Women Grab Second Place With Victory

Feb 11, 2006

Boxscore

GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Allegheny College Gators (16-8, 12-3 NCAC) took a firm grip on the second seed for the NCAC tournament by defeating the Big Red of Denison University (18-5, 10-4 NCAC) on Saturday afternoon by a 61-57 final score. The Gators are now a game and a half up on Denison, with one game to play in the season for Allegheny and two for the Big Red.

Jennifer Latronica (Gibsonia/Deer Lakes) (left) scored a team-high 11 points off of the bench, while Courtney Steding (McDonald/Fort Cherry) added 10 points.

Allegheny jumped out of the starting blocks with a 4-0 lead two minutes into the game before the host Big Red opened a 12-0 run, taking an eight-point lead. The Blue and Gold fought back, using a 13-3 run to turn a 20-17 deficit with 6:29 to play into a 30-23 lead with 1:41 remaining in the half. The Big Red scored the last four points of the stanza, cutting the Gator halftime lead to three at 30-27.

Denison re-gained the lead for the first time in the second half with 14:50 to play, and held the advantage for the next six minutes, but were not able to push the lead above four points at any given time. The game was back and forth for the final eight and a half minutes, as there were three lead changes and three ties over the final stretch of the game. A pair of free throws by Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh/Mt. Lebanon) gave the Gators a one-point lead, as the Gators used a 7-2 run over the last two minutes to push ahead for the four-point win.

Caitlin Murtagh (Bethel Park/Seton-La Salle) and Becca Gasiewicz (Grove City/Kennedy Christian) each scored nine points, Gasiewicz’s a career-high, while Hilary Collins (Franklin) (right) added a career-high eight points off of the bench. In all, the Allegheny bench out-scored the starters 31-30 in the game. Latronica and Murtagh each pulled down six rebounds to lead the team, while Collins dished out five assists, also a career-high. Latronica blocked four shots, while Steding and Kristen Lyzen (Brook Park, Ohio/Midpark) each blocked a trio of shots.

Denison was led by Kristen Sheffield, who picked up a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Tammy Hoch picked up 10 points in the loss. Amber Hill and Carolyn Simpson each scored eight points off of the bench, while Hoch picked up five steals to lead the team.

The Gators have one game left on their schedule, as they host the Terriers of Hiram College on Wednesday night, February 15 in the first game of a women’s/men’s double header, starting at 6:00 p.m.

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