March 9, 2007

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - There will be a new national champion in NCAA Division II women's basketball in 2007.

Ashley Lowdermilk scored a game-high 24 points Friday to lead Gannon (25-5), the No. 6 seed, to a 66-59 victory over No. 3 seed and defending national champion Grand Valley State (21-8) in the opening round of the Great Lakes Regional.

Lowdermilk's 8-of-11 shooting effort included a 4-of-6 performance from 3-point range. The Golden Knights were 8-of-20 from beyond the arc compared to a chilly 5-of-22 for Grand Valley.

Gannon's Christina Jackson scored 16 points and had game highs of 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Casey England scored 15 points, and Tiffany Crocker led all players with 9 assists.

Grand Valley, which fell behind 15-3 and never led, got 21 points from Erika Ryskamp, 10 points from Julia Braseth and 7 rebounds from Crystal Zick.