MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny women's basketball team moved to 5-0 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play this season as they defeated Franciscan 74-53 Saturday (Dec. 14) in Meadville.
 
Allegheny opened the game by outscoring Franciscan 24-8 in the opening quarter. They started the game on a 5-0 run following a three by Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central). Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) also hit a three to kickstart a 15-2 run. Ava Kobus (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin) and Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) each had four points in that stretch.
 
The Barons made up some ground early in the second frame until the Gators put together another run to end the first half. This time, Allegheny's run was 10-3 with eight of the points coming from Lauer as they led 42-22 at the halftime break.
 
Lauer led the Gators in the opening 20 minutes with two points while also grabbing five rebounds. Bickart had eight points and six rebounds while Kobus also had eight points and Bella Antonacci (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area) had seven. The Gators shot 43.6% (17-of-39) from the floor with five three pointers. They also owned a 28-15 edge in rebounds.
 
The teams were even in the third quarter with each side scoring 17. Bickart scored five points for the Gators while Genareo and Pascale Olczak (Plum, Pa./Plum) each had four. 
 
After the Gators scored the opening basket of the fourth, the Barons rattled off eight straight points to lower the deficit to 61-47. Allegheny answered with a 6-0 run, four of the points coming from the free throw line. The final minutes saw the teams exchanging baskets back-and-forth as Allegheny collected the conference win.
 
Inside the Box

• Lauer led the Gators with 23 points, her third 20 point performance of the year. She also had six rebounds and four assists.
• Bickart had a season-high 17 points to go alongside nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
• Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) had eight points, four rebounds and three blocks.
• Kobus also had eight points to go with five rebounds.
• Antonacci finished with seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Genaro had seven points with five rebounds. 
• Kate Leach (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) grabbed six rebounds.
• Allegheny had a 49-42 edge in rebounding and forced 24 turnovers. 

News and Notes

• This marks the first 5-0 start in conference play for the Gators since the 2000-01 season.
• The Gators are now 6-0 all-time against the Barons. 

Up Next
The Gators are in nonconference action Tuesday (Dec. 17) at Pitt Bradford.