Sydney Mitchell

Women's Basketball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon, IUP Square Off in Meeting of Nationally-Ranked Squads

No. 15/17 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (10-2, 5-2 PSAC West) at No. 12/NR INDIANA(PA) CRIMSON HAWKS (10-1, 4-1 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Sunday, January 16, 2022 | 3:30 p.m.
ARENA/LOCATION: Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex l Indiana, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
 
RADIO:  Gannon basketball fans can catch all of the exciting action of Golden Knights' basketball on 90.5 WERG FM. Jack Quinn and Sean Amicucci will serve as announcers for the games.
 
THE GANNON-IUP ALL-TIME SERIES
IUP leads 25-19
Gannon and IUP met three times in 2019-20, with the third time proving to be the charm. The Crimson Hawks won the first two meetings by scores of 62-48 at the Hammermill Center and 59-54 at the Kovalchick Complex before squaring off in the PSAC Championship game, again at the Kovalchick Complex. Gannon rallied for a 50-40 victory to earn the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, less than a week later the pandemic brought a halt to the postseason. Gannon snapped a ten-game losing streak to the Crimson Hawks with the win, and also broke a string of seven straight losses on IUP's homecourt. The series first began in 1979-80.
 
Last Meeting
March 8, 2020 – PSAC Championship -- Gannon 50, at IUP 40 I RECAP
After only scoring 10 points in the first half and trailing 18-10 at intermission, Gannon came out of the break to score 40 second-half points, including a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights came away with their first PSAC Championship since 2010 and second conference crown overall while winning on IUP's homecourt. Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) was named the MVP after posting a 17-point, 16-rebound double-double in the win. IUP entered the game ranked seventh in the nation. It was the first time that Gannon beat a nationally-ranked opponent since 2015 when the Golden Knights downed No. 18 California(Pa.) on Feb. 21, 2015. Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) added 12 points for GU while Lexi Griggs (16 points) and Justina Muscaro (12) accounted for 28 of IU{P's 40 points.
 
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon travels to Indiana(Pa.) in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams on Sunday, January 16. The Golden Knights come in with a 10-2 record and are 5-2 in the PSAC West while IUP is 10-1 and 4-1, respectively. Tipoff at the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex is set for 3:30 p.m. IUP ids ranked 12th in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 while Gannon is currently 15th. The Golden Knights are also 17th in the D2SIDA poll.
 
The contest was originally scheduled for Saturday but was rescheduled as part of IUP's extended pause due to COVID. The Crimson Hawks last played on December 19, handing Shippensburg a 79-46 defeat. Since then, they had to postpone games with Cal U, Lock Haven, Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst in addition to moving the Gannon game back a day.
 
Gannon has also had to battle through injuries and illness all season, but in particular in recent weeks. Including the IUP contest, the Golden Knights have had three games postponed recently. They must make up games with Edinboro and Pitt-Johnstown originally scheduled for January 8 and January 12, respectively.  It finally caught up with the Golden Knights last Monday, as Gannon saw its six-game winning streak snapped with a 66-60 loss at Seton Hill. For the second straight game head coach Cleve Wright had to make do without a point guard available. The Golden Knights did welcome back leading scorer Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North), who has seen limited action since suffering an injury at Shepherd in early December.
 
The Golden Knights received an outstanding effort from Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), who made 7-of-8 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 23 points. Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) pulled down 10 rebounds, her fifth straight game in double figures.
 
It is best to check the Gannon website at www.gannonsports.com when it comes to upcoming games. The PSAC is rescheduling games in an effort to make up the full schedule, and the schedule has been changing on a daily basis. The Golden Knights were scheduled to host Slippery Rock on Wednesday, January 19. SRU has now gone on an extended pause forcing the postponement of the game. They will now look to play on Saturday, January 22 at East Stroudsburg. That in essence gives Gannon a four-game road trip.    
 
 
GANNON IN THE PSAC STATS
Scoring Offense – 68.3 (5th)       
Scoring Defense – 58.0 (5th)                      
Field Goal Pct. -- .429 (4th)          
Field Goal Pct. Defense -- .393 (14th)      
3FGM per Game – 5.7 (7th)      
Rebound Margin -- +5.8 (2nd)                                   
Turnover Margin -- +2.75 (4th)                  
 
POLING PROLIFIC FROM BEYOND THE ARC AT SETON HILL
Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) scored a career-high 23 points on Monday at Seton Hill. Most encouraging, the 5'9" junior made 7-of-8 3-pointers, with the lone miss coming on a heave at the buzzer. She was 8-of-11 overall from the floor. Poling came into the game making 9-of-32 shots from beyond the arc. The big effort boosted Poling to 7.4 ppg.
 
