GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College women's basketball team steamrolled the Thiel College Tomcats in a lopsided 72-44 victory on the road Saturday afternoon in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

With Allegheny sweeping the season series, the Gators improved to 11-9 overall and 10-5 inside the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). The Gators have found fire with playoffs around the corner, winning seven of their last nine contests.

What started off as a close game quickly went in the opposite direction. The Tomcats (2-15, 1-12 PAC) even boasted a 20-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the Gators' defense shined the rest of the game. They gave up a season-low three points in the second quarter and outscored Thiel, 53-24, the rest of the way.

Destiny Johnson of Thiel scored eight of her 12 total points in the first quarter, including a late bucket with time ticking down that marked the last Tomcat lead of the game. The Gators went on a 13-0 run across the first 7:35 of the second quarter and took control of the floor from then on. Alexis Caldwell (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) scored the first two points of the second to put Allegheny ahead, 21-20, and the Gators never trailed from there.

Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa./Keystone) scored 30 points for the Blue and Gold, the third time she has achieved that accolade this season. In her last three contests, she has averaged 24.7 points per game, and is currently first in the conference in scoring. Sarah Santicola (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) also chipped in with 15 points while shooting 6-of-13 from the floor.

Inside the Box Score

• The entire Allegheny roster saw minutes on the floor, as everyone played a contributing role in the impressive victory.
• Lauer led the team with 30 points while also grabbing eight rebounds and four assists.
• Santicola scored 15 points, three away from a season-high, in addition to six rebounds.
• Caldwell joined the party with six points, six boards, and four dimes.
• Jess Bickart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) tallied eight rebounds, along with a team-high five assists.
• Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) also pulled down eight rebounds while netting four points in 19 minutes of action.
• As a team, the Gators shot 43.8% overall (28-of-64) and were 70.0% (14-of-20) from the charity stripe.
• Thiel finished just 25.4% (17-of-67) from the field and 26.7% (4-of-15) from the line.

News and Notes

• Allegheny's 11 wins so far this winter are tied for the most in a season over the past six seasons.
• With a sweep of the two-game PAC series, Allegheny is now 23-9 all-time against Thiel.
• Defensively, the Gators set a new season-low for opponents' field-goal percentage by limiting the Tomcats to a 25.4% clip.
• The three points allowed in the second quarter are the fewest Allegheny has surrendered in a quarter this year.
• Lauer has reached double-digit points in nine consecutive games with the third 30-plus point outing of her sophomore campaign.
• Santicola's 15 points mark her second-highest single-game total of the season.

Up Next
Allegheny will take on the PAC-leading Presidents of Washington and Jefferson College to finish their two-game series on Wednesday, February 1, at 6:30 p.m.