Maddy Wheatley drives against Slippery Rock.
Bryce Dolak

Women's Basketball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon, Cal (Pa.) Square Off in Meeting of Western Division Rivals

No. 20/13 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (22-3, 14-3 PSAC West) at CALIFORNIA (PA) (15-8, 11-6 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | 5:30 p.m.
ARENA/LOCATION: Convocation Center l California, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS


RADIO:  Gannon basketball fans can catch all of the exciting action of Golden Knights' basketball on 90.5 WERG FM. Trevor Kubeja and Logan Wurst will have the call of the game.
 
THE GANNON-CALIFORNIA (PA) ALL-TIME SERIES
Gannon leads 25-24
The Golden Knights took the lead in the all-time series with a 70-63 win at the Highmark Events Center on January 14. Gannon and Cal split last year's regular-season meetings, each winning on the other's court. Gannon gained more than a bit of revenge a week after losing to the Vulcans at home with a 59-47 win in the PSAC Championship game played at Kutztown.

The Last Meeting
Jan. 14, 2023 – at Gannon 70, California (Pa.) 63 I RECAP
Gannon defeated California (Pa.) 70-63 to take over sole possession of first place in the PSAC West with their ninth straight victory. Senior forward Sam Pirosko tied her career highs with 32 points and 13 rebounds. She scored 21 points in the second half to help Gannon hold off Cal's comeback attempt. Freshman guard Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) scored 13 points and graduate student Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) added 12. The Golden Knights moved ahead early, took a solid lead into halftime, then held off a second-half surge using late defensive stops and accurate free-throw shooting. Gannon led 39-27 at the half after Wright sank a baseline 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the second quarter. Led by Ciaira Loyd's 20 second-half points – she went scoreless in the first half – Cal closed to within two points on four occasions in the final six minutes. Each time, Gannon answered with points as the Golden Knights never gave up the lead. Pirosko and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) each went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 2:26. The Golden Knights made 13-of-16 from the stripe in the fourth quarter. Pirosko finished the game shooting 12-of-17 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Halle Herrington added 17 points for Cal, while Rajah Fink had 15 points and seven rebounds.
 
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon continues to answer all of the challenges as the Golden Knights have now won four straight games and 16 of their last 17 to improve to 21-3 overall and 14-3 in the PSAC West. They face another important game on Wednesday, February 8 while playing for the third time in five days. The Golden Knights play at California (Pa.) with tipoff at the Convocation Center set for 5:30 p.m.

Gannon maintained its two-game lead in the PSAC West with an 83-66 win over Pitt-Johnstown on Monday. The Mountain Cats are another of the many teams in the Western Division battling a playoff spot. The Golden Knights used another impressive shooting performance to tame the Cats, jumping out to a 41-29 halftime lead and never allowing UPJ to get closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Now comes a Cal team which was chosen as the preseason favorite in the Western Division, with Gannon second. The Vulcans are 15-8 and 11-6 in conference play after a 74-68 win over Slippery Rock on Monday. They have won five of their last six games and feature two of the top players in the PSAC in Rajah Fink (14.7 ppg., 10.5 rpg.) and Ciaira Loyd (13.9 ppg., 159 assts.).

The Gannon-Cal contests have turned into a spirited rivalry with the two teams battling for supremacy in the Western Division. Gannon claimed the first meeting on January 14, 70-63, holding off a late Cal rally as Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) had career highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds.

Pirosko is enjoying another outstanding season and comes off a 22-point effort against UPJ. That was the 5'10" forwards' 12th game with 20-or-more points and she has now scored in double figures in 24 consecutive games. Pirosko jumped up two spots into 11th place in career scoring on Monday with 1,322 points.

Following the Cal game Gannon receives a much-needed break after playing eight games in 19 days. Head coach Cleve Wright's squad has a bye on Saturday an will not play again until hosting Clarion on Wednesday, February 15.
 
 
GOLDEN KNIGHTS CONTINUE TO CLIMB IN NATIONAL RANKINGS     
The updated national rankings were released on Tuesday with Gannon climbing three spots in the WBCA Division II Top 25 and two spots in the D2SIDA poll. Gannon was ranked 23rd in the WBCA Division II Top 25 and was 15th in the D2SIDA Top 25 a week ago. The Golden Knights are now 20th in the WBCA and 13th according to D2SIDA. The Golden Knights had cracked the top ten of the D2SIDA Division II Top 25 three weeks ago before the loss to Seton Hill, moving into eighth place. The D2SIDA regional polls were released on Monday, with Gannon slipping slightly into second place after being tied with Glenville State last week.
 
DOGAN, WRIGHT DOUBLE THEIR PLEASURE VS. UPJ
Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) and Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) each posted double-doubles on Monday in Gannon's 83-66 win over Pitt-Johnstown. It was the first of the season for both. Dogan scored a season-high 13 points (5-of-9 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs) and pulled down 11 rebounds. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive end. In addition the 6'0" graduate student handed out a season-high six assists. Wright scored 17 points, making 7-of-11 field goals, and had 10 rebounds, along with three assists.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOW LEAD PSAC IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
After shooting 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the floor against UPJ Gannon has now shot .500 or better in each of the last four games. The recent hot streak has vaulted Gannon into first place in the PSAC in field goal percentage at 45.8 percent. On Saturday at IUP the Golden Knights made a sizzling 70 percent of their shots in the first half and cooled off just slightly in the second half, finishing the day at 60.0 percent (27-of-45). That included an 8-for-17 showing on 3-pointers. Over the last four games the Golden Knights are shooting 52.7 percent (119-of-226). They have shot 50 percent or better in six of the last nine games.  

