GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Allegheny women's basketball team held off a late Grove City run as they erased an early deficit and defeated the Wolverines for a 63-61 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory Saturday (Feb. 11).
 
The teams went back-and-forth to start the game. After Grove City scored the first five points of the contest, the Gators went on their own 5-0 run before eventually taking the lead, 11-10, on an Alexis Caldwell (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) jumper. The final five minutes of the opening frame saw a continuation of the back-and-forth play as the Wolverines gained a narrow 17-14 lead heading into the second.
 
The Wolverine lead grew to as much as 12 midway through the second quarter. Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) would close the gap as she outscored Grove City 11-4 in a two-and-a-half minute stretch. Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, Pa./Southwestern Central) nailed a three to pull the Gators within two, 32-30, with 90 seconds remaining. As time expired in the quarter, Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) hit a layup to tie the game at halftime. 
 
Lauer led the Gators with 13 points in the first half. Caldwell added seven points while grabbing six rebounds. 
 
Midway through the third quarter, the Gators regained the lead, 45-44, on another Genareo three-pointer. After the media timeout, Genareo netted her fourth and fifth three-pointers of the game as the Allegheny advantage continued to grow. Tallying 21 points in the quarter, the Gators entered the fourth quarter leading 53-47.
 
The Gators started the fourth off strong as their lead grew to nine multiple times before a Grove City timeout. Following the timeout, a pair of Lauer free-throws pushed their lead to a game-high of 11. The Wolverines would fight back, and pull within two points, 63-61, with just over a minute to play. Grove City had some chances late, but the Gator defense was able to hold off the Wolverines to seal the win.
 
Inside the Box

• Lauer led the Gators with 23 points on 50% shooting. She added three rebounds two assists and two steals.
• Genareo finished with a career-high 17 points after hitting five three-pointers. The sophomore also had eight rebounds and four assists.
• Caldwell had a season-high 12 rebounds to lead the team while dropping nine points.
• Kate Leach (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) tallied nine rebounds, eight points and two blocks.
• Bickart led the team with six assists and three steals while also grabbing nine rebounds and scoring four points.
• The Gators scored 24 fast break points and 21 points off turnovers. 

News and Notes

• The win moves the Gators to 12-12 on the season and 11-8 in PAC play.
• Splitting the regular season series with Grove City, the Gators are now 27-17 all-time against the Wolverines.

Up Next
The Gators wrap-up their regular season next Saturday (Feb. 18) at home against Waynesburg. Tip-off for the Senior Day PAC game is set for 2 pm.