DELAWARE, Ohio – A valiant fourth quarter comeback effort fell short for Allegheny, as the Gators were defeated 76-62 by North Coast Athletic Conference foe Ohio Wesleyan at the Branch Rickey Arena.
 
The Gators (3-12, 1-6 NCAC) outscored Ohio Wesleyan (6-10, 3-4 NCAC) 28-18 over the game's final 10 minutes, but were unable to climb out of an early hole after offensive struggles in the first half.
 
A trio of sophomore paced Allegheny on the scoresheet.  Emily Smith (pictured above) came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points, while Olivia Barkley scored 13 and Delaney Arbore 10.
 
The Battling Bishops got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter.  Barkley countered by scoring on consecutive possessions, but the hosts answered in a big way, rattling off a 9-1 run over a two-minute span to open up a 19-8 advantage with just over four minutes left in the first.
 
Allegheny quickly chipped away, pulling to within 21-15 after three points from Barkley and two apiece from Arbore and Zoe Soilis, but the Battling Bishops closed the frame on a 6-3 run to take a 27-18 lead at the end of the quarter.
 
Ohio Wesleyan remained hot to open the second quarter, while the Gators went ice cold.  The Battling Bishops limited the Gators to just two field goals in the second frame, and out-scored Allegheny 20-5 to take a commanding 47-23 lead into halftime.
 
Over the opening 20 minutes, the Gators shot just 28 percent from the field, including a 1-for-10 mark from behind the arc.  Conversely, the Battling Bishops shot at a 49 percent clip, while cashing in on four of eight three-point field goal attempts.
 
In a defensively-themed third quarter, the two teams combined for just nine field goals, with Maia Joiner's three-pointer on the Gators' final trip of the period sending the game into the fourth with OWU holding a 58-34 advantage.
 
The teams continued to trade baskets to open up the fourth quarter, but after an OWU bucket at the 8-minute mark made the score 62-36, Allegheny seized the momentum. 
 
After buckets in the paint from Sadie Longo and Madison Caufield, Arbore got hot from the outside, connecting from international waters on back-to-back possessions to cap off a 10-0 run and pull the Gators to within 62-46 with just inside six minutes left.  Moments later, Barkley connected on a trey, before Smith scored five points in a  30-second span to cut the deficit to 14, 70-56, with 2:35 left.
 
Smith scored her 10th point of the quarter on a three-pointer to pull the Gators to within 72-61 at the one-minute mark, but it was as close as the visitors would come, as the Battling Bishops quashed the Gator rally with four free throws over the final 50 seconds to seal the win.
 
After the sluggish first half offensively, the Gators shot 44 percent from the field over the game's second 20 minutes, including a 6-for-13 mark from deep.  Allegheny's defense limited the Battling Bishops to just nine field goals and two three-pointers in the second half.
 
In addition to her 13 points, Barkley paced the Gators with seven rebounds, while Caufield added six.  Arbore tallied two of Allegheny's seven steals, while Amanda Beebe and Jazmen Moore tied for the team-high with three assists apiece.
 
Ohio Wesleyan saw five players score in double figures, led by 13 points from Megan Kuether and 12 by Nicole Popovich.  Taylor Dickson  grabbed a game-high nine boards to go with 11 points.
 
The Gators will look to return to winning ways on Wed. Jan. 18 when they host Oberlin at the David V. Wise Center in a re-match of last season's NCAC quarterfinal matchup won by Allegheny.