MEADVILLE, Pa. – Following a 24-hour postponement due to extreme winter weather, the women's basketball teams of Allegheny and Oberlin took to the hardwood of the David V. Wise Center on Thursday night. The Gators (12-7, 6-3 NCAC) jumped out a huge lead early on and never looked back, cruising to an 80-37 win.
It was not until halfway into the opening period that the Yeowomen (7-13, 2-7 NCAC) got on the board with a made three-pointer by Syrea Thomas. By that point, the Gators had already built a 23-point cushion. The first half was a tale of extremes between the two teams. The Gators were incredibly hot shooting the basketball knocking down 19-of-30 (63.3%) while the Yeowomen connected on only 8-of-35 shots (22.9%), and started off the game on a 0-for-14 cold streak.
Once again, the Gators showed their scoring depth as four players reached double figures. They also got tremendous production from their bench, who poured in 44 points for the game. Rookie guard/forward Erica Restich came off the bench and led all scorers with 18 points. Restich bolstered her stat sheet with 10 rebounds giving her consecutive double-doubles. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native was efficient, shooting 5-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from deep and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Her 18-point game ties her career-high set back in December against Wittenberg.
The Gators enjoyed an impressive offensive night despite their two leading scorers Jill Gregory and Heidi Goeller combining for eight points. Gregory, however, was able to create scoring opportunities for her teammates and dished out a team-high five assists.
Sophomore forward Daryl Ford continued her strong play with 12 points and eight rebounds. Classmate Ann Ryan had a great first half with nine points in the opening period. She would end with 11 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Laura Magnelli found her scoring touch once again chipping in 10 points to go along with six boards.
The 80-point scoring output is the ninth time this season that the NCAC's highest scoring team per game, has scored at least 80 points. The Gators are 7-2 in those nine games.
Allegheny will look to keep the momentum rolling into the weekend as they hit the road to take on Wittenberg University Saturday, February 5th. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.