ERIE, Pa. – The No. 25-ranked Gannon women's basketball team scored 25 points in the final 6:01 of Monday's game and rallied past Pitt-Johnstown, 66-61, at the Hammermill Center.
With the win, Gannon avenged an early season loss to UPJ and improved to 17-4 overall and 12-4 in PSAC play. The Mountain Cats fell to 9-13 overall and 7-9 in the league.
The Knights used a balanced offense with five double-figure scorers in the victory.
Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) and
Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) turned in matching stat lines with 12 points and six rebounds apiece to lead Gannon. The Knights also got 11 points, six rebounds and four assists from
Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) and
Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) finished the evening with 11 points, three assists and three steals.
McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) finished with 10 points and four rebounds, while
Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) chipped in eight points and five steals defensively.
Gannon managed just 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from the floor and turned the ball over 12 times in the opening half, and as a result, the Mountain Cats took a 28-20 advantage to the locker room. UPJ shot nearly 40 percent from the floor and scored eight points off turnovers in the half.
With UPJ leading by eight, 33-25, just three minutes into the third quarter, the Knights outscored the 'Cats 13-7 over the remaining seven minutes to close the margin to just two. The stretch began with a key 3-pointer from Mitchell and Nation made back-to-back layups on Gannon's final two possessions of the third quarter.
During the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, UPJ outscored the Knights 7-3 and regained a six-point lead at the 7:40 mark. Peyton Alazaus scored five of UPJ's seven points during the stretch.
Still leading by six (49-43) at the 5:31 mark following a layup by Ashley Norling, Gannon took over with a 12-2 run of its own that gave the Knights a 55-51 advantage with just over a minute to play. Wright and Mitchell keyed the stretch with timely 3-pointers.
UPJ cut Gannon's lead to just one at the 1:02 mark, 0:38 mark and 0:18 mark, but each time the Golden Knights kept the lead with points on the offensive end. GU capitalized with a 9-of-10 performance from the charity stripe during the final 62 seconds of the game, with Poling and Obenrader combining for 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the closing (:12) seconds that allowed Gannon to put UPJ away with a 66-61 final.
During final 4:27 of the game, the Knights outscored the Mountain Cats 23-12. During the stretch, Gannon forced seven turnovers and recorded five steals. Mitchell recorded four of her five steals in the final 2:26 of the second half.
For the game, Gannon shot 42 percent from the floor and went 6-of-15 from three-point range. Pitt-Johnstown shot 44 percent on the evening. The Knights held a 32-26 rebounding advantage, including an 11-6 edge on the offensive glass.
The Golden Knights finished the game with 21 points off turnovers and 15 second-chance points.
Olivia Fasick led four double-figure scorers for UPJ with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Alazaus finished the evening with 13 points.
Gannon will take the short trip to Mercyhurst on Wednesday evening for another PSAC West battle. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.
