MEADVILLE, Pa.—The Allegheny College women's basketball team held a halftime lead against Case Western University, but ultimately fell 69-60 in their home debut Friday (Nov. 16) at the Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic.
The Spartans jumped out to a 5-2 lead before a jumper from
Julianna Skowron, and a pair of free-throws from
Delaney Arbore gave the Gators a 6-5 lead. A few minutes later, Arbore hit back-to-back threes, which led to a Case Western timeout. Skowron extended the lead to 14-5 following the timeout.
Kaylah Pinkney then hit a layup, followed by a three to cap off the 17-0 Gator run. The Spartans cut into the lead a bit but Allegheny owned a 21-10 lead after the first.
Rylee Donovan opened the second with a three, followed by a Skowron layup as the Gators had their biggest lead of the game at 26-10. The Spartans started to gain momentum following that basket, as they chipped away at the Gator lead. A pair of free-throws in the final second of the half completed a 19-4 lead as the Gators led by just one, 30-29, at the half.
Arbore led the Gators with nine points in the opening half, while Donovan had eight points and seven rebounds.
Case Western scored the opening basket of the second half to take a 31-30 lead. The teams continued to exchange baskets until the Spartans went on a 9-0 run to gain a 46-37 advantage. Following a timeout, the Gators cut the lead to three but Case led 47-43 heading into the final segment.
A Skowron layup, followed by an Arbore basket tied the game at 47 early in the fourth. However, Case Western answered with an 8-0 to take a 55-47 lead. A traditional three-point play by
Zoe Soilis sparked the Gators, as a
Shannon Relihan layup and another Pinkney three cut the lead to 57-55 with just over four minutes to play. Once again, the Spartans were able to answer with a run of their own, scoring the next six points. The Gators fought back late but Case Western hit their free-throws down the stretch as they held on for a 69-60 win.
Donovan fell just short of a triple double with a team-high 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. She also had a pair of blocks. Arbore and Pinkney both finished with 13 points. Pinkney added four rebounds. Skowron was the fourth Gator in double figures with 10 points to go with five rebounds. Relihan had eight rebounds.
Case Western was led by Hillary Hellman's 19 point, 13 rebound double-double. They owned a 53-44 lead in rebounds.
Allegheny is back in action Saturday (Nov. 17) when they host Ohio Northern University to close out the Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic.
