Claxon vs. D'Youville
Bryce Dolak
43
D'Youville DYO 1-1,0-0 ECC
53
Winner Gannon Gannon 3-0,0-0 PSAC
D'Youville DYO
1-1,0-0 ECC
43
Final
53
Gannon Gannon
3-0,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
D'Youville DYO 17 5 14 7 43
Gannon Gannon 12 7 15 19 53

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

Gannon Roars Back Behind Defense, Bench Play for 53-43 Win over D'Youville

ERIE, Pa ... After trailing for the better part of three quarters the Gannon women's basketball team used a dominant fourth quarter to improve to 3-0 with a 53-43 win over D'Youville. The Saints fell to 1-1. Gannon came into the game ranked 16th in the latest D2SIDA Division II Top 25. The Golden Knights were playing for the third time in five days.

The contest featured a matchup of Gannon head coach Cleve Wright, who won his 298th game in charge of the Golden Knights, against former assistant coach Ali Bouman, who is in her first season as the head coach at D'Youville. Bouman was an assistant coach at Gannon from 2019-21.

For much of the game it appeared the pupil was going to get the better of the mentor. At one point the Saints led 20-12, and they entered the third quarter with a 36-34 lead. Then came the decisive fourth quarter as Gannon used a tenacious defense to hold D'Youville without a point for a four-minute stretch until a 3-pointer fell with just four second remaining.

Gannon would outscore D'Youville 19-7 over the final 10 minutes, holding the Saints to just three field goals in 14 attempts and forcing seven turnovers. Meanwhile the Golden Knights finally found their shooting touch, draining four big 3-pointers in their next five attempts after going 4-for-24 over the first three quarters.

Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) opened the fourth quarter with a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 36-36 with just over nine minutes remaining. Neither team would score again until the 6:38 mark when Wright nailed a 3-pointer to give Gannon its first lead since midway through the third quarter at 39-36. D'Youville answered with a basket, but Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) followed with another three for a 42-38 lead with 5:54 remaining.

D'Youville's Haley Kirisits hit a jumper in the paint to close the score to 42-40 with 4:03 left to play, but it would be the final point for the Saints until the final seconds. Gannon ran off the next 11 points with bench performers Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) and Madison Demski (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria) playing a huge role.

Demski's three form the left wing made it 45-40, and Claxon added a line-drive triple to extend the lead to 48-40 with 3:20 remaining. Claxon, a freshman guard, scored in the paint for a 50-40 lead, and then made one-of-two free throws with 1:18 remaining. Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) capped the spurt with a runner in the lane and Gannon led 53-40 with 13 seconds left.

Gannon ended the night shooting 37.0 percent from the floor (20-of-54), helped buy a 7-of-12 effort in the final quarter. The Golden Knights made 8-of-30 3-pointers and went 5-of-8 at the line. The Gannon defense limited D'Youville to 34.0 percent from the floor (18-of-53), going 3-of-14 from beyond the arc and 4-of-6 at the line.

The Saints held a 40-30 advantage on the glass but were forced into 24 turnovers. Gannon committed 18 turnovers but just four in the second half. When it was all said and done Gannon outscored D'Youville 22-11 on turnovers.

The Golden Knights also held a 15-0 advantage in bench points, all by Claxon and Demski. Claxon scored eight points and had three steals while hounding D'Youville point guard Stella Mollica. Demski, a 6'2" graduate student who previously played at Holy Cross, scored seven points, pulled down four rebounds and blocked a pair of shots in 19 minutes.

Sam Pirokso led Gannon with 13 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Wright was also in double figures with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. She also had three assists.

Brianne Moxley led all scorers with 18 points for D'Youville. Anna Jankovic had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Gannon now hits the highway for the first time in a contest that was originally scheduled to be played at Gannon on Sunday, November 20. The Golden Knights will now play at Walsh on Saturday, November 19 at 5:00 p.m. It's a matchup of 2022 NCAA playoff teams, with Gannon finishing at 24-7 and Walsh reaching the Midwest Regional final and finishing at 28-5. The Cavaliers are off to a 2-0 start and are receiving votes in the D2SIDA poll.
 
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