SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – A blistering start in the first quarter set the tone for the Allegheny College women's basketball team this evening as the Gators defeated Wittenberg University, 79-53, in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action.
Allegheny (11-10, 6-5 NCAC) maintains its fourth-place position in the NCAC standings with a dominant performance from start to finish. The Gators were excellent in the contest's bookends as they opened the game with 25-14 lead after one quarter and closed the evening with a 25-7 edge in the final stanza.
Senior guard
Rachel Vigliotti led all scorers with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Vigliotti buried 4-of-6 attempts from international waters and was perfect from the chalk (4-4) as Allegheny made 16 of its 17 freebies on the evening. Freshman guard
Candaisy Crawford also tallied double-digit points, collecting 11 thanks to a flawless 7-for-7 effort at the stripe.
Along with Crawford, rookie guard
Jazmen Moore provided the Gators with a big boost off the bench as she went 4-for-5 from the field to score a career-high nine points. In total, Allegheny had 11 different players figure into the scoring.
The two teams traded baskets for the first five minutes before a Vigliotti trifecta gave the visitors a 12-11 lead. Senior forward
Ifeyinwa Uwazie followed that up with a layup and sparked an 11-0 run that featured baskets from senior forward
Emma Pellicano, freshman forward
Emily Smith, and Crawford. Smith drilled a three after a pair of Wittenberg (6-13, 5-7 NCAC) free-throws and Moore made a layup following another Tiger foul shot to set the first quarter score.
Wittenberg cut the deficit to five halfway through the second quarter, but the Gators responded with another 11-0 run to close the stanza. Freshman guard
Delaney Arbore tallied four points during that stretch, while Vigliotti, Smith, and senior guard
Jessica Mrdjenovich also scored.
Allegheny's advantage would reach 17 in the third quarter after Mrdjenovich split a pair of free-throws. The Tigers used a 13-4 run to cut the difference to eight at the end of the frame, but the Gators stopped the comeback attempt by scoring nine consecutive points to begin the fourth quarter.
Allegheny forced 24 turnovers and held a 31-12 edge in points off those miscues. Crawford and Moore's contributions helped the Gators' bench outscore Wittenberg's, 39-20, while the visitors also held their ground in the paint with a 34-18 advantage there.
Allegheny is back in action next Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 6:00 p.m. when it hosts Oberlin College as a part of Faculty Appreciation Night.
