Gators Use Strong Second Half in Win

Dec 2, 2006

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MEADVILLE, Pa. – Trailing 29-24 at halftime, the Allegheny College Gators (4-1, 1-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) used their second consecutive second half comeback, out-scoring Kenyon College (1-4, 0-1 NCAC) 34-25 in the second period en route to a 58-54 victory in the David V. Wise Center on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Brittany Bell (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield), left, scored a team-high 14 points off of the bench while Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) each added 13.

Allegheny jumped out quickly, as Kestler scored the first five points of the game on a three-pointer and a fast break layup. Back-to-back three-pointers by Kenyon’s Hilary Gowins gave the visitors a 6-5 lead before Wolf, right, gave the Gators their last lead of the first half on a jumper 3:18 into the game.

The Ladies of Kenyon scored the next six points, taking a five-point lead and never trailed again through the first 20 minutes. Allegheny cut the deficit to one when Bell hit a three-point field goal with 3:44 to play in the stanza, but Kenyon scored the next six points and cruised into halftime their five-point lead.

The Gators came out strong in the second half, scoring 14 of the first 22 points of the half, taking their first lead since the early parts of the game with Wolf’s second free throw with 14:16 on the game clock. Allegheny kept pressure on the Ladies, gradually increasing the Blue and Gold’s lead to nine with 5:34 to play in the contest before Kenyon fought back, closing the gap to as three points with just over two minutes to play in the game.

Three would be as close as the visitors would come, as a free throw by Hilary Collins (Franklin, Pa./Franklin), two free throws by freshman Emilie Simone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and another by Kestler, icing the game for the Gators.

Simone, left, in her first collegiate start, recorded her first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, as she and the aforementioned trio scored 51 of the team’s 58 points in the game. Wolf pulled down eight rebounds, two shy of the double-double, while Collins grabbed seven caroms in the win. Wolf dished out three assists to lead the team, as Kestler picked up three steals in her 38 minutes of action.

Kenyon put three players in double figures, led by Gowins, who scored 18 points in the game, 14 of which came in the first 20 minutes of the game, as Alisha Moreno and Laurel Stokes each added 10 points for the Ladies. Anne Dugan pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the team, with Moreno dishing out a game-high five assists.

The next game for the Blue and Gold is on Tuesday, December 5 when the Gators host local foe Westminster College at the David V. Wise Center, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.

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