GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Gators fell victim to a determined DePauw front court, as Allegheny opened 2015 with a 98-63, North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) loss to the No. 13/15 Tigers on Friday evening at Neal Fieldhouse.  The win snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Gators, as DePauw handed Allegheny its third loss of the season.

Four Gators ended the game in double-digits, led by junior Emma Pellicano, who scored 15 points for the team, shooting 6-of-11 from the field.  Senior Kendall Hoffman and sophomore Meaghan Wilby each picked up a dozen points each, as Hoffman hit a pair of shots from outside the arc while going 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.  Wilby went 5-of-8 from the field while tying Pellicano with a team-high five rebounds.

Junior Jessica Mrdjenovich shot 3-for-6 from three-point range to finish with 11 points, while senior Marina Scarantino led the squad with five assists and two steals.  The Gators shot 42.6 percent from the floor, including going 42.1 percent from three-point range, but were hurt by 16 turnovers that led to 27 DePauw points.

In comparison, the Tigers, ranked No. 13 in the last USA Today/WBCA Coaches' Poll and No. 15 in the most recent D3Hoops.com poll, out-rebounded Allegheny 44-23 while scoring 52 points in the paint and 25 second-chance points.

The Gators were unable to contain a white-hot Tiger offense from the opening tip, as DePauw went 8-for-8 from the field to start the game, including a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to take a 17-5 lead within the first 10 minutes of the opening half. 

Pellicano sparked the scoring for the Gators with a two pointer from the left elbow, but the Gators then experienced a four-minute stretch without a bucket before a three-pointer from Hoffman with 14:44 on the clock. Back-to-back three-pointers by Mrdjenovich and Vigliotti cut the Tigers' lead to 15, 35-18, with 5:41 remaining in the half.

Wilby sparked a 6-2 run over the final 1:45 of the half, scoring back-to-back layups before a layup by Pellicano with nine seconds remaining sent the Gators into the halftime break trailing DePauw, 42-27. 

The Tigers tapered after their hot start, finishing the first half 18-of-38, while Allegheny shot 4-of-10 from outside the arc and 39.3 percent from the field, but were out-rebounded, 23-16, by the Tigers while turning the ball over eight times.

Pellicano kicked off the second half for the Gators by scoring the first seven points for the squad in the latter stanza, but another field goal drought for the squad over a three-minute span allowed DePauw to build a 20-point lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game. 

The Gators were unable to close the gap down the stretch, as Wilby and junior Rachel Vigliotti scored buckets over the final minute of the contest to push the squad to the final total.

Allegheny will next battle Wittenberg on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. before returning home for the first home contest of 2015 against Hiram College on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m.