INDIANA, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team faced a tough challenge going into a PSAC West showdown at Indiana (Pa.) against the second-place Crimson Hawks on Saturday.

The Golden Knights had several opportunities to take the lead in the final seconds, but they saw their 21-game winning streak come to an end in a 53-52 loss to the rival Hawks at Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.

Gannon entered the game ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the two NCAA Division II national polls. The Knights will head home with a 24-2 overall record. The good news is that they still own a 3½ -game lead over IUP in the race for the No. 1 seed in the PSAC's Western Division.

Senior post player Sam Pirosko had team highs with 23 points and 11 rebounds for Gannon, which had not lost since dropping a 74-70 outcome to Glenville State in the Atlantic Region Challenge on Nov. 10 at the Highmark Events Center.

 
Frantic final moments:

Saturday' game was tied 52-52 before IUP's Maria Cerro made a free throw at the 1:29 mark to give the Crimson Hawks a one-point lead. It proved to be the final point of the game.

Both teams played tough defensively in the next minute-plus as each forced a turnover while holding the other scoreless.

Gannon had possession and called a timeout with 13 seconds to go. The Knights eventually got the ball to Pirosko, who drove from the left and took an 8-foot runner that bounced off the rim. IUP grabbed the rebound but was whistled for a travel with 2 seconds to go.

Gannon again called timeout before inbounding the ball to sophomore guard Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster), who was fouled about 20 feet from the hoop. GU was not in the bonus, so the Knights had to inbound the ball with 0.4 seconds left.

They tossed the ball high in the lane to Pirosko, who attempted an off-balance desperation shot that didn't find the mark.
 

By the numbers:

Gannon struggled shooting from the field for the second straight game. Pirosko shot 9-of-17 from the field, but the rest of the team combined to shoot 11-for-42 (26 percent). As a team, Gannon shot 33.9 percent from the field (20-for-59) and 16.9 percent (3-of-18) from 3-point range.

Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) had nine points and five rebounds for Gannon.

McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) had seven rebounds as Gannon outrebounded IUP 38-31, including 15-7 on the offensive end.
 

What's ahead: 

Gannon will host Slippery Rock on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Hagerty Family Events Center