Mike Gallagher
54
Gannon Gannon 4-1,0-1 PSAC
55
Winner Kutztown Kutz 2-4,1-0 PSAC
Gannon Gannon
4-1,0-1 PSAC
54
Final
55
Kutztown Kutz
2-4,1-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 19 13 9 13 54
Kutztown Kutz 12 16 13 14 55

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

Pirosko Scores 23 Points but Golden Knights Fall by a Point in PSAC Semifinal Rematch with Kutztown

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team tasted defeat for the first time in 2022-23 as the Golden Knights lost a tough 55-54 decision at Kutztown to open PSAC play. The Golden Knights are now 6-1 and 0-1 in conference play while Kutztown improved to 2-4 and 0-1.

The contest was a rematch of last year's PSAC semifinal game also played at Kutztown. Gannon would upset the Eastern Division regular season champion Golden Bears 55-47 and go on to win its second straight PSAC championship. Kutztown came in with a deceiving 1-4 record after being picked to finish first in the PSAC East coaches preseason poll. The Golden Bears finished with the most wins in school history a year ago at 26-7 and returned most of the squad.

Gannon came in with six straight wins to open the season, the most since 2013-14. The Golden Knights had climbed to a tie for 15th in the WBCA Division II Top 25 and were eighth in the latest D2SIDA Top 25. Head coach Cleve Wright's team looked every bit the part early on, jumping out to a 17-7 lead just five minutes into the game.

Turnovers and Kutztown's signature defense starting bogging down the Gannon attack. Gannon led 19-12 after one period and 32-28 at the half, but the Golden Bears finally caught up with just under four minutes left in the third quarter at 37-37 on Casey Remolde's two free throws. Gannon regained the lead on a layup by Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) and a Madison Demski (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria) hook shot, but Remolde's three with 1:38 left tied it at 41-41. Neither team would score the rest of the period.

Kutztown took its first lead of the night at 43-41 on Annie Whalen's layup following a turnover. The Golden Knights regained the lead at 47-45 on Delaney Dogan's (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) layup and a steal and layup by Pirosko with 6:59 remaining.

Gannon would not lead again as Kutztown went on a 7-1 run to go up 52-48 with 3:43 left to play. Whalen accounted for the last five points with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer.

The Golden Knights pulled to within a point at 52-51 with 1:41 left on a Pirosko layup, but the Golden Knights had a turnover and a miss on their next two possessions. Kutztown's Zara Zerman converted on a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining for a 54-51 lead.

Following a timeout, Emma Wright's (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) contested 3-pointer was missed and Remolde pulled down the rebound. She would make a pair of free throws with six seconds to play and Gannon trailed by four at 55-51. Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) knocked down a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left but the Golden Knights were unable to come up with a steal on the inbounds.

Gannon gained an early 10-point advantage just five minutes into the contest. Demski's layup at 5:07 made it 17-7 as the Golden Knights pounded the ball inside. Gannon would hit a dry spell and not score again until a McKinney steal led to a Wright jumper in the paint with four seconds remaining.

The Golden Knights led 19-12 after one period with Pirosko making 4-of-6 shots for eight points and Dogan adding a pair of buckets. Both teams struggled with turnovers in the opening period, Gannon with five and Kutztown with seven.

Gannon's offensive struggles continues in the second quarter with the exception of a pair of Wright 3-pointer's over the first six minutes. In fact, Wright's hoops were the only baskets by Gannon until Pirosko's spinning layup with 1:19 remaining.

That bucket gave Gannon a 29-26 lead after the Golden Bears had pulled to within a point thanks to four straight points by Naia Pulliam. Pirosko would score Gannon's final seven points, the last on a layup at the buzzer to give Gannon a 32-28 lead at the half. Pirosko finished the first 20 minutes with 15 points while Wright had eight.

After making 9-of-15 shots in the first quarter Gannon would make just 11 of 38 shots the rest of the way. The Golden Knights finished at 37.7 percent (20-of-53) for the game, making 4-of-15 3-pointers. They were 10-of-15 at the line. Gannon did most of its damage in the paint, outscoring Kutztown 32-18.

Kutztown wasn't much better as Gannon held the Golden Bears to 38.8 percent (17-of-44) from the floor, but the Golden Bears made 7-of-18 3-pointers and went 14-of-17 at the line.

Gannon held a 32-30 advantage on the glass, including 13 offensive boards. Kutztown committed 18 turnovers and Gannon 17.

Pirosko had her second game of 20-or-more points this season as the senior forward finished with 23 points to boost her career total to 962 points. She made 9-of-17 field goals and went 5-of-7 at the line. Pirosko also led the Golden Knights with nine rebounds before fouling out late in the game.

Dogan was also in double figures with 10 points, adding three steals. She made 4-of-7 field goals. Wright added eight points, all in the first half.

Kutztown featured three players in double figures. Zerman led the way with 14 points, adding team-highs of six rebounds and five assists. Whalen added 12 points and Remolde had 11 points, nine in the second half, along with six boards.

Gannon's two-game eastern swing to begin PSAC play continues on Saturday as the Golden Knights travel to West Chester. Tipoff at Hollinger Field House is 5:30 p.m.   
 
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