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Gators Use Strong Defensive Effort to Win National City Tournament
November 20, 2004
Meadville, Pa. – In the championship game of the National City Tip-off Tournament, Allegheny outlasted the Marietta College (OH) Pioneers in a defensive struggle to win 52-42.
The Gators had trouble getting their offense going in the first half, having scored only 19 points with 5:15 left in the half. But a 16-9 run at the end of half put Allegheny up 35-19 going into the locker room. Sophomore guard Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) came off the bench to total 10 points in the first half, including a trio of three-pointers. Senior forward Meredith McDonough (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) also contributed seven points, while junior guard Caitlin Murtaugh (Bethel Park, Pa./Seton LeSalle) had six.
Allegheny’s offense was not as potent as it had been the night before against Alfred (N.Y.) University, but their defensive effort was superb. The Gators out-rebounded the Pioneers 39-26 and also forced 29 turnovers in the game.
With 15:46 left in the second half, the Gators held a 22-point lead over the Pioneers. Marietta ended the game on a 21-9 run, but could not cut the deficit to less than 10 points and fell to 1-1 on the season.
Ten different Gators got their names in the scoring column and the attack was led by Kestler’s 10 points, all coming in the first half. Junior guard Valery Medwid (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) finished with eight points and four assists, while senior guard Raelynn Miles (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) chipped in with four points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
McDonough was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, averaging 9.5 points and six rebounds in the two games. Joining her on the All-Tournament team was Medwid, who averaged 7.5 points and four assists.
Allegheny helped its cause by shooting 73% from the free-throw line, going 11-15 on the afternoon.
For Marietta, Justine Pagenhardt and Katie Moriarty finished with 12 and 11 points respectively.
The win improves the Gators record to 2-0 on the young season with their next contest coming Tuesday at Washington & Jefferson College (PA).