MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Junior guard Lauren Gilbert(Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) scored a season-high 19 points as the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team held off a furious second half rally to pick up a 72-63 victory over Allegheny College in non-conference play. 

The Presidents shot 53.1 percent from the field in the first half, as the Red and Black converted 17 of 32 shots to build a sizable halftime lead. W&J connected on six-of-10 three-point attempts during the first half. 
 
Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) asserted herself early and often down on the block, as the junior scored 18 points and pulled down six rebounds during the first half. 
 
Junior forward Maria Lawhorne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) drained a baseline jumper to open the scoring on the initial possession of the game. After a layup by Allegheny tied the score, Seto recorded the next six points to give W&J an 8-2 edge. 
 
A layup by Allegheny cut the W&J lead to 11-7 with 2:33 left in the first quarter. The Presidents finished the quarter on a 9-2 run, which was sparked by seven points by junior guard Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central). A three-pointer by Johnston at the 19-second mark gave the Presidents a 20-9 lead after the first. 
 
Leading 28-17 with 6:28 remaining in the second quarter, the Presidents extended the advantage to 20 points with a 13-4 run over the next three minutes. Gilbert knocked down treys on back-to-back possessions during the run. The strong offensive performance allowed W&J to carry a 47-25 lead into halftime. 
 
The Gators turned the game around in the third quarter as the Presidents offense went cold. Allegheny ripped off the first 15 points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 47-40 at the 3:41 mark. 
 
A defensive steal and three-point play by sophomore guard Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) made the score 50-40 with 1:29 left in the quarter. A last second jumper by Allegheny cut the W&J edge to 52-44 after three.  
 
Allegheny surged into the lead with another run to start the fourth. The Gators scored the first 13 points to take a 57-52 advantage with 6:08 to play. A triple by Gilbert stopped the run and cut the deficit to two points with 5:50 left. 
 
Trailing 61-58 with 3:35 remaining in the fourth, the Presidents closed the game on a 14-2 run to secure the victory. A layup by freshman Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) gave the Presidents the lead for good, at 62-61 with 2:31 remaining. Gilbert scored the next six points to put the game away. 
 
Gilbert (19), Seto (18) and Johnston (10) all scored in double figures. Lawhorne and Seto finished with seven rebounds apiece to pace W&J in the victory. 
 
The win improves the Presidents to 4-2 overall while the Gators record drops to 3-4 overall. 

The Presidents travel into Ohio to face Capital University on Saturday, Nov. 30. Start time is scheduled for 2 p.m.