THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: Gannon 69, Pitt-Johnstown 59
Records: GU (17-4, 12-2 PSAC West) | UPJ (12-9, 7-8 PSAC West)
Location: Hammermill Center | Erie, Pa.
The Short Story: The Mountain Cats may have scored out of the jump ball, but a 9-0 run sparked by Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) in the first quarter gave the Knights the lead and they never looked back. Three players scored in double-figures to carry Gannon to its sixth consecutive game. Haley Tewes (Waterford, Mich./Waterford Kettering) notched her second career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED

• Pitt-Johnstown struck first out of the jump ball getting on the board with two early points, but helped spark an early Gannon run. Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) responded with five straight points for the Knights leading them on a 9-0 run early in the first. Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) snatched the ball earning herself a fast break layup to complete the nine-point stretch and force the Mountain Cats to call timeout with 6:41 left on the clock. Out of the time out, Gannon struggled from the field. Haley Tewes (Waterford, Mich./Waterford Kettering) scored Gannon's final two points with 5:33 left in the first as UPJ chipped away to trail 11-8 after one.
• The Knights outscored the Mountain Cats 17-4 in the first five minutes of the second quarter. Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), Tewes, and Chelsea Rourke (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) all connected from thee point range to help extend Gannon's lead, 28-12. Another shaky end to the quarter left Gannon with just two more field goals from McKinney and Sam Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North). Ashley Norling tallied five straight points to help UPJ narrow the lead. The Knights led 32-19 at the break.
• Obenrader kept Gannon's momentum going in the third quarter using a 6-0 run of her own to give the Knights a 40-24 edge with a little over five minutes to play. Gannon's bench stepped up in the remainder of the quarter. Pirosko and Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) combined for nine points, while starter Rourke connected on a pair of free throws leading the Knights into the final 10 minutes with a 20-point edge.
• The Mountain Cats stepped up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter outscoring Gannon 28-18. It was too little, too late as the Knights swept the regular season series over UPJ with a 69-59 win. Daria-Hanna Koul (Minsk, Belarus/J. Addison) and Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) both got on the board for the Knights in the final minutes helping win their sixth straight game.

 
GAME NOTES

• Tewes recorded her second career double-double in Saturday's match up. She led the Knights with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Tewes also tied her career-high three blocks in the action. She has scored double-figures in 13 games this season, and this is her highest point total since recording a career-high 22 vs. Seton Hill in early January.
• Obenrader joined Tewes with 13 points to keep her double-figure scoring streak alive at 12 consecutive games.
• Pirosko was the third Golden Knight to score double-figures. She poured in 11 points off the bench on 5-of-6 from the field. She led the Knights to their second straight game outscoring the other bench. Gannon edged UPJ by one, 22-21.
• McKinney did a little bit of everything for the Knights filling up the stat sheet. She scored eight points, grabbed a career-high six rebounds, tallied five assists, and notched two steals. McKinney continues to lead Gannon averaging 4.7 assists. Today marked her 12th game of the year with at least five assists, and she has tallied at least one in every game this season.
• With Tewes, Obenrader, and Pirosko in double-figures, the Knights improve to 16-0 when at least three players score over 10 points in a game. It is the second straight game this trio has carried on the streak for Gannon.
• The Knights tied the best start since 2014-15 in conference play. The 2014-15 squad suffered their third loss after opening PSAC play 13-2. If Gannon wins on Wednesday at Edinboro, it will be the best start to a conference season since the 2009-10 season when the team went 37-1 failing to lose a game until the NCAA Tournament.

 
UP NEXT

• Gannon takes two games on the road next week. First on the slate is cross-county rival Edinboro.
• Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm Wednesday night at the McComb Fieldhouse.
• Live stats and video will be available.