MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny women's basketball team won their fourth straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest as they defeated Franciscan 63-52 Saturday (Jan. 21) in Meadville.
 
Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) led the Gators out of the gate, scoring the team's first eight points while an Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) layup put the Gators ahead, 10-9. The Barons briefly took the lead before a three by Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and a put back by Kate Leach (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) gave the Gators a 15-12 advantage. However, Franciscan scored the final four points of the frame to take a 16-15 lead into the second.
 
After the Barons struck first in the second, the Gators regained the lead on a Jenna Lutz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) basket, 19-18. The game continued to go back-and-forth until Allegheny rattled off an 8-2 run to close out the half.
 
Santicola ended the half with 10 points and six rebounds. Lauer had six points while Bickart produced five points while grabbing seven rebounds. The Gators had a slight edge in rebounds, 20-19.
 
Leading 31-28 midway through the third, the Gators put together another big run, this time 15-4, as they led 44-32 at the end of three. The Gators had five players score during that run with Bickart and Lauer netting four each while Jasmyn Fisher (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) hit a three.
 
The Barons outpaced the Gators by a slight 20-17 margin in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome the Allegheny advantage.
 
Inside the Box

• Lauer led the Gators with 18 points on eight-of-14 shooting (57.1%) from the floor. She had a team-high four steals while also blocking a pair of shots.
• Santicola was second on the team with 14 points and eight rebounds. Additionally, she blocked a pair of shots and had two steals.
• Bickart recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. She nearly recorded a triple-double as she finished with a season-high eight assists.
• Leach attributed five points with a season-high 10 rebounds and tying a season-high with four blocks.
• Alexis Caldwell (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) had six rebounds and five points.
• Allegheny owned a 45-41 rebound advantage.
• The Gators blocked a season-high 10 shots. 

News and Notes

• The Gators improved to 9-8 overall and 9-4 in PAC action.
• After completing the regular season sweep, Allegheny is now 3-0 all-time against Franciscan. 

Up Next
The Gators have a quick turnaround as they play Kenyon Sunday for the team's annual Pride Day game. The nonconference contest is scheduled to tip-off at 2 pm.