Samantha Pirosko vs. Mansfield
Bryce Dolak
41
Mansfield MUP 1-5,0-2 PSAC
87
Winner Gannon Gannon 8-2,0-2 PSAC
Mansfield MUP
1-5,0-2 PSAC
41
Final
87
Gannon Gannon
8-2,0-2 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Mansfield MUP 6 17 11 7 41
Gannon Gannon 18 16 25 28 87

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

Pirosko Scores 24 Points and Joins 1,000-Point Club as Gannon Defeats Mansfield 87-41

ERIE, Pa. – Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) scored a game-high 24 points, in the process joining the 1,000-point club, as Gannon defeated Mansfield 87-41 on Wednesday night in a non-conference game at Highmark Events Center. The Golden Knights won their second straight game to improve to 8-2 while Mansfield is now 1-5.The 87 points were a season-high for Golden Knights, while holding their third opponent to less than 45 points.

Gannon used a pair of big runs to put away the Mountaineers while dominating play in the second half. The Golden Knights outscored Mansfield 53-18 over the final 20 minutes, including a 42-10 run over the final 14-plus minutes. Gannon scored the final 18 points of the game and held Mansfield without a basket for the final six-and-a-half minutes of the contest.

Pirosko became the 31st Golden Knight to reach 1,000 career points. The redshirt senior came in 10 points shy of the mark and reached the plateau when she took an inbounds pass from Faith Williams (Grafton, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) and scored on a layup with 1:42 remaining in the second quarter.

Pirosko ended the game with 24 points, her third game with 20-or-more points, and now has 1,014 career points. She made 11-of-14 shots and both of her free throw attempts, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Pirosko has now scored in double figures in nine straight games.



Four Golden Knights reached double digits, with freshman Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) matching her season-high of 14 points. Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) dropped in 12 points, making 3-of-4 3-pointers, and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) had 11. Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, adding a career-high six assists and three steals. McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) came off the bench to pull down a career-best eight rebounds in just ten minutes, while Ali Benim (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) was also a productive reserve with nine points. Madison Demski (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria) contributed eight points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) handed out nine assists for the second straight game.

Jasmine Hilton came in averaging a double-double for Mansfield and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She was the only Mountaineer in double figures.
Gannon shot a season-high 53.7 percent (36-of-67) from the floor, including 56.7 percent (21-of-37) in the second half. The Golden Knights made good on 6-of-20 3-point attempts and were 9-of-13 at the line. Mansfield was held to 26.2 percent (17-of-65) from the floor, going 2-of-13 from beyond the arc, and went 5-of-7 from the line.

Gannon held a 47-35 advantage on the glass and forced 21 turnovers while committing 15. The turnovers and points in the paint became a distinct advantage. Gannon outscored Mansfield 29-8 off turnovers and was able to consistently get the ball inside against the smaller Mountaineers, holding a 50-24 advantage in the paint.

The game started off slowly, with Gannon holding an 8-6 lead midway through the first period. The Golden Knights followed with a 15-0 run, leading 18-6 after one quarter and scoring the first five points of the second quarter to lead 23-6 with 837 remaining in the half.

The Mountaineers hung close, however. Gannon's lead grew to as much as 28-8 but Mansfield scored the final seven points of the half to close to within 34-23 at intermission.

That was as close as Mansfield would get, however. Three straight Pirosko layups to start the second half boosted the lead to 40-23 forcing a Mansfield timeout. The Mountaineers never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way as Gannon outscored the Mountaineers 25-11 in the third quarter and 28-7 in the fourth.

Gannon will wrap up its four-game homestand while playing a pair of PSAC games on Sunday and Monday. Shepherd visits Highmark Events Center on December 18 for a 1:00 p.m. contest, followed by a showdown with 7-1 Shippensburg on December 19. That game tips off at 5:30 p.m.  
 
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