Claxon vs. GVSU
Matt Durisko
32
Gannon Gannon 28-7,16-4 PSAC
60
Winner Grand Valley St. GVSU 36-2,19-1 GLIAC
Gannon Gannon
28-7,16-4 PSAC
32
Final
60
Grand Valley St. GVSU
36-2,19-1 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 6 12 5 9 32
Grand Valley St. GVSU 11 11 20 18 60

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

Golden Knights Conclude Season with Loss to No. 1 Grand Valley State in Elite Eight Quarterfinals

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team saw its season come to an end on Monday at Duquesne's UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Playing in the NCAA Div. II Elite Eight, the Golden Knights came in as the number eight seed and had the tall task of upsetting No. 1 Grand Valley State. For a half that was a distinct possibility but the Lakers totally stifled Gannon in the second half to move on to the semifinals with a 60-32 win.

Gannon's season concludes at 28-7 following a second straight trip to the Elite Eight. A large contingent of Gannon fans made the two-hour trip down I-79 to cheer on head coach Cleve Wright's squad one last time.

Grand Valley State improved to 36-2 while winning its 11th straight game. The Lakers will face the winner of the final quarterfinal game between Pittsburg State and Lubbock Christian in the semifinals.

The third quarter proved to be the difference in the game. Gannon scored the final six points of the second quarter to close to within 22-18 at halftime. But the Golden Knights would turn the ball over on five of their first six possessions of the third quarter and had nine turnovers in the quarter after committing nine in the first half. Coupled with a 2-for-10 shooting effort Gannon was outscored 20-5 in the period and trailed 42-23 with ten minutes remaining.

GVSU never allowed the Golden Knights a chance to rally in the fourth quarter outscoring Gannon 18-9.

Gannon was unable to score for long stretches against a Grand Valley State team that came in ranked second in the country in scoring defense (52.8 pct.). But the Golden Knights more than held their own on the defensive end against a Lakers' team that was averaging 84.4 ppg., second in Division II. Gannon ended the night shooting 25.9 percent from the floor (14-of-54) while  GVSU was held to 34.3 percent (21-of-61).

Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) led Gannon with 15 points but no other Golden Knight managed more than four points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
GVSU scored the first four points of the game but Gannon finally broke the ice with a basket by Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) with 5:08 left in the quarter, Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) tied the game at 4-4 with steal and jumper.

The Lakers scored the next five points to go ahead 9-4 before Claxon's pull-up jumper made it 9-6 with 2:38 left. The Golden Knights did not score again and trailed 11-6 after one quarter.

Both teams struggled to make a hoop in the first ten minutes as Gannon was 3-of-14 from the field and GVSU 5-of-18. Combined they were 1-of-13 from beyond the arc. Both teams also turned the ball over four times.

The second quarter was another low-scoring period with Grand Valley State holding a 22-18 lead at the half. The Golden Knights continued to go stretches without scoring against the second-ranked defense in Division II but closed late in the period.

Claxon's jumper at the 5:16 mark made it 16-12 but the Lakers scored the next six points to push their lead to double digits at 22-12 with just over two minutes remaining. The Golden Knights turned up the defense themselves and held the Lakers scoreless the rest of the half.  Jordan Popyk's (Novi, Mich./Novi) layup made it 22-14, and Mia Slater's (Canberra, Australia/Canberra Grammar School) basket off a pass from Trinitee Harris (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central). Slater added two free throws with 13 seconds left and Gannon closed the gap to 22-16 at the half. As it turned out those would be the lone free throws of the game for the Golden Knights.

Grand Valley State set the tone for the third quarter with a layup and two free throws as the deficit grew to 26-18. Claxon's 3-pointer cut that to 26-21 with 8:16 remaining but the Golden Knights would not score again for over three minutes. It was also Gannon's first 3-pointer of the night.

The Lakers closed the period on a 16-2 run to lead 42-23 after three periods. Gannon's lone basket the rest of the quarter came at 4:59 on a layup by Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester). The third quarter saw Gannon commit nine turnovers and go 2-for-10 from the floor.

The fourth quarter began with a pair of GVSU free throws, but Maddy Wheatley's (Canberra, Australia/UCSSC Lake Ginninderra) layup snapped GVSU's 18-2 run and was the first bucket for the Golden Knights in over five minutes. Gannon scored back-to-back baskets for the fourth time on the evening on Claxon's pull up jumper to make it 44-27. GVSU answered with the next 12 points.

Claxon hit another pull up jumper with 2:23 remaining to snap a stretch of over seven minutes without a basket and Taylor Ethridge (Chesapeake, Va./Catholic) drained Gannon's second 3-pointer of the night with nine seconds left to play.

BY THE NUMBERS
Both teams excelled defensively. In fact on any other night Gannon's defensive performance would have really stood out. The Golden Knights held a Grand Valley State team that was second in the country in scoring at 84.4 ppg. to just 60 points. In addition the Lakers shot just 34.3 percent (21-of-61). Gannon shot 25.9 percent from the floor (14-of-54), including a 2-of-19 showing from beyond the arc. Gannon was a perfect 2-for-2 at the line while the Lakers finished at 12-of-15.

Grand Valley State ended the night with a 44-35 advantage on the glass but the big difference came in turnovers. Gannon committed 21 while forcing 14.

Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) led Gannon with 15 points. The junior guard moved into 14th place in career scoring with 1,293 points. She added five rebounds. Sophomore post player Mia Slater (Canberra, Australia/Canberra Grammar School) matched her career-high with 10 rebounds, six coming on the offensive end.

Gannon's 32 points were the fewest since a 57-31 loss to Millersville on Jan. 3, 2015.
 
Print Friendly Version