Box Score (New/Sortable Format) ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 13, 2013) – Traditional rivals Edinboro and Gannon put on a battle fitting that of nationally-ranked foes with both squads at times displaying why the two schools have combined for the past three PSAC championships. In the end, though, a second half surge from 10th-ranked Gannon was enough to put down No. 21 Edinboro, 71-62, on Wednesday evening at the Hammermill Center.
Samantha Blazetic led Edinboro (17-5, 14-4 PSAC) with 22 points as one of three Fighting Scots in double figures.
Kiara Brown and
Darche' Jackson both recorded 17 points for Edinboro.
Jen Papich led all scorers with 26 points for Gannon (22-3, 16-2).
Edinboro led for the entire first half, breaking away by as many as 12 points during the opening stanza. Gannon outscored the Boro 11-4 over the final 2:54 of the period, though, and the Scots' lead was just five at 32-27 at the break.
The Golden Knights continued on their hot pace to begin the second half and quickly whittled away the visitors' advantage to only two at 39-37 following a layup from Nettie Blake. A 3-pointer by Jackson for Edinboro momentarily stemmed the tide, but Gannon launched into an 10-4 break to take its first lead of the night at 47-46 on Brittany Batts' trey with 9:27 remaining.
Brown connected on a pair of free throws to take the lead back, 48-47, but a basket on the ensuing possession by Batts gave Gannon a lead it would not relinquish. The Golden Knights recorded the next nine points for a 56-48 lead, capped on a fast break from Papich.
Edinboro drew to within four, 56-52, with 5:10 remaining on four straight points from Jackson and appeared to be making the type of run that led the Scots to five straight wins over their rival entering the night.
It was not to be on this evening, however, as Gannon found its answer. A fancy, behind-the-back layup from Mollie Sebald stretched Gannon's lead to six again, 58-52, and Doriyon Glass followed an Edinboro turnover with a traditional 3-point play for a 61-52 edge with 4:40 on the clock.
The Scots charged back with one last rally attempt led by Brown. The senior charged the attack with two quick steals, leading to four points of offense in a 30-second span as the Boro brought the score to 64-60 and 2:32 still to play.
A Gannon turnover gave the ball back to the Scots with a chance to draw to within one possession. A missed shot led to Papich putting home a running one-hander on the other end and she completed the 3-point play following a foul for a 67-60 lead with 1:36 left, putting the exclamation point on the Knights' rebound.
Gannon dominated the second half on the boards, mounting a 24-9 advantage in rebounds in the final 20 minutes and held a 38-24 edge for the game.
Not having second chance opportunities proved key as Edinboro was held to 21-of-55 shooting (38.2 percent) for the game, including 9-of-28 from the floor in the second half (32.1 percent). Gannon shot a red hot 56 percent during the second stanza (14-25) and finished at a 49 percent clip for the game (24-49). Edinboro entered the game limiting its opponents to 26.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc, the top defensive mark in the PSAC, but could not stop the conference's top-shooting perimeter team as Gannon finished 6-of-11 from long range. Gannon did not connect on a single 3-pointer in Edinboro's win on Jan. 16 during the first meeting between schools this season.
Defensively, the Boro forced Gannon into 25 turnovers which resulted in 30 points for the Scots. Brown was key to the hosts' turnover total as she tallied seven steals, tying a career-high.
With the win, Gannon extends its advantage to two games over Edinboro in the PSAC West standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
The Fighting Scots return to action on Saturday and will look to get back on track at Slippery Rock. That contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
GAME NOTES: The win by Gannon snapped a five-game Boro winning streak over the Golden Knights after the Scots swept the season series the past two years. Edinboro leads the all-time series, 29-19 ... Blazetic took over 13th all-time on the Boro scoring list with 1,291 career points ... Edinboro shot a season-best 94.4 percent from the free throw line (17-18) and the teams were even in scoring from the stripe as Gannon went 17-23 (73.9 percent). Jackson led the Scots by shooting 6-of-6 at the line, a new career-best for the junior ... Edinboro fell for the first time this season when leading at halftime (14-1).
