Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 6) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team surged back from an 11-point second-half deficit to beat Thiel 77-69 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest on Thursday night at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
The win, which was Waynesburg's third in a row, improves the team's overall record to 10-2, assuring them of the program's highest single-season win total since going 14-13 in 2005-06. The Jackets also improved to 4-1 in PAC play. Thiel fell to 2-10 on the year and 1-3 in conference action.
The game turned out to be a back-and-forth affair from the opening tip-off. After the Tomcats scored the first seven points of the evening, Waynesburg rebounded by rattling off 15 in a row to take an eight-point advantage with 12:25 showing on the clock.
The rest of the opening 20 minutes was a closely fought struggle, but the home team was able to take a 30-28 lead into the locker room.
After halftime, the Tomcats came out firing and couldn't seem to miss as they made 12 of their first 14 tries from the field to build up a 58-46 lead with 9:32 to go in the game. Waynesburg refused to give up and went on a 19-7 run over the next six-plus minutes to tie the game at 65-65 with 3:20 remaining. From there, the Jackets out-paced their opponents 12-4 to take the victory.
Senior forward Elisha Jones led the way with a game-high 20 points. She also went over 500 rebounds for her Waynesburg career with eight boards on the night. She now has 502 over her three-plus years with the team.
Three other Waynesburg players reached double digits in scoring, including junior point guard Hannah Hunter (16) and sophomore guard Jessi Drayer, who went for 14 points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Another sophomore guard, Brittany Spencer, just missed out on a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Waynesburg enjoyed slight advantages in rebounding (40-to-36) and turnovers forced (24-to-17). Their more efficient work at the free throw line (14-of-24 to eight-of-18) helped clinch the victory down the stretch.
The Jackets won't be able to celebrate long as they return to action on Saturday, Jan. 8, with a home game against undefeated Thomas More, who is ranked third in the country. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
