ERIE, Pa. - Clinching a spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament, the No. 3 Gannon women's basketball team used a team effort to dominate PSAC West Division opponent Slippery Rock, 71-39, on Wednesday evening at the Hammermill Center. The victory extended the Lady Knights' home unbeaten streak to 26 games, the second best active streak in NCAA Division II. The Lady Knights improve to 21-1 overall and 10-1 in the PSAC West, while the Rock fall to 4-17 on the season and 1-10 in divisional play.
In a team effort, the Lady Knights' bench scored 38 of the team's 71 total points including the final 24 points. Leading the Lady Knights were sophomore
Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) and junior
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist), who mirrored each other with 14 points. Neighbors led the Lady Knights' bench followed by freshman
Mikayla Deguire (Watervliet, N.Y./Watervliet) with a career game-high eight points. Junior
Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) also added eight points.
Holding a 55-36 rebound margin over the Rock, the Lady Knights dominated the boards with senior
Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn/E.O. Smith) recording a career game-high nine rebounds. Blake added seven boards to the Lady Knights' total.
Slippery Rock was led by Aidan Geise with 11 points and eight rebounds, each team highs. Leading scorer D'Asia Chambers was held to seven points after entering the game averaging 22.5 points in divisional play.
For the third time this season, the Lady Knights held an opponent to under 15 points in a half. To open the game, the Rock were held to 13 points, the Lady Knights' best defensive effort this season.
The Lady Knights hit 38 percent (27-71) from the field, while the Rock shot only 26.5 percent (13-49).
The Rock struggled across the floor from the start. The Rock were held to a 14.3 field goal percentage (3-21), hitting 11.1 percent (1-9) from behind the arc. Their struggles carried over to the foul line, as they shot 46.2 percent (6-13).
The Lady Knights used the Rock's rough first-half shooting to their advantage, opening the game on a 10-1 run in the first 4:28. Blake accounted for half of the Lady Knights' first ten points. At 15:15, Chambers recorded the Rock's first basket of the half, which would be the team's last for a span of 5:35. During the span, the Lady Knights pushed their lead to 22-4 with 10:16 remaining. Among the Lady Knights' 22 points to open the contest, Blake (9) and Neighbors (4) combined for more than half.
With 3:57 left in the half, the Rock were finally able to break double digits, 30-11, after being held to five points in a span of 5:43. Neighbors handed the Lady Knights a 36-13 lead, the team's largest margin up to the point, off a three pointer with 1:07 left.
Holding a 36-13 lead at the break, the Lady Knights kept the pressure on the Rock to open the second half. The Lady Knights would not give the Rock a second breath, which they did in their previous meeting back on Dec. 4. In the meeting earlier in the season, the Lady Knights snuck past the Rock, 76-73, with the game-tying shot sailing over the rim as time expired.
The Lady Knights pushed their lead to 51-18 through the first 7:11 of the second half, as Sebald and Neighbors buried threes in the 15-5 run. The Rock managed to heat up from behind the arc, scoring their next nine points from long range.
Once again, Neighbors gave the Lady Knights their largest lead of the game, 56-21, following a put-back off a missed long-range opportunity with 11:33 left. The Rock worked the Lady Knights' lead down to 29 before Deguire buried back-to-back treys to restore the team's lead back to 35 with 4:51 left.
The Lady Knights' bench sealed the team's 71-39 victory over Slippery Rock, tallying the final 24 points to close out the win.
Using their inside strength, the Lady Knights outscored the Rock, 32-10, under the basket. Beyond the paint, the Lady Knights controlled the Rock's ability to connect on their own or Gannon's missed opportunities. The Lady Knights smothered the Rock's second-chance attempts, 20-3. The Rock were unable to convert any points off the Lady Knights' 10 turnovers. On the other hand, the Lady Knights cashed in the Rock's 20 turnovers for 18 points.
Gannon travels to crosstown rival Mercyhurst on Saturday, Feb. 8 with the opening tip set for 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Knights recorded a season game-high 55 rebounds, marking the second time this season the team has recorded more than 50 boards… In 22 meetings, the Lady Knights have captured 21 consecutive victories over the Rock with 14 coming on home court... Senior
Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) moved into eighth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1375 career points… The Lady Knights hold a 29-9 all-time mark versus the Rock… As conference opponents, the Lady Knights improve to 10-1 against the Rock… The Lady Knights captured their 15th double-digit victory and 10th by more than 20 points.
