Box Score

ERIE - No. 11-ranked Gannon scored the first 12 points of the game en route to a 78-68 win over visiting East Stroudsburg University in PSAC women's basketball on Sunday at the Hammermill Center.

ESU (1-4, 0-2), coming off a 63-49 loss at Mercyhurst on Saturday, closed to within 22-21 at the midpoint of the first half, but the early deficit proved to be greater than the final margin against Gannon (6-1, 2-0), which also struggled to put away Kutztown in a 66-59 win the previous day.

Senior guard Barb Borst scored 16 points, going 4-for-7 from the three-point line, and sophomore forward Jessica Martin had 12 points and five rebounds to lead ESU. Borst's 16 points are her most since scoring 23 in a home win over Mansfield as a sophomore.

Gannon junior Jennifer Papich, an All-PSAC West first team selection last year, scored 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead four players in double figures. Brittany Batts scored 13 points, Nettie Blake had 12 points and nine rebounds, Doriyon Glass had 12 and Kelley Sundberg had six points and eight assists for the Golden Knights.

Those four contributed all 12 points during Gannon's game-opening run in the first three minutes before Martin broke the stretch with a pair of free throws. It was 14-2 when freshman guard Helena Gemmell (9 points) hit a three-pointer for ESU, the start of a 19-8 spurt that brought the Warriors within one at the 10-minute mark.

Borst hit two three-pointers and Gemmell had seven of her nine points during the run, which was capped by a jumper by Martin to make it 22-21. Gannon came back with the next six points and built a 12-point margin (37-25) before ESU closed to within 41-34 at halftime.

Sophomore guard Andrea Veres hit two three-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half to make it 45-40, but that was as close as the Warriors would get after intermission. Gannon's largest lead was 15 (61-46) with 11 minutes left, which the Warriors cut into with a 9-1 spurt to make the score 62-55 on a layup by freshman guard Tyeca Reviere with 8:15 to play.

A bucket by senior forward Fayola Moise a minute later made it 64-57, but Gannon answered ESU's challenges with a three-point play by Sundberg and then a three-pointer by Papich to stay in front by multiple possessions.

ESU shot 44.2 percent (23-for-52) overall and 7-for-10 from the three-point line after going 12-for-24 from the field and 4-for-5 from long range in the first half. The Warriors committed 15 first-half turnovers and finished the game with 24, while Gannon had 22 turnovers (10 in the first half).

The Warriors had contributions from 13 players, including nine who played at least a dozen minutes. Reviere had five points and five assists in 14 minutes, Veres scored six points and sophomore forward Kelsey Murray had six points and four rebounds.

ESU will look for its first PSAC win of the season, and first victory since a 70-55 win over Caldwell on November 24, with a trip to Cheyney on Saturday afternoon.