No. 15 Gannon Women's Basketball Team Continues Preseason Play at Division I Penn State on Sunday

ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women’s basketball team will continue the 2010-11 preseason schedule with an exhibition game on Sunday, November 7 against the NCAA Division I Penn State Lady Lions. It will be the second Division I opponent for Gannon after playing in an exhibition match on Tuesday against the University of Dayton. 

90.5 WERG will broadcast the game live. WERG’s audio will be available via the Internet at http://www.wergfm.com. 

Live gameday statistics can be accessed at http://www.gopsusports.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wbaskbl.html?event=920500&school=psu&sport=wbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=& 

The Flyers took care of the Lady Knights 101-60, but freshman Jennifer Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa / Fox Chapel) recorded a double-double in her first action for Gannon, scoring a team-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The rookie also grabbed four offensive and six defensive rebounds. Junior Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) was 4-of-7 from behind the arch, finishing with 14 points. 

Gannon was picked to finish third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division preseason coaches poll. The Lady Knights return six letterwinners, but will need to replace all five starters from last year’s record-setting squad. Gannon finished the 2009-10 season 37-1, setting new NCAA Division II marks for most victories (37) in a season and consecutive wins (37) in a single season. 

Under the direction of head coach Cleve Wright, the Lady Knights are 63-6 over the past two seasons, for an astonishing .913 winning percentage. Gannon was tabbed 15th in the USA Today ESPN Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll after finishing second in the final poll last season. 

Penn State is coming off a winning season (17-14) for the first time since the 2004-05 season. The Lady Lions finished 8-10 in Big Ten Conference play and earned a bid to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 2009-10. Alex Bentley is the top returning scorer, averaging 11.8 points last season. The sophomore is also the top returner in assists per game at 4.0. 

The Lady Knights open the 2010-11 regular season at the Ferris State Tournament on Saturday, November 20 and Sunday November 21, taking on Northwood and Ferris State.