NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Allegheny College women's basketball team earned an important Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) North Division victory and swept its two-game series against Westminster College with a 55-52 overtime victory over the Titans on Wednesday evening.

With the win, the Gators (10-10, 7-4 PAC) remain tied with Grove City College (13-7, 7-4 PAC) for first place in the PAC's North Division. Allegheny also earned its second victory of the season over the Titans (7-13, 4-7 PAC), who currently sit in third place in the North.

The Gators had to battle from behind to secure the triumph over the host Titans, who outscored the Blue and Gold 15-8 in the first quarter. Allegheny slashed the deficit to three points, 26-23, by the halftime break, and after trailing for the entire third quarter, evened the score at 41-all with 6:25 remaining in regulation.

A Westminster free throw with 2:37 to go put the Titans ahead by two points, 47-45. Senior forward Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) netted the tying field goal with 63 seconds to go. Santicola then blocked a shot on Westminster's final possession of the fourth quarter to preserve the tie. Sophomore guard Eyra Co (Manila, Philippines/Pike Christian Academy (Ohio)) had a chance to solidify the comeback in regulation, but her last-second pull-up jumper was just off the mark.

The Titans scored the first two points of the overtime period, but the Gators responded with eight unanswered points. Santicola once again netted the tying bucket before senior Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) banked a left-handed shot off the backboard for the go-ahead points. Santicola made another key defensive play to block another shot from Westminster's Maddie Syka with 30 seconds left. The final score would have been 55-49, but Bella Calcamuggio made a buzzer-beating trey for the Titans to reduce the margin of victory to three points.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny 32.9% overall (25-of-76), while Westminster shot 29.6% (21-of-71).
• The Titans were more efficient from 3-point range with six makes on 19 attempts (31.6%), whereas the Gators made only one of their 12 treys (8.3%).
• Westminster crashed the glass with a 52-to-49 advantage in rebounds.
• Allegheny finished with more steals (11-to-8) and blocks (6-to-5).
• Three Gators recorded double-digit points, led by Isabella Antonacci (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area) with a game-high 16 points.
• Bickart and Co each logged 12 points.
• Santicola grabbed 14 rebounds with seven points, four blocks, four steals, and two assists.
• Ava Kobus (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin) scored six points with six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
• Calcamuggio paced the Titans with 15 points, followed by Syka with 13 and Grace Cano with 12.

News and Notes

• Allegheny improved to 7-4 in the PAC North Division, tied with Grove City for first place.
• The Gators swept their two-game set against Westminster and have won five in a row over the Titans dating back to 2024.
• The overtime contest was Allegheny's first since falling to Chatham University in double overtime on December 31, 2024.
• Bickart continues to close in on her 1,000-point milestone and now has 979 career points.
• Antonacci has reached 357 points as a sophomore, surpassing her total of 342 points from her rookie season in nine fewer games.
• Santicola, the program's all-time leader in blocks, notched the 250th block of her career against the Titans; she also surpassed 100 career steals with 102.
• Co netted double-digit points for the third time in her career.

Up Next
Allegheny hosts Chatham on Saturday, February 7, at 1 p.m. for its National Girls & Women in Sports Day Game.