GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Allegheny women's basketball team will return to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament on Tuesday, as the Gators are slated to hit the road for an NCAC Quarterfinal bout with Denison at Livingston Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Gators, earning the sixth-seed in the NCAC tournament this season after posting a 7-9 record in conference play, hoping to improve upon a 9-6 record away from the David V. Wise Center and a 5-4 record in the state of Ohio.  Denison will enter the conference tournament after earning the third seed in the NCAC after earning a 10-6 record and besting fourth-seeded Oberlin via a tiebreaker.
 
Allegheny will look to advance to the semifinals of the NCAC tournament for the third time in five years, returning to Livingston Gymnasium in the playoffs for the second consecutive season under the tutelage of head coach Kate Costanzo.  The Gators will bring one of the NCAC's most potent offenses into the NCAC tournament, as Allegheny ranks second in the NCAC with 68.8 points per game throughout the regular season. 
 
Shooting 40.2 percent from the field as a team, second in the conference.  Allegheny is led offensively by junior Emma Pellicano, who has followed her first two seasons, which both procured All-NCAC accolades alongside the 2012-13 Newcomer of the Year award with 14.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, both team-highs, while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, which ranks fifth in the conference.
 
Senior Marina Scarantino has also proven to be a major catalyst for the Blue and Gold, running the point guard position this season for the Gators with strong results.  Scarantino currently has 99 assists to her credit and a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio, the latter of which leads the NCAC while the senior's 99 assists is second in the conference.  Classmate Kendall Hoffman has also been an catalyst for the Blue and Gold, making 24 starts this season while averaging the third-highest scoring output for the squad (8.8 PPG) and the second-highest rebounding average (5.7 RPG).
 
Junior Jessica Mrdjenovich has proven to be one of the NCAC's biggest threats from three-point range, as the third year sharpshooter has averaged 14.2 points per game this year, averaging 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks sixth in the conference.  This season, Mrdjenovich has hit 58 three-pointers, which ranks third in the NCAC.  
 
Classmate Rachel Vigliotti, an All-NCAC Honorable Mention pick last season, is second in the conference with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio while leading the conference with an 86.0 conversion rate from the free-throw line.  Allegheny junior Kaitlyn Fromknecht ranks second in the NCAC in blocked shots with 52 stops, trailing only Denison's Jordan Holmes in the category.
 
Denison looks to improve upon a four-game winning streak and currently hold a 7-3 record over the last 10 contests, including, most recently, a 76-66 win over the Gators on Saturday, Feb. 21.  The Big Red closed out the conference schedule with wins over Wooster (66-61, Feb. 7), Kenyon (43-39, Feb. 11) and Hiram (77-54, Feb. 18) before upending the Gators on senior day. Denison currently holds a 36-34 all-time series lead over Allegheny, as the Gators are 3-7 against the Big Red over the last 10 contests between the two squads.
 
The Big Red have won both regular season matchups against the Gators, preceding last Saturday's victory with a 68-65 win at the David V. Wise Center on Jan. 17, 2015.  Holmes scored 32 points while pulling down 21 boards for the Big Red during that contest, but Allegheny procured three double-digit scorers, led by 19 points from Pellicano, but a 46-38 deficit in the paint thwarted the Gators against the Big Red.
 
In Saturday's contest, the Gators turned the tables on Denison, shooting 7-of-8 from three-point range in the first half en route to a 41-29 advantage at the break.  The Big Red, however, opened up the second half on an unprecedented 36-3 run to put the Gators out of reach en route to the win.  Sophomore Meaghan Wilby led the Blue and Gold on Saturday, scoring 16 points for the Gators.
 
Live video for the contest will be available through the Denison Sports Network, while live stats will be available through this link.  Live updates from Allegheny Athletics can be found by following the Gators on Twitter (@GatorSports).