PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- The Allegheny College women's basketball team was voted third in the 2024-25 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The Gators, who finished fourth in the standings with 13-13 overall and a 12-8 record against PAC opponents last season, were predicted to finish one spot higher this winter. It marks Allegheny's highest preseason placement in nearly two decades. Prior to making a run to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title game, the Gators were voted third in the 2006-07 coaches' poll.

Chatham University, the defending PAC champion, finished atop the poll with 98 points, followed by Washington and Jefferson College in second with 93 and Allegheny in third with 77.

In addition to the results of the coaches' poll, the PAC released its annual Players to Watch List, which included a quartet of Gators: seniors Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) and Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) and juniors Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area). Three of Allegheny's four selections are returning All-PAC honorees, headlined by Lauer. A two-time All-PAC First Teamer, Lauer enters her senior season as the third-leading scorer in program history with 1,263 points, needing only 33 more to move into second place. Bickart and Santicola both received All-PAC Second Team honors as sophomores.

Allegheny opens the 2024-25 season by hosting the Women Leaders Tip Off Tournament inside the Wise Center on Friday, November 8, and Saturday, November 9. The Gators will face Carnegie Mellon University on Friday at 8:30 p.m., before battling Case Western Reserve University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.