Erie, Pa. – The Gannon University women's basketball team needed to beat two first-place teams this week to move atop the PSAC West standings.

Mission accomplished.

Gannon defeated California (Pa.) 70-63 on Saturday afternoon at Highmark Events Center to take over sole possession of first place in the PSAC West.

Coach Cleve Wright's Golden Knights improved to 7-2 in the Western Division and 15-2 overall after claiming their ninth consecutive victory. GU won seven straight conference games after opening PSAC play with back-to-back road losses in early December.

Gannon entered Saturday's game tied with Cal and Indiana for first place after the Golden Knights had knocked off IUP 94-88 on Wednesday at the Highmark. IUP dropped into a second-place tie with Cal and Pitt-Johnstown after UPJ beat IUP on Saturday.

Senior forward Sam Pirosko tied her career highs with 32 points and 13 rebounds. She scored 21 points in the second half to help Gannon hold off Cal's comeback attempt.

GU freshman guard Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) scored 13 points and senior Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) added 12.

WINNING FORMULA

Gannon used the same formula to beat Cal that it used Wednesday to defeat IUP. The Golden Knights moved ahead early, took a solid lead into halftime, then held off a second-half surge using late defensive stops and accurate free-throw shooting.

Gannon took an early 14-6 advantage and led 39-27 at the half after Wright sank a baseline 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

Led by Ciaira Loyd's 20 second-half points – she went scoreless in the first half – Cal closed to within two points on four occasions in the final 6 minutes. Each time, Gannon answered with points as the Golden Knights never gave up the lead.

Pirosko and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) each went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 2:26. The Knights went 13-of-16 (81.25 percent) from the stripe in the fourth quarter. The Knights are 26-of-30 from the foul line in the fourth quarter over the past two games.

PIROSKO'S PRESENCE

Pirosko continued her run of outstanding play as the 5-foot-10 forward dominated in the post again. Her teammates fed her a series of lob passes that led to inside buckets.

She finished the game shooting 12-of-17 (70.5 percent) from the field and made 7-of-10 free-throw attempts.

Pirosko tied her career high of 32 points, a total that she initially logged against Clarion on Feb. 13, 2021. She tied her career best of 13 rebounds, which she first reached on March 2, 2022 against Pitt-Johnstown.

She leads Gannon with averages of 19.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. She also has shot a team-best 55.1 percent from the field.

WHAT'S AHEAD

The Gannon women will play their third consecutive home game on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. when they host PSAC East program Millersville. The Golden Knights will make the short trip across Erie to Mercyhurst on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. to face the rival Lakers.