Brianna Brennan
Joe Mattis
Junior Brianna Brennan's second career double-double helped Gannon move into Tuesday's PSAC Quarterfinals.
58
Seton Hill SHU-W 14-15
64
Winner Gannon University GAN-W 17-10
Seton Hill SHU-W
14-15
58
Final
64
Gannon University GAN-W
17-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Seton Hill SHU-W 16 5 14 23 58
Gannon University GAN-W 12 21 15 16 64

Next Game:

at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

3/1/2016 | 5:30 p.m.

90.5 WERG

Next Game

Full Schedule
Mar. 01 (Tue) / 5:30 p.m.
at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Women's Basketball Team Fends Off Seton Hill in PSAC Tournament First Round; Heads to IUP for Quarterfinals (Video/Photos)

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 64, Seton Hill 58
  • Records: Gannon (17-10), Seton Hill (14-15)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center
  • The Short Story: A 21-5 second-quarter blitz and junior Brianna Brennan's (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) second career double-double propelled the Gannon women's basketball team to a 64-58 victory against Seton Hill Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament first-round game at the Hammermill Center.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Seton Hill was the team initially on the attack, opening an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter.
  • Gannon responded with six consecutive points to pull within 11-10 on freshman Elissa Ellerbrock's (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) lay-up at the 1:21 mark. The mini-run started with lay-ups from senior Morgan Neighbors (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) and Brennan.
  • Seton Hill countered with a three-pointer off an offensive rebound during its next possession and later held a 16-12 advantage after the opening stanza.
  • The second quarter resembled Gannon's fourth quarter at Seton Hill on February 10. The Lady Knights committed zero turnovers during the final 8:25 and limited to Griffins to 1-of-14 shooting en route to a 21-5 scoring edge.
  • Trailing 19-15, Gannon forged ahead with five straight points from Brennan. Her three-point bomb at the 7:29 mark gave the Lady Knights a 20-19 lead.
  • Seton Hill regained the lead with a pair of free throws, before Ellerbrock's lay-up gave Gannon the lead for good. The basket ignited a 12-0 run that ended the first half.
  • Five different Lady Knights scored during the run. Ellerbrock and senior LaShawna Gatewood (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) had four points each. Ellerbrock's two freebies with two seconds left sent the home team into halftime with a 33-21 edge.
  • The onslaught continued after the break when Gatewood hit a jumper and Brennan converted an old-fashion three-point play, pushing the Gannon lead to 38-21.
  • Seton Hill finally stopped the bleeding when Hannah Laslo scored 2:24 into the second half. The 18-0 run lasted almost nine minutes spanning the second and third quarters. The Griffins went 11 minutes and nine seconds without a field goal, missing 10 straight shots and turning the ball over twice during that time span.
  • The play evened out after that run as Gannon eventually went to the fourth quarter with a 48-35 lead.
  • The difference was still 13 points (55-42) after sophomore McKenna Shives (Struthers, Ohio/Struthers) drained a three-pointer with 5:41 remaining, but the game was far from over.
  • A Mariah Wells triple kick started an 11-4 run that brought Seton Hill within 59-56 on Lindsey Mifsud's lay-up at the 1:16 mark.
  • However, Gannon hit five free throws in the closing 53 seconds to ice the 64-58 victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Brennan was Gannon's leading scorer for the sixth time this season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, recording her second career double-double and first of the season.
  • Neighbors added 10 points and three rebounds.
  • Gannon shot 44.6 percent (25-56) from the field, 36.4 percent (4-11) from three-point range and 38.5 percent (10-26) from the free throw line.
  • Mifsud topped the Seton Hill's scoring sheet with 15 points and five rebounds.
  • Jenna Kaufman was the only other Griffin in double digits with 11 points.
  • Seton Hill shot 35.1 percent (20-57) from the floor, 30.4 percent (7-23) from behind the arc and 91.7 percent (11-12) from the charity stripe. 
  • Gannon produced a 38-22 scoring edge in the paint.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon advanced to the PSAC Tournament Quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season.
  • After a 4-0 day, home teams improved to 14-2 in the PSAC Tournament first round since the conference expanded the field in 2012-13. PSAC West teams are 8-0 when playing the first round at home.
  • Gannon won its sixth consecutive postseason home game. The squad's last postseason home loss was a 71-68 overtime decision against Indiana (Pa.) in the 2012 PSAC Quarterfinals.
  • The Lady Knights improved to 9-2 in PSAC Tournament home games since joining the conference prior to the 2008-09 academic year.
  • Gannon played Saturday's contest without leading rebounder Jennie Thies (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) who sat out with an injury.
  • Neighbors reached double digits in scoring for the third consecutive game and 22nd time this season.
  • Eight Lady Knights played double-digit minutes. Nine different Gannon players grabbed at least two rebounds and eight dented the scoring column.
  • Gannon improved to 7-1 all-time against Seton Hill, including a 4-1 mark at the Hammermill Center.
  • The Lady Knights won the rebounding battle or finished even for the 11th consecutive game.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon travels to the Western Division's No. 2 seed Indiana (Pa.) Tuesday, March 1 for the PSAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
  • Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
  • The contest can be heard live on 90.5 WERG and online at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon and Indiana (Pa.) split the season series. The Lady Knights posted an 81-66 victory at the Hammermill Center on December 1. The Crimson Hawks returned the favor with a 53-47 home win on January 30.
  • Indiana (Pa.) leads the all-time series 18-16. The Lady Knights have suffered losses during their last two trips to IUP, falling to 5-11 all-time on the Crimson Hawks' home floor.
  • Gannon is 0-2 against IUP in the PSAC Tournament, but both contests were played at the Hammermill Center in 2009 (64-60) and 2012 (71-68 in overtime).
  • If Gannon is able to win Tuesday night, it would head to California (Pa.) for the PSAC Final Four if the Vulcans defeat Edinboro in the PSAC Quarterfinals.
  • If California (Pa.) loses to Edinboro and Gannon is able to win, the Lady Knights would host the PSAC Final Four.
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Players Mentioned

Brianna Brennan

#10 Brianna Brennan

F
6' 1"
Junior
Early Childhood Education
Morgan Neighbors

#12 Morgan Neighbors

G
5' 9"
Senior
Business Admin.
McKenna Shives

#3 McKenna Shives

G
5' 5"
Sophomore
Undeclared
Jennie Thies

#14 Jennie Thies

F/C
6' 1"
Senior
Biology
Elissa Ellerbrock

#15 Elissa Ellerbrock

G
5' 9"
Freshman
Sport & Exercise Science/Pre-Physican Assistant
LaShawna Gatewood

#35 LaShawna Gatewood

G
5' 10"
Senior
Criminal Justice

Players Mentioned

Brianna Brennan

#10 Brianna Brennan

6' 1"
Junior
Early Childhood Education
F
Morgan Neighbors

#12 Morgan Neighbors

5' 9"
Senior
Business Admin.
G
McKenna Shives

#3 McKenna Shives

5' 5"
Sophomore
Undeclared
G
Jennie Thies

#14 Jennie Thies

6' 1"
Senior
Biology
F/C
Elissa Ellerbrock

#15 Elissa Ellerbrock

5' 9"
Freshman
Sport & Exercise Science/Pre-Physican Assistant
G
LaShawna Gatewood

#35 LaShawna Gatewood

5' 10"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G