MEADVILLE, Pa.— The Allegheny College women's basketball team picked up their first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) win of the season as they downed The College of Wooster 73-64 Wednesday (Jan. 11) afternoon at home.
Olivia Barkley led the Gators with a double-double, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The Gators got off to a solid start, accumulating a 9-2 lead midway through the first. The Fighting Scots cut the lead to 12-9 with 2:30 remaining in the quarter but a basket by Barkley brought about a Wooster timeout shortly after. The teams closed out the quarter exchanging baskets as the Gators took a 17-15 lead into the second.
The back-and-forth action carried over into the second quarter as Allegheny owned a 23-22 lead five minutes to play in the half. After the Fighting Scots took a 26-23 lead,
Amanda Beebe drained a three to tie it back up with three-and-a-half to go. In the final minutes of the half, the lead traded multiple times as they the teams were even at 30 heading into the locker room.
Barkley led the Gators in the first half offensively with 10 points on four-of-seven shooting. Beebe and
Jazmen Moore netted five points apiece while
Kaylah Pinkney had four points and four assists.
Defensively,
Madison Caufield had a team-high five rebounds. The teams were even on the boards overall, each collecting 27. Of the 27 rebounds for the Gators, 10 were on the offensive glass, leading to 10 second chance points. The Gators took advantage of the five Wooster turnovers, scoring 10 points off of them.
Angela Martelli had a pair of blocks.
In a fast paced opening of the third, the Gators gained a 37-34 lead two-and-half minutes in. Six of the first seven Gator points in the third were by Barkley. Midway through the quarter, the Gators led 41-39 but a three-pointer by the Fighting Scots gave them the lead back. After Barkley tied it at 43, a Martelli lay-up put the Gators in front by two with less than four minutes to go in the quarter. After tying the game at 47, Wooster called a timeout with less than a minute on the clock in the quarter. After the timeout, Barkley scored a layup, her 12
th point of the quarter, to give the Gators a 49-47 lead heading into the fourth.
The Gator offense fired on all cylinders early in the fourth as Beebe and
Delaney Arbore hit threes to extend the lead to 56-49. The lead grew to as much as 11 as the Gators owned a 60-51 lead midway through the final quarter. After calling a timeout, Wooster went on an 8-0 run to bring the game within two, 60-58, with four minutes to play. The Gators called a timeout to try to halt the momentum, which was successful. After an
Emily Smith free-throw, Arbore hit another three to push the advantage to 64-58. In the final minute of the game, the Gators were tested at the free-throw line but they passed as the secured the conference win.
Barkley was a flawless eight-of-eight at the line. She also had a pair of steals and an assist. Beebe had her best performance of the season, finishing with 16 points, three assists and a pair of steals. Arbore finished with eight points while Pinkney had six points, six rebounds and three assists. Smith and Moore had five points apiece while combining for seven rebounds.
Caufield finished the game with a team-high 10 rebounds while Martelli had three blocks.
Overall, the Gators shot 32.9% 25-of-76) from the field. At the free-throw line, they converted 16-of-22 opportunities (72.7%). On the glass, the Gators had a slight edge, 55-54.
The Gators are back in action Saturday (Jan. 14) for a NCAC contest at Ohio Wesleyan University.
