ERIE, Pa. – The No. 14-ranked Gannon women's basketball team improved to 15-3 on the season with a 74-62 win over Slippery Rock on Monday evening at the Hammermill Center.
The Golden Knights were led by four double-figure scorers in the win, getting a team-high 19 points from
Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) following a 6-of-10 shooting performance.
Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) also chipped in 12 points, while
Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) scored 11 points to go with six rebounds. Each of Obenrader's points came in the first half.
Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) also scored 10 for the Knights.
With the win, Gannon improved to 10-3 in PSAC play and 8-0 at the Hammermill Center. Slippery Rock lost its fourth-straight game and fell to 10-7 overall, including 5-6 in conference play.
Slippery Rock led by seven after one quarter and added a field goal to take a 24-15 lead at the 9:25 mark of the second quarter. However, Gannon responded with a quick 12-0 run over the next three and half minutes to take the lead for good at the 6:35 mark of the quarter. The 12-0 run was sparked by five points from
McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) and a 3-pointer from Mitchell.
The Lady Knights pushed their lead to seven (35-28) following a three by
Ali Benim (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) and layup by Obenrader on back-to-back possessions with 1:42 to play in the first half. Slippery Rock responded, though, with two layups and a 3-pointer in the closing 1:27 of the half to narrow the halftime margin to just three (38-35). Pirosko gave the Knights the three-point halftime cushion and sent the team to the locker room with some momentum following a layup with five seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Slippery Rock's Anyah Curd knotted the game at the 9:22 mark of the third quarter on a 3-pointer, but Gannon followed with a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to put the Knights up 48-38. The run was sparked by a three from Wright and a three-point play by Pirosko at the 6:50 mark.
The Rock once again answered though, this time with a 9-2 run that lasted nearly four minutes. The SRU stretch was keyed by seven points from Deleah Gibson and was capped by a jumper from Daeja Quick.
With Gannon clinging to a 50-47 lead with 2:37 to play, the Knights closed the third quarter with a layup from Pirosko and a three from Wright to enter the fourth quarter with a 55-47 advantage.
In the fourth, the Rock got within six at 68-62 with just 1:13 to play, but Gannon went 6-6 from the free throw line and a trio of Slippery Rock threes rimmed off in the final 32 seconds to allow the Knights to close out the 12-point victory, 74-62.
Statistically, both teams shot just over 40 percent from the field (42.6% for Gannon, 41.2% for Rock). Gannon, however, went 21-of-22 from the free throw line and scored 19 points off 17 SRU turnovers in the victory.
The visitors held a 33-29 rebounding advantage and made 10 three-pointers in the losing effort.
Jamiyah Johnson led Slippery Rock with 17 points and 19 rebounds. Gibson also chipped in 17 points.
Gannon will remain at home for a matchup against cross-county rival Edinboro on Wednesday evening at the Hammermill Center. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.
