ERIE, Pa. – Sometimes, you just have to grind out games. Despite going 0-for-9 from three-point range, the No. 15/17-ranked Gannon University women's basketball team held on against rival Mercyhurst, 60-56, to win its sixth-straight game after a 7-0 run in the final minute of the game. The Golden Knights improve to 10-1 overall (5-1 PSAC) while the Lakers fall to 5-7 overall (3-3 PSAC) after a game that featured 18 lead changes.
 
Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) earned her second start of the 2021-2022 season and responded with a game-high 18 points (10-of-12 from the free throw line), seven rebounds, and two assists. Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) led Gannon with 38 minutes played and added 11 points and six rebounds, while Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) was also a force in the post (11 points, 10 rebounds) to earn her third double-double of the season. The Knights out-rebounded Mercyhurst 39-27, including 13-3 on the offensive glass. The Knights added six blocks, seven steals, and scored 19 points off 20 Lakers turnovers.

Some late-night highlights and post-game reaction from women's basketball's 60-56 victory over Mercyhurst... featuring comments from senior Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda), junior Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion), and head coach Cleve Wright! pic.twitter.com/spNyCy97cY

— Gannon Athletics (@GUKnights) January 6, 2022

 
Wright was in attack mode from the opening tip, scoring two quick buckets, including a driving layup to give the knights a 6-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Mercyhurst rattled off a 7-0 run to take an 11-6 lead, but Gannon responded with a 6-0 run of its own that spanned into the second quarter, capped by an Obenrader jumper to give the lead back to the Knights, 12-11.
 
A dry shooting spell from Gannon let Mercyhurst build a seven-point lead, 21-14, after a pair of Meghan Komandarek free throws. The Knights responded with a 7-0 run, tying the game with a Wright free throw with 2:03 left in the half. Obenrader scored all seven of her first-half points in the second quarter, including a pair of layups and a free throw with 1:07 remaining to put the Knights in front, 24-23. Despite shooting 9-for-28 from the floor and 0-for-4 from three-point range in the first half, Gannon trailed the Lakers by just a point at halftime, 25-24, after Mercyhurst's Julia Buchman sank a jumper with 24 seconds to send her team into the locker room with the lead.
 
Obenrader's strong play continued into a back-and-forth third quarter, scoring seven points, including a layup with 35 seconds remaining to give the Knights a 42-41 advantage.
 
Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) helped keep the game tight in the fourth quarter, scoring four straight points (a bucket and a pair of free throws) to tie the game at 48 with 7:08 left to play. Dogan added two field goals after strong moves in the post to give Gannon a 53-51 lead with 3:38 left, but Mercyhurst countered with a Julia Buchman three pointer and a circus layup from Jayde Boyd to give the Lakers a 56-53 advantage with 1:03 left in the game.
 
Obenrader was fouled with 47.9 on the clock and converted both free throws to bring her team within a point. The Knights' defense came through in the clutch after that, with Wright forcing a turnover and drawing a foul from Emily Shopene. Wright coolly sank both from the line to give Gannon a one-point lead, 57-56, and another great defensive sequence—this time headlined by Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance)—led to another Lakers turnover and foul. Poling made both free throws to push the Knights lead to three points.
 
The ensuing Mercyhurst possession sent Boyd to the line, but she missed both and a critical defensive rebound from Dogan on the second miss (and a made free throw at the other end) gave Gannon the 60-56 lead, capping a 7-0 run in the final minute to seal the victory.

The short rotation from Gannon on the evening also included critical court time for Margo Loutzenhiser (Russell, Pa./Warren Area) (20 minutes, four points) and McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) (21 minutes, six points, seven rebounds, two blocks.)
 
The Lakers were led offensively by Boyd (15 points on 6-of-15 from the field), Buchman (nine points and a team-high three assists), and Grace Centrulla (nine points and seven rebounds.)
 
With the postponement of Saturday's game at Edinboro, the Golden Knights now look ahead to a matchup at Seton Hill (10-4 overall, 4-1 PSAC) on Monday, Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m.