MEADVILLE, Pa. – Allegheny College senior forward
Kaitlyn Fromknecht toppled the single-game program record for blocks as the Gators defeated Westminster (Pa.) College, 79-57, on the opening night of the Greg Richards '08 Memorial Tip-Off Classic.
Fromknecht's nine blocks surpassed the previous Allegheny (2-1, 0-0 NCAC) record of eight, set by Jennifer Latronica against Hiram on Feb. 5, 2006, and a pair of those rejections came against younger sister Kristine, who is a sophomore for Westminster (0-1, 0-0 PAC). The Erie native also flirted with a triple-double, tallying eight points and nine rebounds.
The senior duo of
Jessica Mrdjenovich and
Rachel Vigliotti led the Gators offensively with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Mrdjenovich enjoyed an efficient night from the field as she made seven-of-nine attempts and three-of-four from behind the arc, while Vigliotti added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals to go along with her double-digit scoring effort.
The Titans actually held a slim 11-10 lead with 4:13 remaining in the first quarter, but a couple of Vigliotti free-throws put an end to that. That sparked a 6-1 run to close the frame, thanks to four freebies from Fromknecht and a lay-up from senior
Emma Pellicano.
Allegheny essentially put the game away with a dominant 26-10 second quarter. The stretch from the previous quarter continued with two lay-ups from senior
Ifeyinwa Uwazie, a Pellicano free-throw, and a trifecta from Mrdjenovich before Westminster could stop the bleeding. Mrdjenovich would make two more shots from three-point land over the course of the stanza, while Pellicano collected five of her nine points to close the half.
The Gators possessed significant edges in rebounds (53-36), steals (10-4), fast break points (12-0), points in the paint (38-20), points off turnovers (25-8), and second chance points (18-5).
Freshman guard
Candaisy Crawford scored eight points off the bench for Allegheny on three-of-four shooting.
As a team, the Gators shot 39.7 percent from the field (29-73) and converted three-fourths (15-20) of their attempts from the charity stripe.
The Titans were led by Danielle Dindak, who led all scorers with 21 off the bench thanks to a six-of-nine performance from international waters.
Allegheny closes the Greg Richards '08 Memorial Tip-Off Classic against Carnegie Mellon at approximately 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening.
