Box Score

BUFFALO, N.Y. - For the second time in less than a week the Gannon women's basketball team handed a loss to an NCAA Division I program. This time it was Buffalo on the losing end of the exhibition contest as the Lady Knights prevailed 63-53.

After trailing 28-26 at the half, the Lady Knights went on to out-score Buffalo 37-25 in the second half where Jen Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) added all 11 of her points. The two squads traded short leads until midway through the second half when Gannon took over, using a 14-2 run that spanned more than six minutes to pull away from the Bulls.

Gannon held a 47-44 lead with 8:28 left in the contest before the game-clinching run. After two Gannon free throws from Brittany Batts (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun County) and one from Buffalo, Papich sparked the Lady Knights with a three that put Gannon up 52-45. The Bulls missed a jumper on their next possession while Mollie Sebald (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Holy Name) added two more points for Gannon with a lay-up. 

Buffalo's next trip down the court ended up being a lengthy one as the Bulls missed three straight shots but also pulled down three straight offensive rebounds. Eventually the possession resulted in one of two free throw makes. Gannon responded with Papich's second there-pointer of the half to put Gannon up double digits (57-46) with 3:08 to play. 

Steals from Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J. / Marist) and Kelsey McCoy (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview) led to four straight makes from the free throw line for Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn / E.O. Smith), giving Gannon their largest lead of the night at 61-46. 

Buffalo added three free throws and one basket during the final minute but couldn't overcome the large Lady Knights' lead, sending Gannon home with a second-straight exhibition win over a Division I opponent. 

Gannon led in the second half from the 14:40 mark on thanks to a quick 6-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 43-37 lead. Batts started the scoring with a jumper off a Sundberg pass. Sundberg than added one of her three steals on the ensuing Buffalo possession setting up a put-back from Candice Hendricks (Randallstown, Md. / McDonogh) off a missed three. Papich added a traditional three-point play on Gannon's next trip down the court to put the Lady Knights up six. 

Overall, the game featured seven lead changes, mostly in the first half where the teams traded large scoring runs. Gannon led by as many as seven points during two different points in the first half, but Buffalo answered with runs to even the score. The Bulls out-scored Gannon 8-0 in the final two minutes of the half to hold the slight edge at halftime. 

As it was during the win over Kent State, the Lady Knights were led by Batts who totaled 16 points thanks to 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range. The sophomore was 5-of-11 from the floor overall during the contest.

Papich and Hendricks each added 11 points with each netting two three-pointers. Hendricks also added five rebounds while Papich had six. Blake was 4-for-5 from the floor, scoring nine points. She added six rebounds, three blocks, three steals and two assists. Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y. / Southwestern) led the Lady Knights with nine rebounds. 

The Lady Knights start the regular season with an unbelievable stretch of games at the Disney Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, California November 9-11. The Lady Knights begin the event November 9 against eighth-ranked UC San Diego, before battling top-ranked Ashland November 10. The classic concludes November 11 against West Texas A&M, which was among others receiving votes in the preseason national poll.