Olivia Cernuto
Isaac Petkac
82
Winner Gannon Gannon 11-1,3-0 PSAC
61
West Chester WCU 5-3,1-1 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
11-1,3-0 PSAC
82
Final
61
West Chester WCU
5-3,1-1 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 15 20 27 20 82
West Chester WCU 13 22 11 15 61

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

No. 5 Golden Knights Dominant in Second Half for Tenth Win in a Row

Gannon wins at West Chester 82-61

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – In what is becoming a trend, the No. 5 Gannon women's basketball team rode a dominant second half to an impressive road win on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Knights extended their winning streak to ten straight games with an 82-61 win at West Chester.
 
The victory boosted Gannon to 11-1 overall and 3-0 in the PSAC West. West Chester dipped to 5-3 and 1-1 in league play while seeing a four-game winning streak come to an end. The game was the first of back-to-back games in southeastern Pennsylvania. Gannon plays at Millersville on Sunday before breaking for the holidays.
 
The two teams battled to a 35-35 tie at the half. The second half proved a different story. The Golden Knights outscored WCU 27-11 in the third quarter and 20-15 in the fourth. The Golden Knights made 17-of-28 shots in the second half (60.7 pct.), including 6-of-11 3-pointers, while limiting the Golden Rams to 6-of-17 (35.3 pct.).
 
THE GAME FACTS
Score: No. 5 Gannon 82, West Chester 61
Records: Gannon (11–1, 3–0 PSAC) | West Chester (5-3, 1–1 PSAC)
Location: Hollinger Field House – West Chester, Pa.
Date: December 20, 2025

THE KNIGHT CAP
  • Great Halftime Adjustments: Gannon and West Chester entered the half tied at 35-35. That was tied for the most points allowed by Gannon in the first half this season. The Golden Knights didn't return to the court until two minutes remained in the halftime period. Whatever head coach Cleve Wright said worked wonders. WCU scored the first basket of the third quarter but the Golden Knights proceeded to go on an 18-4 run capped by a 3-pointer by Olivia Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland). WCU never pulled closer than ten points the rest of the game. All told Gannon outscored the Golden Rams 27-11 in the decisive third period to take a 62-46 lead.     
  • Where Was the Defense?: Gannon and West Chester came in as two of the top defensive teams in the PSAC. In fact, the Golden Knights led Division II in scoring defense (48.1 ppg. and WCU was not far behind at 54.0 ppg. They were one-two in field goal percentage defense. So the high-scoring game was somewhat unexpected. Gannon, in fact, almost scored as many points in the second half (47) as WCU allowed per game. The 61 points scored by the Golden Rams are the most points allowed by Gannon this year. Northern Michigan scored 60 points in the second game of the season.
  • Make That Ten in a Row: Speaking of the Northern Michigan game, that was Gannon's lone loss of the season. Since then the Golden Knights have run off ten straight wins while moving up to fifth in the latest WBCA Div. II Top 25. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for West Chester.     
  • Six Reach Double Digits: With reserves Olivia Pepple (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) and Cernuto leading the way Gannon featured six players in double figures. The two backup guards scored 13 points apiece, career highs for both. Mia Slater (Canberra, Australia/Canberra Grammar School) added 10 points off the bench as the reserves tallied 40 points. Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) scored 12 points with Jordan Popyk (Novi, Mich./Novi) and Maddy Wheatley (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) adding 10 points each. Wheatley had a game-high nine rebounds.   
  • Tough to Win at Hollinger: Gannon's win at Hollinger Field House is a rarity for visiting teams. West Chester was 34-5 at Hollinger Field House since January 2023 prior to Saturday's game. 
Up Next
Gannon concludes the 2025 portion of its schedule heading from West Chester to Millersville to play the Marauders on Sunday, December 21. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.        
 
 
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