MEADVILLE, Pa. – Thanks in large part to a dominating rebounding performance that saw Allegheny outrebound Hiram 53-28 on both ends of the glass, the Gators (16-9, 9-5 NCAC) were able to pull away in the waning minutes of the their NCAC Quarterfinal matchup Tuesday night at the David V. Wise Center, and advance to the NCAC Semifinal round with an 86-72 win.

The game was tight throughout the opening half with five lead changes and two ties, but the Gators were able go into the break with a five-point edge, 43-38. In the first half, each team came out ready to dial it up from long distance as both launched at least 13 attempts. The Gators made good on six of their 13 attempts with two coming from the hot scoring hand of freshman Erica Restich. Restich, the reigning NCAC Player of the Week, had another solid game coming off the bench and provided a spark for the Gators with 12 first half points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field. She would end the game with 15 points and eight rebounds. The Terriers (12-14, 4-10 NCAC), who have attempted over 625 three-pointers coming into the game, knocked down one more three-ball than the Gators, but also had one more attempt in the half. Starting guard Chelsea Kovach matched Restich with a pair of makes from deep.

After 11 first-half turnovers, the Gators came out in the second half with elevated poise, and did a better job taking care of the basketball which allowed them to work into their offense and feed the post to the tune of 24 points in the paint. Many of those points came off great looks from the Allegheny guards that lead to easy lay-ins. The Gators were in fact in charge of the paint the entire game, outscoring the Terriers 40-14 inside.

Senior guard Jill Gregory made a scoring splash once again for the Gators in what was her final career game ever at home by posting her second double-double of the season. Gregory scored a team-high 19 points and 12 boards. 12 of her points came in the second half. Sophomore Heidi Goeller joined Gregory and Restich in the double-figure scoring column with 14 points on her own.

All four of the top seeds in the tournament picked up wins on Tuesday night and the final four will travel to top-seeded Denison University, who will serve as the host of the final two rounds of the tournament. As the three-seed, the Gators have drawn a semifinal matchup with the second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops. The two teams split their high-scoring season series in 2010-11 with each team defending their home court.

The Gators semifinal game is scheduled for Friday, February 25th at 6:00 p.m. Full NCAC Tournament coverage can be found through the NCAC's official tournament website: http://www2.northcoast.org/wbasketball/NCACTournament/2011