News Release

MEADVILLE, Pa. — The Allegheny College Gators rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to out-score the Mount Union Purple Raiders 23-12 in the second half en route to a 46-42 non-conference victory on Thanksgiving weekend. The Gators, trailing by three with 3:46 to play in the game, scored the last nine points of the contest, sending the Blue and Gold to a 3-1 record for the second time since 2000-01.

Katie" class="red" rel=nofollow>http://www.allegheny.edu/athletics/womenbb/0607/images/Katie_Kestler_vs_MtUnion.gif\">Katie Kestler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), left, off of a career-high 22-point effort against Washington & Jefferson in her last game, hit 6-of-11 shots from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range en route to an 18-point effort in the win.

The Gators scored first in the game when Kestler picked up a steal and sprinted to the basket, Mount Union’s first-half lead grew to as many as 10 with 8:34 to play in the period when the hosts took the 21-11 lead on a layup by Meghan Simons, before the Gators closed the gap to four with 4:25 to play. The Purple Raiders ended the half on a 6-3 run, taking a 30-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The" class="red" rel=nofollow>http://www.allegheny.edu/athletics/womenbb/0607/images/Brittany_Bell_vs_MtUnion.gif\">The teams traded baskets to start the second half, before Allegheny scored the next eight points, taking a 33-32 lead on Brittany Bell’s (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) lay-in with 12:48 to play in the game. Mount Union’s Ashley Ross scored the next five points of the game, helping the visitors re-take the lead.

The Gators trailed by three at 42-39 with 3:46 to play in the contest before the Gators ended the game on a 9-0 run, Kestler scoring the first four, giving Allegheny a one-point lead before Bell knocked down a three-point basket with just over a minute remaining in the game, pictured to the right, to give the Gators a four-point advantage. A pair of free throws by Kestler iced the game for Allegheny, sending them to their second consecutive win.

Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added eight points while freshman Bell had seven points. Wolf led the team with seven rebounds, while Jennifer Latronica (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland), left, and Hilary Collins (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) each grabbed six. Three players, Kestler, Wolf and Becca Gasiewicz (Grove City, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) each dished out three assists, while Latronica and Wolf had four and three blocks, respectively.

Mount" class="red" rel=nofollow>http://www.allegheny.edu/athletics/womenbb/0607/images/Jen_Latronica_vs_MtUnion.gif\">Mount Union was led by Meghan Simons, who scored 11 points, all in the second half, while Brooke Ghilani added seven points while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. Simons, Lauren Friedrich and Dana Gerenyi each dished out two assists in the losing effort.

The next game for the Blue and Gold is on Saturday, December 2 when the Gators play host to the Ladies of Kenyon College in each squad’s North Coast Athletic Conference opener, starting at 2:00 p.m. in the David V. Wise Center.

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