13
Sean Gallagher
68
Winner Gannon Gannon 5-1,1-1 PSAC
59
Shippensburg Shipp 5-3,0-1 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
5-1,1-1 PSAC
68
Final
59
Shippensburg Shipp
5-3,0-1 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 7 12 20 29 68
Shippensburg Shipp 12 18 13 16 59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Rallies for 68-59 Win at Shippensburg Behind Big Second Half

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The seventh-ranked Gannon women's basketball team used a dominant second half performance to rally for a 68-59 win at Shippensburg on Saturday night at Heiges Field House. The Golden Knights improved to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in PSAC action while snapping Shippensburg's three-game winning streak. The Raiders are now 5-3 and 1-1, respectively.  

Both teams were without their leading scorers and had played games last night. Shippensburg's Ariel Jones has missed the last six games, while Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) went down last night with an injury at Shepherd. The Golden Knights looked like a team figuring out what to without a player averaging over 20 points per game. Once head coach Cleve Wright pieced things together, his team looked like one of the top teams in NCAA Division II.

The contest was a rematch of the 2020 PSAC Tournament semifinal, won by Gannon, and also a matchup of the two PSAC division favorites. Shippensburg came in averaging 77.6 ppg.

It started out ragged, with neither team managing to score in the first three-and-a-half minutes, as turnovers dominated. Gannon's first five possessions resulted in five turnovers and four missed shots. The slow-paced first quarter ended with Shippensburg leading 12-7.

The Raiders opened the second quarter with 10-4 run to take an 11-point lead at 22-11 with six minutes remaining in the half. Gannon closed the gap to seven points at 26-19 on a pair of Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) buckets, but the Raiders scored the final four points of the half for a 30-19 lead at intermission.

The halftime numbers weren't pretty, with Gannon committing 15 turnovers and Shippensburg 13. The Golden Knights shot just 32.0 percent over the opening twenty minutes, making 8-of-25 shots. They were 0-for-7 on 3-pointers.

The second half began as the first, with both teams turning the ball over. Gannon proceeded to score the first nine points of the half to pull to within 30-28. Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) capped the run with GU's first three of the night after eight misses. Shippensburg built the lead back up to eight points at 43-35 before Gannon closed to 43-39 after three periods on a rebound basket by Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) and an acrobatic basket by Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley).

After outscoring the Raiders 20-13 in the fourth, the Golden Knights dominated the fourth quarter to the tune of 29-16 to score 49 points in the second half. Gannon took its first lead of the night less than two minutes into the final session on four points by Wright and an Obenrader hoop off a feed from Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance). Ship regained the lead on a Treasure George three. It would be the last lead for the Raiders.

After making just one of their first 16 3-point attempts, the Knights made four of their last five from beyond the arc, begin with Poling's three to tie the score at 48-48. Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) followed with a three, and after a Shippensburg basket made it 51-50, Gannon went on an 11-0 run. A Dogan basket started the burst, with Wright following with another 3-pointer. Poling scored to make it 58-50, and Mitchell then went coast-to-coast after grabbing a rebound and scoring at the other end on a layup. It was 62-50 with 2:49 left after a pair of Dogan free throws. The Raiders never pulled closer than nine points after that.

Wright led four Knights in double figures with a season-high 17 points. She added seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Mitchell, in just her second game of the season, added 14 points and five boards. She made 2-of-3 3-pointers. Dogan and Poling each contributed 11 points, with Dogan grabbing eight rebounds and a pair of blocks, and Poling registering four steals and three assists. Obenradeer chipped in with nine points.

Gannon ended the night shooting 39.7 percent from the floor (25-of-63), making 5-of-20 3-pointers, along with 13-of-18 free throws. Shippensburg shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50), with 3-of-10 three's, and went 12-of-21 at the charity stripe.

Shippensburg was guilty of 25 turnovers, while Gannon had 18, but just three in the second half. The Golden Knights held a 39-33 rebounding edge, but outscored Ship 26-4 on second chance points.

Ship's Destiny Jefferson led all scorers with 22 points, with Lauren Pettis adding 14. George totaled 12 points.  

Gannon returns to action on Tuesday, December 14 in another PSAC crossover contest, hosting Lock Haven at 5:30 p.m. at the Hammermill Center.
 
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