HIRAM, Ohio – A season-best performance from junior Emma Pellicano vaulted the Gators to a 66-55 win over the Albion Britons on Saturday afternoon to close the 2014 Terrier Tip-Off Classic, hosted by Hiram College.

Pellicano finished the afternoon with a season-high 20 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the field, while grabbing six total rebounds en route to hearing Team MVP honors at the tournament.  The junior tacked on two steals and an assist to lead the Gators.  Freshman Harper Zimmer added 12 points, hitting two three-pointers for the squad, en route to the first double-digit performance of her collegiate career.

The Gators finished the contest shooting 39.7 percent from the field while forcing 17 Albion turnovers.  Senior Marina Scarantino grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Gators, as classmate Kendall Hoffman and junior Rachel Vigliotti scored seven boards each.  Vigliotti and Hoffman also grabbed nine points a piece, while Hoffman, Vigliotti and Scarantino tied for the team lead with four assists.  Junior Kaitlyn Fromknecht blocked a team-high three shots, while sophomore Meaghan Wilby picked up four steals.

The two teams stood at an 8-8 stalemate two minutes into the first half before Allegheny went on a 9-3 run to take an eight-point lead with 14:38 left on the first half clock.  Three consecutive free-throws from Vigliotti pushed the Gators to a nine-point lead with 14:05 left in the first, as Allegheny built a double-digit lead after buckets from Pellicano and classmate Jessica Mrdjenovich.  A pair of free-throws from Hoffman with 35 seconds on the first half clock gave the Gators an 18-point, 41-23 lead heading into the break.

Hoffman scored the first basket of the second half to build the Gator lead to 20 points.  Allegheny cruised through the second half, not allowing Albion to bring the deficit back to single digits.  The Gators withstood a 10-2 run late in the second half that brought the lead down to 11 points, as Hoffman went 4-6 down the stretch from the charity stripe to help the Gators clinch the win.

The Gators will next travel to Washington, Pennsylvania for a 6 p.m. tip-off against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Washington & Jefferson before the Thanksgiving break.  Allegheny will continue the current eight-game road trip on Monday, December 1 against Waynesburg.