The Gannon University women’s basketball team saw its season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament March 6, as the Knights fell to second seed California (Pa.), 80-68.
The loss, which followed Gannon’s 71-67 upset win over Edinboro in the opening round two days earlier, left the Knights with a final overall record of 14-17. The team went 9-12 in conference play and entered the PSAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
The Knights put up a spirited fight in the first half against Cal U and trailed by just one point – 43-42 – at intermission. Gannon went up by three points early in the second half but the Vulcans used an 11-2 run to build a six-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Knights remained as close as seven with three minutes to play, but could not get closer.
Chelsea Rourke scored 15 points, with 12 coming in the first half, to lead five players in double figures for Gannon. Sydney Mitchell and Nicole LaCava each finished with 12 while Haley Tewes and Tori Obenrader each contributed 10.
In the opening-round win over Edinboro, the Knights built a 59-43 lead heading into the final 10 minutes and then had to hold on for the win – Gannon’s first road victory ever in a PSAC Tournament game.
The Knights led 35-31 at halftime and then used an 8-0 burst to expand it to 12 points. Gannon continued to build its lead until it reached 59-43 at the end of the quarter.
But Edinboro would not go away and rallied to get within five at 62-57 with 5 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the game. Obenrader hit a pair of clutch free throws to provide a bit of breathing room and Edinboro never got closer than four the rest of the way.
Mitchell’s 20 points paced Gannon while Boston McKinney added 15 and Rourke chipped in with 14 for Gannon, which shot 49 percent from the floor in the win.
The Knights went into tournament play by splitting their final two games of the regular season, beating Clarion, 50-48, on Feb. 27 and falling to Slippery Rock, 71-67, on March 2.
Gannon played solid defense in the win over Clarion, allowing only four points in the last seven minutes of the game.
Rourke and LaCava each scored 15 points in the win while Obenrader contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
In the loss to Slippery Rock, Obenrader’s 13 points led the way, and she also corralled nine rebounds. Rourke added 10 points in the loss.
LaCava finished the year with the third-best single-season field goal percentage mark – 59.8 percent – in school history.
James hanchett
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