MEADVILLE, Pa. – On Nov. 20, the Allegheny College women's basketball single-game record for blocks was broken by senior forward
Kaitlyn Fromknecht after Jennifer Latronica's previous standard of eight rejections stood for nearly 10 seasons.
12 days later, an eraser was taken to that record.
Fromknecht shattered her previous mark with 13 blocks as the Gators knocked off Hiram College, 69-52, to open up North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play this evening from the David V. Wise Center.
The veteran forward from Erie posted a triple-double against the Terriers, tallying 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with a baker's dozen of rejections. It was the first triple-double for an Allegheny player since Feb. 8, 2012, when Erica Restich registered 14 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists at Hiram. Fromknecht's career night is even more impressive considering she went toe-to-toe with the reigning NCAC Player of the Week, Mercedes Jones, who entered the game averaging 20.6 points per contest.
Senior forward
Emma Pellicano led all scorers with 16 points, while classmate
Jessica Mrdjenovich added 11 for the Gators.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with Allegheny holding a slight 13-12 edge after 10 minutes of play. Fromknecht and Pellicano combined for 11 of the 13 Gator points in the frame.
The Terriers kept the Gator advantage at one 1:14 into the second quarter, but freshman guard
Candaisy Crawford buried a jumper at the top of the key 15 seconds later to push Allegheny's lead to 17-14. That basket sparked a long 15-3 run to close the half as the Gators received scoreboard contributions from six different players during the stretch.
Hiram chipped away at the lead to begin the third quarter, cutting it to single-digits before a jumper and trifecta by freshman guard
Delaney Arbore pushed the Allegheny cushion to 14. The Terriers responded with seven consecutive points to make it 35-28, but junior forward
Morgan Dillon stopped the brief run with a field goal. After Kayla Yost of Hiram drilled a three-pointer on the next possession to make it a six-point deficit, the Gators regained their double-digit advantage as Mrdjenovich hit a shot from international waters and Fromknecht buried a layup.
That 11-point lead was cut to nine on the second possession of the fourth quarter, but senior forward
Ifeyinwa Uwazie answered with a layup 14 seconds later to make it 50-39. The Terriers wouldn't get any closer as the deficit hovered between 12 and 16 points before Mrdjenovich's trifecta with the shot clock running down set the final at 69-52.
Allegheny held a 28-14 difference in bench points as a total of 11 players tallied marks in the scorebook. The Gators also held a 51-37 rebounding edge and held Hiram to a one-of-10 performance from behind the arc.
The Terriers were paced by Kayla Yost, who had 14 points and five rebounds in the loss. Jones finished the game with seven points on three-of-10 shooting and eight caroms.
Allegheny closes a program record six-game home stand on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. as Houghton College visits the Wise Center.