PIROSKO CLIMBS TWO SPOTS TO 11th IN CAREER SCORING
Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) has continued her climb up the career scoring charts after becoming the 31st Golden Knight with 1,000 career points earlier in the year.  The redshirt senior has had back-to-back 20-point games after scoring 24 points at IUP on Saturday and 22 vs. UPJ on Monday. That moved her up two more spots to 11th in career scoring with 1,322 points as she moved past Brittany Tabron and Kelly Reedy. Pirosko also recently became the 21st Golden Knight with 500 career rebounds as her total sits at 535. She has scored in double figures in 24 straight games with 12 games of 20-or-more points, including a 32-point effort vs. California (Pa.) and 31 points at Slippery Rock. Pirosko leads the team in both scoring (19.0 ppg.) and rebounding (7.3 rpg.), ranking third in the PSAC in scoring and 14th in rebounding. She also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage (55.5 pct.) and eighth in free throw percentage (83.2 pct.).
 
GANNON 1,000-POINT SCORERS
1. Rona Nesbit (1978-81) -- 2,340
2. Kristin Roseberry (1999-02) -- 2,147
3. Christina Jackson (2004-07) -- 1,912
4. Mary Kay Lynch (1982-85) -- 1,743
5. Kristina Freeman (2007-10) -- 1,604
6. Nettie Blake (2012-15) -- 1,536
7. Jen Papich (2011-14) -- 1,534
8. Jacki Windon (1998-01) -- 1,524
9. Tonya Treharne (1986-89) -- 1,415
10. Carrie Nolan (2006-10) -- 1,371
11. - SAM PIROSKO (2018-pres.) -- 1,322
          535 REB   21st – next is 538 or obenrader
 
PIROSKO NAMED PSAC WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Redshirt senior Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) was named the PSAC West Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. She averaged 23.5 ppg. and shot 60 percent from the field in two victories as Gannon remained in first place in the PSAC West. On Feb. 1, Pirosko scored a game-high 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including a 3-pointer, in a 77-63 victory over Slippery Rock. She also had six rebounds and four assists. On Feb. 4, the 5'10" forward finished with a game-high 24 points in Gannon's road 77-61 win over IUP. She shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and was 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Pirosko was also named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week on Dec. 20.

MARGO BRINGS OUT THE CHEERS
The biggest cheer of the evening in Monday's win over UPJ was not an Emma Wright (Fairview, Pa./Talawanda) 3-pointer or a Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) spinning layup. It was a basket made with 41 seconds left and the game well in hand. Margo Loutzenhiser (Russell, Pa./Warren Area), a senior guard who had missed most of the season with an injury, drove down the left side of the lane and hit a short jumper for her first points of the season. Loutzenhiser had just recently started suiting up again and was appearing in her first game of the season.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA (PA)
California (Pa.) has own five of six games to improve to 15-8 overall and 11-6 in the PSAC West following Monday's 74-68 win over Slippery Rock. The Vulcans had won four straight games before an 83-77 loss at Edinboro on Saturday. The preseason favorites in the PSAC West, head coach Jess Strom's team had to overcome a huge early-season loss with the season-ending injury to Dejah Terrell just two games into the season. She had averaged 18.6 ppg. and 9.7 rpg. while earning All-American honors last year. Strom is in her 12th season and is the all-time winningest coach with a 251-75 record. Her tenure has been highlighted by the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship. The former Penn State standout has guided Cal to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Atlantic Region Championship four times. A year ago she was voted the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third time. Strom has relied on her starting five for the majority of minutes this year, with all five starters averaging 30 minutes or more. Four are scoring in double figures led by Rajah Fink, who is averaging a double-double with 14.7 ppg. and 10.5 rpg., the latter figure leading the PSAC. The 5'10" senior played at IUP last year and was a second-team All-PSAC West selection. Senior guard Ciaira Loyd ranks second in the PSAC in assists at 6.9 per game while averaging 13.9 ppg. She earned first-team All-PSAC West honors a year ago. Halle Herrington leads the Vulcans with 55 3-pointers in 151 attempts and averages 13.0 ppg. Allycia Harris is the fourth double-figure scorer at 10.9 ppg. The 5'9" sophomore comes off a 27-point outing vs. Slippery Rock.

NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon finally gets a breather after playing three times in five days. The Golden Knights are off on Saturday before returning to the hardcourt on Wednesday, February 15 hosting Clarion. Tipoff at the Highmark Events Center is 5:30 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Delaney Dogan

#54 Delaney Dogan

F
6' 0"
Graduate Student
Margo Loutzenhiser

#5 Margo Loutzenhiser

G
5' 8"
Senior
Samantha Pirosko

#44 Samantha Pirosko

F
5' 10"
Fifth Year
Emma Wright

#13 Emma Wright

G
5' 11"
Graduate Student
Bri Claxon

#12 Bri Claxon

G
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Delaney Dogan

#54 Delaney Dogan

6' 0"
Graduate Student
F
Margo Loutzenhiser

#5 Margo Loutzenhiser

5' 8"
Senior
G
Samantha Pirosko

#44 Samantha Pirosko

5' 10"
Fifth Year
F
Emma Wright

#13 Emma Wright

5' 11"
Graduate Student
G
Bri Claxon

#12 Bri Claxon

5' 7"
Freshman
G