Video Highlights & Interview

THE BASICS
Score: at Edinboro 55, Gannon 54 (OT)
Records: Edinboro (15-6, 12-5 PSAC), Gannon (15-5, 14-3 PSAC)
Location: Edinboro, Pa.  |  McComb Fieldhouse
The Short Story: The Gannon women's basketball team opened the final month of the regular season with a 55-54 overtime loss to rival Edinboro at the McComb Fieldhouse Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division action. The loss ended an eight-game win streak for the Lady Knights. Following back-to-back threes from the Lady Knights to open overtime, the Fighting Scots' scored the final seven points to capture the win. Junior Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) led the Lady Knights' offense with 13 points followed by senior Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) with 11 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Holding a 4-3 advantage to open the game, Gannon captured its only lead of the first half in the opening three minutes following a layup by Blake. Scoring eight of the next 10 points, Edinboro managed to push its lead to 11-6 with 13:05 left.
- A layup by junior Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) erased Edinboro's lead down to 13-10. The Fighting Scots struck back with a 9-2 run to push their lead to double digits, 22-12, with 7:30 remaining in the opening half.
- Down the stretch, Gannon outscored Edinboro by a margin of 13-9. The early first-half lead by the Fighting Scots provided them enough insurance to take a 31-25 lead into the break. The Lady Knights' bench provided 15 of the 25 first-half points. GU managed to convert Boro's six opening-half turnovers into 12 points.
- Gannon came out of the break on a 12-3 run to erase Edinboro's first-half lead in the opening 3:44 of the second stanza. To get the Lady Knights' run rolling, Blake slipped inside with a layup just 12 seconds in. A jumper by senior Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) and back-to-back layups by Blake brought the Lady Knights to within one, 34-33, with 16:49 left. Neighbors' layup gave the Lady Knights a 35-34 lead, marking the team's first advantage since the opening three minutes of the contest.
- Following a layup with 17:18 left in the second half, the Fighting Scots only scored two additional points over a stretch of five minutes and 32 seconds. The Lady Knights were able to generate five points during the same span.
- Ediboro pulled to within two of Gannon, 40-38, before the host squad tied the game at 40 all off a jumper by Nicole Johnson with 9:36 left. The Lady Knights broke the tie with a three from Neighbors less than a minute later. From there, neither squad scored for over two minutes until a Sebald jumper pushed the Lady Knights' lead to 45-40 with 6:12 left on the clock.
- Consecutive threes from Valerie Majewski and Lauren Hippo moved Boro back in the lead, 46-45. Batts answered with her own three with 3:06 remaining for a 48-46 lead only to have the game knotted at 48 on a jumper from Laurel Lindsay with 1:01 left.
- The Lady Knights had the final two attempts in the closing seconds of regulation, but were unable to seal the win forcing overtime.
- Gannon scored the opening six points of overtime on consecutive threes from sophomore Brianna Brennan (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) and Neighbors for a 54-48 lead. Despite trailing in the opening 1:16 of the overtime period, the Fighting Scots scored the final seven points to outlast the Lady Knights for a 55-54 win. In the final 3:44, the Lady Knights went 0-for-5 from the field.  
 
GAME NOTES
- Neighbors scored a team-high 13 points, coming one point short of a season-best. She was followed by Blake with 11 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. For the first time since Jan. 3, Blake did lead the Lady Knights' scoring effort.
- Batts finished the day with seven points and three boards. Junior Amanda Berchtold (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) registered seven assists and five rebounds in 44 minutes.
- The Lady Knights were out-rebounded for the first time in six games. Edinboro held a 42-39 edge in rebounds.  
- Aignee' Freeland picked up a double-double for the Fighting Scots, recording game-highs of 16 points, all scored in the first half, and 11 rebounds.
- Gannon finished the day at 37.7-percent (23-61) from the field, while Edinboro shot 35.4-percent (23-65) from the floor. After both teams shot above 40-percent in the opening half, the second half was a different story. From the field, GU converted 32.1-percent (9-28) and Boro connected on 25-percent (7-38).
- The Lady Knights held a 26-2 advantage in bench points.
- In the second half, the Lady Knights outscored the Fighting Scots, 23-17.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Edinboro now holds a 32-20 all-time mark against Gannon in the series. The Fighting Scots have won 10 of the last 12 minutes meetings between the two squads. At the McComb Fieldhouse, the Fighting Scots moved to 18-8 when hosting the Lady Knights.
- For the second straight season, the teams were forced to settle a game at the McComb Fieldhouse in overtime. The Lady Knights are 0-3 against the Fighting Scots in overtime contests.
- Earlier in the season, Gannon defeated rival Edinboro, 76-70, at the Hammermill Center Jan. 10. The Lady Knights snapped the Fighting Scots' eight-game win streak.
- Blake has posted double figures in nine straight games, leading the Lady Knights' scoring in eight contests.
- The Lady Knights moved to 6-1 on Wednesdays, marking their first mid-week loss of the season.
- Head coach Jim Brunelli appeared in his 200th career game as a head coach.
- Entering this evening's game, the Lady Knights had won eight straight games and 11 of their last 12.
- In the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Division II National Media Poll released Feb. 3, the Lady Knights were among others receiving votes.
 
UP NEXT
Gannon returns to the Hammermill Center Saturday evening. The Maroon and Gold host No. 5 Indiana (Pa.) in PSAC Western Division action. The tip is set for 5 p.m. Admission to the game is free of charge.