LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Great players make a habit of being at their best during tough moments.

When Gannon trailed West Chester by eight points in the second quarter of the PSAC semifinals, Sam Pirosko stepped up and once again showed why she is the two-time PSAC West Athlete of the Year and a returning All-American.

The 5-foot-10 post player scored seven straight Gannon points to help the Golden Knights trim the lead to one point at the half.

It was only the beginning.

Pirosko went on a second-half barrage as she finished with career highs of 40 points and 19 rebounds while leading No. 4/3 Gannon to a 79-73 victory over West Chester at Lock Haven's Thomas Fieldhouse.

The victory moved Gannon, the No. 1 seed from Western Division, to 31-2 on the season. It also propelled Gannon into a showdown with No. 1 Eastern seed Lock Haven (28-2), which held off California (Pa.) 54-51 in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Coach Cleve Wright's Golden Knights will take on the Bald Eagles on Sunday at 3 p.m. as the Golden Knights go for their third title in the past four PSAC Tournaments.
This will be Gannon's fourth straight appearance in the PSAC Championship Game. Gannon won titles in 2020 and 2022 and placed second in 2023. (There was not tournament in 2021.)
 

Sluggish start:

Gannon faced a talented West Chester squad that entered the game with a 24-5 overall record and was led by point guard Leah Johnson, the PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Year, along with All-PSAC East First Team forward Emily McAteer. The Golden Rams had 16 wins in a row going into the game.

McAteer scored 12 points and Johnson scored 10 in the first half on Saturday. They fueled the Golden Rams to a 31-23 lead with 5 minutes left in the half.

However, Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) had a steal and fastbreak layup to start Gannon's 9-0 run. Pirosko then connected on two layups, a jumpshot, and a free throw to score the final seven points of the run.

McAteer's two free throws gave West Chester a 33-32 lead at the half.
 

Second-half Sam:

Pirosko was dominant in the second half, scoring 27 points. She scored 10 of those in the third quarter, but West Chester still led 51-50 going into the fourth quarter.
Her layup with 5:06 remaining in the game gave Gannon a 63-61 lead. The Knights would never trail again. She added four consecutive free throws to stretch the lead to 67-61 before Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) hit a clutch 3-pointer to lift GU to a 70-61 advantage.

Pirosko scored Gannon's final eight points of the game while going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. She finished the game 19-of-20 from the foul line. That set two Gannon program records. Pirosko broke Rebecca Sandor's 1997 mark of 16 free throws made and topped Kristin Roseberry's record of 19 free-throw attempts in a game.
 

By the numbers:

• Pirosko increased her career point total to 2,166 points as she moved into second place on Gannon's career scoring list. She passed the 2,147 total scored by Roseberry from (1999-02).
• Pirosko's 40-point game was only the fifth in Gannon women's basketball history. Cheryl Hubbard set the program record of 42 in 1985, Mary Kay Lynch (1985) and Rona Nesbit (1981) each scored 41, and Nesbit (1980) scored 40.
• The previous career highs for Pirosko came recently. She scored 35 points against Mercyhurst on Jan. 24, and she pulled down 16 rebounds against Pitt-Johnstown on Feb. 25.
• Pirosko had a whopping 11 offensive rebounds to go with eight defensive boards against WCU.  She shot 10-of-18 from the field and added four assists.
• This was the 12th double-double of the season for Pirosko, along with her 66th consecutive game with double-digit scoring.
• Pirosko has 875 career rebounds, and her 269 rebounds this season are a career-best.     
• Claxon was next in the scoring column with 17 points while Ratliff had 10 points.
• McAteer paced West Chester with 23 points while Johnson finished with 21, eight rebounds, and four assists.

 
Championship challenge:

Lock Haven is having a dream season, having gone 28-2 overall and 21-1 in the PSAC East.

On Saturday, the Bald Eagles dethroned the Vulcans, who had beaten Gannon 75-63 in the 2023 PSAC Championship Game.

LHU's Jennifer Smith was the PSAC East Coach of the Year, while Alana Robinson was the Defensive Player of the Year and an All-PSAC East First Team honoree. Jenadia Jordan was another PSAC East First-Team All-Star, while  hyln Rouse was the PSAC East Freshman of the Year. Rouse also made All-PSAC East Second Team.

On Saturday, Robinson had 16 points and nine rebounds, Jordan scored 13 points, and Rouse had seven points and 10 rebounds.