Morgan Neighbors
Joe Mattis
Senior Morgan Neighbors led all scorers with 23 points, reaching the 20-point plateau for the seventh time this season.
53
Gannon University GAN-W 16-9, 14-7 PSAC
62
Winner Slippery Rock ROCK-W 13-14, 9-12 PSAC
Gannon University GAN-W
16-9, 14-7 PSAC
53
Final
62
Slippery Rock ROCK-W
13-14, 9-12 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon University GAN-W 11 14 14 14 53
Slippery Rock ROCK-W 23 14 14 11 62

Next Game:

Mercyhurst University

2/24/2016 | 5:30 PM

90.5 WERG

Next Game

Full Schedule
Feb. 24 (Wed) / 5:30 PM
 Mercyhurst University

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Women's Basketball Team Drops Final Regular-Season Road Game At Slippery Rock

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Slippery Rock 62, Gannon 53
  • Records: Gannon (16-9, 14-7 PSAC), Slippery Rock (13-14, 9-12 PSAC)
  • Location: Slippery Rock, Pa. - Morrow Field House
  • The Short Story: The Slippery Rock women's basketball team raced out to a 23-11 advantage after one quarter on Senior Night and never surrendered the lead during a 62-53 victory Saturday night at the Morrow Field House.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Slippery Rock came out of the gate with energy on Senior Night, scoring the first five points spurred by a three-pointer 25 seconds into the contest.
  • Leading 12-9, the Rock ripped off eight straight points to assume a 20-9 lead with 56 seconds left in the first quarter.
  • Gannon went 3:07 without a point until senior Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) hit a free throw with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
  • SRU concluded its first-quarter onslaught with a three-pointer by Ciara Patterson with nine seconds left to cap a 23-11 opening frame.
  • Sophomore McKenna Shives (Struthers, Ohio/Struthers) opened the second quarter with a three-pointer 15 seconds into the action. It represented Gannon's first field goal in six minutes and 46 seconds.
  • The triple also started the Lady Knights' first run of the game, igniting a 12-0 rally that tied the game at 23 with 7:17 left in the first half.
  • Senior Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) and Neighbors accounted for the final nine points of the run. Neighbors converted a lay-up while being fouled, before Thies' lay-in tied the contest.
  • Slippery Rock never fell behind though, regaining the advantage 16 seconds later.
  • The Rock later scored the final 10 points of the half to assume a 37-25 edge at the intermission.
  • Slippery Rock held a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter, grabbing its biggest lead of 18 points on two different occasions.
  • Gannon responded to the final 18-point lead by scoring eight of the final 10 points of the third quarter. The last six points came off the shooting hand of Neighbors that cut the deficit to 51-39 after three stanzas.
  • The Lady Knights extended their run with the first nine points of the fourth quarter to draw within 51-48 on a three-pointer by junior Brianna Brennan (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) at the 6:44 mark.
  • In all, Gannon's 17-2 run lasted 5:44 and spanned two quarters. Slippery Rock went six minutes and three seconds without a point until Erica Aiello hit two free throws to push the Rock's lead to 53-48.
  • Still holding a three-point lead (53-50), Slippery Rock grabbed firm control of the game on Lexi Carpenter's three-pointer with 1:54 remaining. It was the Rock's first field goal in nine minutes.
  • Gannon was unable to get closer than four points the rest of the way.

