Lady Knights Late Rally Not Enough Against Ferris State

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Gannon women’s basketball team was able to erase a 20-point deficit against Ferris State on Sunday afternoon, but saw the comeback effort fall just short as Ferris State won by a 80-71 score at the Bulldog Classic.

The Lady Knights opened the game strong thanks to a steal and layup by Jennifer Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa / Fox Chapel). However, a series of missed shots opened the door for a Ferris State run. The Lady Bulldogs would score 12 of the next 16 points to lead by a score of 19-10 with 10:44 left in the first half.

A block from Shanna Thompson (Shaker Heights, Ohio / Shaker Heights) would lead to a Jessie Tamerlano (North Royalton, Ohio / North Royalton) lay up, cutting the Ferris State lead to seven. The Lady Bulldogs would respond with baskets from Tiara Adams and Tricia Principe, stretching the lead to 14. The Lady Bulldogs would control the scoring during the final six minutes, using a 17-9 run to close out the first half with a 45-25 advantage.

Gannon shot just 28.9 percent (11-of-38) in the first half, while Ferris State made 66.7 percent of its shots from the field. The Lady Bulldogs went 6-of-9 from behind the arc while Gannon managed just one three-point basket in the first half.

The Lady Knights slowly chipped away at the lead during the second half, using back-to-back three-point baskets from Amanda Dacek (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Berea) and Julie Kleber (Suffern, N.Y. / Suffern) to cut the lead to 13 after five minutes of play.

Layups by Kelsey McCoy (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview) and Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) would trim the Ferris State lead to nine. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes until a pair of Lady Bulldog turnovers would lead to a layup by Papich and a three-point basket from Lowe and put the score at 59-57 with 9:24 left to play.

Gannon would regain the lead for the first time since early in the first half with a free throw from Papich. Principe would net a long-range shot for Ferris before Kelley Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn. / E.O. Smith) and Kleber would hit back-to-back three’s, giving Gannon a two-point lead with 5:16 to play.

However, that would wrap up Gannon’s scoring for the day. Principe would take over the game from that point, scoring six points over the final four minutes to seal the victory for the Lady Bulldogs. Ferris State put together an 11-0 run over the final five minutes to earn the 80-71 victory.

Papich finished in double figures for the second time on the weekend, leading the team with 16 points. The freshman added six rebounds, four steals and two blocks during 36 minutes of action.

Kleber had 15 points and six rebounds, hitting three long-range shots. Tamerlano finished 5-of-9 from the field with 12 points off the bench. Dacek dished out six assists while adding 11 points.

Despite shooting 59.4 percent during the second half, the Lady Knights couldn’t overcome the slow start. Gannon finished with 15 offensive rebounds, from six different players. The Lady Knights grabbed 36 total rebounds to Ferris State’s 30.

Gannon and Ferris both sit at 1-1 this season. Gannon will travel to the California (Pa.) Tournament next weekend to take on Molloy on Saturday, November 27 and Wilmington (Del.) on Sunday, November 28.