ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Throughout the 2023-24 season, the Gannon women's basketball players had grown closer as a team and found so many ways to win.

On the biggest stage in NCAA Division II women's basketball, it was Gannon's opponent that found a way to win in the Elite Eight quarterfinals. Cal State San Marcos hit a series of clutch shots down the stretch, including a game-clinching 3-pointer late in overtime, as the No. 8-seeded Cougars topped the No. 1-seeded Golden Knights 85-80 at St. Joseph Civic Arena.

The tough loss ended an unforgettable season for coach Cleve Wright's Gannon team, which finished with a 35-3 record after winning PSAC West regular-season, PSAC Tournament, and Atlantic Regional championships to reach the Elite Eight.

The loss also brought an end to one of the greatest careers in Gannon program history. Sam Pirosko played her final game in a Golden Knights uniform after winning every conceivable award this season. She was the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and the PSAC Tournament MVP. She was the D2CCA and WBCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year, and she was the Atlantic Region Tournament MVP. She also was the WBCA National Player of the Year.

However, to her teammates, Pirosko was much more than someone with a long list of awards. She was the undisputed leader of a program that welcomed eight new players in the offseason, six of them freshmen. Because of a redshirt season and a COVID year, Pirosko was in her sixth season with the team, and she freely admitted that she had never been a leader before this season.

Because of her senior status, so to speak, Pirosko's teammates called her Mee-Maw, and they called fifth-year senior Ali Benim (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek), Mee-Mee. The pair teamed with fellow senior McKel Nation (Lebanon, Ohio/Springboro) to set an off-the-court example about how to handle the ups and downs of college athletics, on the court and off. Pirosko shared hugs with them in the closing seconds of the loss.
 

"They mean so much," Pirosko said of her teammates at the postgame press conference. "(Coach Wright) said it, yeah, we're family. … I said to them in there (the locker room), I've never been a leader before, and they played the part … and they followed … and they gave me everything, and that's all I could ask."

"It's never easy to say goodbye to a team and goodbye to a situation where that locker room will never be the same," Wright said. "We'll never be in the locker room together again in that capacity – with three absolutely fantastic, wonderful seniors. One of them said in there – and I loved it – one of the seniors said that we extended our Gannon family. All I know is what we have here, and it's very special."

 
On the court:

Gannon had been in its share of close games this season, but in almost all of them, the Knights found a way to pull ahead and claim victory.

The Cal State San Marcos team just kept hitting big shots even after three of their post players fouled out, including Western Region Player of the Year Jordan Vasquez, who finished with 26 points.

After Gannon led 39-35 at the half, freshman Olivia Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) drained a 3-pointer, Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) made a layup, and Nation added a 3-pointer to give Gannon its biggest lead of the game, 47-35, just 1:21 into the second half.

 Cal State San Marcos did not fold. The Cougars battled back to take a 59-58 lead late in the third period before Pirosko's putback at the buzzer gave Gannon a 60-59 lead.

Gannon led 69-64 with 5:12 to play, but the Cougars kept coming up with big defensive plays, clutch field goals, and a series of free throws. Gannon had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Pirosko's heavily contested turnaround bank shot was off the mark. The game went to overtime tied at 74.

CSSM's quick point guard Charity Gallegos scored six points to help the Cougars take an 82-80 lead with 48 seconds left. Malia Mastora then hit the biggest shot of the game when she buried a 3-pointer from the right wing with 14 seconds to go. CSSM's defense then prevented Gannon from getting a good shot in the final seconds.

 
By the numbers:

Pirosko closed the game with a team-high 26 points and added eight rebounds. She finished second in Gannon history with 2,293 points after setting a program record with 752 points in a season. The 5-foot-10 post player scored in double digits in each of her final 71 games.

Ratliff had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Nation contributed 14 points.

Gannon shot an uncharacteristically low 37 percent (27-of-73) from the field and just 25 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point territory.

Gannon's 35 wins were the second most in program history, second only to the 37 wins of the 2010 team that Wright coached into the national semifinals.