MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny women's basketball team got out to a fast start and did not look back as they defeated Waynesburg 87-78 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action Saturday (Feb. 1) in Meadville.
 
The Gators got out to a quick start, amassing a 12-3 run in the opening four minutes with threes by Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) and Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley). After a Yellowjacket three cut the lead to in half, the Gators rattled off another run, this time 8-0, to push their advantage to 20-6. A late layup by Ava Kobus (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin) gave the Gators a 14 point lead, 24-10, after one quarter of play.
 
Bickart opened the second quarter with her second three of the game. The lead grew to 31-14 before Waynesburg scored five straight points to cut the lead to 31-19. After some back-and-forth action, an 8-0 run gave Allegheny their largest lead of the half, 49-25, before a 5-0 Yellowjacket run brought the lead down a bit. Each team sank baskets in the final minute as Allegheny led 52-33 at the half.
 
Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) led the Gators with 17 points in the first half to go with five rebounds. Bickart and Genareo both finished the half with 11 points. Allegheny shot 61.8% (21-34) for the half and held a 20-17 advantage in rebounds.
 
The Yellowjackets got the fast start in the second half, opening on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 10, 54-44. Back-to-back layups by Lauer and Bella Antonacci (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area)i put the lead back at 14 points before the media timeout. In the final minutes of the half, Waynesburg made up ground again as they cut the lead to ten once again, 66-56, going into the final quarter.
 
Allegheny regained their footing in the fourth quarter, starting on a 7-2 as their lead grew to 73-58. Following a timeout, the run reached 10-2 before the Yellowjackets got back on the board. The Gators continued to play well in the waning minutes of the game as they collected their 12th conference win of the season.
 
Inside the Box

• Lauer led the Gators with 27 points. It was her eighth game of the year scoring 20 or more points. She also had eight rebounds.
• Genareo netted 17 points, hitting four threes, with five rebounds and three assists.
• Bickart ended the game with 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. She also hit four threes. 
• Santicola had her 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. She also blocked three shots.
• Kobus had eight points with four rebounds while Antonacci had six points five rebounds and four assists.
• Allegheny finished the game shooting 50% (31-62) from the field with nine made threes while holding a 45-37 rebound advantage. 

News and Notes

• The Gators are now 13-6 overall and 12-2 in PAC play.
• In the all-time series between the two schools, Allegheny leads 16-2.
• Santicola entered the contest with 184 career blocks. With three blocks tonight, she is now just three blocks away from breaking the program record of 189.
• Already the second leading scorer in Allegheny history, Lauer eclipsed the 1,600 career point mark in the game. She currently has 1,609 career points.  

Up Next
The Gators are back at home Wednesday night (Feb. 5), playing host to Grove City.