Bri Claxon drives against Mansfield
Joe Mattis
45
Mansfield MUP 5-6,2-3 PSAC
79
Winner Gannon Gannon 14-1,6-0 PSAC
Mansfield MUP
5-6,2-3 PSAC
45
Final
79
Gannon Gannon
14-1,6-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Mansfield MUP 9 9 11 16 45
Gannon Gannon 19 20 20 20 79

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

No. 3/5 Gannon Extends Winning Streak to 11 Games with Win over Mansfield in First Game at Hagerty Family Events Center

ERIE, Pa. – Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) led three players in double figures and Gannon turned up the defense once again for a 79-45 victory. Ranked third in the WBCA Top 25 and fifth in the D2CSC poll, the Golden Knights extended their winning streak to 11 straight games while improving to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in PSAC play. Mansfield dipped to 5-6 and 2-4, respectively.

The game was the first for Gannon at its home-away-from-home, Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center. But as coaches like to say, defense travels everywhere and the Golden Knights put the clamps on the Mountaineers. They would score just nine points in each of the first two quarters and 11 in the third.

Gannon came in ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense and limited its seventh opponent to less than 50 points. Mansfield shot 32.7 percent from the floor (16-of-49), although the Mountaineers were 6-of-15 on 3-pointers. Gannon ended the game at 49.1 percent (24-of-49) and made 5-of-16 3-pointers. The Golden Knights were also 18-of-26 from the line while Mansfield finished at 7-of-14.

Gannon forced 26 turnovers that led to a 28-15 advantage in points off turnovers. In addition, the Golden Knights dominated in the paint, outscoring the Mountaineers 42-14. Gannon also held a 39-30 rebounding advantage.

Claxon bounced off the bench to lead all scorers with 21 points. The sophomore guard made 7-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-3 3-pointers, and went 5-of-6 at the line. She added four steals. The 2023 PSAC West Freshman of the Year has now scored 20-or-more points in three of the last four games and has been in double figures nine of the last ten games.

Samantha Pirokso, meanwhile, extended her consecutive games streak scoring in double digits to 48 games. She finished the night with 18 points, also making 7-of-12 field goals, and added eight rebounds. Gannon's fourth all-time leading scorer now has 1,798 points.

McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) posted her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She also had two blocks and two steals. Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) added six points and five rebounds coming off the bench in the post. Eleven Golden Knights scored.

The game started slowly for the Golden Knights as Mansfield led 9-8 halfway through the first quarter. But Gannon never looked back after running off the next 18 points to go ahead by a 26-9 margin. The first quarter ended with Gannon leading 19-9 as Mansfield failed to score over the final 4 minutes, 53 seconds. The Mountaineers ended up going almost an entire quarter without a point before scoring with 5:33 left. Gannon held a 39-18 lead at the half.

The Golden Knights now head out on the road for two straight games, including a showdown at California (Pa.) on Saturday, January 6. A year ago Gannon won both regular season meetings over the Vulcans but Cal would prevail in the third meeting to claim the PSAC Championship. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.         
 
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