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Gators Douse Denison’s Perfect Season
February 10, 2007
MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College women’s basketball team handed North Coast Athletic Conference leader Denison University (19-4, 13-1 NCAC) a taste of its own medicine on Saturday afternoon, ending the Big Red’s shot at a perfect conference regular season with a 55-48 decision in front of a raucous crowd at the David V. Wise Center.
The Gators (16-7, 10-5 NCAC) ended Denison’s school-record 15-game winning streak and prevent the Big Red from running the table in the NCAC. Allegheny did it with a swarming defense, holding the visitors to their second-lowest point total of the season and forcing 14 turnovers, while committing a season-low eight. Those 14 turnovers translated into 15 points for the hosts, while Denison managed only five tallies off of Allegheny’s miscues.
The visitors jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, connecting on each of its first three shots from the field, but Allegheny wasn’t about to let the game get away, returning with a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the day. Following a series of lead changes and ties, the Gators went off for a 10-2 run over the latter part of the half to take a 26-18 advantage with 1:30 to play. Senior Becca Gasiewicz (Grove City, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) accounted for seven of her team-high nine first half points during the stretch, as Allegheny ended the opening stanza with a 27-20 lead.
Denison scored each of the first five points of the second half, but couldn’t find the equalizer as the hosts went off for a huge run down to the midway point, outscoring the Big Red 17-2 to push their lead to 44-27 at 9:18. Six different Gators picked points during that stretch, including three-pointers by Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and Brittany Bell (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield).
The Big Red maintained their poise, answering back with a 9-0 run to cut the lead back down to single-digits at 44-36 with 5:45 left on the clock. A full-court press helped Denison chip away the margin with under two minutes to play, eventually cutting it to 51-46 at 36 seconds. A three-point shot by Caitlin Krupka which would have cut the deficit to one possession was off target for Denison and Rosina Walton (Ingomar, Pa./North Allegheny) corralled the loose ball with 19 ticks left. Both she and Kestler connected on a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Walton came up big for the Gators in her last regular season home game, scoring a career-high 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Gasiewicz, Jennifer Latronica (Gibsonia, Pa./Deer Lakes) and Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) each added nine points, while Kestler poured in eight.
Allegheny totaled 49 rebounds in the game, including 19 on the offensive glass; Wolf picked up 13 boards, Kestler tied a season-high with eight, and Latronica ripped down seven.
Krupka led Denison with nine points while Ellen O’Brien and Kristen Sheffield each added eight, the former also contributing 14 rebounds.
The Gators conclude the regular season on Wednesday, January 14, at Hiram College at 6 p.m.