Carissa Dunham vs. Clarion
56
Clarion Clar 12-9,6-7 PSAC
71
Winner Gannon Gannon 19-3,11-2 PSAC
Clarion Clar
12-9,6-7 PSAC
56
Final
71
Gannon Gannon
19-3,11-2 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Clarion Clar 13 16 7 20 56
Gannon Gannon 14 27 14 16 71

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

Gannon Runs Winning Streak to Four with 71-56 Win over Clarion

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team ran its winning streak to four games in a row with a convincing 71-56 win over Clarion at the Highmark Events Center. The victory leaves Gannon, ranked seventh in the latest D2CSC Div. II Top 25 and 13th in the WBCA poll, at 19-3 and 12-2 in the PSAC West. A vastly improved Clarion team dipped to 12-9 and 6-7 in league play.
 
The Golden Knights continued their domination of the Golden Eagles. Gannon has now won the last 16 meetings and 34 of the last 35. Gannon has also now won 28 straight home games.
 
Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) led Gannon with 17 points, but it was the play of the bench that keyed the win, along with the usual standout defense. Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) came off the bench to score 13 points, including back-to-back three's in the second quarter that gave Gannon control of the game. The bench outscored Clarion 37-17.
 
The Clarion game marked the end of the first half of divisional play in the PSAC. The Golden Knights are tied for second in the PSAC West with Edinboro, a game behind Seton Hill.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon jumped out to an 8-2 lead but the Golden Eagles closed to 14-13 after one quarter. Clarion would take a one-point lead at 20-19 midway through the second quarter and the contest was tied at 22-22 at the 6:00 mark when Gannon took control.
 
The Golden Knights went on a 13-2 run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria), to take a 35-24 lead with 330 remaining. Gannon went to the half holding a 41-29 advantage. The Golden Knights shot a sizzling 10-of-13 (76.9 pct.) in the quarter and outscored Clarion 27-16. Dunham accounted for 11 of her 13 points making all four of her shots.
 
A smothering defense stepped up in the third quarter to hold Clarion to just two field goals in 14 attempts. Gannon's lead grew to as much as 20 points at 55-35 late in the period on a pair of Lauren Kingsley (Pavilion, N.Y./Pavilion) free throws. Gannon held a 55-36 lead after three quarters.
 
Gannon's lead reached its largest total at 66-45 with just under four minutes to play. As was the case in Saturday's win at Seton Hill, the Golden Eagles made a late comeback against Gannon reserves. An 10-0 run pulled Clarion to within 11 at 66-55 with 58 seconds left. Jenna Winowiecki (Grosse Point Woods, Mich./Gross Point North) scored all six of her points after that for the final margin.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon shot an even 50.0 percent for the game (23-of-46), and made 7-of-14 3-pointers. The Golden Knights were 18-of-23 at the line. Clarion was held to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) and went 5-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles were 11-of-19 from the charity stripe. Gannon limited a Clarion averaging 76.8 ppg., second in the PSAC, to 56 points.
 
Clarion took care of the ball in the first half, committing just five turnovers. The second half was a different story as they turned the ball over 21 times all told. Gannon committed 26 turnovers but the points off turnovers was just 24-23 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Gannon ruled the glass 38-28, pulling down 30 defensive boards.   
 
Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) led all scorers with 17 points, going 8-of-10 from the line. The sophomore added three assists and three steals. Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) was the only other Golden Knight in double digits with 13 points. The junior guard made 5-of-6 shots overall and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) added nine points and six rebounds. Taylor Ethridge (Chesapeake, Va./Catholic) and Lauren Kingsley (Pavilion, N.Y./Pavilion) added seven points apiece. Freshman Jordan Popyk (Novi, Mich./Novi) led all rebounders, pulling down eight.
 
NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon begins the second half of divisional play at California (Pa.) on Saturday, February 1. The Golden Knights won the first meeting 71-62. Cal knocked off Indiana (Pa.) this evening 77-63.
 
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