GAMBIER, Ohio— The Allegheny College women's basketball team's fourth quarter comeback fell short as they suffered a 64-54 setback in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action at Kenyon College Saturday (Jan. 20).
The Ladies scored the opening four points before
Maia Joiner got the Gators on the board. Following the Joiner basket, the Ladies went on a 10-0 run to increase their lead to 14-2.
Kaylah Pinkney broke up the run late in the quarter.
Delaney Arbore was fouled shooting a three and converted all three attempts to cut the lead 14-7. However, the Ladies added four points late to give them an 18-7 lead heading into the second.
The teams traded baskets to open the second quarter, but the Ladies' lead slowly grew to 13, 26-13, with four minutes to play in the half. A three by Joiner, followed by a Pinkney layup brought the lead down to eight with 2:30 remaining. In the final minutes of the half, the Ladies pushed their lead back to 12 as they took a 32-20 lead into halftime.
Arbore and Joiner led the Gators with five points apiece in the opening half while Pinkney had four.
Madison Caufield grabbed five rebounds while
Zoe Soilis collected four. The Gators shot 33.3% (eight-of-24).
After exchanging a series of scoring possessions early in the third, the Ladies went on a 6-0 run, forcing a Gator timeout with the score at 46-28. The Gator offense picked up after the timeout as they immediately went on a 9-2 run. After an
Emily Smith three brought the score to 48-37, the Ladies called timeout. The Ladies outscored the Gators 3-2 in the final minute of the quarter as they owned a 51-39 lead entering the fourth.
The Ladies opened the fourth on a 7-2 run before a
Rylee Donovan three-pointer brought the Kenyon advantage back to 14, 58-44. After Donovan's three, Arbore converted a free-throw and a three to cut the lead to 10 with four minutes to play.
Following a timeout, the Ladies score the next four points, but the Gators cut the lead to eight on a pair of Arbore three-pointers. However, the Ladies hit a pair of free-throws late to pick up the 64-54 win.
Arbore finished the game with a team-high 17 points. Donovan was also in double digits with11 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds and five assists.
Julianna Skowron and Pinkney finished with six points apiece.
For the game, the Gators shot 38.2% (21-of-55). The Ladies owned the advantage in the rebound department, 47-38.
The Gators are back in action Saturday (Jan. 27) at home against Hiram College.
