Andrea Maibach vs. Glenville State
Joe Mattis
75
Winner Gannon Gannon 8-1,1-0 PSAC
31
Bloomsburg BU 1-5,0-1 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
8-1,1-0 PSAC
75
Final
31
Bloomsburg BU
1-5,0-1 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 18 24 17 16 75
Bloomsburg BU 10 9 7 5 31

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

No.9 Golden Knights Collar Huskies for Fifth Straight Win in PSAC Opener

Golden Knights win 75-31 at Bloomsburg

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team opened PSAC action on Saturday with its sixth straight win thanks to a suffocating defensive effort. The end result was a 75-31 win at Bloomsburg to improve to 8-1 overall. The Golden Knights are ranked ninth in the WBCA Division II top 25 and 13th in the D2CSC poll. Bloomsburg dropped to 1-5 with the setback.

Gannon trailed just once in the contest, that at 5-3 in the opening four minutes of the game. The lead was still just 12-10 with under a minute to play in the first quarter when the Golden Knights scored the final six points of the period for an 18-10 advantage. Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) scored on a layup, Mckel Nation scored on a layup and Trinitee Harris (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) hit a runner in the lane.

The scoring run reached 12 points in a row to start the second quarter as Gannon led 24-10 three-and-a-half minutes into the period. Nation and Pirosko scored on layups and Maddy Wheatly ended the run with a layup following a steal by Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester).

A 10-0 run later in the quarter, with Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) scoring six points, boosted the lead 40-17 and Gannon ended the first half holding a 42-19 lead.

After allowing the Huskies 10 points in the first quarter and nine in the second, Gannon's defense got even stingier in the second half. Bloomsburg managed a total of 12 points in the final 20 minutes – seven in the third and five in the fourth – while making 4-of-21 shots. The final margin was the largest lead of the night as Gannon held Bloomsburg without a point for the final three-and-a-half minutes.

Gannon shot 44.6 percent for the game (29-of-65) and was 5-of-15 on 3-pointers and a near-perfect 12-of-13 at the line. Bloomsburg was held to 27.3 percent from the floor (12-of-44), including 2-of-10 on 3-pointers, and was 5-of-12 at the line.

The Huskies held a 36-33 edge on the glass but Gannon forced 26 turnovers while a mere four. It led to an incredible 33-0 advantage in points off turnovers.

Eleven different Golden Knights scored with Pirosko leading the way with 19 points to become the fifth Golden Knights with over 1,700 career points. The redshirt senior now has 1,701 career points. She made 8-of-12 field goals, including both 3-point attempts, and was 1-of-1 at the line. Pirosko also led Gannon with seven rebounds.

Nation continued her strong play with 15 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. She made 7-of-9 field goals including her lone 3-point attempt, and also had a pair of blocked shots. Claxon finished with eight points while Wheatley and Ratliff had seven points apiece.     

Bloomsburg's 31 points marked the second time in the last three games the Golden Knights have held an opponent under 35 points. Gannon posted a 64-34 win over Walsh right before Thanksgiving. Gannon has held its last five opponents to less than 60 points. The 31 points were the lowest since Shepherd scored 29 points last season.

Gannon returns to action on Saturday with the second of back-to-back PSAC crossover games. They play at East Stroudsburg at 1:00 p.m. 
 
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