GRANVILLE, Ohio—The Allegheny College women's basketball team was unable to overcome a big second quarter by Denison University as they fell 71-54 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play Saturday (Feb. 10) in Granville, Ohio.
The Big Red scored the opening five points before the Gators gained the lead. After a three by
Rylee Donovan,
Brooke Smith brought the lead to one on a free-throw. Shortly after her free-throw, Smith hit a layup to put the Gators in front. That lead grew to 8-5 before a Denison three tied the game. The teams exchanged leads back-and-forth before the Big Red ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 19-12 lead into the second quarter.
In Gators opened the second by cutting the lead to five on a Donovan jumper. However, the Big Red limited the Gator chances throughout the quarter as they increased their lead to as much as 26, taking a 51-26 lead into the half.
Donovan led the Gators with nine points in the opening half.
Julianna Skowron had seven points with four rebounds.
Madison Caufield also had four rebounds.
The third quarter tempo was controlled by Denison, as they once again limited the Gator chances on offense. The Big Red led by as much as 33 before the Gators scored the final four points of the third quarter to bring the lead to 64-35 entering the fourth.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Gators as they outscored the Big Red 19-7. With Denison leading 67-37, the Gators strung together an 8-0 run to bring the score to 67-46. The Gators continued to play well late in the fourth, cutting the lead to 17, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.
Donovan and Arbore both finished the game with double-digit scoring totals. Donovan led the Gators with 14 points to go alongside three assists and three rebounds. Arbore went for 13 points with three rebounds. Smith and Skowron had nine points apiece and combined for 11 rebounds. Caufield had eight rebounds while
Shannon Relihan had seven.
Four Big Red players scored in double-digits, led by Brittany Atkison's 17 points. Alison Schafer netted 14 while Lauren Longbrake and Lauren Turner had 10 and 11 points, respectively.
The Gators play their final home game of the season Wednesday (Feb. 14) when they host Oberlin College.
