13
Sam Santilli
93
Winner Shepherd Shep 25-7,16-6 PSAC
89
Gannon Gannon 24-7,16-6 PSAC
Winner
Shepherd Shep
25-7,16-6 PSAC
93
Final
89
Gannon Gannon
24-7,16-6 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 OT 2 F
Shepherd Shep 13 18 23 21 6 12 93
Gannon Gannon 23 20 16 16 6 8 89

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

Gannon Falls to Shepherd 93-89 in Double Overtime in First Round of Atlantic Regional

GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Gannon women's basketball team saw its season come to a close in heartbreaking fashion in the first round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional. The Golden Knights, the fourth seed, dropped a 93-89 decision in double overtime to fifth-seed Shepherd at Glenville's State's Waco Center.

Gannon ends the year at 24-7 while Shepherd moves on to face Glenville State on Saturday night in the semifinals with a 25-7 ledger.

What looked like a blowout for the Golden Knights turned into a see-saw affair that ended up with 13 ties and 13 lead changes. Gannon charged out to a 19-point lead at 36-17 with 4:46 remaining in the second quarter when Faith Williams (Grafton, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) drained a 3-pointer.

Holding a narrow 17-13 lead late in the first quarter, the Golden Knights would score the final six points of the quarter to take a 23-13 lead after one period, then opened the second quarter with the first eight points for a string of 14 points in a row. Gannon would hold the Rams without a point for almost seven periods spanning parts of the first and second quarters.

After making just 5 of its first 18 shots, Shepherd, the top scoring team in the PSAC, began to find its offense. In particular, the big three of Abby Beeman, Marley McLaughlin, and Sydney Clayton came alive. When the night ended, they would account for 79 of Shepherd's 93 points.
Gannon held a 43-31 lead at intermission as Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) scored 15 points and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) had 12. That offset 17 first-half points by McLaughlin. They limited Beeman to just seven markers.



The PSAC East Athlete of the Year came alive in the second half and two overtime sessions, however. Shepherd opened the third quarter with an 18-4 run, taking its first lead of the night on Hannah Myers' layup with 4:20 remaining as the rams scored 12 points in a row. Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) answered with a tough basket at the other end to knot the game at 49-49.

After that, neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way. Gannon answered Shepherd's run with seven straight points, capped by a Wright three, and would lead 59-54 after three quarters.

As they did to start the second half, the Rams came out on fire in the fourth quarter. They scored the first eight points of the period to forge a 62-59 lead, with Beeman accounting for six of those points. The Golden Knights didn't flinch, however, as a Pirosko layup and Delaney Dogan's (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) 3-point play gave them a 64-62 lead.

The lead was three points at 75-72 with 52 seconds to play in regulation after Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) and Obenrader each made a pair of free throws. Beeman made one of two free throws, and after a turnover, Clayton's layup tied the game at 75-75 with 15 seconds to play. Gannon would turn the ball over again, but Beeman missed a three at the buzzer.

The first overtime was a low-scoring session featuring two ties, two lead changes and turnovers. Once again Gannon would build a three-point lead with just over two minutes to play at 81-78 on a great move inside by Pirosko. The Golden Knights would not score again, turning the ball over three times. Shepherd tied the game at 81-81 on a layup and free throw by Jordan Smith with 56 seconds left. Gannon would miss a three, and the two teams traded turnovers to send the contest into a second overtime period.

The game may have swung in shepherd's favor early in the second overtime when Pirosko was whistled for her fifth personal foul trying to track down a rebound. After a fair of ties, Gannon took an 89-88 lead with 58 seconds left on Wright's 10-foot jumper in the lane. Beeman came racing downcourt and scored on a layup five seconds later to give the Rams the lead for good at 90-89. A Gannon missed a short jumper on its next possession, and Beeman would clinch the game with three free throws in the final 15 seconds.

Gannon was making its 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seventh under head coach Cleve Wright. The game was a rematch of an earlier PSAC crossover meeting in December won by Shepherd, 63-59. In that contest, Pirosko went down early in the second quarter and did not return. The 93 points allowed is the most since a 97-44 loss to Ashland in the 2016-17 season. Gannon's 89 points are the most since a 90-60 win over Bluefield State on February 5, 2021. The last time the Golden Knights played a two-overtime game came in the 2009-10 campaign.

Pirosko and Wright paced Gannon with 25 points apiece. Pirosko, a first team All-PSAC West selection, made 10 of 13 field goals, including her only two 3-point attempts, and was 3 of 4 at the line. She added a team-high eight rebounds.

Wright, the MVP of the PSAC Tournament, did not miss a shot or free throw in the first half for the second straight game, ending the night with a career-high 25 points on 8 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers, and 6 of 7 at the line. She added three steals.

Obenrader ended the night with eight points and five rebounds. She ended her career with 1,128 career points and 649 career rebounds, just the ninth player with 1,000 points and 60 rebounds. She ranks 21st in career scoring and tenth in career rebounds.

Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) also contributed eight points and five rebounds along with five assists. Finally, Mitchell saw her brilliant career come to an end while playing in her school-record 132nd game. The senior guard came up big late in the game to finish with eight points, making 6 of 6 free throws. She added seven assists, two steals and two blocks.  Mitchell finishes with 997 career points, ranking 31st all-time. She is eighth in career assists with 404 and ranks among the career leaders in rebounds (446) and steals (183).    

After shooting 64.0 percent in the first half, Gannon ended the night at 48.4 percent (30 of 62), while Shepherd came in at 48.6 percent (34 of 70). The Golden Knights were 9 of 19 from beyond the arc while the Rams were 4 of 20. Gannon was a near-perfect 20 of 22 at the line while Shepherd was 21 of 29. Gannon held a slight 31-30 advantage on the glass.

Gannon ended the game with 25 turnovers compared to 16 for the Rams. More importantly, Shepherd scored 36 points off those turnovers while Gannon had 19 points off Shepherd miscues.

Beeman ended up another monster game while playing all 50 minutes. The junior guard scored 34 points (12 of 30 FGs, 22 of 14 3's, 8 of 12 FTs), adding 13 assists and eight rebounds. Clayton added 23 points and McLaughlin scored 22.  
 
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