Maddy Wheatley vs. Shepherd
Joe Mattis
67
Gannon Gannon 13-2,5-1 PSAC
69
Winner Lock Haven LH 8-3,3-1 PSAC
Gannon Gannon
13-2,5-1 PSAC
67
Final
69
Lock Haven LH
8-3,3-1 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 14 17 12 24 67
Lock Haven LH 12 16 19 22 69

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

Golden Knights Lose in Final Second on Pair of Lock Haven Free Throws

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Rhlyn Rouse hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left to give Lock Haven a 69-67 win over Gannon on Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped the Golden Knights to 13-2 overall, snapping a four-game winning streak. They are now 5-1 in the PSAC. Lock Haven improved to 8-3 and 3-2, respectively.

Gannon came in ranked fourth in the WBCA Div. II Top 25 and 11th in the D2CSC poll. Both teams were picked as preseason favorites in their respective PSAV divisions, with LHU coming off a school-record 29 wins. A year ago Gannon beat the Bald Eagles in the PSAC Championship game and six days later came back and defeated them in the Atlantic Regional semifinals.

Saturday's game saw Gannon rally from a nine-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to take the lead before Lock Haven came back to win. Tied at 67-67, Jenadia Jordan's driving shot from the right side was off the mark, but Rouse gathered in the offensive rebound. Her putback was blocked but Gannon was whistled for a foul on the play and Rouse made both ensuing free throws.

Both teams followed with timeouts but Gannon was unable to get a shot off in the final second.

The game was the final crossover game for Gannon. The Golden Knights are now off until Saturday, January 4 when California (Pa.) comes to the Hagerty Family Events Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first two quarters were back-and-forth with four lead changes and three ties. Neither team led by more than six points. Gannon grabbed a 14-12 lead after one quarter as Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Golden Knights gained their largest lead of the half at three points with a 16-13 lead early in the second quarter, but the Bald Eagles answered with nine straight points for a 22-16 lead at 4:58. Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) ended the run with a layup at the 4:45 mark.

The Golden Knights would rally back to grab a 31-28 lead at intermission, scoring the final six points of the quarter. Wheatley hit a driving layup and Claxon followed with a jumper in the paint for a 29-28 lead with 45 seconds left. Trinitee Harris (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) matched Gannon's biggest lead of the game with a jumper.

Lock Haven came in as one of the top rebounding teams in the PSAC and the Bald Eagles dominated the glass in the first half, holding a 20-11 advantage. The Golden Knights, however, forced 11 turnovers. Wheatley had eight points and Claxon seven in the opening 20 minutes.

Lock Haven came out and scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take a 37-31 lead. Gannon missed its first five shots in the quarter and went almost five minutes without scoring before Jordan Popyk (Novi, Mich./Novi) hit a short jumper at 5:32.

The Bald Eagles built the lead back up to six points at 41-35 before Taylor Ethridge (Chesapeake, Va./Catholic) fueled a comeback that left the Golden Knights trailing 47-43 heading into the final period. The sophomore scored six of Gannon's final eight points in the quarter.

Lock Haven gained its largest lead of the game at 55-46 with 7:44 remaining thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. Gannon wasn't done, however, as the Golden Knights scored the next seven points to pull to within 55-53.

Gannon still trailed 63-59 with 3:33 remaining but would score the next six points to grab its first lead since early in the third quarter. Claxon hit a short jumper and Wheatley's rebound basket tied the game at 63-63. Wheatley added a second rebound basket with 1:51 left for a 65-63 lead. Lock Haven regained the lead with the next two baskets before Claxon scored on a layup to tie the game at 67-67 with 28 seconds left.

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon shot 52.6 percent from the floor (30-of-57) for the game while Lock Haven came in at 50.0 percent (27-of-54). The Golden Knights made 2-of-9 3-pointers while LHU was 2-of-10. It's the third straight game the Golden Knights have shot 50.0 percent or better from the floor, but the first time an opponent has hit the mark this year.

The game was won at the line. Gannon was 5-of-10 from the charity stripe while the Bald Eagles were 13-of-15.
Lock Haven held a 33-25 advantage on the glass. Gannon forced 16 turnovers and committed 14, nine of those in the second half.

Lock Haven's 69 points are the most allowed by Gannon since the only other loss of the season, a 73-62 setback at Ohio Dominican on November 27.

Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) led three Golden Knights in double figures with 17 points. The junior guard made 8-of-15 shots, adding five rebounds and two blocks. She went over 1,000 points for her career on Tuesday vs. Shepherd.

Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) added 12 points and five rebounds while making 6-of-12 field goal attempts. Popyk finished with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The freshman made 5-of-6 shots. Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) added nine points, all in the fourth quarter.

Lock Haven had five players reach double digits. Madeline Evans led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds.
 
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