Sophomore guard Brittany Spencer went off for 30 points against Hiram in a 73-68 victory over the Terriers. It was the highest single-game scoring performance by a Yellow Jacket women's player since 2007.
Box Score
HIRAM, Ohio (Dec. 16) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team got an outstanding scoring performance from sophomore guard Brittany Spencer and won an exciting back-and-forth battle with Hiram by the final score of 73-68.
The two teams battled back and forth for 40 minutes of play. Trailing by one (9-8) with 15:50 to go in the first half, Waynesburg (7-1) took control of the contest with a 10-0 run over the next 2:20 to build up an 18-9 advantage. The Terriers (4-3) bounced back to cut the lead down to single-basket deficits several times, but the Jackets went on another short run to take a game-high 10-point lead (25-15) with 6:53 remaining in the first half. The visiting team was able to maintain their edge for most of the period, but a feisty Hiram squad trailed by just two (35-33) at halftime.
The Terriers carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the second 20 minutes of action and hit a three-pointer 15 seconds into the period to take a 36-35 lead. Hiram maintained slim leads for the first 5:10 after halftime, but the Jackets regained the lead with a 10-point run that turned a 44-41 deficit into a 51-44 edge with 11:51 showing on the clock.
Waynesburg held the lead until there was 6:03 remaining in regulation when Hiram tied the contest at 59-59. From there, the home team put together a 7-2 run that moved the Terriers ahead 66-61 with just over three minutes left to play. However, momentum swung back to the Jackets, who ripped off yet another 10-0 surge that made it 71-66 with just 14 seconds to go. The two teams traded a pair of free throws each down the stretch to close out the scoring.
Spencer exploded for one of the biggest scoring outputs in recent team history. The sophomore from Baltimore, Md. exploded for a personal career-high 30 points on 13-of-22 shooting. That total is the highest for a Jacket player since Katie Lewandowski went for 32 in 2007. She added six rebounds and three assists during her 32 minutes of play.
Junior point guard Hannah Hunter went for a double-double on the night with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Elisha Jones continued her outstanding season by pouring in 16 points, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking a game-high three shots.
Waynesburg overcame 19 turnovers during the win and out-rebounded the Terriers 58 to 43.The Yellow Jackets were also much more efficient from the field, hitting on 43 percent of their shots (28-of-65), while Hiram converted just 29 percent of their tries (22-of-75).
Waynesburg returns home on Saturday when they host Kenyon for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