DOGAN RULING THE GLASS
Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) pulled down 10 rebounds at Seton Hill, her fifth straight game with 10-or-more rebounds. The 6'0" senior has now had six games of 10-or-more rebounds. Dogan previously had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season against Mercyhurst. With Dogan leading the way, Gannon outrebounded Mercyhurst 39-27, including a 13-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. She has been named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for back-to-back weeks.
 
TORI ON THE ROAD BACK
Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) has picked a good time to prove she's getting closer to being the player she was before a season-ending knee injury a year ago. Gannon's leading scorer and rebounder in 2019-20, Obenrader missed the last nine games of the 2020-21 season with the injury. She was averaging 12.6 ppg. and 7.0 rpg. at the time after showing figures of 16.9 ppg. and 8.2 rpg. in '19-20. The 5'11" junior made her return to the hardcourt vs. Bluefield State, playing 14 minutes. She finished with six points and six rebounds. While starting slow, Obenrader has scored in double figures in each of the last four games, including a season-high 18 points vs. Mercyhurst. She was making just her second start of the season. Obenrader played a season-high 33 minutes and matched her high of 7 rebounds for the year. She made 10-of-12 free throws. Obenrader was a first team All-PSAC West selection in 2019-20 and the MVP of the PSAC Tournament, in addition to being named the 2018-19 PSAC West Freshman of the Year. She has boosted her career totals to 941 points and 553 rebounds.
 
IS WRIGHT'S EFFORT THE PLAY OF THE YEAR?
Playing shorthanded, Gannon needed a play late to extend its winning streak to six straight games. Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) provided that play. After trailing Mercyhurst 56-53 with a minute to play, Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) hit a pair of free throws to pull the Golden Knights within a point. Wright then came up with the biggest play of the game and maybe the year. The graduate student blocked a short jumper by Emily Shopene, then hustled to gather the rebound near the baseline. She was fouled on the play, and calmly stepped to the line and made both free throws with 23 seconds left to give Gannon a 57-56 advantage. Gannon went on to score the final seven points of the game to win 60-56. Wright ended the night with 11 points, 6 rebounds and one very big block while matching her season high with 38 minutes.
 
NATION ENJOYS CAREER GAME
McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) came off the bench to provide Gannon with some much-needed interior play in the win over Mercyhurst. A 6'2" sophomore, Nation played a career-high 21 minutes, while matching her career-best with 6 points and pulling down a career-high 7 rebounds. She added a pair of blocked shots.   
 
GANNON RANKED IN BOTH NATIONAL POLLS
The Gannon women's basketball team is ranked in both NCAA Division II national polls while running off six straight wins. The Golden Knights remained 15th in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and 17th in the D2SIDA Division II Top 25. Gannon has been ranked as high as seventh in the WBCA poll and ninth in the D2SIDA rankings. Gannon was chosen the preseason favorite in the PSAC West, edging Indiana (Pa.) in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. Gannon and IUP each received four first place votes, but the Golden Knights received more overall points.
 
GANNON SEES STREAK OF 78 GAMES WITH A 3-POINTER SNAPPED
After making 27 3-pointers in the previous three games, and at least three 3-pointers in every game to start the 2021-22 season, Gannon misfired on all nine of its shots from behind the 3-point arc against Mercyhurst. It snapped a string of 78 straight games with at least one 3-pointer. The last time Gannon failed to hit a 3-pointer was at Bloomsburg on December 1, 2018. The Golden Knights went 0-for-15 on 3-pointers that day.
 
2021-22 IN A WORD – ADVERSITY
It's a word that head coach Cleve Wright has used on more than one occasion this year to describe the early portion of the 2021-22 season. The veteran coach has made sure his team ignores a series of injuries and a tough early-season schedule to maintain Gannon's winning tradition. Most recently, the Golden Knights have had to make do without a true point guard against Mercyhurst and Seton Hill. In addition, leading scorer Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) suffered an injury at Shepherd and has battled injury and illness since. After averaging 21.8 ppg. to lead the PSAC in scoring through four games, the 5'10" sophomore has missed three full games and has been less than 100 percent in the others. She is averaging 8.2 ppg. over her last five outings. Gannon also was without team leader and senior Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) for the first four games of the season as she recovered from a knee injury.
 
