Box Score
GROVE CITY, Pa. (Dec. 11) – It is said that all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, that was the case on Saturday as the longest season-opening win streak in Waynesburg women's basketball history came to a halt on Saturday at Grove City.
After victories in their first six games, the Yellow Jackets led by one (63-62) with just over a minute to play in the contest. Unfortunately, the Wolverines made three big free throws down the stretch to pull out the 65-63 victory. With the loss, Waynesburg is now 6-1 on the year and 2-1 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play. Grove City improves to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
The game played out as a tale of two halves with the Jackets opening up a 32-24 advantage after the first 20 minutes of action. Waynesburg led by as many as nine (29-20) during the first 20 minutes of play after out-shooting the Wolverines 45.2 percent (14-of-31) to 35.3 percent (six-of-17).
However, after trailing for almost the entire first period, the host team was quickly able to cut into the Waynesburg lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Grove City went on an 8-0 run over the first two minutes of play after halftime to tie the game at 32-32. The Wolverines took control from there and built up leads as large as nine points (49-40) while out-scoring the Jackets over the final 20 minutes of action 41-31.
The Jackets made it interesting down the stretch of the game by chipping away at their host's lead and taking their slim lead late. Unfortunately, Waynesburg missed two big field goals late in the contest that could have given them the lead.
Though the loss was a tough one to swallow, there was a little something for the Jackets to celebrate as senior forward Elisha Jones became the newest member of Waynesburg's 1,000-point club. With her 15 points on the day, Jones now has 1,014 for her Jacket career and is the first Waynesburg women's hoopster to reach the mark since Katie Lewandowski did it in 2007. The fourth-year standout added five rebounds and two blocks to her day.
Sophomore guard Brittany Spencer paced her team in both points (18) and rebounds (10) on her way to her third double-double of the season.
Grove City was powered by senior forward Christine Slater's 24 points. The Wolverines pulled out the victory despite being out-rebounded by a sizeable 43-30 margin.
Though the loss was a stinging one, Waynesburg has little time to dwell on it. The Jackets return to the court on Tuesday, Dec. 14, when they travel to Hiram for a 7 p.m. road tip-off.
