Kate Ratliff vs. Cal
Joe Mattis
62
California (PA) CUP 6-7,3-4 PSAC
71
Winner Gannon Gannon 14-2,6-1 PSAC
California (PA) CUP
6-7,3-4 PSAC
62
Final
71
Gannon Gannon
14-2,6-1 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
California (PA) CUP 18 11 20 13 62
Gannon Gannon 18 18 15 20 71

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

Golden Knights Hold Off California (Pa.) Behind 19 Points from Ratliff

Gannon has now won six of last seven vs. Vulcans

ERIE, Pa. – Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) led three Gannon players in double figures with 19 points as the Golden Knights came away with a 71-62 win over California (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon. The game was the PSAC West opener for the Golden Knights, ranked ninth in the WBCA Top 25 and 11th in the D2CSC poll, as they improved to 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the PSAC West. Cal is now 6-7 and 3-4 respectively.
 
The contest also marked the first game of 2025 and the final contest played at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center. When the Golden Knights host Slippery Rock in their next home game on Wednesday, January 15 they will do so on their on-campus home court the Highmark Events Center.
 
Gannon certainly enjoyed its time at the Hagerty Family Events Center. They won all 21 games they played at the facility dating back to last January.
 
Saturday's win certainly didn't come easy. Always a battle facing Cal (Pa.), Gannon held a nine-point lead early in the third quarter before the Vulcans rallied to pull within two points at 51-49 after three quarters.
 
Gannon's lead was still just two points at 55-53 when Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) drained Gannon's lone 3-pointer of the afternoon from the left baseline, giving the Golden Knights a 58-53 lead with 5:07 remaining.
 
That bucket started a 7-0 run for Gannon and they would hold the Vulcans off the rest of the way. The Golden Knights have won six of the last seven meetings and nine of the last 11 after sweeping the Vulcans in 2023-24.
 
Gannon returns to action on Wednesday, January 8 playing the first of back-to-back road games. They play at Indiana (Pa.), facing a Crimson Hawks team that has jumped out to an 11-1 start and is 6-0 in the PSAC. They have won all six of their home games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
From the start Gannon found itself in a battle. Cal scored the first two baskets of the game and led 10-3 less than three minutes into the game. Gannon would forge an 18-18 tie after one quarter as the Golden Knights turned the ball over nine times and Cal seven.
 
Thanks to a late second quarter run Gannon held a 36-29 lead at the half. The Golden Knights gained the lead for good at 28-27 on Taylor Etheridge's short jumper with 4:28 left in the half. That basket started a 12-0 run. Jordan Popyk (Novi, Mich./Novi) hit a jumper and made one of two free throws, followed by two free throws by Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) for a 33-27 lead. Popyk once again made one of two from the charity stripe before Trinitee Harris' (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) basket gave Gannon a 36-27 lead.

Maddy Wheatley's (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) basket in the first minute of the third quarter gave Gannon another nine-point lead at 38-29. But that lead would evaporate over the next eight-plus minutes as Cal tied the game at 48-48 on Sierra Bermudez' jumper with 45 seconds left. Lauren Kingsley's (Pavilion, N.Y./Pavilion) baseline jumper with a second remaining gave Gannon a 51-49 lead with ten minutes left to play.
 
While tying the game twice in the third quarter Cal was never able to regain the lead. Gannon's lead was still just 55-53 when the Golden Knights made their lone 3-pointer of the night to give the Golden Knights a little cushion. Maddy Wheatly drained the triple from the left baseline with 5:07 left to play, the start of a 7-0 run. Baskets by Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) and Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) gave Gannon a 62-53 lead with 3:29 left. Cal never pulled closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Thanks to a strong showing in the fourth quarter Gannon ended the afternoon shooting 48.0 percent from the floor (24-of-50). They were just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and finished at 22-of-32 from the charity stripe. Cal (Pa.) was held to 30.0 percent (18-of-60), including just 3-of-17 in the fourth quarter. The Vulcans were 7-of-24 on 3-pointers and made 19-of-24 free throws.
 
Facing one of the top rebounding teams in the PSAC Gannon found themselves with just a 39-35 rebounding deficit. Both teams struggled with turnovers through the game, each committing 21, but Gannon held a 24-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) paced the Golden Knights with 19 points. The sophomore guard made 4-of-7 field goals and was 11-of-12 at the line. Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The redshirt junior made 6-of-9 field goals, including Gannon's lone 3-pointer, and was 3-of-5 at the line.
 
Freshman Jordan Popyk (Novi, Mich./Novi) turned in another strong effort in the paint with 11 points and five rebounds, making good on 4-of-5 field goal attempts.
 
Despite few numbers, one of the most valuable players as the game wore on was Tori Mayes (Lake City, Pa./Cathedral Prep). The sophomore guard had two points, two rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes. But she did not commit a turnover against a hounding Cal defense. She came in with 7:32 remaining and Gannon clinging to a 53-49 lead. She would remain in the game the rest of the way.      
 
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