ERIE, Pa. – Senior Day was quite a celebration for the Gannon University women's basketball team.

Seven seniors played their final regular-season game at Highmark Events Center, as the Golden Knights closed the regular season with a solid 82-68 win over Erie County rival Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon.

The victory was Gannon's ninth in a row, and it moved the Knights' overall record to 27-3. Head coach Cleve Wright's team closed the PSAC West with a 19-3 record after clinching first place in the division four games ago. The Golden Knights ended up winning the division by five games over second-place California. Gannon won 21 of its final 22 regular-season games.

Gannon is the top seed in the PSAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal against the Western Division No. 4 or 5 seed on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Gannon has a first-round bye for Monday's opening round and will face the winner of the first-round game between IUP and Pitt-Johnstown.
 
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

For one afternoon, though, the focus wasn't on the postseason. The spotlight was on seven seniors who have made significant contributions to the Gannon program and the 2022-23 season.

Madison Demski (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria), Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex), Margo Loutzenhiser (Russell, Pa./Warren Area), Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley), Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), and Faith Williams (Grafton, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) celebrated their final regular-season game by helping Gannon to a win.

They combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds during a balanced scoring attack in which 10 of the 12 players on the Gannon active roster scored.

McKinney, a point guard, led the seniors with nine points, five assists, and four rebounds. Dogan, a post player, added nine points, four steals, and two blocks. Demski had eight points and a team-high six rebounds, and Wright added five points and five rebounds.

Coach Wright made sure to get the seniors one final ovation from an appreciative crowd. He called a timeout with 16 seconds to allow Williams, Loutzenhiser, Poling, Demski and Dogan to depart the lineup at the same time to hugs and cheers.

McKinney and Wright had left to an ovation at the 48-second mark.



 
PIROSKO UPDATE

Forward Sam Pirosko, a senior who has one year of eligibility left, continued her outstanding season. She led Gannon with 20 points on Saturday, shooting 7-of-15 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

She is averaging 19.8 points per game and has 595 points on the season, which ranks fourth in Gannon single-season history. Pirosko trails only Rona Nesbit (625 points in 1978-79), and Kristin Roseberry (616 points in 2000-01 and 599 points in 1999-2000) on that list. She move up four spots during Saturday's game.

Pirosko ranks second in the conference with 55 percent field-goal shooting and ranks seventh with 81 percent free-throw shooting.

She also moved her career point total to 1,443 points, which ranks ninth in Gannon history.
 
HOT SHOOTING CONTINUES

Gannon continued its late-season habit of shooting 50 percent or better in games. The Golden Knights shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field and 50 percent (4-of-8) from 3-point range.

The Knights also shot 83.3 percent (20-of-24) from the free-throw line.

Mercyhurst also shot fairly well, connecting on 45 percent from both the field and from 3-point range.

The Knights forced 22 Mercyhurst turnovers while making 15 themselves.

The Golden Knights led 39-28 and were in firm control for most of the second half as the Lakers never drew closer than nine points.
 
MERCYHURST BOWS OUT

Mercyhurst still had a chance to make the playoffs if it could have beaten Gannon on Saturday. However, GU's victory dropped the Lakers to 15-14 overall and 10-12 in the conference.

That allowed Seton Hill (11-11) to claim the No. 6 Western seed in the playoffs.
 
WHAT'S AHEAD

Gannon will prepare for Wednesday's game and will pay close attention to Monday's game between IUP and Pitt-Johnstown.

The Golden Knights swept both teams during the regular season. Gannon's only loss to a PSAC West team came to Seton Hill.

Tickets for Wednesday's quarterfinal game are now available.