Box Score
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 15) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team did something that hasn't been done in over a decade of team history, and they did it in style.
Thanks to four players in double figures and a dominating performance on the glass, the Yellow Jackets roared to a 78-65 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) win over Washington & Jefferson on Saturday. The win not only improved the Jackets' record to 11-4 overall and 5-3 in PAC play, but it emphatically snapped a 27-game losing streak to the Presidents, who are now 6-9 overall and 4-3 in conference action. The last time the Jackets bested W&J was during the 1996-97 campaign.
Things didn't start well for Waynesburg, which trailed by 11 (25-14) with 8:26 to go in the first half. However, the Yellow Jackets didn't panic and erased the deficit with an 11-0 run capped by two Hannah Hunter free throws that tied the game at 25-25. W&J was able to respond and took a slim 35-33 lead into the locker room at half time.
Waynesburg was able to carry its first-half momentum with them into the second period and went on a 6-0 run over the first two minutes of action to build up a 39-35 advantage. Waynesburg never trailed from that point on and built up leads as large as 16 points on multiple occasions.
As one might expect, the Yellow Jackets performed quite well from the floor in the second half. The visiting team hit on 50 percent of its tries from the field (15-of-30) and dominated in the paint, out-scoring the Red and Black 24-6 down low in the second half. Led by sophomore guard Jessi Drayer, the Waynesburg bench also had a big second half, out-scoring their counterparts 19-5 over the final 20 minutes of competition.
The Jacket offensive effort was led by sophomore guard Brittany Spencer, who went off for a game-high 20 points. Drayer put together another solid all-around game in her first season with the Orange and Black by racking up 17 points, a game-high eight rebounds and four assists. She also swiped a contest-best two steals.
Senior forward Elisha Jones chipped in 14 points to the winning effort and Hunter added 11 to go along with five assists, which tied for the game-high in helpers.
As a team, Waynesburg out-rebounded W&J 43-to-23, a total that included a 17-5 advantage in offensive boards.
With maybe their biggest win of the season in the books, the Jackets will try to keep their victorious ways going on Wednesday, Jan. 19, when they welcome Geneva to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
