EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The No. 19-ranked Gannon women's basketball team opened up a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and never looked back in a 76-57 road win over East Stroudsburg in PSAC crossover action on Saturday at the Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
Following the win, Gannon has now won eight of its last nine games to improve to 12-2 on the season, including a 7-2 mark in PSAC play. ESU falls to 1-13 on the season (0-11 PSAC).
 
Gannon scored 29 first-quarter points and stretched its advantage to 46-25 after two quarters of play. The Knights were able to build their 21-point halftime lead with a stingy defense that forced 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. Gannon turned those miscues into 19 points on the offensive end. GU also had 10 second-chance points in the opening half.
 
For the game, Gannon shot 47.6 percent from the floor (30-of-63) and cashed in with a 13-for-19 performance from the charity stripe. The Knights also had a 39-34 rebounding advantage, which included 10 offensive rebounds. Gannon scored 50 points in the paint.
 
Gannon's defense wrapped up its performance with 20 forced turnovers in the game, which turned into 25 points on the offensive end. The Knights also limited the Warriors to just 19-of-52 (36.5%) from the floor, with eight of ESU's field goals coming from behind the arc (ESU had just 14 points in the paint).
 
The Knights had 11 players hit the scoresheet on Saturday afternoon, including a team-high 15 points, four rebounds and two blocks from Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North). McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) also came off the bench and chipped in 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Nation also chipped in four rebounds and two steals. Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) led Gannon in the paint by recording her fourth double-double of the season on Saturday afternoon, finishing the game with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Dogan has now recorded double-digit rebounds in six of the last seven games.
 
Ali Benim (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) rounded out Gannon's double-figure scorers with 10 points in the win – with each of her points coming in the opening half. Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) also scored nine points for the Golden Knights, while Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) added seven. Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) passed out seven assists.
 
ESU got a double-double from Izzy Vogel with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Ryan Weise (11) and Carley Adams (10) also reached double-figures for the Warriors.
 
Gannon will return to the court in just over 48 hours with a PSAC West showdown at California (PA). Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday evening.