Box Score
Live Stats vs. Carroll (Tues., 12 p.m.)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The No. 16 Tufts had three players in double figures by halftime and finished with four scoring double digits, including a game-high from Colleen Hart with 19 points and nine rebounds to defeat Allegheny 83-69 in the first game of the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Florida on Monday afternoon.
It was the tale of two halves with the Jumbos (9-1) controlling the first 20 minutes, shooting 56.4 percent from the floor, holding a 27-13 edge in rebounds and scoring 18 points off turnovers. The Gators (4-6) owned the second half, outscoring Tufts 44-30 with 16 points coming off second chances but could not overcome the 18-point first-half deficit.
Heidi Goeller recorded a season-best 16 points and Jill Gregory added 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Jumbos went 8-for-10 from the field in the first 4:35 of the game to take an 18-5 lead. Goeller scored Allegheny’s four out of five points, while Gregory connected on one of two free throws.
Julia Bailey, who finished with 14 points, scored six straight to push the lead to 33-12 at the 10:31 mark. Tufts drained five three pointers in the half with the final two coming back-to-back to make it a 28-point game. Tiffany Kornegay finished the half scoring six of the last eight points to take a 53-25 lead into the locker rooms.
Faced with a hefty deficit, the Gators never backed down and clamped down on defense in the final stanza. Allegheny used a 22-10 run to make it 77-53 with seven minutes left to play. Brittany Bell and Gregory each knocked in a triple, before Shannon Culbreath made a jumper and Britni Mohney got the Gators’ third three-pointer in three minutes.
With 3:22 remaining, Allegheny went on a 12-1 spurt behind Goeller’s seven points but ran out of time in the end.
The Gators shot 46.3 percent in the second half and managed a 21-19 edge on the boards.
Culbreath grabbed a season-best seven rebounds to go along with six points, while Laura Magnelli (MoonTownship, Pa./Moon Area).
Allegheny returns to action tomorrow against Carroll, who was a 76-57 winner over Penn State Behrend in its first game. Game time is 12 p.m.