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By Joe Mattis
ERIE, PA – The Gannon Lady Knights showed Friday night why they worked so hard to become No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region.
The Knights, who went on a 25-2 run in the first half, remained unbeaten at home with a 66-40 win over No. 8 seed Fairmont State. That win was Gannon’s 13th win at the Hammermill Center and the Knights are 29-4 overall.
Trailing 7-5 after Fairmont State’s career leading scorer Kaitlin Snyder hit a 3-pointer, Gannon regained the lead for good on Amanda Berchtold’s three from the left corner. Ten minutes and 50 second later the Knights had a 30-9 lead while ending the Fighting Falcons season at 23-10.
“Once we got going we were focused,” Gannon coach Cleve Wright said of his team that won the regular season PSAC West championship but fell to Bloomsburg in the PSAC title game. “I thought we were getting good looks that weren’t dropping,” he said of his team’s show start.
The Knights, who have as much depth as any team in the regional, had ten players log 17 or more minutes. Nettie Blake, a 6-1 sophomore, led Gannon with 15 points and five rebounds. Another sophomore, Mollie Sebald, scored 12 points including a 3-pointer from beyond half court that gave the Knights a 33-16 halftime lead.
Sebald was all smiles as she described her long shot. “Everyday after practice a shoot a half-court shot,” she said. “I felt it was my moment.”
Junior point guard Kelley Sundberg scored nine points and her backup, freshman Amanda Berchtold, scored eight. “We always have to be ready to go,” Berchtold said of her role with the team.
Even though junior Jen Papich, the PSAC Athlete of the Year, scored just four points in 21 minutes, Wright knew he could rely on the rest of his players to pick up the slack. The Gannon subs scored 49 points. “We have really good depth and a lot of good players who can play,” he said.
Blake struggled in the first half with five points, but came on strong after the intermission. “I saw how much confidence my teammates had in me and I had to get going,” she said.
Just as it has been this season, Gannon’s defense was strong against the Falcons, the champion of the WVIAC. Sebald said that they did not key on Snyder, who scored 10 points in her final collegiate game. Sophomore Hailey Garrett led Fairmont with 12 points. “It was team defense,” Sebald said.
Fairmont coach Steve McDonald praised the Knight’s effort on the defense end which held the Falcons to 28.3 percent shooting. “They beat us up,” he said. “We lost because Gannon is good. I don’t think we showed what we are. A great deal is because Gannon played great defense.”
The Knight will be back on their home floor for the semifinals, and the Gannon players would have it no other way.
“We love our fans,” Blake said. “There is nothing like playing at the Hammermill Center.
“It definitely is a huge advantage,” echoed Sebald.
