Kestler Leads Gators Past Hiram

Jan 30, 2007

Boxscore

MEADVILLE, Pa. – With the lead standing at just three points late in the second half, Allegheny College senior Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) stepped up to the plate and re-energized the host Gators, taking the ball to the rack for three layups as part of a 10-2 run which propelled the hosts to a 60-52 victory over visiting Hiram College at the David V. Wise Center on Tuesday night.

Kestler recorded a game-high 17 points for Allegheny (13-6, 7-4 NCAC), converting 7-of-12 attempts from the floor, including 3-of-6 from deep. She scored nine points in the second stanza, all of which came during a crucial five-minute stretch as the Terriers (6-13, 1-9 NCAC) were on the verge of overcoming a double-digit halftime deficit.

Trailing by as many as 16 in the opening stanza, Hiram nearly cut the lead to single-digits with six consecutive points before the break, putting the score at 32-22. Following a layup by Hilary Collins (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) at 14:25, the Gator advantage still stood at 10 (42-32), but a comeback by the visitors was in the works as the Terriers cut the lead to five with seven points from Abbey Gorby and Cassie Bedard.

A three-pointer from Kestler stemmed the tide for a moment as Hiram followed with a three-point shot and a layup on its next two possessions. After a three-minute spurt featuring five turnovers from both teams, Kestler pushed the lead back to multiple possessions with back-to-back layups, and following a jumper by Meghan Vasilisin (Munhall, Pa./Oakland Catholic) at 4:02, the Gator senior hit the rack once again for her final bucket of the game. Sophomore Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) completed the rally with a layup of her own at 2:09, pushing the lead to 57-46.

Hiram closed to seven on back-to-back field goals by Bedard, but three consecutive free throws by Collins and Rosina Walton (Ingomar, Pa./North Allegheny) sealed the victory for the home team.

Wolf and Vasilisin each reached double figures in the scoring column, netting 12 and 10 points, respectively for Allegheny. Vasilisin also posted a team-best seven rebounds, while Wolf and Kestler each dished out a team-high three assists. Collins finished with eight points and two steals.

Bedard was just under her league-leading scoring mark with 17 points on the night and added seven rebounds. Gorby contributed a dozen tallies to the scorebook, as well as a game-high nine rebounds.

One game removed from committing a season-high 27 turnovers, the Gators returned the favor by forcing a season-high 29 miscues from their opponent which translated into 36 points. The hosts
converted 42.9 percent (24-of-56) of their shots to Hiram’s 42.0 (21-of-50), but lost the battle on the glass 38-to-28.

Allegheny hits the road for three straight conference tilts, beginning this Friday and Saturday at Earlham College and Wittenberg College, respectively. Friday’s game is set for 6 p.m., while tip-off against the Tigers is slated for 2 p.m.

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