DOGAN BATTLES BIG BALD EAGLE SQUAD AS KNIGHTS OVERCOME SLOW START
With Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) at less than 100 percent and Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) out, Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) was forced to battle a Lock Haven squad that featured numerous interior players with plenty of size. After a slow start, the 6'0" senior fell one point shy of her career high with 20 points. She made 8-of-12 3-pointers, including her second career 3-pointer, and was 3-for-3 at the line. Dogan added four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
 
WRIGHT, PIROSKO EARN BACK-TO-BACK PSAC WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week for her performance in the Shepherd and Shippensburg games. Wright led Gannon with 17 points in the Ship win, matching her career high, adding seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Seven of her points came in the decisive fourth quarter. She scored 11 points at Shepherd, but more importantly, held Abby Beeman, the second-leading scorer in the PSAC, to just eight points, all in the fourth quarter. Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) was the PSAC West Athlete of the Week the previous week. The 5'10" sophomore led Gannon to wins over Lynn and host Florida Southern in the Terrace Hotel Thanksgiving Classic. She scored 27 points against Florida Southern, her fourth straight game in double digits and the second game with 20-or-more points. In 29 minutes, she made 9-of-12 field goals, including her lone 3-point attempt, while going a perfect 8-for-8 at the line. She added four rebounds, an assist and a steal. The day before, the native of Eastlake, Ohio had 13 points, five rebounds, and six steals.   
 
WRIGHT IN 14TH SEASON AS GANNON'S HEAD COACH
Cleve Wright is in his 14th season as Gannon's head coach, and 19th overall as a head coach. He is actually in his second stint at Gannon. He enjoyed tremendous success while guiding the Golden Knights from 2002-13, posting a 233-100 record with five NCAA Tournament appearances and a PSAC title. After four seasons as the head coach at Miami (Ohio) and another two years as the associate head coach at Eastern Illinois, Wright returned to Gannon in 2019-20. He guided GU to a 25-6 ledger in his return, with the Golden Knights defeating seventh-ranked IUP, 50-40, in the PSAC Championship game. On the eve of hosting half of the bracket of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, the pandemic shut everything down. Wright owns an overall record of 316-196 and is 281-109 at Gannon.
 
WELCOME BACK SYDNEY
After missing the first four contests of the season, Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) returned to action on the eastern trip to Shepherd and Shippensburg. Mitchell, in just her second game of the season at Shippensburg, scored 14 points and five boards. She made 4-of-8 field goals, including 2-of-3 3-pointers, and was 4-of-4 at the line in 18 minutes. The night before she made her season debut at Shepherd, playing 19 minutes and contributing eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. The 5'11" senior entered the season a starter in 78 games in her career, including a 76 in a row leading into 2021-22. She averaged 10.6 ppg last season, along with 3.9 apg. and 2.0 spg. last season.
 
KNIGHTS SINK SHIPPENSBURG WITH SECOND-HALF RALLY
Gannon suffered its first loss of the season at Shepherd, and the Golden Knights trailed for much of the game at Shippensburg. They were behind at the half 30-19, and still trailed by eight late in the third quarter before closing to 43-39 after three periods. After outscoring the Raiders 20-13 in the third, 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. After making just one of their first 16 3-point attempts, the Knights made four of their last five from beyond the arc, beginning with Emily Poling's (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) three to tie the score at 48-48. Leading 51-50, Gannon went on an 11-0 run. The Raiders never pulled closer than nine points after that. The Golden Knights forced 25 turnovers, and after committing 15 turnovers in the first half, they were guilty of just three in the second half.
 
DOGAN RECORDS CAREER HIGHS VS. LYNN
Simply put, Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) was a beast in the paint for Gannon against Lynn. The 6'0" senior posted career highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds as GU came away with a 64-59 victory. She made 9-of-13 field goals, including the first 3-pointer of her career, and was 2-for-2 at the line. She added two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
 
