rock on a 17-4 run and cruised to an 80-48 Senior Night victory at the Hammermill Center.
The victory capped Gannon's regular season at 26-3 overall and 20-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The Lady Knights will sit back and enjoy Saturday off as the rest of the league contests PSAC Tournament first round games. The squad will then host the Clarion-California (Pa.) first-round winner Tuesday, March 5 in the conference quarterfinals at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Gannon has hosted a PSAC Tournament game during four of its five seasons in the league. Season ticket holders can renew their seats for the postseason Thursday, February 28 and Friday, March 1 at the Hammermill Center from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Complete postseason ticket information can be found at
http://www.gannonsports.com/news/2013/2/27/MBB_0227131909.aspx.
Head coach
Cleve Wright's club left little to doubt Wednesday night, posting its largest margin of victory in a conference affair since a 75-30 win against Cheyney on December 9, 2011.
Gannon scored the first five points on a
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) lay-up and a
Kelsey McCoy (Sylvania, Ohio/Sylvania Northview) three-pointer. It was the start of a 17-4 run during the opening seven minutes and 57 seconds.
Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) produced a personal 5-0 run in the middle of the blitz that was capped by
Candice Hendricks' (Randallstown, Md./McDonogh) triple at the 12:03 mark.
Neither team was able to put together a major run during the remainder of the first half. Gannon increased its lead to 34-15 with 4:11 left in the stanza, before settling for a 39-20 halftime advantage.
Gannon quickly pushed its lead past the 20-point plateau with a McCoy free throw after the team's lone senior converted a lay-up while being fouled 54 seconds into the second half. The margin soared into the 30's after
Nettie Blake's (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) lay-up at the 7:47 gave the Lady Knights a 69-38 lead. The biggest difference of the night came at 77-42 on the heels of a Hendricks' lay-in with 2:14 remaining.
All 11 players in uniform played at least seven minutes and grabbed at least one rebound. Ten Lady Knights dented the scoring column. Batts led all scorers on both sides with 17 points, finishing perfect from the field (6-6) and from long range (5-5). It represented her best scoring output since posting 20 points during a 70-62 victory against Lock Haven on February 2. The five three-pointers were her highest single-game effort since drilling six during an 82-64 win at Slippery Rock on January 30.
Papich finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. McCoy and Blake added 10 points each. Gannon shot 56.6 percent (30-53) from the field, hitting at least 55.6 percent during each half. The Lady Knights shot 44.4 percent (8-18) from three-point range and 92.3 percent (12-13) from the charity stripe.
Christa Wodarczyk was the lone Slippery Rock player in double digits with 10 markers. Slippery Rock shot 29 percent (18-62) from the floor, 17.9 percent (5-28) from behind the arc and 63.6 percent (7-11) from the charity stripe.
Gannon, ranked No. 8 in the
USA Today Sports Division II Coaches' Poll and No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, completed the regular season at 26-3 overall and 20-2 in the PSAC. Slippery Rock concluded its season at 4-22 overall and 3-19 in conference action. The Rock has dropped five consecutive games and 20 of its last 21 contests in the all-time series against Gannon. Wednesday's setback was the Rock's 13th consecutive at the Hammermill Center where it hasn't won since the 1993-94 campaign.
