DELAWARE, OHIO – The Gators posted an inspired second half comeback, but the attempt fell just short as the Gators dropped an 85-72, North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) decision to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Trailing by as many as 19 points with 12 minutes remaining In the second half, Allegheny utilized a 16-2 run to cut the Battling Bishops lead to five points.  Junior Jessica Mrdjenovich led the Gators with 24 points, shooting 4-of-8 from three-point range to tally her second highest point total of the season. 

Fellow third year Emma Pellicano logged her 11th straight double-digit performance, picking up her second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.

Senior Marina Scarantino led the Gators with six assists and four steals, both team-highs, while classmate Kendall Hoffman was the third Gator to score in double digits with 12 points.  Junior Kaitlyn Fromknecht led the squad with a pair of blocks.

Tied, 8-8, roughly four minutes into the first half, Hoffman scored six of the Gators' first eight points as the squad looked to control the paint in the early portion of the contest.  A three-pointer by Mrdjenovich stopped a small Ohio Wesleyan run, as the Gators built up a five-point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first after a three-pointer by Pellicano.

The two squads traded leads until the 6:31 mark of the half, when Ohio Wesleyan turned a one-point deficit into a six-point lead, 34-28, with baskets on three consecutive possessions.  The Battling Bishops hit their final bucket with 1:12 remaining in the half to enter the break with a 43-34 lead, as the Gators were held without a basket over the last 4:17 of the half, the only points scored by the Gators during that stretch being a pair of free throws converted by Pellicano.

Ohio Wesleyan garnered the first double digit lead for either team with 15:28 left in the second, as an 8-0 run gave the Battling Bishops a 60-45 lead with 13:51 left.  Trailing by as many as 19 with 12:16, the Allegheny run began with a three-pointer by Mrdjenovich, as the squad took advantage of a nearly five-minute Ohio Wesleyan scoring lull by slicing the lead to seven, 66-59, with 8:31 remaining in the second.

Layups by Mrdjenovich and Scarantino brought Allegheny to within five points with 6:25 left on the clock, but the Battling Bishops went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe over the final six minutes of the contest, pulling away over the final three minutes to clinch the win at home.

The Gators, who have played four games in three different states over the last eight days, will take a well-deserved break until Saturday, Jan. 17, when they welcome Denison to the David V. Wise Center in a rematch of last year's NCAC Tournament Quarterfinal.  The Gators and Big Red will square off at 1 p.m.