AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior Maggie Mitchell (Newark, Ohio) scored 25 of her game-high 29 points after halftime to lead Gannon University to a 68-64 victory over Daemen College here tonight in women's basketball action.
Gannon, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, improved to 4-3, while Daemen dropped to 2-5 following its fifth-straight loss. Three of the five losses have been by seven points or less. Tonight's game marked the first meeting between the two former rivals in ten years. The schools met 12 times between 1987 and 2007, and tonight was the first trip to Lumsden Gymnasium for the Golden Knights since the 2004-05 season.
Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) paced the Wildcats despite seeing limited playing time due to foul trouble. She connected on 6-of-13 shots and totaled 16 points and five rebounds in just 19 minutes of action. She now stands just 30 points shy of 1,400 for her career. Sophomore Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) played a career-high 38 minutes and registered her first career double-double. She went 5-of-9 from three-point land and totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds. She has now connected on 21-of-42 three-pointers on the year. Junior Erin Sinnott (Owego, Ill./Evansville) added eight points in just 13 minutes, while sophomore point guard Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) contributed seven points and five assists.
Mitchell went just 1-of-6 from the field (0-3 from three-point land) in the first half, but connected on 8-of-11 shots (5-of-8 from three) in the second half. Sophomore Chelsea Rourke (Gibsonia, Pa.) added 13 points, while junior Nicole LaCava (Hermitage, Pa.) contributed 10 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Knights.
Daemen scored the first five points of the game and later took an 8-1 lead following a three-pointer by sophomore Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) with 6:21 left in the first quarter. Gannon answered with a triple by Rourke and later tied the game at 8-8 following a layup by Rourke with 4:43 left in the frame. Back-to-back three-pointers by Heinold gave the hosts a 14-8 lead, but the Wildcats managed just one field goal the rest of the quarter and the hosts took a 16-15 lead into the second quarter.
Both teams struggled to score during the second quarter, which saw the Golden Knights outscore the Wildcats 11-8 during the frame and take a 26-24 lead into halftime. The teams traded baskets early in the quarter, before the visitors got back-to-back buckets from LaCava and Mitchell to take a 21-18 lead. The Gannon lead was five points, 26-21, when Daemen got a three-pointer by redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) with just under two minutes left before halftime. Neither team scored the rest of the quarter.
The third quarter saw the scoring leaders from both teams take charge. Mitchell sparked an 11-3 run at the start of the quarter that gave the Golden Knights a 37-27 lead, as she scored seven points during the spurt. Saba answered by scoring seven points during an 11-2 run by the Wildcats that brought the hosts within a point at 39-38. Mitchell answered with a three-pointer for Gannon with 2:36 left in the quarter, and the Golden Knights eventually took a 44-40 lead into the final quarter.
Gannon opened the fourth quarter with a layup by LaCava and a triple by Mitchell to regain a 49-40 lead, but Daemen scored the next six points and cut the lead to three, 49-46, following layup by Saba with a 7:49 to play. Mitchell once again took over, as she drilled a three-pointer and later drew Saba's fourth personal foul while driving the baseline for a bucket. Mitchell converted the three-point play to give Gannon a 55-48 lead with 6:09 left. Daemen answered with a three-pointer by Sinnott to cut the lead to four points, but a key point in the game came moments later. Mitchell drained a three-pointer and an official blew a whistle shortly after the shot was released. The officials gathered to discuss if it was an illegal screen on Gannon—which would have negated the three-pointer—or a foul on Heinold of Daemen. They ultimately assessed the foul to Heinold, and junior Lauren Tewes (Waterford, Mich.) then canned one-of-two free throws. The four-point possession gave the visitors a 59-51 lead with 5:40 to play. The visitors later took their largest lead of the game, 65-53, after LaCava made one-of-two free throws with 2:03 left. Daemen made things interesting by outscoring the Golden Knights 11-3 down the stretch.
Daemen shot 37-percent (24-for-65) from the field overall and went 11-of-30 (37%) from three-point land. The Wildcats have now made nine or more three-pointers in six of their seven games this season. The hosts attempted just 10 free throws and made five. GU shot 47-percent (24-51) from the field overall and canned 8-of-22 three-pointers. The hosts were whistled for 25 fouls in the game and the Golden Knights went 12-for-22 from the charity stripe. Daemen finished with 42-33 edge in total rebounds and the hosts also benefited from a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Wildcats return to action Thursday (Nov. 30) when they travel to Erie, Pa. to face Mercyhurst University in a non-league game.
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