Complete Game Notes
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GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (21-7) vs. Gannon (27-3)
Friday, Mar. 8, 2013 - 5:30 p.m.
Nelson Fieldhouse, Bloomsburg, Pa.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Live Video Feed (Bloomsburg)
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats
TICKET INFORMATION
$14 Adults (All Weekend Pass)
$5 Students (All Weekend Pass)
Free Admission for Students from PSAC member institution with a valid school ID
SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. Gannon: 2-5
Series Streak: GU, 4
First Meeting: 1981-82 (GU, 66-54)
Last Meeting: 2012 (GU, 78-76 (OT))
Last 10: 2-5
Mary Fleig vs. Gannon: 1-4
Cleve Wright vs. Millersville: 4-0
GAME NOTES
· After defeating Shippensburg 62-42 on the road Tuesday night, the Marauders are back in the PSAC Semifinals for the 11th time in the last 15 seasons and their defense has come to play so far in the postseason. In two PSAC Tournament wins, the Millersville defense has forced East Stroudsburg and Ship to shoot a combined 28-of-116 from the floor, a staggeringly low 24.1 opponent field goal percentage. The Marauders allowed 31 points against the Warriors Saturday at home and 42 points at Ship Tuesday. Those two point totals are the fewest and second-fewest the team has ever allowed in PSAC Tournament games. That strong all-around play on the defensive end of the floor wouldn't have been possible, however, without the Marauders playing lights-out perimeter defense. In those two games, ESU and Ship shot a combined 4-for-34 from downtown, an opponent 3-point field goal percentage of just 11.8 percent.
· In the win over Ship, redshirt senior forward
Aurielle Mosley reached yet another milestone in a final campaign that is making her more decorated by the day and finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks against the Raiders.. The newly-crowned PSAC East Athlete of the Year recorded the 1,006th rebound of her career, breaking the school's all-time mark previoulsy held by Kristy Garner. Mosley is now the program's all-time leader in rebounds and blocks and ranks fifth in career points scored. Her nod to the All-PSAC East First Team this season was her third consecutive such award, but the PSAC East Athlete of the Year is her first. The York native becomes the fourth player to win the award under head coach
Mary Fleig, but the first since the 2002-03 season, when Gema Robles took home the award. Back on Dec. 18 against the team's next opponent, Gannon, Mosley scored 21 points, ripped down nine rebounds blocked two shots and added a steal.
· Mosley's redshirt senior running mate, point guard
Mashira Newman, was also named to the All-PSAC East First Team for the second season in a row. Newman garnered All-PSAC East Second Team honors as a sophomore. The North Hills native is fourth on the school's all-time scoring list, just 14 points ahead of Mosley (1,428-1,414), but against Ship, hit a milestone with her 500th career assist, making her only the second player to cross that threshold. In addition to becoming the only player in school history in the 1,000-500-500 club in points, rebounds and assists, Newman is also the only player in school history to rank in the program's top 10 in points, assists, steals and blocks and is just six steals away from 400 steals in her career. Newman also performed well against Gannon earlier this season, turning in 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five blocks and two steals.
· The unheralded hero of Tuesday night's win at Ship was redshirt sophomore
Carly Gallagher. The East Stroudsburg native dropped 15 points in her 39 minutes of work to give the Marauders a second scoring punch next to Mosley. Six of her 15 points came in a flurry in the midst of a 14-0 run at the end of the first half after Millersville trailed 21-16. Then, with just over a minute to play and the Marauders up 17, she delivered the final blow with her only 3-pointer of the game, a triple from the left corner to make the lead 20 and put the finishing touches on the victory. Gallagher will need to be just as good as she was Tuesday against Ship and as good as she was earlier this season against Gannon in an overtime loss if the team has a chance of making it to the PSAC Championship game. Against the Golden Knights on Dec. 18, she poured in a game-high 22 points in a career-best 41 minutes, including nailing 4-of-8 from 3-point range and adding five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
· With a win over Gannon, the Marauders can make their first appearance in the PSAC Championship game since winning the PSAC Tournament at the end of the 2004-05 season. To do that, Millersville will need to defeat a 27-3 Gannon team that finished with the PSAC's best record during the regular season on a neutral court. In Fleig's tenure, her teams are 2-5 at neutral sites in the conference tournament, but going into Ship, Fleig's teams were just 1-9 on the road in the PSAC Touranment. The Marauders are 2-2 this season against the rest of the field still standing the tourney, besting Bloomsburg in both regular season meetings but falling to both Gannon and Edinboro at home.
ABOUT GANNON
· Gannon enters Friday evening's PSAC Tournament Semifinal matchup with Millersville as winners of six straight games dating back to a Dec. 9 loss at the hands of California (Pa.). The Golden Knights, however, avenged that loss to the Vulcans by trouncing Cal in the PSAC Quarterfinals Tuesday night, 77-50 after the West's top seed had a first-round bye. During the win streak, Gannon is posting an average margin of victory at 18.3 points per game in wins over PSAC West foes Edinboro, Clarion, Mercyhurst, Lock Haven, Slippery Rock and Cal, respectively.
· Head coach Cleve Wright, who is 166-47 in 11 seasons at Gannon and undefeated against Millersville, has his team at 27-3 this season and garnered the PSAC West's Coach of the Year accolades Thursday. His best player, Jen Papich, also took home the PSAC West Athlete of the Year Thursday, setting up a matchup between the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and the PSAC East Athlete of the Year (Mosley) Friday night at Nelson Fieldhouse at Bloomsburg University. The 6-1 forward turned in a junior campaign where she scored 13.2 points per game and pulled down 5.8 rebounds per game. As good as Papich was, Gannon will also need a great performance from forward Nettie Blake. In just 20.4 minutes per game, the 6-1 sophomore forward averages 11.1 points per game and pulls down a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game.
· Facilitating duties on the offensive end are left to Kelley Sundberg, who averages just 5.4 points per game, but leads the entire PSAC in helpers, dishing out 5.4 assists per game. In addition to Papich and Blake, one other player that can provide scoring punch from the perimeter for the Golden Knights is Brittany Batts. A 5-7 sophomore guard, Batts scores at an 11.6 point per game clip, but is an absolute sniper behind the arc, making 44.6 percent of her 202 3-pointers attempted this season.
· Earlier this season, Gannon traveled to Millersville, handing the Marauders their first loss of the season in a 78-76 overtime thriller. It was the only overtime game for both teams during the 2012-13 season. During that game, Gannon allowed two Millersville players to hit for at least 20 points, but improved its record to 9-1 after 10 games by posting four players in double figures. Papich and Batts tied for a team-high 16 points, and Papich also ripped down a team-best eight boards, but turned the ball over eight times.
