Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Millersville

Rhyan Mitchell

No. 5 Gannon visits in final game of 2023

| By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
  • Series vs. Gannon: 4-10
  • Series Streak: L2
  • First Meeting: L, 66-54 (1981-82)
  • Last Meeting: W, 93-64 (Nov. , 2022)
  • Last 10 Meetings: 2-8
  • Most ‘Ville Points: 83
  • Record at Home: 2-2
  • Kira Mowen vs. Gannon: 0-0
  • Cleve Wright vs. Millersville: 7-1

 

ABOUT THE GAME

  • The Marauders return from an 11-day layoff to take on the No. 5 Gannon Golden Knights at 1pm in Pucillo Gymnasium. The hosts look to improve their conference record from 1-3 while the Golden Knights hope to stay perfect at 4-0. Gannon enters with a record of 12-1 and rides a nine-game winning streak after disposing of No. 9 West Chester with relative ease on Dec. 19. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

  • Millersville looks to snap its short two-game skid after falling in back to back conference matchups on the road, first to Edinboro on Dec. 18 and then to Mercyhurst on Dec. 18. They enter with a record of 3-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
  • The Marauders are no stranger to facing ranked opponents, as this is their third clash with such foes thus far. They've played Jefferson, ranked No. 8 at the time, and California (Pa.), ranked No. 10 at the time.
  • The Marauder's offense will be focused on getting the ball to the members of their front court, namely Makiah Shaw and La'Shyra Williams. Shaw has been the team's leading scorer for most of the season and continued that trend with her team high 17 points against Mercyhurst. She's reached double-figures in half of her games so far and has been the only player to top 20 points in a single contest. She's done so twice, scoring a career-best 26 against Cal U on Dec. 1 and pouring in 23 against Goldey-Beacom on Dec. 14.
  • Williams, the other half of that pair, has hovered around the 10 points per game mark for each of the past two contests. She's averaging 9.8 per game while shooting an outstanding 61.3% from the field. Her contributions have also come defensively, as the redshirt senior is second on the team in steals and tied for first with Morgan Mahoney in blocks. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

  • The Marauders face their toughest matchup of the season in the 12-1 Golden Knights. The visitors rode a nine-game winning streak into the break and finished that run by dismantling PSAC East powerhouse West Chester. The Knights held a 15 points lead at halftime and extended that advantage to 18 by the end of the third quarter. 
  • Gannon is led by redshirt senior and two-time All-PSAC West first team honoree Samantha Pirosko. Pirosko leads the team in scoring at 17.0 points per contest and hasn't failed to reach double-digits in any game this year. In fact, she's on a 46-game streak of scoring 10 points or more dating back to Gannon's first game of last season. The post player features an all-around game as well, with five double-doubles and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. She's third on the team in assists, tied for second in blocks, and a distant first in steals to boot. 
  • Accompanying Pirosko in the post is the six-foot-two McKel Nation. Nation has started all 13 games and leads the team in blocks, with a PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week award for the week of Dec. 4 to show for her effort on that end. She also ranks third on the team in scoring despite averaging just under 20 minutes per contest. 
  • While their offense runs primarily through their post players, they have been particularly effective from beyond the arc. Gannon boasts four players shooting better than 40% from three and a team percentage of 34.5. From the field they have a mark of 46.9%, which supports a scoring margin of more than 21. 

SERIES HISTORY

  • Gannon, traditionally a very good team, has held the advantage in this matchup all-time. Millersville sports a 4-10 record dating back to the 1981-82 season, when the programs first met. After winning two of the first three contests, the Marauders have gone just 2-8 against the Golden Knights in the past three decades. A bright spot would be the team's recent home record against the visitors, as Millersville has captured the victory in both of the last two matchups played at Pucillo Gymnasium.
Loading...

Upcoming Schedule

{{ moment(game.date).format('MMM D, YYYY') }} {{ game.time ? 'at ' + game.time : '' }}
{{ game.sport.title }} {{ game.location_indicator === 'A' ? 'at' : 'vs' }}
{{ game.opponent.title }}

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories