ERIE, Pa. – It was a familiar formula for the Gannon women's basketball team in Wednesday evening's victory over Seton Hill.

The Golden Knights used defense, depth, and a big dose of Sam Pirosko to claim a 79-56 victory over a tough Seton Hill team at Joann Mullen Gymnasium in the Hagerty Family Events Center.

Coach Cleve Wright's Golden Knights limited the Griffins to 34 percent shooting, three GU freshmen made big contributions, and Pirosko scored a game-high 24 points to power Gannon. GU held Seton Hill 20 points under its PSAC-leading average of 76.2 points per game.

The first-place Knights, ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in Division II's two polls, claimed their 19th win in a row to improve to 22-1 overall and 14-0 in the PSAC West.

Seton Hill, which upset Gannon at home in 2022-23, dropped to 11-9 and 8-6.

 
QUICK START

Gannon raced to an early lead after the opening tip, thanks to Pirosko. The 5-foot-10 senior post player scored Gannon's first 11 points as Gannon took an early 13-4 lead. Pirosko finished the quarter with 14 points as GU entered the second period with a 20-10 lead.

The Knights took a 45-31 halftime lead as Pirosko finished the half with 19 points.

Pirosko closed the game with 24 points, sinking 8-of-14 field-goal attempts and 7-of-9 free-throw attempts.




 
FRESHMAN TRIO

Gannon has shown solid depth all season, and on Wednesday, three freshmen showed they can play valuable minutes for the Knights.

Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) and Tori Mayes (Lake City, Pa./Cathedral Prep) both started, and Olivia Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) made key contributions off the bench.

Ratliff, a 6-foot guard/forward, scored a collegiate career high of 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line. She also had three assists and three steals, as she was one of the Knights causing defensive problems for SHU.

Mayes, a 5-foot-4 point guard, played 18 minutes and had five rebounds and two assists.

Cernuto, a 5-foot-7 point guard, sank two 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with eight points. She led Gannon with five assists and added three steals.


BY THE NUMBERS

• Pirosko moved her career point total to 1,972. She is now within 28 points of becoming the third Gannon women's basketball player to reach 2,000 career points.
• Sophomore shooting guard Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) had another solid outing for Gannon with 14 points.
• Senior post player McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) added six points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots, and two assists.
• Gannon shot 57 percent in the first quarter and 44 percent for the game.
• After the Golden Knights opening run, the Griffins never got closer than seven points.

 
WHAT'S AHEAD

Gannon will prepare to face rival California (Pa.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. on Hall of Fame Day at the Hagerty Family Events Center.