GAME NOTES
  • Thies led the charge once again with her eighth consecutive double-double, manufacturing 10 points and 17 rebounds.
  • Neighbors was the only other Lady Knight in double digits with 23 points and seven rebounds.
  • Brennan hauled down a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points.
  • Gannon shot 32.7 percent (17-52) from the field, 29.4 percent (5-17) from three-point range and 70 percent (14-20) from the free throw line.
  • Carpenter, the PSAC's third-leading scorer, highlighted Slippery Rock's scoring attack with 23 points.
  • Megan Hardiman and Patterson added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
  • Slippery Rock shot 31.7 percent (19-60) from the floor, 45.5 percent (10-22) from behind the arc and 82.4 percent (14-17) from the charity stripe. 
  • The Rock held large advantages in points off turnovers (25-7) and bench points (42-10). However, 23 of the 42 bench points came from normal starter Carpenter who didn't start to allow for seniors to begin the tip.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Slippery Rock completed its first-ever sweep of Gannon while cutting the deficit in the all-time series to 32-11.
  • Gannon was unable to clinch the PSAC Western Division's third seed and will have its postseason seeding determined Wednesday during the final night of regular-season play.
  • The Lady Knights will finish third and host a PSAC Tournament first-round game against the division's sixth seed with a victory against Mercyhurst or Edinboro loss at California (Pa.).
  • A loss to Mercyhurst combined with an Edinboro win at Cal creates a Gannon-Mercyhurst rematch three days later at the Hammermill Center.
  • Thies bumped her season rebounding total to 326, giving her the third-highest single-season total in school history. She needs 29 rebounds to break Gannon Hall of Famer Mary Kay Lynch's record of 354 during the 1983-84 season.
  • Gannon was ranked ninth in the initial NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings released Wednesday afternoon.
  • The Lady Knights dropped to 5-5 on Saturdays and 10-4 on the road.
  • Gannon blocked seven shots for the first time since swatting seven during a 68-57 victory at Shippensburg on January 4, 2015.
  • The Lady Knights lost while out-rebounding their opponent by at least 16 for the first time since out-rebounding Hillsdale 42-20 during a 74-66 home loss on December 3, 2005.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon concludes the regular season Wednesday, February 24 against rival Mercyhurst at the Hammermill Center.
  • Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
  • The contest can be heard live on 90.5 WERG and online at www.wergfm.com.
  • It will be Senior Night as Amanda Berchtold (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep), LaShawna Gatewood (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg), Marisa Guyton (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport), Neighbors and Thies will be honored along with the men's seniors with seven minutes left in the men's pregame warm-up.
  • Gannon has won nine consecutive games against Mercyhurst to take a 58-26 lead in the all-time series.
  • The Lady Knights will be looking for their fifth consecutive season sweep after rallying for a 65-62 victory at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on January 20.
  • Gannon has won 11 of the last 12 games in the series played at the Hammermill Center.
  • The Lady Knights are 29-10 all-time against the Lakers at home.
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Players Mentioned

Amanda Berchtold

#5 Amanda Berchtold

G
5' 4"
Senior
Sports Mgt. & Marketing
Brianna Brennan

#10 Brianna Brennan

F
6' 1"
Junior
Early Childhood Education
Marisa Guyton

#21 Marisa Guyton

F
6' 0"
Senior
Advertising Communications
Morgan Neighbors

#12 Morgan Neighbors

G
5' 9"
Senior
Business Admin.
McKenna Shives

#3 McKenna Shives

G
5' 5"
Sophomore
Undeclared
Jennie Thies

#14 Jennie Thies

F/C
6' 1"
Senior
Biology
LaShawna Gatewood

#35 LaShawna Gatewood

G
5' 10"
Senior
Criminal Justice

Players Mentioned

Amanda Berchtold

#5 Amanda Berchtold

5' 4"
Senior
Sports Mgt. & Marketing
G
Brianna Brennan

#10 Brianna Brennan

6' 1"
Junior
Early Childhood Education
F
Marisa Guyton

#21 Marisa Guyton

6' 0"
Senior
Advertising Communications
F
Morgan Neighbors

#12 Morgan Neighbors

5' 9"
Senior
Business Admin.
G
McKenna Shives

#3 McKenna Shives

5' 5"
Sophomore
Undeclared
G
Jennie Thies

#14 Jennie Thies

6' 1"
Senior
Biology
F/C
LaShawna Gatewood

#35 LaShawna Gatewood

5' 10"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G