ERIE, Pa. -
Kim Vargas (Sterling, Va./Broad Run) scored a game-high 17 points while becoming the fourth current Lady Knight to reach the 1,000-point plateau as the No. 3 Gannon women's basketball team overcame a two-point halftime deficit en route to a 66-52 victory Wednesday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Vargas joins
Kristina Freeman (Yonkers, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) (1,408), Carrie Nolan (Girard, Pa./Girard) (1,164) and
Brittany Tabron (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic) (1,135) in the prestigious 1,000-point club. Vargas finished the contest with 1,011 career points.
Gannon, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II and No. 1 in the Atlantic region, remained undefeated at 23-0 overall and 7-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division. The Lady Knights won their 33rd consecutive regular-season game and 12th straight contest against their crosstown rival. In the process, the Peach Street kids remained one game ahead of No. 22 California (Pa.) in the PSAC Western Division. The Vulcans posted a 97-47 home victory against Slippery Rock.
Head coach Cleve Wright's squad trailed 32-30 at the half, marking only the second time it had trailed at the break this season. Dana Banda then hit a three-pointer, increasing the Mercyhurst lead to 35-30 seconds into the second half.
Tabron then ignited a 19-3 run over the span of five minutes and two seconds with a lay-up. Vargas scored six points during the blitz, which was capped by
Tiffany Crocker's (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) three-point play. Her free throw pushed the Gannon lead to 49-38 with 13:35 to play.
Mercyhurst momentarily cut the deficit to 49-45 with seven straight points, before Gannon fired back with six consecutive points of its own. Tabron scored on back-to-back lay-ups, before Freeman's lay-up increased the Gannon lead to 55-45 at the 7:26 mark. The Lakers never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. The Lady Knights' largest lead came at 66-50 after Tabron's bucket with 22 ticks left on the clock. Lindsay Whipkey's lay-up with nine seconds left capped the scoring and accounted for the final 66-52 score.
Defense was the key in the second half. Mercyhurst shot 52 percent (13-25) in the first half, but fired at a 21.4-percent (6-28) clip in the final 20 minutes. Gannon held the Lakers without a field goal for 10 minutes and 13 seconds while putting the game away. Amy Achesinski converted a lay-up with 10:25 to play and the Lakers did not make another basket until Whipkey's basket with nine seconds left. The home squad did make five free throws during that stretch.
The first half featured four ties and five lead changes. Gannon's biggest lead was 16-10 while Mercyhurst's largest advantage came at 28-24. Two Achesinski free throws with 10 seconds left snapped a 30-30 tie and sent the Lakers into the break with a 32-30 edge.
Vargas led all scorers with 17 points, reaching double digits for the second consecutive game. Tabron recorded her 24th career double-double and seventh this season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, The senior forward was 7-of-12 from the field despite battling foul trouble the entire game.
Julie Kleber (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) added 10 points and four assists off the bench.
Gannon shot 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) from three-point range and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free throw line. The Lady Knights produced a 40-20 scoring edge in the paint.
Achesinski headlined the Mercyhurst attack with a double-double of her own, producing 15 points and 12 rebounds. Samantha Loadman and Whipkey chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Mercyhurst shot 35.8 percent (19-53) from the floor, 17.6 percent (3-17) from behind the arc and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the charity stripe.
Gannon improved to 23-0 overall and 7-0 in the PSAC Western Division. Mercyhurst dropped to 12-7 overall and 4-3 in conference action. The Lady Knights now head to California (Pa.) Saturday, February 6 with first place in the PSAC West on the line. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
For a complete box score from Wednesday's Gannon-Mercyhurst women's basketball game, please
click here.