Sam Pirosko, left, and Carissa Dunham play tough defense against Tampa.
Shiloh Skillenrobison
56
Tampa UT 2-1,0-0 Sunshine State
68
Winner Gannon Gannon 3-0,0-0 PSAC
Tampa UT
2-1,0-0 Sunshine State
56
Final
68
Gannon Gannon
3-0,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Tampa UT 12 20 16 8 56
Gannon Gannon 26 17 13 12 68

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

Gannon Posts Upset of Nationally-Ranked Team for Second Day in a Row, Defeating No. 5 Tampa 68-56

Golden Knights go 3-0 at D2CCA Tip-Off Tournament

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Gannon women's basketball used a fast start and a strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter to post its second straight win over a nationally-ranked team in two days. The Golden Knights defeated No. 5 Tampa 68-56 on Sunday morning while competing in the D2CCA Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Montana State-Billings.

Gannon and Tampa both came in with 2-0 records following the first two days of competition. The Golden Knights opened with a 49-41 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday and followed by a 71-63 upset of No. 19 Angelo State on Saturday afternoon. They came back with Sunday's win against a Spartans team that was 33-2 last year and reached the Elite Eight before losing in the quarterfinals. Gannon came into the tournament receiving votes in the WBCA poll and ranked 25th in the CSC Division II Top 25.

The Golden Knights jumped out to a 26-12 lead after ten minutes thanks to some torrid shooting. They made 8-of-12 shots from the floor, including 5-of-9 3-pointers, and went 5-of-6 at the line. Six different players scored, led by Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) and Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) with six points apiece.

Tampa took its lone lead of the game at 3-2 at the 8:47 mark. Gannon regained the lead for good at 5-3 on McKel Nation's (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) 3-pointer. That hoop started a run of 17 straight points for the Golden Knights as the lead grew to 19-3. Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) followed with a layup, Dunham drained a three, and Pirosko added a layup. The run continued as freshman Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) made a pair of free throws, Pirosko added a 3-pointer, and Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) scored on a jumper. The Spartans finally broke the run with a basket with 3:30 left in the quarter, ending a drought of over five minutes without a point.

Tampa shaved the lead to 43-32 at the half. The Spartans opened the second quarter with eight straight points before Dunham hit back-to-back three's. Gannon had a 9-2 run later in the quarter to take its biggest lead of the game at 41-24 with 1:41 remaining in the half. But Tampa closed with an 8-2 run to make it 43-32.     

The Spartans made several more runs at the Golden Knights but could never get closer than eight points. Gannon once again bult the lead to 17 points at 54-37 on a Wheatley jumper midway through the quarter, but Tampa outscored Gannon 11-2 the rest of the way to make it 56-48 with ten minutes remaining.

The Gannon defense took over in the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights held Tampa to just four points over the first seven minutes and just eight points in the period. The lead never fell under double figures after a Dunham three, Ratliff layup and Pirosko layup with 6:08 left made it 63-48. Tampa finally scored at 5:43 but the Spartans made just three baskets in the quarter.

Pirosko finished with a 20-point effort for the second straight game, leading all scorers with 21 points after scoring 28 points on Saturday against Angelo State. The 5'10" forward played all 40 minutes, making 7-of-12 field goals, including both 3-point attempts, along with going 5-for-6 at the line. She added a team-high six rebounds.

Pirosko now has 1,600 career points, good for sixth all-time, and moved into 11th place in career rebounds with 631.

Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) and Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) were also in double figures with 18 and 10 points, respectively. Dunham is a sophomore guard who played at Division I Mount St. Mary's, accounted for all 18 points on the strength of 6-of-15 3-pointers. Wheatley made 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and had five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) came off the bench to contribute seven points and four assists.

Gannon ended the day shooting 43.4 percent from the floor (23-of-53), making 12-of-34 3-pointers, and going 10-of-12 at the line. Tampa shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) but made just 4-of-16 three's while going 10-of-15 at the line. Tampa held a 30-26 edge on the boards. The Golden Knights forced 16 turnovers which led to 27 points while committing just 11 turnovers.

Mya Giusto and Sarah Jones led Tampa with 15 points apiece, with Giusto grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.

Gannon returns to action with another tournament this weekend, hosting the Atlantic Region Challenge on Friday, November 10 and Saturday, November 11. The Golden Knights will face their third straight nationally-ranked team and second team that won 33 games and reached the Elite Eight last year when they play Glenville State at 5:30 p.m. The Pioneers were 33-3 last year and lost to eventual national champion Ashland in the semifinals.

Clarion and Notre Dame (Ohio) will play in the first game on Friday at 3:00 p.m. On Saturday Clarion and Glenville State play at 3:00 p.m. with Gannon facing Notre Dame (Ohio) at 5:30 p.m.      
 
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