LHU WBB: No. 4 Bald Eagles’ historic season ends with Atlantic Region Semifinal loss to No. 1 Gannon

ERIE – The No. 4 seed Lock Haven women’s basketball team’s historic 2023-24 season ended on Saturday night (March 16) after the Bald Eagles fell to the No. 1 seed Gannon, 91-72, in front of a sellout Hagerty Family Events Center crowd.

Saturday’s contest marked the first NCAA Tournament Atlantic Region Semifinal appearance for Lock Haven in over three decades and closed the book on a truly historic campaign.

The Bald Eagles finished with a program-record 29 victories, a PSAC East regular season title, a 21-1 conference mark and the first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1991. Lock Haven’s run of 19 consecutive victories from earlier this season is also a program-record. Lock Haven’s four loses all came at the hands of NCAA Tournament teams.

Head Coach Jennifer Smith, who became the all-time winningest coach in program history earlier this season, had this to say after the game:

“I am beyond proud of what this group has done this year,” Smith said. “We did things the right way – played basketball the right way, and they’re just really good humans. I keep telling them when they are my age and look back and remember this amazing season. I wanted this group to play for a Conference Championship and experience what it is like to play in the NCAA Championship Tournament. They achieved beyond that and picking up a win yesterday was special.”

Jenadia Jordan (York, Pa./Linden Hall) was sensational from start to finish and poured in a team-high 27 points. Jordan knocked down a team-high 12 free throws on 17 attempts.

Taylor Leidy (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) poured in her postseason high in points during her final game, as the graduate senior netted 17 points and shot 10-of-11 at the charity stripe.

Freshman Madeline Evans (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) pulled in a team-high six rebounds, while Alana Robinson (Rockaway, N.J./Pope John Paul II) added three steals.

From the tip, Gannon was able to get to the free throw line and knocked down 8-of-8 attempts in the first quarter to build an early 21-14 advantage. Jackie Fetsko (Marion Center, Pa./Marion Center) drilled a huge 3-pointer late in the first period to keep the Bald Eagles within striking distance.

The second quarter was a true dog fight, which saw The Haven outscore Gannon, 25-22, to trim the deficit to four heading into the break (43-39). Jordan was on a mission in the second period and upped her team-high point total to 17 in the first half.

Coming out of the break, Lock Haven went cold from the field and Gannon ignited on a 10-1 run to extend its lead to double-figures for the first time since early in the first half.

Lock Haven shooting woes continued in the third quarter and after starting 0-of-8 from the floor, Gannon extended its lead to 73-51 heading into the final period. Gannon knocked down a game-high six triples in the third quarter.

Lock Haven bounced back to outscore Gannon, 21-18, in the final period, but the Golden Knights overall advantage proved to be too much.

For Gannon, Samantha Pirosko led all scorers with 34 points.