WOOSTER, Ohio – The Allegheny women's basketball team clinched a first round NCAC tournament home game Wednesday night, with a convincing 69-47 win over the Fighting Scots of Wooster.
The Gators started off slow, coming off the heels of a dramatic 85-91 overtime loss to Denison on Saturday night. Wooster (3-20, 2-13 NCAC) would actually take a five point lead midway through the first half, that's when Allegheny's offense showed up.
Jump started by a Heidi Goeller jumper in the paint, the Gators would embark on a 15-0 run, turning their five point deficit into a 10 point lead. The freshmen duo of Kendall Hoffman and Marina Scarantino would steal the show in the first half, scoring a combined 17 points on 7-13 shooting, including 1-1 from beyond the arc.
They would also provide a huge spark on the defensive end, recording a combined nine steals and forcing the Fighting Scots to commit 16 turnovers, while holding Wooster to just 26.7 percent from the floor. The Gators would go into halftime leading by 13, and would look to shut the door on the Fighting Scots early in the second half.
Allegheny continued their dominance after the break, stretching the lead to 18 early on a jumper from sophomore Cecila Siegel. The Gator lead would hover around 17 for a majority of the second half, until a three ball from Hoffman ignited an 11-4 run to give Allegheny their largest lead of the night at 22.
Allegheny would hold Wooster to just 30 percent shooting on the night, forcing the Fighting Scots to turn the ball over 24 times, while also holding the edge in rebounding 43-37.
Hoffman would end the night with a career-high 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks as the Gators secured a home game in the opening round of the NCAC tournament. Junior Daryl Ford added 13 points and eight rebounds; while Goeller poured in a team high 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks as she pulls to within 23 points of becoming just the 12th Gator to join the 1,000 point club.
Allegheny (15-9, 10-5 NCAC) will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, February 18 when they will host the Ladies of Kenyon on Senior Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.