Advertisement

Team to beat: Gannon heads to NCAA D-II women's basketball Elite Eight as the top seed

Tom Reisenweber, Erie Times-News
·6 min read

Gannon women's basketball coach Cleve Wright has plenty of experience dealing with the pressure and the big stage of the Elite Eight.

He led the Golden Knights to Saint Joseph, Missouri in 2010 as the top team in the country and to San Antonio in 2013.

His team this year, however, wasn't even in high school yet when the Golden Knights made their last trip to the Elite Eight.

“I think we need to keep our focus. We need to keep the same mentality we've had this season,” Wright said. “We'll have to deal with some distractions and some of those things. The big thing is we've played on a neutral floor several times this year.”

Gannon departed Friday morning for Saint Joseph, Missouri where the Golden Knights are three wins from a national championship. The Elite Eight begins on Monday with the national championship taking place on Friday. The Golden Knights play in the third game on Monday as they take on Cal State San Marcos at 7 p.m. with the winner taking on either Georgia Southwestern or Minnesota State-Mankato.

The team to beat

Gannon was awarded the top seed in the Elite Eight with a 35-2 record. The Golden Knights were one of just two top seeds to win their region as Gannon rolled through the Atlantic Regional. Texas Women's College (32-4) won the South Central Regional and is the No. 2 seed on the other side of the bracket.

Gannon is on an 11-game winning streak and has been the top seed in one previous Elite Eight. In 2010, the Elite Eight didn't reseed after the regionals, but the Golden Knights were ranked No. 1 in the country and were the only region host to win their region.

Gannon rolled through Fairmont State (92-65), Seton Hill (80-60) and Millersville (65-48) at the Hammermill Center to earn a spot in Missouri. The Golden Knights beat red-hot Tusculum 70-66 before falling in overtime 97-94 to Emporia State in the Final Four. Emporia State went on to beat Fort Lewis 65-53.

The Golden Knights finished 37-1 that season with 37 wins breaking the Division II record for wins in one season.

Pirosko named Division II Player of the Year

Sam Pirosko has earned just about every award possible during her career at Gannon, and she added one more on Thursday. The senior star was named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year. She was also named to the WBCA All-America team.

Gannon University's Samantha Pirosko scores against West Virginia State during an NCAA Division II women's basketball Atlantic Regional quarterfinal game at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie on March 15. Gannon won 73-53. Pirosko was named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year on Thursday.
Gannon University's Samantha Pirosko scores against West Virginia State during an NCAA Division II women's basketball Atlantic Regional quarterfinal game at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie on March 15. Gannon won 73-53. Pirosko was named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year on Thursday.

Pirosko, the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and Atlantic Region MVP, is averaging 19.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and has scored in double digits in 70 straight games.

She owns the single-season scoring record at Gannon with 726 points and could challenge the career scoring record if Gannon plays three games this week. Rona Nesbit is the all-time scorer in program history with 2,340 points, while Pirosko is second with 2,267.

Getting defensive

Gannon has the top defense left in Division II this season. The Golden Knights rank fourth in the country with 52.9 points allowed per game. The top three have all been eliminated this season, including Saint Rose (47.7 points allowed per game), Grand Valley State (49.2) and Belmont Abbey (5.19).

Georgia Southwestern is the next team in the Elite Eight in the rankings at No. 20 overall with 56.4 points allowed per game, and Daemen is No. 27 with 58 ppg.

Gannon beat Fayetteville State 72-47 for the Atlantic Region title on Tuesday. The 47 points allowed is tied for third-fewest by the Golden Knights in an NCAA playoff game. The 2013 team has the top three spots as they beat Fairmont State 66-40, IUP 64-46 and Cal 50-47 in the Atlantic Regional.

First trip

Cal State-San Marcos won its first region title in program history this past week. The Cougars won a thrilling region final 73-71 over Montana State-Billings with two free throws with four seconds left. Montana State then missed a driving layup at the buzzer.

The Cougars have relied on their experienced players as 6-foot redshirt senior forward Jordan Vasquez leads the team with 16.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. She was named the MVP of the West Regional.

Junior guard Charity Gallegos is second on the team with 15.9 points per game to go with 111 assists, while 5-8 redshirt senior forward Mina Tameilau is scoring 10.8 points per game and recently went over 1,000 career points.

Assistant Coach of the Year

Gannon assistant coach Brittany Batts was named the WBCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year this past week.

"I'm so happy for Brittany getting the National Assistant Coach of the Year Award," Wright said. "She's so deserving of this award — the work that she puts in, the way she cares for our players, the way she cares for our program. Of course, being an alumni, she is Gannon basketball all the way through."

Batts was a standout player at Gannon from 2011-15 and scored more than 1,000 career points. She was on the team in 2013 when Gannon traveled to Texas for the Elite Eight and spent six years coaching at four different schools before returning to the Golden Knights in 2021.

Full schedule

The Elite Eight begins Monday with No. 3 Ferris State taking on No. 6 Tampa at 1 p.m. followed by No. 2 Texas Woman's University against No. 7 Daemen at 3:30 p.m. The winners of those games meet in the semifinals at either 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The other side of the bracket has No. 1 Gannon against No. 8 Cal State-San Marcos at 7 p.m. and No. 4 Georgia Southwestern against No. 5 Minnesota State-Mankato at 9:30 p.m.

The quarterfinals on Monday can be viewed on NCAA.com, while the semifinals on Wednesday and the championship on Friday at 8 p.m. can be viewed on CBS Sports Network.

Gannon University's Kate Ratliff drives and scores in the first half against Fayetteville State University during the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional women's basketball championship game inside the Joann Mullen Gymnasium, Hagerty Family Events Center, in Erie on March 19.
Gannon University's Kate Ratliff drives and scores in the first half against Fayetteville State University during the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional women's basketball championship game inside the Joann Mullen Gymnasium, Hagerty Family Events Center, in Erie on March 19.

Gannon's roster

Gannon's 2023-24 women's basketball roster with number, name, height, position, year:

4: Maddy Wheatley, 5-11 guard, redshirt sophomore

5: Olivia Cernuto, 5-7 guard, freshman

10: Ali Benim, 5-8 guard, redshirt senior

11: Trinitee Harris, 5-7 point guard, junior

12: Bri Claxon, 5-7 guard, sophomore

13: Carissa Dunham, 5-7 guard, sophomore

15: Tori Mayes, 5-4 point guard, freshman

20: Taylor Ethridge, 5-9 guard, freshman

23: Kate Ratliff, 6-0 guard, freshman

25: Mia Slater, 6-2 forward, freshman

31: Lauren Kingsley, 6-3 forward, freshman

34: Andrea Maibach, 6-2 forward, redshirt freshman

44: Samantha Pirsoko, 5-10 forward, redshirt senior

50: McKel Nation, 6-2 forward, senior

Head coach: Cleve Wright (16th season overall at Gannon)

Assistant coaches: Brittany Batts, Neely Whitehead

Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: NCAA D-II women's basketball Elite Eight: Gannon enters as top seed