SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Junior Daryl Ford scored a career-high 29 points for Allegheny, and the Gators nearly erased a 23 point first half deficit falling to the Tigers of Wittenberg on Saturday afternoon 76-87.
The Tigers would use torrid shooting to take an early double digit lead on the Gators, leading by 10 less than nine minutes into the contest. Wittenberg would continue to shoot lights out, shooting 65.5 percent from the field in the opening stanza.
Although Allegheny found itself down 20 at the half, the Gators have come back from similar situations earlier in the season. That confidence sparked a spirited rally for Allegheny in the second half.
The second half started off slow, with Wittenberg regaining its largest lead of 23 early on and keeping the lead around 20 for much of the first 10 minutes. Then with 9:23 remaining sophomore Erica Restich hit a three to cut the lead to 17 and the Gators gained some confidence.
Slowly Allegheny started chipping away at the Tigers lead. A layup by junior Heidi Goeller knocked the deficit down to 15; a pair of layups by Restich and Ford cut the lead down even further to 11. Just second later a pair of free throws by Goeller cut the lead to nine with 4:00 minutes remaining.
Finally it seemed as if the Gators had some life, as they Wittenberg lead was in the single-digits for the first time since 10-17, 7:50 into the first half. Allegheny would get to within eight on several different occasions; however, Wittenberg's lead would be too large to overcome as time ran out the Gator comeback.
Ford would pull down nine of her 10 rebounds in the second half, to go along with her 29 points, earning her sixth double-double of the season. Goeller would end the game with 20 points and seven rebounds of her own, and Restich chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds as Allegheny would fall to 13-8 overall, 8-4 in conference play.
The Gators will be off until Wednesday, February 8 when they will travel to Hiram, Ohio to take on the Terriers of Hiram College, wrapping up their stretch of four consecutive road games. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.