Emma Wright vs. Salem
Mike Gallagher

Women's Basketball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

No. 17 Golden Knights Renew Spirited Rivalry with California (Pa.)

CALIFORNIA (PA) VULCANS (10-4, 6-2 PSAC West) at RV/No. 17 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (14-2, 6-2 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, January 14, 2023 | 1:00 p.m.
ARENA/LOCATION: Highmark Events Center l Erie, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
 
GAME NOTES
 

RADIO:  Gannon basketball fans can catch all of the exciting action of Golden Knights' basketball on 90.5 WERG FM. Jack Quinn will have the call of the game.

TICKETS: Gannon is now accepting credit and debit cards for admission into basketball games. Tickets are priced at $15 for plush seats,  $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and students. Gannon students with a valid ID receive free admission.

WISH REVEAL GAME
In 2021-22, Gannon student-athletes led Division II in fundraising for Make-A-Wish, raising almost $12,000. During halftime of Saturday's Gannon-Cal men's basketball game, GU athletes will help make an area child's Wish come true. They will reveal that the child's Wish has been granted. Find out about the child and the Wish by attending the game or reading about it later on gannonsports.com.
 
 
THE GANNON-CALIFORNIA (PA) ALL-TIME SERIES
Tied 24-24
Gannon and Cal split last year's regular-season meetings, each winning on the other's court. Gannon gained more than a bit of revenge a week after losing to the Vulcans at home with a 59-47 win in the PSAC Championship game played at Kutztown. The Golden Knights captured both meetings in 2019-20 to end a nine-game Cal streak.
The Last Meeting
March 6, 2022 – Gannon 59, California (Pa.) 47 I RECAP
Gannon won its second straight PSAC Championship thanks to a suffocating defense. The contest, played at Kutztown, was tight for three quarters before Gannon smothered the Vulcans in the final ten minutes, outscoring them 13-4. Cal did not score a point over the final 5 minutes, 49 seconds. Cal was held to 32.1 percent from the floor (18 of 56) for the game. Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) was selected the Tournament MVP after scoring a game-high 19-points, adding four rebounds and a strong game defensively. She made 5 of 9 field goals, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, and was 6 of 7 at the line. Sam Pirosko added her fourth double-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Emily  Poling contributed 13 points. Deja Terrell led Cal with 17 points, but the PSAC West Athlete of the Year was held to 6 of 23 from the floor. She added a game-high 14 rebounds. Ciaira Loyd finished with 15 points.
 
ERIE, Pa. – The two hottest teams in the PSAC collide on Saturday, January 14 as Gannon hosts California (Pa.) at Highmark Events Center at 1:00 p.m. The Golden Knights come in riding an eight-game winning streak following Wednesday's high-scoring 94-88 win over Indiana (Pa.). The Vulcans, meanwhile, handed Edinboro a 69-59 defeat that same night for their sixth straight victory. Gannon moved up to 17th in the latest D2SIDA Division II Top 25 and is receiving votes in the WBCA Top 25. They come in with a 14-2 record while Cal is now 10-4.

They meet for the first time since Gannon defeated the Vulcans 59-47 in the PSAC Championship Game  to claim their second straight PSAC title. A week earlier it was Cal spoiling Gannon's Senior Day and earning the top seed in the tournament with a 63-57 win at Highmark Events Center.

So it seems appropriate that as the basketball season approaches mid-January that Gannon and California (Pa.) sit atop the PSAC West standings. Along with IUP the three have battled for supremacy in the PSAC West and the trio are currently tied for first with 6-2 records. The Western Division as a whole is highly competitive with six teams currently sitting within a game of each other.

Gannon and IUP engaged in a thriller at Highmark Events Center on Wednesday in a contest that turned out to be in contrast of their styles. Both came in ranking among the top teams in Division II defensively, but the game turned into a shootout in the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights led by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter, but the Crimson Hawks scored 35 points in the fourth quarter and 59 in the second half against one of the stingiest defenses in the country.

The Crimson Hawks had no answer for Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda). Claxon bounced off the bench for 30 points, one of the highest point totals ever by a freshman. She made 11-of-13 shots, including all four shots from beyond the arc. Wright, meanwhile, added 28 points on a 10-for-15 performance from the field, making 2-of-3 3-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws. That's a career-high for the graduate student.

Head coach Cleve Wright can call on a deep squad with 11 players in the rotation with the return of Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance). The Golden Knights have won all eight games at Highmark Events Center this season. The eight-game winning streak is the longest since the 2020-21 team ended the season with nine straight wins.

Following Wednesday's IUP game the Golden Knights have another rivalry game on Saturday, January 14 in the middle game of the three-game homestand. They host a California (Pa.) team that was picked to finish first in the PSAC West. The Vulcans are the last team to defeat Gannon at Highmark Events Center. That occurred in last year's regular season finale.
 

GOLDEN KNIGHTS CLIMB SIX SPOTS TO 17th IN D2SIDA NATIONAL RANKINGS
 
As Gannon ran off six wins to start the season the Golden Knights climbed up the national rankings. Several weeks ago they were tied for 15th in the WBCA Division II Top 25 and had jumped all the way to eighth in the D2SIDA Top 25. However, the two losses at Kutztown and West Chester dropped the Golden Knights out of both polls. Now riding an eight-game winning streak, Gannon reappeared in the D2SIDA Top 25 prior to the holidays, ranked 23rd. They remained 23rd a week ago and climbed six spots to 17th in the latest rankings which were released on Tuesday. In addition Gannon is now receiving votes in the WBCA Top 25. The Golden Knights are second in the latest D2SIDA Atlantic Region poll while Saturday's opponent, California (Pa.), is ranked eighth.
 
