GRANVILLE, Ohio – Nationally-ranked no. 18 Denison University played host to Allegheny College in a pivotal NCAC matchup on Saturday, and defended the confines of Livingston Gymnasium with a 79-59 win. The Big Red (18-0, 7-0 NCAC) came in to the game as one of the few remaining unbeatens in NCAA Division III and survived a scare early in the second half when the Gators (10-7, 4-3 NCAC) momentarily took a two-point lead 38-36 with 15:06 remaining in the game. That would be the Gators' only lead of the game as the Big Red immediately answered back with a 30-12 run over the 10 minutes of game time to put the game out of reach.

The Gators, the nation's 23rd ranked shooting team (field goal percentage), endured an uncharacteristic off-shooting day as they were unable to find a shooting rhythm for most of the game and ended the contest knocking down 18-of-60 (30%) shots. Despite the low output from the field, the Gators were able to stay close throughout the first half and early into the second half with their ability to knock down clutch shots from beyond the arc and from the charity stripe.

To this point in the season, the Gators also rank in the top-25 in the nation in free throw percentage (18th) with a success rate of 75.1%. Against Denison, they hit 18-of-21 free chances for a percentage of 85.7%. In 17 games this season, the Gators have knocked down at least 75% of their free throw opportunities (min. 10 attempts) in 10 of those games.

The Gators' top two scorers on the season led the way against the Big Red. Senior guard Jill Gregory provided the deep threat for the game as she drained four of them en route to finishing with 18 points. Sophomore forward Heidi Goeller continued her electric second season on campus as she finished with a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds Both Goeller and Gregory were perfect from the charity stripe as well.

 The Big Red's Shaina Kaiser led all scorers with 21 points. Kaiser was selected as an All-NCAC First Team performer from a year ago.

Allegheny will look to bounce back from Saturday's setback as they will return home to the David V. Wise Center and welcome in Ohio Wesleyan on January 29th, with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 pm. The Gators will also be looking to exact revenge on the Battling Bishops after dropping the earlier affair 86-92 in Delaware, Ohio.