ERIE, Pa. – It took a while for the Gannon women's basketball team to figure out how to pull away from Glenville State and its full-court press on Saturday in the Atlantic Region Challenge.
 
When coach Cleve Wright's Golden Knights finally did break loose, they left no doubt. Gannon downed Glenville State 83-58 after closing with a 41-17 run in the second game of the Atlantic Region Challenge at Hagerty Family Events Center. Slippery Rock beat Davis & Elkins 79-42 in the first game of the day.
 
Sophomore shooting guard Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) had a career day for the Knights. She poured in a game-high 29 points and led all players with 16 rebounds, both career highs. Ratliff went 7-of-11 from the field and was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line. She paced Gannon with five assists and played outstanding defense with a team-best five blocks.
 
Gannon, which improved to 4-0 on the season, will conclude play in the Atlantic Region Challenge on Sunday at 3 p.m. when it meets Davis & Elkins. Glenville State will face Slippery Rock in the 1 p.m. game.
 
 
How it happened:
 
Gannon led almost the entire way, but Glenville State's pressure did give the Golden Knights some problems. GU led 33-27 at the half, and the Pioneers eventually closed the gap to one point when Ashlyn Riley connected on a 3-pointer with 2:53 left in the third period to make it 42-41.
 
Gannon closed the third quarter with an 8-2 to run take a 50-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Junior Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) then opened the fourth period with back-to-back 3-point field goals to extend Gannon's lead to a 56-45. She made a pair of free throws to increase the lead to 58-45.
 
Ratliff then tallied Gannon's next seven points as Gannon's lead grew to 65-49. Junior shooting guard Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) then scored the next eight points as Gannon sealed the win with a 73-51 lead with under 4 minutes remaining.
 
 
By the numbers:
 
Gannon had four players in double figures, led by Ratliff. Wheatley finished with 15 points in 18 minutes of action, and she didn't miss a shot. She went 4-for-4 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and she sank all five of her free-throw attempts.
 
Junior guard Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) scored 12 points and was effective in helping GU break Glenville's press.
 
Claxon had a slow start but finished with 10 points.
 
Freshman Olivia Pepple (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) saw significant time at guard, scoring four points in 16 minutes. She also was effective at dealing with GSU's defensive pressure.
 
Glenville State forced 33 Gannon turnovers. However, Gannon limited the Pioneers to just 25.6 percent shooting.
 
Gannon outrebounded Glenville 57-35.