ERIE, Pa. – The fans who were at the Highmark Events Center for the final game of the two-day Atlantic Region Challenge learned a lot about the Gannon women's basketball team on Saturday.
Coach
Cleve Wright's team has a balanced lineup with a lot of contributing players.
The Golden Knights can shoot the 3-point field goal.
They can play excellent defense.
Perhaps most important to Wright was the fact that the Knights proved they could bounce back after a loss.
Each of those facets was on display on Saturday evening in Gannon's 108-56 victory over Notre Dame (Ohio) one day after Gannon opened with a 74-70 loss to a talented Glenville State team that was ranked No. 23 nationally. That same Glenville State team beat Clarion 117-74 in Saturday's first game.
Gannon improved to 4-1 on the season while Notre Dame dipped to 1-1. The Falcons beat Clarion 93-83 on Friday in their opening game of the Atlantic Region Challenge.
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Balance shows:
Seven players scored in double digits for the Golden Knights, with all of them ranging from 10 to 17 points.
Shooting guards
Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) and
Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) led Gannon with 17 points apiece.
Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) scored 15,
Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) contributed 13,
Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) had 11, and Sam Pirosko and
McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) each recorded 10 points.
Pirosko, a senior forward, is a returning All-American and one of Gannon's all-time leading scorers, but Gannon showed that Pirosko doesn't have to lead the team in scoring every night for the Knights to excel.
Nation finished a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Maibach just missed her second double-double in a row with nine rebounds.
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Sharpshooting guards:
Gannon was red-hot from 3-point range as the team finished a scorching 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from long range.
Wheatley led the way, going 5-of-7 on 3-point attempts. Claxon finished 3-of-3 from behind the 3-point line, and Dunham went 3-of-7. Ratliff, Nation, and
Trinitee Harris (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) each hit one 3-pointer.  The Golden Knights were 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the second quarter and 6-of-9 in the third quarter.
Gannon also shot 63.5 percent from the field overall, connected on 40-of-63 shots.
The Knights' 108 points fell only nine points short of GU's single-season scoring record of 117 points against Hilbert in 1994.
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What a start:
No lingering negative impact from Gannon's loss to Glenville was evident Saturday.
Gannon took charge of the game immediately, racing to an 18-2 lead in the opening six minutes.
Olivia Cernuto's (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) buzzer-beater gave GU a 26-7 lead through one quarter.
The Golden Knights' lead only grew in the second quarter as Gannon outscored Notre Dame 36-21 for a 62-28 halftime lead.
They expanded the margin to 86-43 through three quarters.
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Shutdown defense:
Gannon was extremely stingy on defense as it limited Notre Dame to just 33 percent shooting (18-of-54). The Knights also forced 19 Notre Dame turnovers.
GU also outrebounded the Falcons 42-24.
Perhaps the most lopsided stat of the night was that Gannon had 24 assists while Notre Dame finished with six. Ratliff led GU with four assists while five other Knights had three assists.
What's ahead:
Gannon will host Charleston (1-0) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Highmark Events Center. The Golden Eagles ended the Golden Knights' 2022-23 season with a 69-65 victory in the NCAA Division II Â Atlantic Regional.
