SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Senior Marina Scarantino hit a game-winning three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, sending Allegheny to a hard-fought, 59-58, North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) win over Wittenberg on Saturday afternoon at the Pam Smith Arena.

Trailing, 58-54 with 2:19 on the clock, the Gators used a 5-0, game-closing run to pick up their third NCAC win of the season and end a long, two-game road trip with a 1-1 record.  Junior Emma Pellicano led all scorers with 21 points, her third game this season scoring 20 or more points, while adding a team-high 10 rebounds to earn her fourth double-double of the 2014-15 campaign, and her first of the new year.

Senior Kendall Hoffman added her fourth double-digit performance of the season with 10 points, tacking on seven boards, as Scarantino closed out the game with nine points, seven rebounds and a team-high six assists. 

For the Gators, Scarantino hit her second game-tying or game-winning basket this season, as the senior helped the Gators to a comeback win over Washington & Jefferson on Nov. 25 by burying a game-tying three-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation.  The Gators would eventually win the contest in overtime, 94-89.

Allegheny shot 36.7 percent from the field and 91.7 percent (11-for-12) from the charity stripe, scoring 28 points in the paint while blocking six shots, a team-high five of which came from junior Kaitlyn Fromknecht, who tied a career-high.

With the win, Allegheny improves to 9-0 on the year when leading at halftime, handing Wittenberg its first home loss of the season.  The Gators improve to 5-2 on the road and are 3-1 in the state of Ohio so far this season.

Wittenberg scored eight of its first 10 points in the paint, as the two teams played to an early 10-10 tie in the first.  Allegheny started the game shooting 4-of-9 from the field, but the Gators missed their next seven field goal attempts before a three-pointer from junior Jessica Mrdjenovich tied the contest, 13-13, with 10:13 remaining in the first half.

The two squads traded runs before Wittenberg was able to take a 28-21 lead with 3:38 left in the opening stanza.  Pellicano started a 9-2, half-closing run for the Gators with a conventional three-point play to cut the lead to three points.   Wittenberg, which went 0-for-6 during the final 3:30 of the first half, used a pair of free-throws to build the lead back to five, but Pellicano brought the game to within a single possession with a layup after a timeout.  A layup by Vigliotti with 1:25 left in the first tied the game, as a Pellicano layup with 1:02 left gave the Gators their first lead since the 16:45 mark of the first, allowing Allegheny to carry a 30-28 advantage into halftime. 

Allegheny shot 37.5 percent in the first compared to Wittenberg's 27.5 percent performance from the floor, as the two teams each scored 14 points in the paint.  Pellicano sparked the Gators' first half comeback by shooting 5-of-7 from the floor, as the seniors Scarantino and Hoffman pulled down six and five rebounds, respectively, while Scarantino added four assists to lead the squad.

The Tigers used a 6-0 run to open the second half, regaining the lead during the first 90 seconds of the latter stanza.  Buckets from Hoffman and Wilby tied the game back up for the Gators, but another 6-0 run for Wittenberg that was capped with 13:55 remaining returned the Tiger lead to six points. 

Pellicano tied the game again with 11:45 remaining in the second, as a Wittenberg three-pointer sent the two teams into the home stretch with the Tigers clinging to a 45-42 lead.

With 7:20 left on the clock, Scarantino found Pellicano alone on the base line for a game-tying layup, as the two squads continued to trade leads until a quick, 5-0 run by Wittenberg created a two-possession game with 3:11 left.

Scarantino buried a three-pointer from the left side to cut the lead to two, as Pellicano erased a pair of Wittenberg free-throws with a layup to keep the Gators within two with 2:33 remaining.  The junior struck again with 1:12 remaining to keep Allegheny close, 58-56, setting the stage for Scarantino's game-winning three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining on the clock, putting the Gators up, 59-58.  Scarantino clinched the win for the Gators by pulling down the final rebound, dribbling out the clock to send Allegheny to its second conference win of the season.

The Gators will return to the David V. Wise Center for the first time in 2015 on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to battle Hiram at 7:30 p.m.  Allegheny will look for the season sweep of the Terriers, as the Blue and Gold took the opening game of this season's series, 74-45, on Dec. 3.