MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny women's basketball team captured their third straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory Wednesday (Jan. 18) in dramatic fashion as they defeated Bethany 68-67 in Meadville.
 
Bethany erased a Gator lead with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 67 on a three-pointer. As time was about to expire, Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) drew a foul with the Gators in the bonus. After missing the first attempt, Bickart drained the second to lift the Gators to victory.
 
The Gators jumped out to an early 8-5 lead. After a Bison timeout midway through the opening quarter, the Gators finished on a 17-4 run. Bickart hit a pair of threes in that stretch while Jasmyn Fisher (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) converted a traditional three-point play following a steal as the clock expired. 
 
Bethany narrowed the gap to 27-21 in the early portion of the second quarter as they hit four three-pointers. Allegheny responded with a 12-0 run to re-establish an 18 point lead. Four different Gators contributed points during the run with Bickart and Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) netting four apiece. Bethany ended the frame on a small run, but Allegheny led 39-27 at the half.
 
Bethany cut the lead to eight, 45-37, in the third quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers by Bickart and Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) pushed the lead back to double-digits. Those three pointers sparked the Gators late in the frame as they closed it out on a 10-2 run, taking a 60-43 lead into the fourth.
 
The Bison outpaced the Gators in the final ten minutes, but Bickart hit three free-throws late as the Gators collected the win.
 
Inside the Box

• Bickart led the Gators with a season-high point total of 22 on eight-of-11 shooting. She also led the team with six assists and five steals. 
• Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) finished with 17 points. She also tallied seven rebounds and three assists.
• Santicola had nine points and nine rebounds while blocking four shots. This marked her seventh game with four or more blocks.
• Genareo had seven points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Kate Leach (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Bella Wier (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) collected five rebounds apiece.
• The Gators outrebounded the Bison 45-40.
• The eight blocks by the Gators tied their season-high in that category. 

News and Notes

• The Gators improved to 8-8 on the season and 8-4 in PAC action.
• Allegheny completed the regular season sweep of Bethany and is now 8-3 all-time against the Bison.

Up Next
The Gators remain at home Saturday (Jan. 21) for a 4 pm PAC game against Franciscan.