Amanda Berchtold
Joe Mattis
In addition to eight points, senior Amanda Berchtold dished out a season-high eight assists compared to only two turnovers.
57
Clarion CLAR_W 7-16, 7-10 PSAC
77
Winner Gannon University GAN-W 14-7, 12-5 PSAC
Clarion CLAR_W
7-16, 7-10 PSAC
57
Final
77
Gannon University GAN-W
14-7, 12-5 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Clarion CLAR_W 25 10 15 7 57
Gannon University GAN-W 20 15 22 20 77

Next Game:

at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

2/6/2016 | 1:00 PM

Jet Radio 1400

Next Game

Full Schedule
Feb. 06 (Sat) / 1:00 PM
at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

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

Gannon Women's Basketball Team Defeats Clarion for 17th Consecutive Time with Second-Half Runaway (Video/Photos)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 77, Clarion 57
  • Records: Gannon (14-7, 12-5 PSAC), Clarion (7-16, 7-10 PSAC)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon women's basketball team out-scored Clarion 42-22 during a dominating second half and ran away with a 77-57 victory Wednesday night at the Hammermill Center.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The first quarter featured eight lead changes and four ties as neither team was able to gain control. Gannon led by as many as four points after a lay-up by senior Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) and three-pointer by sophomore McKenna Shives (Struthers, Ohio/Struthers) gave the Lady Knights a 17-13 edge 5:09 into the contest.
  • Clarion answered with 10 consecutive points to change a four-point deficit into a 23-17 advantage with 1:28 left in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles eventually ended the first 10 minutes with a 25-20 lead.
  • The visitors opened the second quarter with a Tania Holmes' lay-up to assume their biggest lead of the evening at 27-20.
  • Gannon cut the lead inside of two points on two different occasions later in the second quarter only to see Clarion regain momentum.
  • Trailing 35-30, the Lady Knights were able to gain a little stream. Junior Brianna Brennan (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) converted a free throw, before a Thies lay-up cut the deficit to two. Senior Amanda Berchtold (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) then drained a jumper with one second left to knot the score at 35 heading into the intermission.
  • Gannon came out of the locker room and dominated the second half. Trailing 40-37, the Lady Knights erupted for 15 straight points. Senior Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) tallied seven points while Thies added six points during the blitz.
  • Defensively, Gannon held Clarion 0-5 shooting with four turnovers during the scoreless streak that lasted four minutes and 36 seconds. Thies' lay-up at the 4:33 mark gave the Lady Knights a 52-40 lead.
  • Clarion managed to cut the deficit to 57-50 after Jen Straw scored at the third-quarter buzzer.
  • Gannon opened the final period with another lay-up from Thies and a lay-in by freshman Elissa Ellerbrock (Ottawa, Ohio / Ottawa-Glandorf). The Lady Knighs never had their lead dip into single digits again.
  • A 9-0 run during the final three minutes gave Gannon its largest lead of the evening at 75-54 with 1:04 remaining, before settling for a 77-57 victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Thies led the charge with her fourth consecutive double-double, manufacturing 17 points and 15 rebounds. She also added three assists and two steals while finishing 8-of-10 from the field.
  • Shives topped all scorers on both sides with 20 points, hitting a career-high five three-pointers in a game for the fifth time this season.
  • Neighbors completed Gannon's trio of double-digit scorers with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
  • Berchtold ran the offense with a season-high eight assists compared to only two turnovers in 25 minutes while also adding eight points.
  • Gannon shot 44.8 percent (30-67) from the field, including 50 percent (18-36) during the second half. The Lady Knights shot 40 percent (6-15) from three-point range and 78.6 percent (11-14) from the free throw line. 
  • Holmes headlined the Clarion offensive unit with 16 points and seven rebounds.
  • Straw and Delrika Jones-Carey chipped in 15 and 10 points, respectively.
  • Clarion shot 35.6 percent (21-59) from the floor, 17.4 percent (4-23) from behind the arc and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the charity stripe.
  • The home squad dominated the inside play, producing a 42-26 scoring edge in the paint.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon defeated Clarion for the 17th consecutive game, increasing its lead in the all-time series to 35-14.
  • The Lady Knights have posted eight consecutive season sweeps of the Golden Eagles.
  • Clarion's last victory in the series came February 25, 1995 with a 72-50 verdict at the Hammermill Center.
  • Neighbors produced her 15th consecutive double-digit scoring performance.
  • While recording her 12th double-double of the season, Thies became the 12th Lady Knight in program history to grab 600 career rebounds. She also jumped past Lisa Donikowski (1989-92) and into 38th place all-time at Gannon with 726 career points.
  • Brennan moved into a tie with Allison Rothlisberger (2006-09) for 14th place all-time at Gannon with her 66th career block.
  • Clarion's 17.4 three-point field goal percentage was the lowest by a Gannon opponent since California (Pa.) shot 16.7 percent (4-24) during the Lady Knights' 69-63 overtime victory on February 21, 2015.
  • With IUP's 75-55 loss at Mercyhurst Wednesday night, Gannon now sits in a second-place tie with the Crimson Hawks in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division. Both clubs sit one game behind first-place California (Pa.).

UP NEXT
  • Gannon begins a two-game road swing Saturday, February 6 at Pitt-Johnstown.
  • Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
  • The contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon has won five consecutive games against Pitt-Johnstown, cutting the all-time series deficit to 22-6.
  • The Lady Knights will be looking for their third consecutive season sweep after posting a 78-64 victory at the Hammermill Center on December 19. 
  • Gannon is 5-0 against UPJ since the Mountain Cats joined the PSAC prior to the 2013-14 academic year.
  • The Lady Knights have won their last two games played at UPJ's Sports Center, but they are still only 3-9 all-time on the Mountain Cats' home floor.
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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
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
Elissa Ellerbrock

#15 Elissa Ellerbrock

G
5' 9"
Freshman
Sport & Exercise Science/Pre-Physican Assistant

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
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
Elissa Ellerbrock

#15 Elissa Ellerbrock

5' 9"
Freshman
Sport & Exercise Science/Pre-Physican Assistant
G