San Pirosko
Jeff Kirik
34
Walsh Walsh 1-2,0-0 G-MAC
64
Winner Gannon Gannon 6-1,0-0 PSAC
Walsh Walsh
1-2,0-0 G-MAC
34
Final
64
Gannon Gannon
6-1,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Walsh Walsh 6 7 8 13 34
Gannon Gannon 16 11 20 17 64

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

No. 16 Golden Knights Use Suffocating Defensive Effort to Defeat Walsh 64-34

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team improved to 6-1 on Tuesday thanks to a suffocating defensive effort. The Golden Knights handed Walsh a 64-34 defeat at the Highmark Events Center, leading from start to finish while leading by as many as 37 points. The loss dropped Walsh to 1-2.

The Golden Knights found out earlier in the day that they were ranked 16th in the WBCA Division II Top 25 and 20th in the D2CSC poll, then went out and played like one of the top teams in the country while extending their win streak to three games.

Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) and Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) came off the bench to score 15 and 10 points respectively, and Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) had her three double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

DEFENSE THE NAME OF THE GAME
But this game was about the defense. Gannon limited the Cavaliers to six points in the first quarter, seven in the third and eight in the third. The 34 points are the fewest since Gannon held Shepherd to 29 points on December 18 a year ago.

Walsh was held to 20.4 percent from the floor (11-of-54), never making more than three field goals in a period. The Cavaliers were 3-of-17 on 3-pointers. In addition, the Golden Knights forced 25 turnovers that led to a 22-8 advantage on turnovers and also led on the boards 44-35. Gannon had ten second-chance points while holding Walsh without a point. Gannon recorded 16 steals.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS PULL AWAY IN SECOND HALF
Both teams struggled in the first half, as Gannon led 16-6 after one quarter and 27-13 at the half. The Golden Knights shot just 29.0 percent (9-of-31) in the opening twenty minutes but held the Cavaliers to 15.2 percent (5-of-33).

Gannon held a 14-point lead early in the third quarter at 33-19 before ending the period on a 14-2 run to lead 47-21, ending the quarter on an 8-0 run. Five different players scored in the run as balance was the story all night.

The Golden Knights would score the first four points of the fourth quarter on layups by Maibach, a redshirt freshman, as the lead grew to 30 points at 51-21. Walsh scored the next six points to close the gap to 24 at 51-27 with just under seven minutes remaining.

Gannon answered with the next 13 points over a four-minute span as the lead ballooned to 37 points at 64-27. Claxon accounted for nine of her points during the spurt as all 13 points were scored by freshmen or sophomores.

PIROSKO FINISHES WITH THIRD DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Pirosko extended her string of double figure games to 40 while boosting her career total to 1,665 points. She had a double-double at the half and ended the night making 5-of-10 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws. Claxon made 6-of-12 shots, including 3-of-5 3-pointers, to enjoy her third straight double-figure effort.

Head coach Cleve Wright's freshman class continues to make huge contributions. In addition to Maibach, a redshirt freshman, Olivia Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) came off the bench to contribute six points, six assists and four steals in 21 minutes.

Kiley Dyrlund was the lone player to score in double figures for Walsh, ending the night with 12 points.

Gannon will now break for a few days while enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to the hardcourt on Saturday, November 25 playing at D'Youville.


 
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