Bri Claxon vs. Cal
Bryce Dolak
57
California (PA) CUP 14-7,9-6 PSAC
69
Winner Gannon Gannon 23-1,15-0 PSAC
California (PA) CUP
14-7,9-6 PSAC
57
Final
69
Gannon Gannon
23-1,15-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
California (PA) CUP 15 8 22 12 57
Gannon Gannon 17 14 22 16 69

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

Pirosko, Claxon Lead No. 2/3 Gannon to Regular Season Sweep of California (Pa.)

Golden Knights win 20th straight game 69-57

ERIE, Pa. – Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) scored 23 points and Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) added 22 as Gannon extended its winning streak to 20 games with a 69-57 win over California (Pa.) at Hagerty Family Events Center on Hall of Fame Day. The Golden Knights, ranked second in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 and third in the D2CSC Media Poll, improved to 23-1 overall and 15-0 in the PSAC West. The loss was the third straight for the Vulcans, who are now 14-7 and 9-6, respectively.

Gannon has now won five of the last six meetings in the rivalry with Cal (Pa.), sweeping the regular season series the last two years. Saturday's game was a typical Gannon-Cal game before the Golden Knights took control down the stretch.

The Golden Knights gained the lead for good midway through the second quarter at 21-19 as Pirosko grabbed a rebound and ended up going coast-to-coast for a layup. The lead grew to as much as eight points on several occasions the rest of the quarter, with Gannon heading to halftime with a 31-23 lead.

The lead expanded to 11 points at 40-29 four minutes into the third quarter, but Cal refused to go away. The Vulcans pulled to with four points at 44-40 but Gannon bumped the lead back to eight points at 53-45 after three periods as Pirosko hit Gannon's lone 3-pointer of the game and Claxon followed with a bucket.

The Vulcans pulled to withing 56-51 with just under seven minutes to play before the Golden Knights used a 12-2 run to finally put some distance between themselves and the Vulcans. Claxon keyed the spurt as the sophomore guard scored on a drive to make it 62-52, then followed with a steal and layup for a 64-52 lead with 4:26 to play. Cal pulled no closer than the final score the rest of the way.

Pirosko closed in on the 2,000-point mark for her career with her tenth 20-point effort of the season and fifth in a row. Her 23 points gives her 1,995 career points as she is now just five points shy of joining Rona Nesbit and Kristin Roseberry as 2,000-point scorers for the women's basketball program.
The 5-foot-10 redshirt senior made 7-of-12 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and was 8-of-9 at the line. She added a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Pirosko extended her consecutive games streak in double figures to 57 games.

Claxon has her own streak going as she has now scored in double digits in 15 straight games. While scoring 22 points, her sixth game with 20-or-more points, she made 9-of-17 field goals and went 4-of-5 at the line. She added five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Freshman Kated Ratliff continued her strong play with nine points along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Gannon ended the day shooting 47.1 percent from the floor (24-of-51) while limiting Cal to 43.8 percent (21-of-48). The Golden Knights went 20-of-23 at the line while Cal was 10-of-18. A highly-competitive battle of the boards went in Gannon's favor 31-29. Gannon forced 20 turnovers while committing 17, but the Golden Knights held an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Golden Knights came into the game ranked first in the PSAC and fifth in Division II in scoring defense and has now held 18 opponents to less than 60 points.

Gannon concludes a three-game homestand and looks to clinch a berth in the PSAC Tournament on Wednesday, February 7 hosting local rival Edinboro. The Golden Knights won the first meeting at Edinboro 90-76. Tipoff at Hagerty Family Events Center is 5:30 p.m.   
 
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