Box Score
GREENVILLE, Pa. (Dec. 3) – The Waynesburg women's basketball team accomplished a lot of firsts Wednesday night in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest at Thiel.
The Yellow Jackets won their first game of the 2008-2009 season, got first-year head coach Sam Jones his first win as a collegiate head coach and notched their first PAC victory since January of 2007 by coming back and upending the Tomcats 66-64.
Waynesburg (1-3, 1-0) got out to a 27-23 lead at halftime, thanks in large part to 12 points from freshman forward Callie White, who connected on five-of-seven shots from the field in the first 20 minutes, including knocking down a three-pointer.
When the second period tipped off, Waynesburg was able to build their lead to seven (31-24) after sophomore forward Elisha Jones connected on a pair of free throws with 18:20 to go in the contest.
However, Thiel (3-3, 0-1) responded with a 9-2 run over the next few minutes to tie the game at 33-33 with 16:58 to go. The two teams continued to go back-and-forth in the second half, before the Tomcats grabbed their largest lead of the contest (62-55) with 4:32 to go.
But, as they have done in three of their four games this year, Waynesburg refused to fade down the stretch.
The visitors reeled off a 6-0 run, which was composed of two made jump shots by Jones and a pair of made foul shots by senior forward Jeanette Wonsettler, to pull within a single point of Thiel (62-61).
The two teams battled down the stretch, with the Tomcats clinging to a 64-63 advantage with 14 seconds left.
Following a 30-second timeout, Waynesburg turned to their go-to player in Jones, who promptly knocked down a jumper with just two seconds left on the clock. Jones was also fouled on the play and proceeded to complete the three-point play to bring about the final score of 66-64.
The contest ended up being one of the most thrilling of the young PAC season as it featured 10 lead changes and six ties over 40 hard-fought minutes of action.
The game also featured a pair of 2007-2008 All-PAC selections squaring off in Jones and senior Thiel standout Amber Jenae Bodrick. The two didn't disappoint as Jones led all scorers with a season-high 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half, on 10-of-15 shooting. She also led the Jackets with six rebounds
Bodrick rolled up 23 points on eight-of-21 shooting.
White had the most productive game of her young collegiate career, pouring in 16 points on an impressive six-of-eight shooting. Another freshman, point guard Hannah Hunter, hit double digits in scoring for the third time in four games with 10.
As a team, Waynesburg shot exactly 50 percent from the floor (24-48), as compared to Thiel's 23-of-52 performance (44 percent).
The Waynesburg women will try to make it two wins in a row this Saturday, when they continue PAC play at Bethany. A 2 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.
