ERIE, Pa. -
Carrie Nolan’s (Girard, Pa./Girard) career-high 27 points and
Brittany Tabron’s (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic) 29th career double-double propelled the No. 1 Gannon women’s basketball team to 92-65 victory against West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) champion Fairmont State in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Quarterfinals Friday night.
The victory before 1,721 fans at the Hammermill Center moved the Lady Knights into the regional semifinals Saturday night against Seton Hill. The fifth-seeded Griffins defeated Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAA) champion Fayetteville State 73-64 in the second game.
Gannon’s victory against Fairmont State stretched its win streak to 34 games, tying an NCAA Division II record for consecutive victories in a season. The feat was accomplished twice before by St. Rose during the 1999-00 season and by North Dakota in the 2005-06 campaign. Friday’s verdict was Gannon’s 16th straight home victory and 49th straight win when leading at halftime.
The 34-game streak also ties the fourth-longest overall win streak in NCAA Division II history. Washburn (51) owns the longest win streak, while North Dakota State produced streaks of 49 and 42 games.
Neither team was able to grab momentum in the first 10 minutes. Gannon held a tight 14-13 lead midway through the first half when the Lady Knights took over. Nolan’s three-pointer ignited an 8-0 run to push the lead to 22-13.
In all, Gannon out-scored Fairmont State 34-10 over the final 11:06 to roar into the halftime locker room with a 50-23 advantage. The Lady Knights shot 57.1 percent (20-35) from the field and produced a bruising 25-9 edge on the glass in the first 20 minutes.
The Gannon lead ballooned to 62-34 on another Nolan three-pointer with 14:44 to play. Fairmont State had a mini-run, rallying with a 19-9 blitz that cut the deficit to 71-53. However, that was as close as the Fighting Falcons would get. The Lady Knights slowly increased their lead the rest of the way, before an
Amanda Dacek (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea) free throw with 1:07 left capped the scoring in a 92-65 victory.
Nolan headlined the Gannon scoring attack with a career-high 27 points, hitting 8-of-16 shots overall and 5-of-9 from three-point range. Tabron recorded her 29th career double-double and 12th of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The senior forward also dished out a career-high six assists.
Kim Vargas (Sterling, Va./Broad Run) added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Kristina Freeman (Yonkers, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) narrowly missed her third career double-double with nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Tiffany Crocker (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) dished out a season-high 10 assists compared to one turnover in 30 minutes at point guard.
Gannon shot 52.4 percent (33-63) from the field, 55.6 percent (10-18) from three-point range and 57.1 percent (16-28) from the free throw line. The Lady Knights had a large 49-23 rebounding edge, including an 18-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Vavrek was the story of the night, firing in a game-high 39 points. The senior guard was 14-of-23 from the field and 8-of-13 from long range. She missed the NCAA Division II Tournament record for three-pointers in a game by one.
Fairmont State shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the floor, 38.7 percent (12-31) from behind the arc and 63.6 percent (7-11) from the charity stripe.
Gannon remained the lone undefeated team in NCAA Division II, moving to 34-0 with Friday’s victory. Fairmont State’s season concluded at 22-10. The Lady Knights face Seton Hill in Saturday’s NCAA Division II Atlantic Region semifinals at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For a complete box score from Friday’s Gannon-Fairmont State NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional quarterfinal game, please
click here.
For a complete box score from Friday’s Seton Hill-Fayetteville State NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional quarterfinal game, please
click here.