Claxon vs. Kutz
Matt Durisko
58
Gannon Gannon 25-6,16-4 PSAC
64
Winner Kutztown Kutz 21-11,14-7 PSAC
Gannon Gannon
25-6,16-4 PSAC
58
Final
64
Kutztown Kutz
21-11,14-7 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 7 14 14 23 58
Kutztown Kutz 18 16 12 18 64

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

Gannon Rally Comes Up Just Short as Kutztown Wins PSAC Semifinal Game

Golden Knights won't appear in PSAC Championship game for first time in five years

EDINBORO, Pa. – The Gannon women's basketball team rallied back from as much as 16 points down in the third quarter to grab a lead in the final minutes, but Kutztown closed out Saturday's PSAC Semifinal game with a 10-3 run to hand the Golden Knights a 64-58 defeat.
 
The Golden Bears, the No. 1 seed from the PSAC East and now 21-11, advance into Sunday's PSAC Championship game, facing the winner of the second semifinal between Lock Haven and host Edinboro. Gannon, the No. 2 seed from the Western Division and the defending PSAC champion, saw its five-game winning streak come to an end and is now 25-6. It marks the first time in five years Gannon won't be playing in the PSAC Championship game.
 
Facing a veteran team that has now won 15 of its last 16 games, the Golden Knights found themselves trailing almost immediately and spent the rest of the game playing catch up.
 
Kutztown led 18-7 after one period and extended the lead to 34-21 at the half as the Golden Bears closed on an 11-2 run. Gannon faced a double-digit deficit the entire third quarter, at one point trailing by 16 points at 39-23 with 7:19 remaining. At the end of three quarters Gannon trailed 46-35.
 
Kutztown scored the first basket of the fourth quarter but the next ten points belonged to the Golden Knights. All told Gannon had a 17-4 run and when Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) scored on a layup the Golden Knights had their first lead of the game at 55-54 with 2:58 left.
 
Abbey Hearn, who led all scorers with 31 points, answered back with 3-pointer less than 30 seconds later to give the lead back to Kutztown. Gannon had four opportunities to score on its next possession but came up empty and Kutztown eventually made it a 7-0 run to go ahead 61-54.
 
Gannon will now find out its playoff fate on Sunday night when the NCAA announces the NCAA Division II Tournament field. The Golden Knights were fourth in the latest Atlantic Region rankings and will make their xx straight tournament appearance.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kutztown opened with the game's first six points as Gannon did not score until Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) hit a 3-pointer four minutes into the game. The Golden Knights would make just one other basket in the first quarter as they were 2-for-11 from the floor and trailed 18-7 after one quarter.
 
Gannon trimmed the deficit to 20-17 midway through the second quarter on a pair of Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) free throws, but Kutztown closed with an 11-2 run and Gannon trailed 34-21 at the half. The Golden Knights didn't shoot much better in the second quarter going 5-of-14 and ending the half at 28.0 percent (7-of-25).
 
The Golden Bears built their lead to 16 points, the largest of the game, at 39-23 with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter. Gannon was able to cut the deficit to 11 points at 46-35 as the third period ended.
 
Olivia Smelas' layup gave Kutztown a 13-point lead to start the fourth quarter but the Golden Knights came alive and scored the next 10 points to suddenly trail by just three points at 48-45, and 8:20 still remained. Dunham started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers and Ratliff's layup made it 48-43. Mia Slater (Canberra, Australia/Canberra Grammar School) followed with two free throws to close to 48-45.
 
Gannon finally came all the way back to grab its first lead of the game when Andrea Maibach (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) scored on a layup. That made it 55-54 with 2:58 left. It took Kutztown just 23 seconds to regain the lead on Abbey Hearn's 3-pointer. Gannon had four attempts at the basket on its next position, but all came up empty with Smelas blocking two shots.,
 
The Golden Knights did not score again until just 42 seconds remained on Claxon's jumper. That made it 61-57. Kutztown made three of four free throws after that to close out the game.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
As expected, the game had a defensive flavor to it. Gannon shot 35.0 percent from the floor (21-of-60, making 7-of-17 3-pointers, and the Golden Knights were 9-of-15 at the line. Kutztown finished the game shooting 41.4 percent (24-of-58), going 5-of-23 on 3-pointers and 11-of-15 at the line.   
 
Gannon held a 43-36 advantage on the glass. Both teams were solid with the ball as Gannon committed 12 turnovers and Kutztown nine.
 
Kate Ratliff (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) led a pair of Golden Knights in double figures with 14 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Bri Claxon (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) finished with 11 points. Carissa Dunham (Fairview, Pa./Villa Maria) went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc to end the day with nine points. Maddy Wheatly led the Golden Knights with nine rebounds while Mia Slater (Canberra, Australia/Canberra Grammar School) pulled down seven boards.
 
Abbey Hearn led all scorers with 31 points and added 13 rebounds.
 
 
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