PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- Allegheny College women's basketball swept the first round of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) weekly awards of 2026.

The PAC named senior Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) this week's Player of the Week. First-year Karina Vasquez (San Antonio, Texas/John M. Harlan) received her first accolade as the Newcomer of the Week.

In three games, Bickart paced the Gators with 18.7 points per contest while stuffing the stats sheet with 7.7 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 steals per game. In an 84-58 win over Mount Aloysius College on Monday, she posted the first Allegheny triple-double since 2012 with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Bickart then scored 17 points with seven assists and seven steals in a 75-60 setback to No. 15/16 nationally-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University on Tuesday. In Saturday's 101-37 rout of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bickart paced the offense with a team-high 20 points in addition to six assists, five rebounds, and four steals. 

Vasquez averaged 8.0 points per game last week, but her breakout performance came during the lopsided victory over the Panthers. The Texas native finished second behind only Bickart in scoring with a season-high 18 points. She was highly efficient from the field with a 61.5 field-goal percentage (8-for-13) and a 66.7% clip from 3-point range (2-for-3). Vasquez also added season highs in rebounds (6), assists (2), and steals (2), helping the Gators earn their biggest win in more than a decade.

Bickart, Vasquez, and the Allegheny women's basketball team resume their PAC schedule on Wednesday, January 7, with a 5:30 p.m. matchup at Thiel College.