BIG GAME EMMA
Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) has tended to save her biggest games when the spotlight shines, and that was definitely the case on Wednesday night. The graduate student scored a career-high 28 points on a variety of drives, jumpers and a pair of 3-pointers as Gannon defeated Indiana (Pa.) 94-88. She made 10-of-15 field goals and went 6-of-7 at the line. She would stuff the stat sheet, pulling down four rebounds with five assists, two blocks and two steals. A year ago the daughter of head coach Cleve Wright keyed the PSAC Tournament wins over Kutztown and California (Pa.) and was named the tournament MVP.
 
FRESHMAN EN FUEGO
Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) wasn't the only Golden Knight to enjoy an explosive offensive performance against IUP. Freshman Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) easily eclipsed her career high as the 5'7" guard came off the bench to score 30 points. She was on fire, making 11-of-13 field goals, including all four of her 3-point attempts along with going 4-for-4 at the line. The moment certainly wasn't too big for the three-time All-Ohio performer, whho joined Sam Pirosko as 30-point scorers for Gannon this year with one of the biggest outputs by a freshman in years. Pirosko scored 31 points recently at Slippery Rock.
 
YOUR NEXT, COACH
Sam Pirosko recently became the 31st Golden Knight to score 1,000 career points. Since that time she has continued to climb up the career scoring chart. She deposited 31 points, one shy of her career high, recently at Slippery Rock, and followed that up with 17 points at Pitt-Johnstown aNd 13 vs. IUP. The redshirt senior is now 21st in career scoring with 1,144 points. She moved past former teammate Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) and now has current assistant coach Brittany Batts in her sights. Batts finished with 1,152 points, and Julie Szykowny stands 19th with 1,158 points. Pirosko ranks third in the PSAC in scoring (18.5 ppg.) and ninth in rebounding (8.1 rpg.), while leading the conference in field goal percentage (53.8 pct.) and standing sixth in free throw percentage (84.3 pct.). She has scored in double figures in 15 straight games.   

SATURDAY A FAMILY AFFAIR
Saturday's doubleheader with California (Pa.) will feature a family connection with the schools. Neely Whitehead is in her first season as an assistant coach for the Gannon women's basketball team. She previously played at Clarion. Her brother Donald Whitehead, Jr. is a redshirt freshman guard on the Cal men's team. He has played in the last six games and is averaging 11.8 ppg. Meanwhile, their mother, Jeanette Whitehead is a former player at Gannon in the mid 1980's. She was a highly-respected coach who coached Neely for three years at Hickory High School. Jeanette Whitehead won 323 games in 20 years as Hickory's head coach from 1996-2016.
 
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA (PA)
California (Pa.) has recovered from a huge early-season loss and have now won six games in a row to improve to 10-4 overall and 6-2 in the PSAC West. The Vulcans were dealt a blow early in the season when Dejah Terrell, the 2022 PSAC West Athlete of the Year, went down with a season-ending injury just two games into the season. She had averaged 18.6 ppg. and 9.7 rpg. while earning All-American honors. Head coach Jess Strom is in her 12th season and is the all-time winningest coach with a 246-71 record. her tenure has been highlighted by the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship. The former Penn State standout has guided Cal to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Atlantic Region Championship four times. A year ago she was voted the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third time. Cal once again looks to generate turnovers and play strong defense. The Vulcans rank second in the PSAC in turnover margin at +4.4 and are third in the conference in turnovers forced. In addition, they stand sixth in scoring defense at 60.0 ppg. while holding opponents to 36.9 percent from the floor. Rajah Fink is averaging a double-double with 15.2 ppg. and 10.9 rpg., the latter figure leading the PSAC. The 5'10" senior played at IUP last year and was a second-team All-PSAC West selection.  Senior guard Ciaira Loyd ranks second in the PSAC in assists at 6.2 per game and steals at 2.7 per game. She earned first-team All-PSAC West honors a year ago. Halle Herrington is a third Vulcan in double digits at 11.1 ppg. The 5'5" junior is the team's top 3-point threat with 27 in 84 attempts.

NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon concludes its three-game homestand with its final PSAC crossover game on Wednesday, January 18 with Millersville visiting Highmark Events Center. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. The game is the final contest against PSAC East teams, with the final 12 games on the schedule against Western Division opponents.
 
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Players Mentioned

Tori Obenrader

#25 Tori Obenrader

P
5' 11"
Junior
Emily Poling

#20 Emily Poling

G
5' 9"
Fifth Year
Emma Wright

#13 Emma Wright

G
5' 11"
Graduate Student
Bri Claxon

#12 Bri Claxon

G
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tori Obenrader

#25 Tori Obenrader

5' 11"
Junior
P
Emily Poling

#20 Emily Poling

5' 9"
Fifth Year
G
Emma Wright

#13 Emma Wright

5' 11"
Graduate Student
G
Bri Claxon

#12 Bri Claxon

5' 7"
Freshman
G