WOOSTER, OHIO – Led by three scorers in double-figures, the Gators used a half-ending momentum swing to upend Wooster, 79-70, to move to 5-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

Junior Jessica Mrdjenovich led the squad in scoring, shooting 4-of-6 from three-point range en route to a 22-point performance.  Wednesday's effort is Mrdjenovich's fourth game of the season with 20 or more points and her third consecutive double-digit outing.

Senior Kendall Hoffman and junior Emma Pellicano each snagged a team-high eight rebounds, as Pellicano finished second in scoring with 15 points, while Hoffman added 12.  The Gators out-rebounded the Fighting Scots, 37-26, taking on 28 total points in the paint. 

The frontcourt trio of juniors Kaitlyn Fromknecht and Ifeyinwa Uwazie alongside sophomore Meaghan Wilby accounted for seven, six and five points respectively, as Fromknecht tied Pellicano with a team-high two blocks.  Junior Rachel Vigliotti picked up a team-high three steals, as the Blue and Gold scored 16 points off of 16 Wooster turnovers.

The two squads exchanged leads over the first five minutes of the opening stanza, as the Gators utilized a 6-0 run to take a 15-10 lead with 14:06 remaining in the first half.  A layup by Ifeyinwa Uwazie pushed the lead to nine points at 29-20, but a 12-2 run by Wooster gave the Fighting Scots their first lead since the 14:47 mark of the half at 32-31 with 4:31 left on the first half clock. 

Wilby drained a three-pointer with 1:49 left in the first to put the score back in the Gators favor, jump-starting an 8-3, half-ending run to put the squad up, 43-39, at halftime.  Allegheny shot 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from the field in the first half and 4-of-8 from outside the arc, out-rebounding Wooster, 21-18 while adding three blocks and 16 points in the paint.

Fromknecht started the second half scoring with 18:22 on the clock, jump-starting a 6-2 opening run to put the squad up by eight.  Allegheny earned its first double digit lead of the game with 11:46 left, when Uwazie converted a traditional three-point play.  Wooster battled back, reducing the Gator lead to three points with 3:09 left, but a layup by Pellicano with 1:35 left put the squad up by six points, forcing the Fighting Scots to foul.

Allegheny converted 7 of 8 free-throw attempts down the stretch, including three from Scarantino, to keep the lead out of reach until the final buzzer sounded.

The Gators return to the David V. Wise Center on Saturday, January 24, when they welcome Oberlin College for a 1 p.m. contest.