Wolf, Kestler Lead Gators Past W&J

Nov 21, 2006

Boxscore

WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) narrowly missed a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, while senior sharp-shooter Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) poured in a career-high 22 points as the Allegheny College women’s basketball team strolled by host Washington & Jefferson College 65-46 in a non-conference match up in Washington, Pa.

The Gators improve to 2-1 on the young season, while the Presidents drop to 1-2.

Each of the first nine points of the ball game were notched by Wolf and Kestler, the former opening with a pair of buckets and the latter canning a layup and the first of her game-high five trifectas. Allegheny led 9-3 just three minutes in, but the hosts came right back to knot the game at 14-14 midway through the first half on a layup by Kaleigh Bangor.

That tie was the only one in the contest as the visitors built an eight-point lead in the opening frame and held a 31-28 advantage at the break. Kestler (17 points) and Wolf (9 points) accounted for all but five points for Allegheny, scoring 26 on combined 10-of-18 shooting from the floor.

Washington & Jefferson cut the deficit to one twice early in the second half, but the Gators erupted in the final 14:37 of the game, outscoring the Presidents 28-12 to take the 19-point victory, the largest winning margin in the series since an 83-63 Allegheny win at the start of the 1994-95 season.

Kestler bested her previous career mark by one point, canning 8-of-12 shot attempts, including going 5-of-9 from three-point land. She also swiped a team-best three steals and played all but one minute in the game. Wolf also posted a career-high in scoring, converting 50 percent of her shot attempts (7-of-14) as well as going 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Her eight helpers was also a career mark.

Not to be outdone, Allegheny freshman Brittany Bell (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) was perfect from the field, hitting all five of her shot attempts, including four three-pointers, for a season-best 14 points. Additionally, sophomore guard Hilary Collins (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) grabbed seven rebounds and tallied two steals.

Kennan Killeen led the Presidents with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Maggie Gibson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Next up for the Gators is a non-conference bout in the Wise Center against Mount Union College on Saturday, November 25, at 2 p.m.

Printable Version