Allegheny Falls To Wittenberg in Championship Contest

Feb 28, 2004

The Allegheny College women’s basketball team came up 13 points short of their first North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship since 1989, falling to top-seeded Wittenberg University 66-53 at the HPER Center on Saturday night. In a game marred with fouls, the Tigers converted on 75.0 percent (24-32) of their foul shots while Allegheny hit 15-24 (62.5 percent).

Gator junior forward Meredith McDonough (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) earned a spot on the all-tournament team averaging 10.7 points and six rebounds in three tournament contests. Wittenberg’s Haley Warden earned most valuable player honors as she had 14 points and 17 rebounds in the championship contest.

The Tigers are now 23-5 on the season and have won 19 straight games as they head into the NCAA Division III tournament with the automatic bid.

Following a slow start, Allegheny managed to cut a six-point Wittenberg lead to 18-16 with 5:38 remaining in the first half. The Tigers, however, turned up the offense over the final five minutes, outscoring the Gators 17-4 over the last 3:42 to take a comfortable 35-20 lead into the locker room.

Midway through the second half, Allegheny began to threaten, cutting a 48-35 lead with 11:23 remaining to 50-46 with 5:16 left. Similar to the first half, Wittenberg responded down the stretch, canning 11-of-15 free throws over the final four minutes and holding Allegheny to seven points over the last 3:41.

Allegheny held the Tigers to 25 percent (6-24) shooting in the second half, but also sent Wittenberg to the line 24 times where they hit 17 freebies. The Gators shot 36.7 percent (18-49) from the field including just 2-14 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

McDonough led the Gators with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting while senior Jessica Kankoski (Glenshaw, Pa./Fox Chapel) and sophomore forward Kristen Lyzen (Brook Park, Ohio/Midpark) each had 10 points.

Amber Bishop led all scorers with 20 points to earn a spot on the all-tournament team for Wittenberg. Geri Woessner also made the all-tournament team for the Tigers, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine boards in the championship contest.

The title is Wittenberg’s league-leading seventh in women’s basketball. Allegheny is second in the conference with five championships.

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