MEADVILLE, Pa.— The Allegheny College women's basketball team fell in their home opener against Adrian College Friday (Nov. 18), 88-79, on day one of the 2016 Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic.

The Bulldogs gained an early advantage in the first, 9-2, but the Gators quickly responded, going on a 6-0 run to bring the game within one.  Minutes later, the Gators tied the game at 15 on an Olivia Barkley layup.   The game stayed close as the Gators ended the first quarter ahead, 18-17.

In a similar fashion to the opening quarter, the teams traded points in the second until the Bulldogs found the advantage, 25-20, three-and-a-half minutes in.  Once again, the Gators mounted a comeback and took the lead midway through, 29-28.  Up by two, a three-pointer by Emily Smith gave the Gators their largest lead of the half at five points, 34-29, with minutes remaining.  However, the Bulldogs closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room.

Delaney Arbore led the Gators with 12 points in the opening half.  Barkley, Zoe Soilis and Emily Smith accounted for six points apiece.  Barley also grabbed five rebounds while Angela Martelli had five.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to six early in the third but the Gators went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead, 44-42.  The run sparked life in the Gators as they gained their largest lead of the night, 55-46, with just under four minutes to play in the third. 

Adrian slowly chipped away at the Gators nine point lead over the next two minutes to tie the game at 55.  Trailing by two with seconds on the clock in the third, Candaisy Crawford hit a pair of free throws to send the game in to the fourth with the teams dead even.

Smith gave the Gators the lead in the opening minute of the fourth with a three pointer.  The teams continued to trade the lead back-and-forth until the Bulldogs started to pull away in the final seven minutes.  For the quarter, the Bulldogs hit 9-of-12 shots from the field as they came away with a 88-79 win.

Arbore ended the game with a team-high 20 points to go with three assists and a pair of rebounds.  Barkley accumulated a double-double, finishing with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebound.  Smith finished with 13 points and five rebounds.  Crawford also hit double digits, tallying 12 points with four rebounds and three assists.  Amanda Beebe had a team-high four assists.  Michaela Contestabile almost reached double digits in rebounds, ending the game with 10 and three blocks.  Martell finished with six rebounds. 

For the game, the Gators shot 39.7% from the field but were 12-of-14 from the free-throw line while the Bulldogs shot 44.9%.  The Gators bunch accounted for 33 of their total points.  Eighteen Gator points came off of second chances.  Overall, the game featured 12 lead changes and six ties.

The Gators are back in action Saturday (Nov. 19) for day two of the 2016 Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic against SUNY-Oswego at 3:00 p.m.