Senior Day Photo: (L-R) Head Coach Jim Brunelli, Ruta Vetra, Kelsey Dugger, Maggie Mitchell
Matt Mead Photography LLC
Gannon seniors Ruta Vetra, Kesley Dugger and Maggie Mitchell were sent out with a 60-50 victory against Slippery Rock.
50
Slippery Rock ROCK-W 12-15,10-12 PSAC
60
Winner Gannon University GAN-W 16-12, 13-9 PSAC
Slippery Rock ROCK-W
12-15,10-12 PSAC
50
Final
60
Gannon University GAN-W
16-12, 13-9 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Slippery Rock ROCK-W 14 16 4 16 50
Gannon University GAN-W 9 17 21 13 60

Next Game:

at Seton Hill University (Pa.)

2/26/2018 | 6:00 PM

90.5 WERG

Next Game

Full Schedule
Feb. 26 (Mon) / 6:00 PM
at Seton Hill University (Pa.)

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

Gannon Women's Basketball Team Uses Dominant Third Quarter to Post 60-50 Senior Day Victory Over the Rock (Video)

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 60, Slippery Rock 50
  • Records: Gannon (16-12, 13-9 PSAC), Slippery Rock (12-15, 10-12 PSAC)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center (Gary Miller Court)
  • The Short Story: The Gannon women's basketball team out-scored Slippery Rock 21-4 during the third quarter while rallying from a seven-point deficit en route to a 60-50 victory Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at the Hammermill Center. The decision helped the Lady Knights end the regular season with a three-game win streak, finishing with a seven-game improvement from last season.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Slippery Rock grabbed control early, scoring nine of the first 11 points and holding a seven-point advantage on two occasions during the opening quarter.
  • The Rock eventually had a 14-9 edge after the first period.
  • Slippery Rock once again held a seven-point advantage two more times during the opening five minutes of the second quarter, before Gannon generated its first run of the afternoon.
  • Trailing 22-15, the Lady Knights ripped off seven consecutive points to tie the game. Sophomore Chelsea Rourke (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) scored the first five points, including an and-one to start the run. Junior Elise Torrence (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley)'s lay-up tied the contest at 22 with four minutes left in the first half.
  • It was the first of three ties over the next two minutes and 19 seconds.
  • Tied at 26, Slippery Rock ended the half with the final four points and took a 30-26 lead into the break.
  • Gannon came out of the halftime gates on fire, scoring the first nine points to transform a four-deficit into a five-point lead. Rourke began the run with a three-pointer, before junior Nicole LaCava (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) pushed the Lady Knights ahead with a hoop while being fouled. Senior Maggie Mitchell (Newark, Ohio/Newark) then followed with another three-pointer to give the home squad a 35-30 advantage.
  • Leading 35-32, the Lady Knights ripped off a 12-1 run to assume a 47-33 lead on two free throws by LaCava with 39 seconds left in the third quarter. She tallied half of Gannon's points during the run while Mitchell added four points.
  • The two large third-quarter runs combined to produce a 21-3 overall blitz, leading to a 47-34 Gannon lead after three periods.
  • Slippery Rock went 1-for-13 from the field during the third quarter.
  • The Rock slowly chipped away at the lead during the final frame, using a 12-2 run during the first six minutes to climb within 49-46.
  • LaCava answered with a lay-up to stop Slippery Rock's momentum and Rourke followed with a jumper to push the lead back to 53-46 at the 2:34 mark
  • Slippery Rock never got closer than five points the rest of the way, before Gannon closed out a 60-50 victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Saturday's contest was Senior Day for Gannon. Mitchell, Ruta Vetra (Jurmala, Latvia/Our Lady of Mercy Academy (N.J.)) and Kelsey Dugger were honored during pregame festivities.
  • LaCava and Rourke highlighted Gannon's offensive unit with 16 points each. Rourke also had eight rebounds and four assists.
  • Mitchell completed the Lady Knights' trio of double-digit scorers with 13 points, a season-high six rebounds and three assists.
