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Gators Win First of 2007-08 Season
November 17, 2007
MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Gators used a near quadruple-double effort from junior Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), who finished the game with 11 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and seven steals, while three other players scored double figure points in helping interim head coach Katie Costanzo to her first victory at the helm of the Allegheny program, a 69-47 win over the Pioneers of Marietta College.
The Gators led wire-to-wire in the game, as the hosts jumped out to a 9-0 lead three and a half minutes into the contest. The Pioneers closed to within seven with 6:22 remaining in the contest, before the Gators scored the next six points, pushing their lead to 13, and the Allegheny advantage never dipped below double figures for the remainder of the game, as the Gators took a 13-point, 36-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
A 15-6 run to start the second half pushed the Blue and Gold lead to 24, with the squad cruising the rest of the way in a 69-47 Allegheny win.
The Gator defense came up big in the contest, holding the Pioneers to just 38.8 percent shooting (19-of-49), including missing all eight of their three-point attempts, and committing 27 turnovers.
Wolf, who was Allegheny's selection to the All-Tournament team, was the primary beneficiary of the sloppy Marietta play, picking up seven steals, five in the first half, with the team recording 17 steals for the contest.
Allegheny converted on 27 of their 57 shots, including making half of their 14 three-point attempts. Brittany Bell (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) scored a team-high 16 points after struggling in the opener, hitting 4-of-6 from long range. Wolf and Jill Gregory (Jeannette, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) each scored 11 with Jen Robinson (Cabot, Pa./Knoch) scoring a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
Wolf pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, with the Gators holding a lead in rebounding margin, 39-28, including pulling down 12 offensive boards. Emilie Simone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) grabbed six boards, with Britni Mohney (Ford City, Pa./Ford City) grabbing five off of the bench.
Twenty three of Allegheny’s 27 baskets were assisted, as Wolf dished out a career-high 10 assists. Hilary Collins (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) added six assists for the Gators.
In the other contest, Grove City topped Bluffton 55-51, as the other All-Tournament team selections include Justine Pagenhardt of Marietta, Lindsey Bush and Angie Lee of Bluffton, and C.J. Beatty and Raeann Szelong, both of Grove City, with the latter being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Allegheny stays in Meadville for a matchup against the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College on Tuesday, November 20, with tip-off slated to happen at 8:00 p.m.