Box Score
Fifth-ranked Gannon University ran out to a 28-point halftime lead and rebounded from its first loss of the season by handing the Lady Cats an 86-47 road PSAC loss on Wednesday.Â
Nicole Carman scored 11 points and
Rachel Johnson added six points and a game-high eight rebounds for Pitt-Johnstown, which fell to 6-11 overall and 3-4 in the PSAC Western Division.
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Jasmine Harper's basket to open the game, followed by a 3-pointer from Johnson put the Lady Cats up 5-2 early, but the Golden Knights answered to outscore Pitt-Johnstown 41-10 the rest of the half to build the 28-point advantage.
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After falling behind, Gannon scored the next 13 points to go up by 10 on a Mollie Sebald jumper, and two Morgan Neighbors' 3-pointers increased it to 24-10.
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Olivia Rizzo connected for three for the Lady Cats on their next possession to cut it to 24-13, but that was as close as it would get.
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Candice Hendricks hit two free-throws to push it to a 21-point lead, before two more Hendricks free-throws with seven seconds left in the half made it 43-15.
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It was more of the same in the second half. The Golden Knights extended their lead to 43 on a Sebald's jumper in the paint at the midway point and went on to the lopsided victory.
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Along with Carman and Johnson, Rizzo,
Jamie Tabon, and
Inaya Stephenson all scored five points, while Harper pulled down six rebounds for the Lady Cats in the loss.
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With her eight rebounds, Johnson stands in 21
st-place on the Lady Cat All-Time Rebounding List with 544. Johnson is four rebounds shy of Amy Kessler (1988-92) for 20
th place on the list.
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Pitt-Johnstown shot just 28.8% (17-59) from the field and just 5-27 from behind the 3-point line. The Lady Cats also hit 8-11 from the free-throw line. Gannon, which held a 46-22 advantage in points in the paint and out-rebounded Pitt-Johnstown, 43-35, shot 50.8% (32-63) from the floor, 8-14 from behind the 3-point line, and 14-20 from the charity stripe.
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Neighbor's 16 points led five Golden Knights who scored in double figures.
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With the win, Gannon improved to 18-1 overall and 7-1 in the PSAC West.
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The Lady Cats host conference doubleheaders with the Mountain Cats in the Sports Center against Mercyhurst University on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. and Indiana University (PA) on Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m.