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Gator Comeback Falls Short
December 8, 2007
GAMBIER, Ohio – The Allegheny College women’s basketball team (3-5, 1-1 NCAC) overcame a 15-point second half deficit before falling by three to the Ladies of Kenyon College (3-5, 1-0 NCAC) in the second North Coast Athletic Conference game for the Blue and Gold. Kenyon led 31-16 a minute and half into the second stanza before the Gators chipped away at the deficit, eventually tying the game at 47 with 4:24 to play in the game.
The two teams went back-and-forth to start the game, with Allegheny leading by one at 10-9 with 8:41 on the clock after a Jill Gregory (Jeannette, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) three point basket, before the hosts opened a 17-4 over the remainder of the half, sending the Gators into the locker room with a 26-14 deficit.
An Emilie Simone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) basket opened the scoring in the second half, cutting the deficit to 10, before the Ladies scored five points on their next two possessions to give the hosts their largest lead of the game at 31-16. Six straight points by the Gators, two free throws from Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and lay-ins by Brittany Bell (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and Gregory cut the deficit to nine a minute and a half later. After another basket by the Ladies the Gators opened a 10-2 run, cutting the Kenyon lead to four after a Laura Magnelli (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) lay-in off of a Wolf pass halfway through the period.
The teams traded three-pointers on their next possessions, Kenyon’s by Anne Dugan and Allegheny’s by Magnelli. Magnelli’s basket set of a string of five straight made baskets for the Gators; a three-point basket by Bell, a pair of lay-ins by Wolf and a Magnelli layup; cutting the deficit to one with just under six minutes on the game clock. After another lay-in by Kenyon, Magnelli hit her second three-pointer of the day to tie the score at 47. Two baskets by Kenyon pushed the host’s advantage to four before Magnelli, who scored a career-high 15 points, converted on an old-fashioned three-point play, cutting the deficit to one with 1:57 remaining on the clock. A jumper by Kenyon’s Dugan gave the hosts a three-point lead, one that was cut to one after a pair of Magnelli free throws. Having to foul to get the ball back, Dugan scored her final two points, giving her 20 on the game, from the free throw line with two seconds left, as the Gators were unable to get a shot off as time expired in the 55-52 Kenyon win.
Magnelli and Simone led Allegheny with 15 and 14 points, each, with Wolf, Gregory and Bell each added seven points. Simone pulled down a game-high nine rebounds while Wolf continued her all-around play, dishing out six assists and picking up four steals from her forward position.
Kenyon put just one player in double figures, Dugan with 20, while two others, Laurel Stokes and Brittany Clair scored nine in the win. Four players; Alisha Moreno, Hilary Gowins, Eva George and Anne Dugan; each dished out three assists with Moreno adding a quartet of steals.
The Gators take a week and a half off of competition, before the team travels down I-79 to take on the Titans of Westminster College in non-conference action on Thursday, December 20, with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m.