ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon University women's basketball team, trailing by as many as 18 points, staged a furious comeback against Indiana (Pa.) at the Highmark Events Center—closing to within four points with 2:41 to play—but could not complete the comeback, falling to the Crimson Hawks 70-59. The Knights' record moves to 18-5 overall (13-5 PSAC West) while IUP improves to 17-6 overall (11-6 PSAC West.)
 
Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) caught fire in the second quarter, draining a trio of three-pointers en route to 13 points in the period. Obenrader finished with a game-high 19 points and also led the Knights in rebounding with eight, including six on the offensive glass. Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) chipped in with 16 points (5-of-10 from the floor), five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 35 minutes.
 
The IUP trio of Justina Mascaro and Rajah Fink (16 points each) in addition to Kiera Baughman (14) led the way for the Hawks, who built an eight-point lead after the first quarter and extended it to an 11-point gap after Maura D'Anna hit a jumper with 8 minutes left to play in the second. That's when Obenrader began to heat up, scoring 11 of Gannon's next 13 points to bring the Knights within six at halftime.
 
The Crimson Hawks stormed out of the locker room with a 12-0 run to begin the third quarter, capped by a Mascaro three to put them up by 18 with 6:07 left. The Golden Knights trailed by 15 points heading into the fourth quarter, and—as the team did earlier this week against UPJ and Mercyhurst—fought back valiantly to get back in the game. Mitchell hit back-to-back three pointers to shrink the gap to 11 with 7:54 remaining in the game.
 
The Knights went into attack mode, forcing the ball into the post and drawing fouls. The next six points came from the free throw line, including Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) sinking a pair to make it 59-51. Layups from Mitchell and Obenrader in the paint later brought Gannon within four points, 60-56, but IUP closed the game on a 10-3 run to secure the Hawks' 70-59 win.

Over 30 alumni from the women's basketball program were honored at halftime of the game, celebrating their accomplishments as well as supporting the 2009-2010 team who finished that season 37-1 and was inducted into the Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday evening.

Check out some highlights from today's women's basketball game and some comments from head coach Cleve Wright about welcoming back over 30 alumni in addition to the '09-10 team's induction tonight into the Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/UTXiClMitx

— Gannon Athletics (@GUKnights) February 13, 2022

 
The 2021-2022 squad remains in Erie County for its next contest, a road matchup with the Edinboro Fighting Scots on Monday, February 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Golden Knights defeated Edinboro 82-70 back on Feb. 2 in the previous meeting this season.