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PITTSBURGH – Just wait until next year.
Bri Claxon and Kate Ratliff left the postgame news conference with determination after getting over the sadness.
Gannon's performance on Monday wasn't like them.
Not even close.
The Golden Knights had one of their worst shooting performances in a long time as they fell to top-seeded Grand Valley State 60-32 in the NCAA Division II women's basketball Elite Eight at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on the campus of Duquesne University.
“When you lose as a competitor that loss sticks with you,” Claxon said. “This one will sit with us especially because we feel like we didn't play as well as we thought we could have. It'll be something we can use in the offseason.”
The Lakers (36-2) move on to the Final Four on Wednesday against Pittsburg State at 8:30 p.m. with a trip to the national championship on the line.
More: Perfect pair: High school teammates from Erie help Gannon women's basketball to success
More: Off to Pittsburgh: Gannon women's basketball wins second straight Atlantic Region title
Gannon ends the season 28-7 and brings back almost its entire team next winter. The Golden Knights lose Trinitee Harris and Andrea Maibach, but everyone else is back with the goal of returning to the same floor they walked off of on Monday. Duquesne hosts the Division II Elite Eight in both men and women next March.
“Bri and I are both top competitors, and we hate losing,” Ratliff said. “We're losing Andy and Trin, who are two joyful people that will be missed next year so it'll be hard without them.”
The Lakers led 22-18 after a tough first half for both teams and came out on fire in the second half.
“It was kind of what we expected in the first half,” said Grand Valley coach Mike Williams. “It was a knucklebuster. We watched Gannon film, and they have a very talented team with size, and they are well-coached. They muck it up on defense and make shots tough.”
Grand Valley ended the third quarter on a 16-2 run to extend its lead to 19 points.
“In the third quarter we started getting shots to drop, and we were able to get some buckets on our runouts as well,” Williams said. “I thought we played well in the first half but couldn't find the bucket. In the second half we found the bucket with some cleaner shots. Our runouts and press also loosened up the rim a little bit too.”
While Grand Valley found its shot in the second half, Gannon continued to struggle. The Golden Knights finished the game 14-of-54 (25.9 percent) from the field, including 2-of-19 (10.5 percent) from the 3-point line.
Rylie Bisballe, a 6-foot 2-inch standout and one of the top players in the country, had 17 points and 14 rebounds as she took on the Gannon forwards throughout the quarter. Bisballe's younger sister, MacKenzie, added nine points for the Lakers, who were held to their second-lowest scoring total this season. Grand Valley scored just 57 points in a loss to Division I Ohio State.
Monday was also the first time since 2018 that Gannon was held to less than 40 points in a game.
“I think it came down to knowing our scout and knowing their shooters,” said Grand Valley guard Nicole Kamin about stopping the Gannon outside shooting, “We were able to close out on them.”
Abrie Cabana and Ellie Droste each had seven points for the Lakers, while Kamin had six points and eight rebounds.
“It's certainly not the game we wanted to have,” said Gannon coach Cleve Wright. “You aren't going to win games shooting 25 percent. We missed a lot of easy shots that we are capable of making. Grand Valley is a very good team and a well-coached team.”
Claxon finished with 15 points for Gannon, while Mia Slater pulled down 10 rebounds.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Gannon struggles from the field in Elite Eight women's basketball loss
Continue reading...
Bri Claxon and Kate Ratliff left the postgame news conference with determination after getting over the sadness.
Gannon's performance on Monday wasn't like them.
Not even close.
The Golden Knights had one of their worst shooting performances in a long time as they fell to top-seeded Grand Valley State 60-32 in the NCAA Division II women's basketball Elite Eight at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on the campus of Duquesne University.
“When you lose as a competitor that loss sticks with you,” Claxon said. “This one will sit with us especially because we feel like we didn't play as well as we thought we could have. It'll be something we can use in the offseason.”
The Lakers (36-2) move on to the Final Four on Wednesday against Pittsburg State at 8:30 p.m. with a trip to the national championship on the line.
More: Perfect pair: High school teammates from Erie help Gannon women's basketball to success
More: Off to Pittsburgh: Gannon women's basketball wins second straight Atlantic Region title
Gannon ends the season 28-7 and brings back almost its entire team next winter. The Golden Knights lose Trinitee Harris and Andrea Maibach, but everyone else is back with the goal of returning to the same floor they walked off of on Monday. Duquesne hosts the Division II Elite Eight in both men and women next March.
“Bri and I are both top competitors, and we hate losing,” Ratliff said. “We're losing Andy and Trin, who are two joyful people that will be missed next year so it'll be hard without them.”
The Lakers led 22-18 after a tough first half for both teams and came out on fire in the second half.
“It was kind of what we expected in the first half,” said Grand Valley coach Mike Williams. “It was a knucklebuster. We watched Gannon film, and they have a very talented team with size, and they are well-coached. They muck it up on defense and make shots tough.”
Grand Valley ended the third quarter on a 16-2 run to extend its lead to 19 points.
“In the third quarter we started getting shots to drop, and we were able to get some buckets on our runouts as well,” Williams said. “I thought we played well in the first half but couldn't find the bucket. In the second half we found the bucket with some cleaner shots. Our runouts and press also loosened up the rim a little bit too.”
While Grand Valley found its shot in the second half, Gannon continued to struggle. The Golden Knights finished the game 14-of-54 (25.9 percent) from the field, including 2-of-19 (10.5 percent) from the 3-point line.
Rylie Bisballe, a 6-foot 2-inch standout and one of the top players in the country, had 17 points and 14 rebounds as she took on the Gannon forwards throughout the quarter. Bisballe's younger sister, MacKenzie, added nine points for the Lakers, who were held to their second-lowest scoring total this season. Grand Valley scored just 57 points in a loss to Division I Ohio State.
Monday was also the first time since 2018 that Gannon was held to less than 40 points in a game.
“I think it came down to knowing our scout and knowing their shooters,” said Grand Valley guard Nicole Kamin about stopping the Gannon outside shooting, “We were able to close out on them.”
Abrie Cabana and Ellie Droste each had seven points for the Lakers, while Kamin had six points and eight rebounds.
“It's certainly not the game we wanted to have,” said Gannon coach Cleve Wright. “You aren't going to win games shooting 25 percent. We missed a lot of easy shots that we are capable of making. Grand Valley is a very good team and a well-coached team.”
Claxon finished with 15 points for Gannon, while Mia Slater pulled down 10 rebounds.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Gannon struggles from the field in Elite Eight women's basketball loss
Continue reading...
