Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 19) – The Waynesburg women's basketball team got off to a rocky start against Mount Aloysius on Friday night, but the Yellow Jackets bounced back to out-score the Mounties 50-29 in the second half and roll to a 79-53 victory.
The 79-point outburst was the biggest offensive showing by the Waynesburg women, who improved to 3-4 on the season, since beating Bethany 89-83 in the 2005-2006 Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament.
Things started slowly for the Jackets as poor shooting allowed Mt. Aloysius (0-8) to hang around through most of the first half. With 3:33 left in the opening period, the Mounties held a 24-21 lead.
However, Waynesburg closed the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room. After emerging for the second half, head coach Sam Jones had his players ready for the final 20 minutes.
After a bit of a slow start to the second, which included Mount Aloysius taking a one-point lead (32-31) on a Kaylee Keagy jumper with 16:50 to go, the Jackets finally took control.
After a lay up by junior guard Johnna Deco gave the home team a 33-32 advantage, Waynesburg never trailed again.
After seeing their lead cut to three (38-35) later in the second, the Jackets went on a 10-2 run to grab a 48-37 advantage.
As the game wore on towards its conclusion, Waynesburg was able to string together several small runs and go ahead by as many as 26 when the final buzzer went off.
The win was Waynesburg's third over their last four games.
Deco, pictured above during a previous game, had a night to remember as she recorded her first collegiate double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman point guard Hannah Hunter and sophomore forward Elisha Jones led the Jackets with 16 points each. Jones also dished out five assists, which tied for the game lead.
Freshman guard Morgan Hoone chipped in nine points off the bench and freshman forward Callie White added seven points and nine rebounds.
For Mount Aloysius, junior Lindsey Bush led the way with 16 points, tying Hunter and Jones for the game lead. They also got five assists out of junior guard Emily McKenna, who tied Jones for the lead in that department.
On the night, Waynesburg dominated the boards, out-rebounding their opponents by an impressive 46-22 margin. The Jackets also enjoyed a big advantage from the floor in the second period, connecting on 47 percent of their shots, compared with the Mounties making just 38 percent.
Waynesburg was also better from beyond the three-point arc in the last 20 minutes, making five-of-11 from downtown (46 percent). Mount Aloysius made just one trey out of six second-half attempts (17 percent).
The Jacket women will try to keep the winning ways going on Dec. 29, when they take a long road trip to Alfred, N.Y. to take on Alfred in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
