CHESTER, Pa. (Dec. 12, 2015) – Sophomore
Allison Gallagher (Souderton, Pa.) netted 22 points and senior
Nikki Sutliff (Sweet Valley, Pa.) set a career high with 11 rebounds to propel the Widener University women's basketball team to a 65-59 victory over Stevenson on Saturday afternoon at the Schwartz Center. The Pride rallied from behind to knock off the reigning conference champions and notch their seventh straight win.
Stevenson (3-4, MAC Commonwealth 1-2) controlled play early and dashed to an 11-3 lead in the opening five minutes. Sara Tarbert, a returning WBCA All-American, finished a pass from Stephanie Martinez on the Mustang's first possession to open the scoring and capped the early run with another layup that was set up by the senior guard.
Trailing by a 17-10 score after the first quarter, Widener exploded in the second frame by driving to the basket and getting to the charity stripe to go ahead for the first time shortly before the break. After Gallagher nailed two shots from downtown as well as a layup to slash the deficit to 24-23, the Pride went on an 8-0 run by scoring all eight points at the free throw line.
Freshman
Emily Hardy (Lewisberry, Pa.) converted two at the 4:18 mark to give Widener its first lead at 25-24 before senior
Ally Ferrucci (Vineland, N.J.) and Sutliff also chipped in with shots of their own from the same free position. Gallagher then canned a 3-pointer that was set up by sophomore
Brianna Cullen (Lansdale, Pa.) in the waning seconds to give the hosts a 34-26 lead at the break and all of the momentum.
After outscoring the visitors 24-9 in the second quarter, the Pride were able to hold off the Mustangs the rest of the way. Tarbert brought the margin down to one on two occasions, but senior
Brianna Wylie (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Gallagher each made layups and Ferrucci finished a 3-point play the old-fashioned way to create a 45-37 score with 3:47 on the clock. The Pride lead extended up to twin figures and went as high as 14 when Hardy sank another pair of free throws with just over a minute left, putting the hosts firmly in the driver's seat.
Despite being challenged by the defending champion Mustangs in the fourth, the Pride held their ground and never surrendered the lead they earned back in the second quarter. Stevenson made it a one-possession game at 59-56 when Caitlin Roy converted a layup with 2:18 left, but Hardy once again came through at the stripe by sinking two more of her eight at the other end. Ferrucci then made some additional shots at the line down the stretch to put the game out of reach.
Gallagher lighted up for 22 points by shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc for Widener, which outscored its opponent by 17 at the free throw line and had a 44-38 edge in rebounding. The sophomore also had four steals. Ferrucci played the entire contest and finished with 19 points, five steals and four assists, while Sutliff was a big spark off the bench and nearly doubled her previous career rebounding mark by corralling 11. Eight of her boards were on the defensive end in the first half, which helped the Pride begin their comeback.
Stevenson was led by Martinez, who netted a game-high 23 points and drilled five shots from downtown. She also had five assists, two steals and one blocked shot. Tarbert recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards.
Widener (7-1, MAC Commonwealth 2-0) will break for final exams and then put its seven-game winning streak on the line when it visits Rowan on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 1:00 p.m.
