Gannon 2021-22
73
Winner Gannon Gannon 21-5,16-5 PSAC
47
Slippery Rock SRU 11-14,6-13 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
21-5,16-5 PSAC
73
Final
47
Slippery Rock SRU
11-14,6-13 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 15 18 25 15 73
Slippery Rock SRU 12 11 9 15 47

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

Efficient Gannon Pulls Away from Slippery Rock for 73-47 Road Win

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Gannon shot a season-high 60.4 percent from the floor while holding Slippery Rock to 30.9 percent on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Knights recorded a 73-47 win at Morrow Field House. Now riding a three-game winning streak, Gannon is 21-5 overall and 16-5 in the PSAC West as they look to secure one of two first-round byes in the upcoming PSAC Tournament. The loss dealt Slippery Rock's playoff hopes a severe blow as The Rock is now 11-14 and 6-13 in conference play.

A bus issue forced the game to start a half hour late, and the contest was tight after one period with Gannon holding a 15-12 advantage. Slippery Rock scored the opening backet of the game, its lone lead of the contest. The Rock was unable to overcome a highly efficient effort by the Golden Knights. They made 29 of 48 shots on the afternoon, including 7 of 16 3-pointers. Gannon recorded assists on 20 of those 29 baskets.

Gannon began to take control midway through the second quarter, with Samantha Pirokso's layup breaking a 19-19 tied and sending the Golden Knights off on a 10-0 run. Ali Benim (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) followed with a jumper, and Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) hit a long three from the top of the key for a 26-19 advantage. Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) capped the run with another 3-pointer to make it 29-19.

Slippery Rock would break a four-minute scoring drought on a pair of Jamiyah Johnson layups, the latter coming at the 2:53 mark of the second quarter. SRU would not score again in the half, with Pirosko draining a three and Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) making one of two free throws to give Gannon a 33-23 lead at intermission.

Any comeback hopes SRU may have had were dashed in the third quarter as Gannon enjoyed one of its best ten minutes of the season. The Golden Knights outscored Slippery Rock 25-9 and entered the fourth quarter with a 58-32 advantage. Gannon was near-perfect from the floor in the quarter, making 10 of 12 shots. The Knights were 16 of 23 from the floor in the second half.

Slippery Rock was unable to make a dent into Gannon's lead in the fourth quarter as the Golden Knights won for the ninth time in the last ten meetings. Gannon's lead would grow to as many as 29 points at 73-44 with just under two minutes to play. The Golden Knights have now held three opponents under 50 points this season.

Pirosko paced Gannon with 19 points as nine Golden Knights entered the scoring column. She fell one point shy of her third straight 20-point effort while making 7 of 11 field goals, including her lone 3-point attempt, plus going 4 of 6 at the line. She came in as the leading free shooter in the country, and while she her consecutive streak of 30 free throws made in a row come to and, she started a new one by making her last four. She added a team-high six rebounds, plus two assists and two steals.

Poling and Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) were also in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Poling was 6 of 8 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers, while dishing out six assists and pulling down five rebounds. Mitchell, a senior, moved to with 29 points of 1,000 for her career while making 4 of 7 field goals. She had four assists and two steals. Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) chipped in with nine points.

Daeja Quick and Jamiyah Johnson led Slippery Rock with 12 points apiece. Gannon limited Johnson, one of the leading rebounders in Division II, to just five boards as the Golden Knights gained control of the glass as the game went on. After holding a narrow 16-15 advantage in rebounds at the half, Gannon outrebounded The Rock 20-10 in the second half to end the day with a 36-25 advantage.

Gannon now gets a much-needed break after playing three games a week for the last four weeks. The Golden Knights return home to host Cal U on Saturday, February 26. It will be Senior Day, and the game could also come down to deciding the first round byes in the PSAC Tournament.  
 
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