Combat

December 6, 2024/Midnight

Erie, Pa, –The Gannon Golden Knights Women’s basketball squad secured a much–earned win on the road Monday night after navigating several challenges prior to the game. Owing to the lake effect snowstorm influencing Pennsylvania and New York, it posed a challenge for the team to reach Buffalo for the match. After the game was postponed from Sunday to Monday, Gannon faced D’Youville without three of its starters, making a challenging week even more difficult.

The Golden Knights surged ahead with a strong start, netting the first eight points of the game. However, the Saints came back and tied the game, staying side–by–side throughout the opening quarter. A pair of free throws from D’Youville trimmed Gannon’s lead to one by the end of the first quarter.Gannon would again start the quarter with intensity. The Golden Knights scored the initial ten points of the second quarter to build their lead to 11. Guard Olivia Cernuto contributed five of those points. Gannon wrapped up the half with back–to–back three pointers to head into halftime with a score of 37–14.

The third quarter proved to be a very defensive one as both sides struggled to exceed eleven points. Following a largely balanced quarter, the Golden Knights maintained a 15-point advantage going into the final quarter.

Aiming to maintain their solid lead, Gannon would conclude with strength in the fourth quarter. It turned into a two–woman effort as Bri Claxton and Mia Slater together accounted for all 15 of Gannon’s fourth-quarter points. The Golden Knights departed D’Youville with a 63–44 victory, improving their record to 10–1 for the season.

Despite the absence of three starters, Claxton and Slater rose to the occasion. Claxton continued her remarkable season with 27 total points while Slater achieved a career–best 17 points in the victory. Gannon made ten three pointers while limiting the Saints to just two.

The Golden Knights will conclude the road trip with a game in Mansfield on Friday and in Shippensburg on Saturday before returning home on December 17th for a showdown against Shepard.