Springfield, Ohio – The Wittenberg women's basketball team lost a heartbreaking home opener to the Gators of Allegheny 77-72 on Friday night. The Tigers took an early lead, going up 11-4 early in the first quarter, finishing out the first ten minutes with a 19-11 lead. Allegheny would rush back through the second quarter to go ahead going into the break 39-34.

Junior Alex Kiess would lead the Wittenberg scoring effort, posting 20 points with eight of her 10 first-half points coming in the first quarter. Kiess would knock down three of six attempts from deep, adding two rebounds to her final total.

Senior Haley Dannemiller heated up in the second half, recording eight of her 13 down the stretch in the second half for the Tigers. Dannemiller contributed on all ends of the floor adding four rebounds, along with an assist, block, and a steal. Leading the rebounding effort was Sydney Mayle and Korynne Berner, each pulling down five boards and finishing with one steal. Mayle tallied seven points and Berner recorded six.

The Tigers shot 38% from the field, leading the rebounding effort 41-37. Wittenberg held the Gators to 30% shooting from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT: The Tigers will be back in action again tomorrow from Pam Evans Smith Arena, hosting the Terriers of Hiram College at 4:00 PM.