Sam P
44
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 12-17,10-12 PSAC
70
Winner Gannon Gannon 22-6,16-6 PSAC
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J
12-17,10-12 PSAC
44
Final
70
Gannon Gannon
22-6,16-6 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 17 7 10 10 44
Gannon Gannon 13 14 21 22 70

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

Gannon Defense Stifles UPJ, 70-44, in PSAC Quarterfinal Contest

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team began defense of its 2020 PSAC championship on Wednesday night thanks to a lot of defense. The Golden Knights posted a 70-44 win over Pitt-Johnstown at the Highmark Events Center in a quarterfinal PSAC Tournament game. Seeded second in the Western Division, they improved to 22-6 while sixth-seed Pitt-Johnstown saw its season come to a close at 13-17.

Gannon moves on to the PSAC Final Four, which will be hosted by Kutztown on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6. The Golden Knights will meet the host Golden Bears at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in the second semifinal game. Kutztown (26-5) is the number one out of the Eastern Division and reached the semifinals with a 62-49 win over Lock Haven on Wednesday.

The first semifinal pits Cal (23-4), a 72-48 winner over fifth-seed Edinboro and the Western Division's number one seed, against Shepherd (24-6), the third seed in the Eastern Division. The Rams pulled off a mild upset with a 76-53 win over second-seed Bloomsburg. They meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The winners meet on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the 2022 championship game.  

Gannon and UPJ split the two regular season meetings, with each winning on their homecourts. The Mountain Cats jumped out to a 17-13 lead after one quarter and scored the opening bucket of the second quarter for a 19-13 lead. However, Gannon would ultimately outscore UPJ 14-7 in the period to grab a 27-24 lead at intermission while turning up the defense over the final three quarters.

After scoring 17 points in the opening ten minutes, UPJ would combine for 17 points in the next two quarters, and add 10 points in the fourth. The stingy Gannon defense limited UPJ to 28.3 percent shooting for the game (15 of 53), and over the last three quarters that figure was 10 of 40 (25.0 pct.).

Gannon took control of the contest midway through the third quarter, running off nine straight points to turn a three-point lead into a 12-point margin at 44-32 with 2:32 remaining. A pressing Gannon keyed the burst, as did a highly-productive bench. After Gannon missed its first seven 3-point attempts, Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) buried a three from the right corner to start the run. Wright proceeded to steal the inbounds pass and fed Faith Williams (Grafton, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) for a layup. Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North), who had eight points in the period, followed with a layup to push the lead into double figures, and after a UPJ miss Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) made a pair of free throws. Gannon would lead 48-34 after three quarters.

The Mountain Cats never pulled closer than 13 points the rest of the way, and Gannon scored the final 11 points of the game, holding UPJ scoreless for the final 3 minutes, 13 seconds.

Pirosko and Wright each posted double doubles, with Obenrader coming off the bench to fall a rebound short. For Pirosko, it was her second straight double double, as the 5'11" sophomore finished with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She made 9 of 11 field goals, adding a free throw, along with a pair of steals.

Wright finished with 17 points, 11 of those coming in the second half. She enjoyed her second double double of the season, adding 10 rebounds, along with three steals, two assists and a blocked shot.

Obenrader added 13 points and nine rebounds, boosting her career totals to 1,112 points and 637 rebounds. She ranks 21st in career scoring and tenth in career rebounds. The 5'11" post player was 6 of 6 at the line and was credited with four assists.

Sydney Mitchell (Halethorpe, Md./Seton Keough) contributed six points, a team-high five assists and a steal. The bench brigade also turned in very solid minutes, if not big numbers. Williams played 14 minutes and finished with six points, and McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) had a pair of baskets, two steals and a block in ten minutes.

The Golden Knights shot 48.0 percent from the floor (24 of 50), but over the final twenty minutes they made 13 of 24 shots. They made 3 of 11 3-pointers, but all three came in the final four attempts. Gannon went 19 of 25 at the line. UPJ made 5 of 16 3-pointers and went 9 of 14 at the line.
Gannon dominated the boards, finishing with 45 rebounds to 26 for UPJ, and outscored the Mountains 40-18 in the paint. Both teams finished with 17 turnovers.

Olivia Fasick was the lone Mountain Cat in double figures with 11 points.       
 
 
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