MEADVILLE, Pa.—The Allegheny College women's basketball team fell in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play against Hiram College, 75-66, on Senior Day Saturday (Jan. 27).
Before the game, the Gators honored its pair of seniors –
Amanda Beebe and
Madison Caufield.
Hiram opened the game with a 7-3 lead. The Gators cut the gap to 11-8 after a pair of
Brooke Smith free-throws. However, the Terriers closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter.
The Gators opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 17-16. The game remained close until a 4-0 run gave Hiram a five point lead, 27-22. With 52 seconds left in the half, a
Delaney Arbore layup brought the game back within two points but Hiram hit a three with three seconds remaining to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room.
Julianna Skowron led Allegheny with nine points and eight rebounds in the opening half.
Kaylah Pinkney had six points while
Rylee Donovan scored five.
The Gators came out of the locker room strong, cutting the lead to 37-34 a little more than two minutes in. The game remained close for a while until the Terriers scored four straight points to bring the lead to 51-43 with two minutes remaining in the quarter. Smith finished the quarter strong, scoring six straight points on layups to bring the game within two points, 51-49. In the closing seconds, Hiram converted a pair of free-throws to take a 53-49 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
Skowron scored the opening basket of the fourth to bring the game within two points once again. The Terrier lead grew to five before a
Zoe Soilis layup and another Smith basket brought the game within a point, 56-55, with just over seven minutes to play.
Leading by one, Hiram put strung together a 13-2 run over the next several minutes to give them a 69-57 lead.
In the closing minute, the Gators brought the lead down to five but it was not enough to overcome the Terrier run as they fell in conference play 75-66.
Skowron led the Gators with a career-high 20 points on nine-of-13 shooting from the field. She also collected 12 rebounds for the double-double. Donovan also finished in double-digits with 12 points to go with a career-high eight assists and six rebounds. Smith finish with 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Caufield ended the game with nine rebounds and three assists while Arbore had seven points and four rebounds. Pinkney finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
For the game, the Gators shot 39.1% (27-of-69) from the field. They also outrebounded the Terriers 50-46. Their 14 offensive rebounds translated into 10 second chance points. The Gators owned the advantage in the paint, 40-34.
The Gators return to action Friday (Feb. 2), playing host to Wittenberg University.
