Box Score Glenville, WV – For just the second time in history, the University of Charleston would square off against the Gannon Golden Knights in Glenville, WV for the opening round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional. Coincidentally, both squads come into this one fresh off a conference championship loss. It would be an understatement to say that these players had an extra chip in their shoulder on Friday afternoon. 
 
The Basics
Location: Waco Center
Score: UC 69, GU 65
Records: UC (24-8, 16-6 MEC), GU (29-5, 19-3 PSAC) 
 
How it Happened
The Golden Knights had a very noticeable size advantage over Charleston which meant that the Golden Eagles were going to have to rebound just as hard as they did in the MEC Tournament. Gannon would win the opening tip, but it would be Charleston with the opening points of the game after Markyia McCormick euro-stepped her way to the hard-earned bucket. The Golden Eagles found themselves in foul trouble early on as the team would have four fouls in less than three minutes of the opening quarter, allowing for Gannon to find easy points from the charity stripe. The Golden Knights would go on a 14-2 run that forced a timeout from Tianni Kelly with 4:27 left to play in the quarter. After the break, McCormick broke the cold streak for Charleston with a corner triple and Jamia Nesmith would begin to put points on the board with two quick layups, but the Knights kept marching as they would head to the second quarter with a 21–15 lead over Charleston. 
 
Neither team could find points in the second quarter until Sierra Davis laid it up and in on the finger-roll to cut the lead to just four points. McCormick and Reeves would lead the way to tie the game at 25-25 with 5:41 remaining in the half after nailing a pair of deep triples. The Golden Knights would take back a three-point advantage after Sam Pirosko's layup from underneath and a 1-2 trip to the line. McCormick would then put the game back to all-square at 28-28 after a crispy and-one play with 3:35 on the clock. Charleston took their first lead of the game after yet another McCormick basket to give Charleston the 31-30 advantage. Despite Gannon's height advantage, the Golden Eagles found their rhythm underneath with some hard-earned baskets while also playing tough on the other end defensively. Charleston would end the half with an unbelievably perfect dish from Trinity Palacio to Francis underneath who banked it in with ease to take the momentum and a 39-32 lead into the locker room. They would hold the Golden Knights to just 11 points in the quarter, while on the other end finding 24 points. 
 
After an electric end to the second, the Golden Eagles would pick up right where they left off as McCormick would force a timeout just over a minute into the second half after an and-one conversion and a deep shot from beyond the arc to take a 45-32 lead. Though the timeout would bring Gannon two points, Francis would answer right back with a casual back-down layup to maintain the 13-point lead. Gannon would slowly chip away at the large deficit towards the end of the third quarter, but Charleston continued to not allow any unearned baskets. Maggie Stephenson and Haley Moore would put up two consecutive layups to extend the lead to 51-40. Gannon had Bri Claxon to thank for keeping them within reach of Charleston as she would find six points to match Charleston's consecutive baskets. The Golden Eagles would take a 55-50 lead into the fourth period of action. 
 
With just four losses on the year, the Golden Knights were not used to losing and they were sure not to go down without a fight. Both squads would exchange two baskets to start the fourth, but Palacio's triple would be unmatched with 7:38 to go as Charleston held a 62-54 advantage. Reeves would find her second three-pointer of the game to extend the margin to nine points. Possessions became drawn out in order to score guaranteed points, but Maggie Stephenson would come up with a big-time block on Claxon that gave Charleston an extra possession. The momentum would shift with a controversial offensive foul called on Abby Lee that would lead to a Gannon three-pointer cutting the lead to just four points. A trip to the line for the Golden Knights would make it a one possession game with two minutes left in the game. McCormick remained unfazed and gave Charleston the lead back with a driving layup through heavy contact for the 67-65 lead. With nine seconds remaining, Dakota Reeves would make the most clutch play of the game with a steal on Gannon's potentially game-winning possession. Even more clutch: she made both of her free throws on the other end. Charleston would take the 69-65 victory over the Gannon Golden Knights. McCormick would finish with an outrageous 27 points in the win. A name worth mentioning for the Golden Eagles would be Haley Moore, who seemed to be all over the court defensively for Charleston, finishing with two steals and eight rebounds accompanied with a lone block. 
 
Up Next
Charleston will face West Chester in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Semifinal tomorrow on March 11^th at 5:00 PM. West Chester defeated the PSAC Champions California (PA) in the opening round of the Regional and make for another great matchup.