WRIGHT ADDS FORMER KNIGHT BATTS, BRAUN AS ASSISTANT COACHES
Cleve Wright added a pair of assistant coaches to his staff late this summer. His staff is now comprised of former Gannon standout Brittany Batts, plus Allison Braun, who was a standout at McDowell High School. Batts played for the Lady Knights from 2011-15, currently ranking 20th in career scoring with 1,152 points while appearing in 125 games. She holds the top two season figures for 3-pointers made with 102 in 2012-13 and 93 in 2013-14. She ranks second in career 3-pointers made (286) and attempts (688) and is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.416). Batts helped lead the Lady Knights to a 102-24 record and four NCAA postseason appearances. She has already worked as an assistant coach at the Division I, II, and III levels while in the early stages of her coaching career. She joins the Lady Knights after working as an assistant at Division I Chicago State last year. Prior to that, she was a member of the Shepherd coaching staff in 2018-19 and 2019-20.  She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Castelton University in 2015, then moved on to Bridgewater College (Va.) in 2017-18. Braun joins the Gannon staff after serving as an assistant coach at SUNY Cortland the last three years. During the 2019-20 season she was part of Cortland's coaching contingent that was named the SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year. The Red Dragons finished 22-7, advanced to the finals of the SUNYAC tournament, earned an NCAA Division III tournament at-large bid. Braun played four years at Division I Canisius College from 2009-13. She was voted as the team's Most Valuable Player by her teammates in both her junior and senior years. Braun appeared in 108 career games, with 53 starts.
 
GU SIGNS PAIR OF RECRUITS
Head coach Cleve Wright and his staff signed a pair of recruits to national letters of intent recently, grabbing both from the Buckeye state. Briana Claxon is a 5'7" guard from South Webster (Ohio) High School, while Andrea Maibach is a 6'2" forward from Norwayne (Ohio) High School. Claxon is a two-time All-Ohio selection who averaged 24.4 ppg. as a junior. Maibach has led Norwayne in rebounding the last two years, with a 23-3 finish a year ago.
 
SCOUTING INDIANA(PA)
IUP opened the season with nine straight wins before a 67-58 loss to Shepherd on December 18. The next day, the Crimson Hawks defeated a Shippensburg team picked to win the PSAC East, 79-46. They have not played since, having games with Lock Haven and Mercyhurst postponed. Head coach Tom McConnell's team owns a 10-1 record and is 4-1 in the PSAC West. The Crimson Hawks are ranked 12th in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25.  They are scoring 71.1 ppg., good for third in the PSAC, but are very stingy defensively. IUP leads the PSAC and ranks fourth in Division II in scoring defense at 50.5 ppg. and also limit opponents to 31.6 percent shooting from the floor, which stands second nationally. In addition, IUP has been dominant on the glass. They have a +11.7 rebounding margin which leads the PSAC and is third in the country. Two Crimson Hawks are scoring in double figures. Courtney Alexander, a 5'10" redshirt senior, leads the way at 14.4 ppg. She has made 39-of-109 3-pointers. She scored a career-high 31 points while making a school-record nine 3-pointers against Shippensburg. However, she was injured in the game and may not be available for the Gannon game. Justina Muscaro, a 5'11" redshirt senior, adds 13.9 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor. A former   transfer from Delaware, she was a first team All-PSAC West selection in her first season at IUP in 2019-20, averaging 14.2 ppg.  Six-foot redshirt senior Maura D'Anna adds 7.4 ppg. and a team-leading 6.7 rpg., along with 14 blocks.
 
NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon was scheduled to play Slippery Rock on Wednesday, January 19. SRU has gone on a pause due to COVID, forcing postponement of that contest. The Golden Knights will now take the court on Saturday, January 22 at East Stroudsburg.
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Delaney Dogan

#54 Delaney Dogan

G/F
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
Sydney Mitchell

#23 Sydney Mitchell

G
5' 11"
Senior
Tori Obenrader

#25 Tori Obenrader

G/F
5' 11"
Junior
Samantha Pirosko

#44 Samantha Pirosko

C/F
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
Emily Poling

#20 Emily Poling

G
5' 9"
Junior
McKel Nation

#50 McKel Nation

F
6' 2"
Freshman
Emma Wright

#13 Emma Wright

G
5' 10"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Delaney Dogan

#54 Delaney Dogan

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
G/F
Sydney Mitchell

#23 Sydney Mitchell

5' 11"
Senior
G
Tori Obenrader

#25 Tori Obenrader

5' 11"
Junior
G/F
Samantha Pirosko

#44 Samantha Pirosko

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
C/F
Emily Poling

#20 Emily Poling

5' 9"
Junior
G
McKel Nation

#50 McKel Nation

6' 2"
Freshman
F
Emma Wright

#13 Emma Wright

5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
G