ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women’s basketball team used a dominating game on the glass for the third consecutive game and took control in the second half en route to a 65-48 victory over Millersville Monday night in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship. In the process, the Lady Knights captured their first-ever regional championship before a sold-out, raucous crowd at the Hammermill Center.

Gannon tied an NCAA Division II record for victories in a season, equaling Drury’s mark of 36 set in 2004. The Lady Knights also extended their NCAA Division II record for consecutive victories in a single season, winning their 36th consecutive game.

Head coach Cleve Wright’s squad won its 18th straight home game and 51st straight contest when leading at halftime. Its 36-game win streak is the fourth-longest overall streak in NCAA Division II history. Washburn (51) owns the longest win streak, while North Dakota State produced streaks of 49 and 42 games.

Gannon now heads to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in program history. The Lady Knights will face Tusculum (Tenn.) in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals Tuesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Tusculum entered the Southeast Regional as the No. 7 seed, but rallied from a 24-6 deficit Monday night to knock off top-seeded Lander 70-63 in the Southeast Regional title game. The Gannon-Tusculum game can be heard live on 90.5 WERG and via the Internet at http://www.gannon.edu/athletics/werg/knightsound.html. A live Webcast will also be available at http://www.ncaa.com. More information on the NCAA Division II Elite Eight will be released in the upcoming days.

Monday’s first half was as advertised as the two squads duked it out in a defensive battle. Millersville entered the game as the nation’s second-best defensive unit, allowing 52.1 points per game. Gannon was close behind with 58.5 points allowed per game.

The low-scoring first half featured eight lead changes and three ties. Neither team had a lead larger than four points until Gannon rallied late. Millersville led 25-22 and was inbounding the ball when Ashley Moyer was whistled for an intentional foul. Tiffany Crocker (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) drained both free throws and the Lady Knights were given the