BRADFORD, Pa. – After being held to a season-low 33 points on Saturday night against no. 25 Saint Vincent College, Allegheny's offense got back on track while the defense secured the come-from-behind win holding off Pitt-Bradford 70-68 Monday night on the road.
The Gators (4-2, 0-0 NCAC) took the early advantage in the first half with four quick points from senior guard Jill Gregory, who was held scoreless for only the third time in her career last game against the Bearcats. Despite the quick start by the Gators' leading scorer, they were unable to maintain that offensive output and trailed the final 17 minutes of the first half. Thanks to an inspired defensive effort, the Gators weathered the offensive attack of the Panthers (2-3) and went into the break trialing by eight, 38-30.
As a team, Allegheny shot 32% from the floor on 11-of-34 shooting, but were a perfect five-of-five from the charity stripe. Breakout sophomore Heidi Goeller continued her brilliant play pacing the Gators in the first half with nine points off four-of-nine shooting from the field. She also pulled down five boards in the first half with three coming off the offensive glass. Rookie guard Saddie Gravatt was the spark off the bench for Allegheny as she knocked down two from beyond the arc. Both rainmakers kept the Gators within striking distance.
Following a solid effort in the opening period, the top-two leading scorers, Goeller and Gregory flipped the switch in the second half and led the comeback effort. Gregory, who only had her quick four points to start the Gators' night of scoring through the first twenty minutes, showed her veteran scoring potential as she caught fire in the second half hitting four of her seven shot attempts with two makes coming from long distance en route to her 16-point surge to close out the game. Already the team leader in free throw percentage coming into the game, Gregory was a perfect six-of-six from the free throw line in the second half.
Just two games ago, Goeller set a career-high in scoring (20), a mark that she would best by one as she scored a game-high 21 points. Shooting nearly 50% from the floor on the season (49%), Goeller was a flawless five-of-five shooting in the second half. The Fox Chapel product was not only clutch shooting the ball, but she worked hard on the boards pulling down six more in the second half to give the Gators their first double-digit rebounding effort (11) of the year and also their first double-double (points-rebounds) of the year.
The Panthers opened their lead up to as much as 10 early on in the second half before the Gators rallied with a five-minute 8-2 run to cut the lead to only two (46-44) at the 13:20 mark. From that point on, there were three ties and five lead changes. Allegheny grabbed the lead from the Panthers, 53-51, when Gregory laid in the go-ahead score off an assist by Goeller. The lead was the first one for the Gators since they held a two-point cushion early in the first half 6-4.
From that point, the Gators went on an 11-5 run to jump out to their largest lead of the game (64-56) with just under seven minutes to play. Over the next five minutes, the Panthers would chip away at the deficit and reclaim the lead 66-65 with 3:33 left. Clutch free throw shooting out of Gravatt and Gregory would knot the game up at 68 with 1:42 remaining, setting up the dramatic finish.
Sophomore Daryl Ford only scored two points in the second half, but her lone bucket would prove to be the biggest made shot of the night. With under 30 seconds left and possession following a missed three-point shot by the Panthers, the Gators could hold the ball the for the game's final shot. Coming out of the timeout to set up the final shot, senior Laura Magnelli's number was called upon to take the final shot. Magnelli already had chipped in 10 points before her final shot attempt. In the closing seconds of the game, Magnelli was able to get off a high-percentage shot with a layup attempt in the paint, but her shot didn't fall. There to clean the glass was Ford who pulled down her ninth board of the game and put the missed Magnelli shot through the net for the go-ahead bucket, 70-68, with only 20 seconds left to tick off the clock. The Panthers would not get another shot off and the put-back by Ford proved to be the game-winner.
"Our defense was the reason we won the game," reflected head coach Kate Costanzo. "We got great defensive efforts from Laura [Magnelli] in the first half and Heidi [Goeller] stepped up for us in the second half with good post defense and taking the ball to the rim. Jill [Gregory] was also a big part of the win knocking down clutch shots for us in the second half."
The Gators will take a well-needed break from life on the road as they return to the friendly confines of the Wise Center Wednesday, December 1st to take on John Carroll University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm. You can follow all the action live through our live stats link: http://www.sidearmstats.com/allegheny/wbball/index.htm.