LHU Women’s Basketball takes down nationally-ranked Gannon in PSAC thriller
LOCK HAVEN– Since last season, the Lock Haven women’s basketball and Gannon rivalry has headlined Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and NCAA Division II Atlantic region play. The two powers locked up in another thriller today, and in the end, Lock Haven secured a hard-fought, 69-67, upset-win over No. 4/11 Gannon in conference play.
With less than one second remaining in the game and the score tied at 67, sophomore-standout Rhlyn Rouse drilled a pair of free throws to give Lock Haven a two-point lead at, 69-67, and it proved to be the difference in landing the monumental bounce-back victory.
Lock Haven entered today’s game coming off a narrow defeat on the road at Edinboro – earlier this week.
With the victory today at home, the Bald Eagles improved to 8-3 overall and Lock Haven now sits 3-2 in PSAC action. The nationally-ranked Golden Knights moved to 13-2 and it served as their first conference loss (5-1) this season.
The victory also helped The Haven improve to 5-1 at home.
Five different Bald Eagles netted double-figures as balanced scoring helped carry them to the win.
Madeline Evans finished with a game-high 17 points. Kiera Baughman, Alana Robinson and Rouse all finished with 12 points. Jenadia Jordan added 10 points in the win.
Evans finished with nine rebounds and Rouse grabbed eight as the two dominated the boards once again.
Jordan chipped in with five assists and three steals.
The Bald Eagle defense had 10 steals and Lock Haven scored 17 points off turnovers.
Back in October – prior to the start of the 2024-25 season – Lock Haven and Gannon were picked No. 1, respectively, it the PSAC East and PSAC Western Division preseason polls. The two premier PSAC programs met in last season’s conference championship game and played again in the NCAA Division II national tournament days later.
Gannon won both of those meetings, but today proved to be a much different story as the Bald Eagles secured a huge PSAC win in what stood as another thrilling chapter in the rivalry.
With Gannon ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation, the win is believed to be the highest-ranked win in Lock Haven women’s basketball history.
Lock Haven’s victory snapped Gannon’s four-game win streak this season and it marked the Bald Eagles first win over Gannon since December 2018. Gannon’s two wins over Lock Haven last season in the postseason pushed the Golden Knights’ win streak to four in the series, but that streak ended today in Thomas Fieldhouse in the Bald Eagles’ favor.
Up Next for Lock Haven:
Today’s game helped the Bald Eagles close out the 2024 portion of the schedule. Lock Haven will return to action in the new year when The Haven hosts Kutztown on Friday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
