McKel Nation vs. Clarion
Joe Mattis
70
Winner Gannon Gannon 7-1,0-0 PSAC
59
D'Youville DYO 1-4,0-0 ECC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
7-1,0-0 PSAC
70
Final
59
D'Youville DYO
1-4,0-0 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 16 16 20 18 70
D'Youville DYO 13 13 18 15 59

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

No. 16/20 Golden Knights Win Fourth Straight Game with 70-59 Decision at D'Youville

Nation, defense help Gannon pull away late in game

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Gannon women's basketball team extended its winning streak to four games with a hard-earned 70-59 win at D'Youville on Saturday afternoon. Ranked 16th in the WBCA Division II Top 25 and 20th in the D2CCA poll, the Golden Knights are now 7-1 overall while D'Youville dropped to 1-4.

The Saints were playing their first home of the season while the Golden Knights were playing on the road for the first time in three weeks. The contest was also a matchup between Gannon head coach Cleve Wright and a former recruit of his Ali Bouman. Bouman played for the Golden Knights but Wright left for Miami (Ohio).

Gannon led by eight points entering the fourth quarter at 52-44, but the Saints would not go away. They closed the gap to five points on several occasions, the last at 64-59 with 1:17 left. That's when the Gannon defense took over. The Golden Knights forced two turnovers and blocked a shot after that.

Following a Gannon timeout Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) scored on a running jumper for a 66-59 lead. McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) followed with a steal and eventually scored on a layup as the margin was now 68-59 with just 19 seconds remaining. Freshman Olivia Cernuto's (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) steal and layup clinched the win at 70-59, and Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) blocked D'Youville's last shot.

Nation, a 6'2" senior, was huge down the stretch. Earlier in the quarter she rebounded a Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) miss and was fouled on the followup. She proceeded to make the two free throws. After a pair of Pirosko layups Nation came up with a hustle rebound to set the stage for the final moments.

Gannon trailed just once in the first half after jumping out to an early 10-2 lead on 3-pointers by Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) and Wheatley. The Saints rallied back to take a 13-12 lead but it lasted just nine seconds as Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) scored on a layup to give the lead back to the Golden Knights at 14-13. Gannon led 16-13 after one quarter.

D'Youville continued to hang with the Golden Knights throughout the second quarter thanks to a strong effort on the boards. With Gannon ahead by five at 26-21 Claxon came up with back-to-back big plays to give the Golden Knights some breathing room. The sophomore guard pulled up from the left win for a jumper then came up with a steal and layup as Gannon led 30-21 with 3:02 remaining.

The Golden Knights scored just once more in the quarter on a Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) layup before the Saints' Stella Mollica hit a contested jumper at the buzzer to cut Gannon's lead to 32-26 at the half. D'Youville held a 20-14 advantage on the glass at the half but Gannon forced the Saints into 11 turnovers while committing just four.   

A turnover-filled third quarter saw Gannon maintain the lead at 52-44 while going 8-for-8 from the line. The lead would grow to 14 points on two occasions in the quarter, the first at 48-34 with 3:31 remaining as freshman Olivia Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) made four straight free throws. Redshirt freshman Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) made two more free throws for a 50-36 lead but D'Youville closed the gap to eight with 10 minutes to play.

Pirosko led three Golden Knights in double figures with 17 points, adding three assists and a pair of steals. The redshirt senior had her 41st straight game in double figures and boosted her career points total to 1,665 points.

Dunham made 3-of-7 3-pointers to finish with 11 points and Claxon had her fourth straight game in double digits with 10 points. Nation finished with nine points, a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Print Friendly Version