PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- The Allegheny College women's basketball team received two year-end awards from the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and four All-PAC honors for the 2024-25 campaign, as announced on the PAC Sports Network Tuesday night.

The Gators took home two of the PAC's four major awards, as senior guard Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) was crowned the PAC Player of the Year and first-year guard Bella Antonacci (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area) was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year.

Four-fifths of Allegheny's starting lineup also earned All-PAC accolades. Lauer and junior forward Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) were both included on the All-PAC First Team. Antonacci and junior guard Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) were named All-PAC Honorable Mentions.

Lauer is the first women's basketball student-athlete named Player of the Year at the conference level in nearly three decades and the first since Hall of Famer Kim Huber Cook '96 repeated as the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Lauer, who ranks third in the PAC with 17.0 points per game, is one of the top shooters in the league. She is second in free-throw percentage (84.2%) and fourth in field-goal percentage (45.6%). Lauer has scored double-digit points in 24 of 26 games, including a season-high of 30 to go along with 13 rebounds in a double-double against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on December 17. She also dropped 28 points against Chatham University on January 25 and had two 27-point performances against Chatham and Waynesburg University.

The second all-time leading scorer in program history, Lauer - now a three-time All-PAC First Team selection - has amassed 1,706 points across 103 career games at Allegheny, trailing only the aforementioned Huber Cook (2,053). 

Antonacci is the fifth player in team history to win Newcomer of the Year honors and the first since the NCAC recognized Zoe Youdell in 2019-20. Antonacci has started all 26 games so far this season and quickly made her mark. She dished out 14 assists, second-most by a Gator in program history, as part of a double-double against Chatham on November 23. Antonacci then dropped a season-high 32 points against Waynesburg on December 7. The team's third-leading scorer with 11.5 points per game, the rookie is first in the PAC and 29th in Division III with 123 assists.

For the second year in a row, Santicola averaged a double-double with a career-high 12.8 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game. She also led the PAC in blocks for the second time with 57 total blocks and 2.2 per game. Among national leaders, Santicola ranks 13th in Division III in defensive rebounds per game (8.4), 20th in rebounds (287), 22nd in blocks (57), 23rd in blocks per game (2.2), 25th in rebounds per game (11.0), and 28th in double-doubles (12). One of her best performances of the year came in the first meeting with Chatham on November 23, as the junior scored 20 points with 21 rebounds. On February 8 at Franciscan University, Santicola broke the team record for career blocks.

After missing the first four games of the season, Bickart returned to form and was voted an All-PAC selection for the second year in a row. In 22 games, the third-year point guard has averaged 9.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per contest. Bickart is also second in the PAC and is 17th nationally with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. She logged a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists at Westminster College on January 8. Bickart also made a season-high five 3-pointers to go along with 12 boards in an 85-80 win at Washington and Jefferson College on February 12.

Allegheny's fifth starter, senior Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central), represented the Gators on the PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior, and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams and student-athletes. In 2024-25, Genareo posted career highs in 3-point field goals (37) and 3-point shooting percentage (33.0%) while averaging 8.6 points per game.

The 2024-25 isn't over for the Allegheny women's basketball team yet. The Gators are one of eight teams who qualified for the ECAC Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Allegheny will play at Penn State Behrend in the first round on Saturday, March 8, at 3:00 p.m.