ERIE, Pa. – 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.

The Bald Eagles also reached the NCAA DII WBCA and CSC National Rankings for the first time in program history.
 
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.