Sam Pirosko vs. Lock Haven
Joe Mattis
72
Lock Haven LH 29-4,21-1 PSAC
91
Winner Gannon Gannon 34-2,21-1 PSAC
Lock Haven LH
29-4,21-1 PSAC
72
Final
91
Gannon Gannon
34-2,21-1 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Lock Haven LH 14 25 12 21 72
Gannon Gannon 21 22 30 18 91

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

Pirosko, Big Third Quarter Propels No. 1 Seed Gannon to Atlantic Regional Finals with 91-72 Win over No. 4 Lock Haven.

Pirosko scores 34 points, 13 in decisive third quarter

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team rode a dominant third quarter and another fantastic effort by Samantha Pirosko (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) to a berth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional championship game with a 91-72 win over Lock Haven. The regional semifinal game was a rematch of last Sunday's PSAC Championship game, also won by Gannon 80-65.

The victory boosts Gannon to 34-2 overall, the second-highest season win total. They advance to the Atlantic Region final for the first time since 2013. That squad went on to win and advance to the Elite Eight, as did the 2010 Gannon edition. Lock Haven finished with a 29-4 record, a school record for victories.

Gannon will now host Fayetteville State on Tuesday, March 19 at 5:00 p.m. at Hagerty Family Events Center. No. 3 seed Fayetteville State emerged this evening as the winner of the other half of the regional hosted by Fairmont State. Fayetteville State, the CIAA champion, handed the No. 2 seed Falcons a 70-62 defeat to improve to 29-2.  

While never trailing, Gannon's tenth straight win didn't come easy, however. A physical first half saw each team commit 13 fouls with a total of 34 free throws attempted. The Golden Knights held a slim 43-39 lead at intermission with several players battling foul trouble.

The Golden Knights would come out in the second half and blitz the Bald Eagles 30-12 in the third period. The Golden Knights made 9-of-19 field goals but were 6-of-9 on 3-pointers after going 2-of-10 in the first half. They also were 6-of-7 at the line.

Gannon opened the quarter on a 10-1 run with Pirosko scoring on a layup, Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) burying a 3-pointer, and Trinitee Harris (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) scoring on a layup. After spending most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble, Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) capped the run with a 3-pointer to give Gannon a 53-40 lead with 6:10 left.

The Golden Knights weren't done. After Lock Haven closed the gap to ten points a minute later, Gannon ran off eight straights as the lead ballooned to 61-43 with 3:43 left. A pair of Pirsoko 3-pointers bracketed two Harris free throws.

The lead would grow to 73-51 after three periods as Gannon outscored the Bald Eagles 30-12. Pirosko accounted for 13 points in the period.
Gannon did not let up in the fourth quarter, opening with the first five points in the period with Ratliff hitting a jumper and Pirosko converting a 3-point play for a 78-51 advantage. The Golden Knights would lead by as many as 28 points.

A week ago Pirosko scored 32 points in the PSAC Championship game win over Lock Haven. On Saturday the redshirt senior bettered that with 34 points despite sitting out the final six minutes of the game, making 9-of-16 field goals, including 3-of-5 3-pointers, and was 13-of-15 at the charity stripe. She added six rebounds.

Pirosko, the PSAC's leading scorer, has now scored 30-or-more points four times and three of the last four games. She boosted her career total to 2,249 points, second all-time, while moving into fifth place in career rebounds with 896.

Pirosko received plenty of support as Gannon posted its second-highest point total of the season. Redshirt freshman post player Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) came off the bench to score 17 points and pull down six rebounds. She made 7-of-10 shots and went 3-of-4 at the line. Wheatley was also in double figures while playing a reserve role, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with a pair of three's. She added six rebounds and three assists.

Ratliff, one of two freshmen in the starting lineup, added nine points while Harris had seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

Lock Haven was led by Jenadia Jordan, who like Pirosko spent a great deal of time at the charity stripe. She scored 27 points while going 12-of-17 at the line. Taylor Leidy added 17 points thanks for a 10-of-11 showing at the line.

Gannon shot 46.0 percent (29-of-63) from the floor, making 8-of-19 3-pointers, and was 25-of-29 at the line. The Golden Knights limited Lock Haven to 36.5 percent from the floor (19-of-52), making 3-of-10 3-pointers, and was 31-of-40 at the line.

Gannon came back to post a 38-35 advantage on the glass while outscoring the Bald Eagles 40-24 in the paint. Lock Haven committed 10 turnovers and Gannon nine.    
 
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