  • Gannon shot 33.3 percent (20-60) from the field, 19 percent (4-21) from three-point range and 84.2 percent (16-19) from the free throw line. 
  • Morgan Henderson was the lone Rock player in double figures with 19 points in addition to 10 rebounds.
  • Slippery Rock shot 36.7 percent (18-49) from the floor, including a 23.3-percent (7-30) clip during the second half after hitting 57.9 percent (11-19) during the first half. The Rock shot 41.7 percent (5-12) from behind the arc and 64.3 percent (9-14) from the charity stripe.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon capped the regular season with a three-game win streak, completing a seven-game overall improvement from last season.
  • The Lady Knights moved their season free-throw percentage to 79.2 percent which currently ranks as the best in program history. The program's current single-season record is 77.4 percent during the 2008-09 campaign.
  • Gannon entered the weekend with the second-toughest schedule in NCAA Division II. Past opponents had produced a 369-248 combined record, winning 59.8 percent of their games.
  • The Lady Knights held their opponent below 60 points for the third consecutive game and 10th time this season.
  • Gannon reached double digits in steals for the second time this season with 11.
  • Slippery Rock's seven assists were the fewest by a Gannon opponent since Mercyhurst matched that number during a 65-62 Lady Knight victory on January 20, 2016 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
  • Gannon won by double digits for the third consecutive game and sixth time this season.
  • The Lady Knights recorded at least 16 victories for the fourth time in five seasons under head coach Jim Brunelli.
  • Gannon completed its second consecutive season sweep of Slippery Rock, winning for the 29th time in the last 32 meetings.
  • The Lady Knights improved to 36-11 all-time against the Rock, including a 22-4 mark at the Hammermill Center.
  • Gannon improved to 15-1 when scoring at least 60 points.
  • Mitchell's 453 points are now the 18th-highest single-season total in program history. She ended the regular season with a 90.8 free throw percentage (89-98) which currently sits just ahead of the program's single-season record of 90.1 percent (82-91) set by Carrie Nolan in 2009-10.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon has only one day to prepare for a PSAC Tournament first-round game Monday, February 26 at Seton Hill.
  • The contest is scheduled for 6 p.m.
  • Gannon enters the PSAC Tournament as the Western Division's fifth seed while Seton Hill is the division's fourth seed.
  • The two programs split a tightly-contested season series with Gannon posting a 61-59 victory at Seton Hill and the Golden Griffins earning a 79-78 win at the Hammermill Center.
  • Gannon and Seton Hill have split the last three season series.
  • The Lady Knights lead the all-time series 10-3, including a perfect 6-0 mark the Golden Griffins' home floor.
  • Gannon and Seton Hill have met twice in the postseason with the Lady Knights earning an 80-60 home victory during the 2010 NCAA Division II Tournament and 64-58 home win during the 2016 PSAC Quarterfinals.
  • The Gannon-Seton Hill contest can be heard live on 90.5 WERG and online at www.wergfm.com.
  • Outlets to follow the game include a live video broadcast (http://www.westmorelandsports.com/broadcast) and live gameday statistics (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/shu).
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Players Mentioned

Nicole LaCava

#31 Nicole LaCava

F
6' 0"
Junior
Physician Assistant
Maggie Mitchell

#10 Maggie Mitchell

G
5' 8"
Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
Chelsea Rourke

#13 Chelsea Rourke

G/F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Nursing
Elise Torrence

#20 Elise Torrence

C
6' 4"
Junior
Social Work
Ruta Vetra

#5 Ruta Vetra

F
6' 0"
Senior
Health Communication

Players Mentioned

Nicole LaCava

#31 Nicole LaCava

6' 0"
Junior
Physician Assistant
F
Maggie Mitchell

#10 Maggie Mitchell

5' 8"
Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
G
Chelsea Rourke

#13 Chelsea Rourke

5' 11"
Sophomore
Nursing
G/F
Elise Torrence

#20 Elise Torrence

6' 4"
Junior
Social Work
C
Ruta Vetra

#5 Ruta Vetra

6' 0"
Senior
Health Communication
F