ERIE, Pa. – The No. 7 Gannon women's basketball team shot 56.9 percent from the floor and pounded California (Pa.) 41-20 on the glass en route to a 77-50 victory Tuesday evening in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinals at the Hammermill Center.
The win vaults the Lady Knights into the conference semifinals Friday, March 8 against Millersville. Bloomsburg will serve as the host. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. It can be heard live on 90.5 WERG. The host Huskies will face off against Edinboro during Friday's second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The PSAC title game is scheduled for Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m.
Gannon shot the ball well and controlled the glass from the opening tip. The Lady Knights shot 50 percent during the first half while producing an 18-10 edge on the glass. Cal recorded zero offensive rebounds during the opening 20 minutes.
Head coach
Cleve Wright's club opened the contest with an 11-2 run.
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) converted lay-ups during the first two possessions. After a pair of Cal free throws, Blake made another lay-up before
Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) nailed a three-pointer.
Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) then capped the opening run with a lay-up at the 16:18 mark. Defensively, the Lady Knights held Cal without a field goal for the first three minutes and 55 seconds.
Neither team was able to muster a decent run for the remainder of the half. Gannon pushed its lead into double digits on four different occasions only to see Cal cut it back into single digits during the next possession. The Lady Knights eventually went to halftime with a 33-25 lead.
The second half was all Gannon. A 7-0 run midway through the final period was the telling sequence.
Doriyon Glass (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) and Papich put home lay-ups, before an old-fashion three-point play by Blake pushed the lead to 51-36 with 10:25 to play.
It was only fitting the Gannon defense put the finishing touches on the game. The Lady Knights held the Vulcans without a field goal for the final five minutes and 35 seconds. Leading 64-48, the home squad ripped off 13 consecutive points. Blake had five of those points.
Amanda Berchtold's (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) jumper with 44 seconds remaining gave the Lady Knights their biggest lead of the evening at 77-48.
One of the second-half highlights came with 7:22 to play when Batts hit her third triple of the game and 89th of the season. In the process, the sophomore broke the school record for three-pointers in a season set by Gannon Hall of Famer Jacki Windon during the 2000-01 campaign.
Blake led all scorers with 20 points and eight rebounds, hitting 9-of-13 shots. The sophomore forward finished one point shy of her career-high while reaching the 20-point plateau for the third time this season. She recorded 14 points and five rebounds during the second half.
Papich recorded her third double-double of the season and fifth of her career with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Batts and Glass added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn./E.O. Smith) was phenomenal at the point, dishing out 11 assists while scoring nine points. She has 23 assists during the last two games.
Gannon shot 56.9 percent (33-58) from the field, including a red-hot 63.3 percent (19-30) during the second half. The Lady Knights shot 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range and 54.5 percent (6-11) from the free throw line. The squad's large rebounding difference led to a 23-3 advantage in second-chance points and a 46-22 edge in points in the paint.
Emma Mahady was the only Vulcan in double digits with 14 points. Cal shot 38.8 percent (19-49) from the floor, 16.7 percent (3-18) from behind the arc and 69.2 percent (9-13) from the charity stripe.
Gannon, ranked No. 7 in the latest USA Today Sports Division II Coaches' Poll and No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, improved to 27-3 with its sixth consecutive victory. The Lady Knights remained perfect in 12 home games this season while winning their 27th straight contest when leading at halftime. California (Pa.), tabbed fifth in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, dropped to 20-8.
