Amsterdam's Gannon signs NLI to play basketball at Roberts Wesleyan

ERICA MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Amsterdam girls' basketball player Andie Gannon, left and her mom Sue react after signing her National Letter of Intent play basketball at Roberts Wesleyan College on Tuesday at Amsterdam High School. — PHOTOGRAPHER:

ERICA MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Amsterdam girls' basketball player Andie Gannon, left and her mom Sue react after signing her National Letter of Intent play basketball at Roberts Wesleyan College on Tuesday at Amsterdam High School.

Andie Gannon thrives when all eyes are on her. The Amsterdam senior girls’ basketball star’s performances the last two seasons at the annual Amsterdam Holiday College Showcase are a testament to that.

As a sophomore in 2018, Gannon showed off her versatility when she produced a triple-double to lead Amsterdam to a win over Hanover (N.H.). As a junior last year, Gannon put up a career-high 29 points in leading the Lady Rams past New Hartford.

“When we do the showcases, I think I do a lot,” Gannon said. “The showcases are what I really love.”

“She’s not afraid of the big moment,” Amsterdam coach Eric Duemler said.

Performances like those put Gannon on the radar of numerous college programs and helped open the door for what the 5-foot-10 forward did Tuesday when she signed her National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Division II Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester.

A two-year varsity starter, Gannon has been an almost automatic double-double for Amsterdam since making her debut as a sophomore. In her first season, she averaged 11.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, then followed that up with 15.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game as a junior.

Gannon’s combination of athleticism, toughness and versatility have made her an invaluable piece of the puzzle for the Lady Rams.

“She’s super-aggressive, a very good rebounder, very skilled all-around,” Duemler said. “She can pass, she can handle, she can play point forward. She understands what we’re doing offensively and defensively. She wants to guard the other team’s best player. When you put that all together, you’ve got a scholarship basketball kid.”

Gannon is one of three Amsterdam seniors set to play basketball on a scholarship in college. Last week, Antonia May became the program’s first player in more than a decade to head to the Division I level when she signed with the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, while Jackie Stanavich is set to sign her NLI Thursday to attend Division II Mercy.

“I couldn’t have done anything without them, without my teammates,” Gannon said. “I’m just so excited for where basketball has to take me and my teammates.”

“I’m super proud of the girls,” Duemler said, “with how hard they work, the leadership they show, our younger girls look up to them and want to be the next ones in line. God willing, if we have a season come in January, our elementary kids will be looking to them and we’ll encourage them to emulate those three girls.

In Roberts Wesleyan, Gannon found a school that satisfied both her academic and athletic ambitions. She toured the college’s Rochester campus and came away impressed with both the school’s early childhood education program and the relationship she formed with women’s basketball coach Kevin Clifford and his team.

“The education, overall, for what I want to pursue in my career, was very good,” she said. “The team was amazing. I’m so excited to start my year with coach ‘Cliff.’ I’m really excited to be with the team, to start my freshman year with people that I really get along with. It’s very exciting.”

Gannon’s hopeful her toughness and knack for the big moment will pay off in some early playing time at forward when she arrives on campus.

“There’s a senior who’s leaving,” she said, “and hopefully I can stay strong, be tough like I am and take a spot.”

“Or,” she added, “I’ll just keep working hard and eventually get there.”