vMEADVILLE, Pa.—The Allegheny College women's basketball team opened their 2017-18 season with a decisive 84-47 win over Penn State-Behrend Friday (Nov. 17) on the opening day of the 2017 Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic, presented by Marquette Savings Bank.
The Gators got off to a fast start with a lay-up by
Zoe Soilis five seconds in.
Delaney Arbore then hit a three to take it to 5-0. Arbore followed up her three with a lay-up and another three to increase the Gator advantage to 10-0, forcing a Behrend timeout. Following the timeout, the Lions pulled within three at 14-11 but the Gators maintained their lead. In the closing seconds of the first, Arbore drained a three pointer as time expired to give the Gators a 19-13 lead after one quarter of play.
After the Lions hit a three to open the second, the Gators went on a 7-0 run to take a 26016 lead. That lead grew to as much as 14 at 34-20 midway through the quarter. In the finals three minutes, the Gators pushed their lead up to 41-20 before they took a 43-24 lead into the locker room.
Arbore led the Gators with 18 first half points, adding three rebounds and two steals.
Kiersten Librizzi added six points.
Julianna Skowron led the Gators with six rebounds while
Kaylah Pinkney had five. The Gators shot 41.9% (18-of-43) in the opening half.
The Gators pushed their lead to 25 multiple times early on in the third quarter as they continued to control the tempo of the game. In the quarter, the Gators tallied 17 points as they lead by as much as 26. A pair of Librizzi free-throws in the final minute gave the Gators a 60-34 lead heading into the fourth.
A pair of free-throws by Skowron, followed by another Arbore three gave the Gators a 65-34 lead, their largest of the game up to that point, with nine minutes to play. After the Lions brought the lead down to 65-38, the Gators went on a 12-0 run to gain a 39-point lead. The Gators maintained their lead down the stretch as they closed out the win in their season opener.
Arbore finished the game with 23 points, three rebounds and two steals, hitting five-of-10 threes. Librizzi tallied 10 points with four steals and three rebounds. Skowron had a game-high 11 rebounds with seven points and two assists.
Maia Joiner totaled eight points while Pinkney, Soilis,
Brooke Smith and
Candaisy Crawford had six points apiece. Pinkney also added eight rebounds.
Mari Casale had six rebounds.
Rylee Donovan led the Gators with four assists.
The Gators shot 40% (33-of-81) from the field for the game, including 31% (nine-of-29) from three. They also owned the lead on the glass, 59-39. Of the Gator's 59 rebounds, 23 were offensive.
Allegheny returns to action Saturday (Nov. 17), playing host to Carnegie Mellon University at 3 p.m. on day two of the Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic.
