Box Score

WOOSTER, Ohio (Dec. 15) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team hit the road on Saturday for a non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at the College of Wooster. Both teams struggled from the field, but the Fighting Scots were much more productive from the free throw line as they picked up a 55-51 win over the Yellow Jackets.
 
Wooster (4-3) connected on 21-of-29 free throws, while Waynesburg (3-6) made just nine of 13 attempts from the foul line. The Yellow Jackets actually out-performed their opposition on the floor, making 18 field goals, including six three-pointers, to the Scots' 15 baskets, four of which were from down town.
 
Waynesburg senior guard Brittany Spencer opened up the game by knocking down the first shot attempted by either team to put the visitors up 2-0. Unfortunately, that was the Jackets' only lead of the day as Wooster picked up the next seven points to grab an early five-point lead (7-2).
 
The visiting team dropped in the next four points to pull to within one of its opposition (7-6), but Wooster fired back with five of its own to go ahead 12-6.The Scots built up leads as large as nine points during the first period of play, before Waynesburg pulled to within four (26-22) as the two teams broke for the half.
 
One minute into the second half, Wooster pushed its lead to seven (29-22) on a three-pointer that opened the period's scoring. The Yellow Jackets came back with a Spencer jumper to cut into their seven-point deficit, but the Scots maintained firm control of the game for the next 12-plus minutes, during which they built up leads as large as 12 points on multiple occasions.
 
With 7:13 showing on the clock and the Jackets trailing 48-40, Waynesburg made things interesting by going on a 5-0 run that pulled the visitors to within three of the Scots at 48-45. The two squads battled down the stretch of the hotly contested matchup and with 13 seconds left to play, Spencer connected on another two-point jumper to make the score 53-51 in favor of Wooster.
 
Unfortunately for the Jackets, who were forced to foul the Scots, the home team collected two clutch free throws to go up by four and hold on for the victory. Waynesburg tried a three-pointer with three seconds left to play, before fouling Wooster once again. The Scots missed the final two free throws of the game, but it didn't matter in the end.
 
Along with their free throw shooting, the Fighting Scots held a major advantage on the glass, pulling down 63 rebounds, to the Jackets' 44.One bright spot for the visiting team was its typically strong defense, which forced 24 turnovers, 14 of which came on Jacket steals.
 
Spencer was the only Waynesburg player to reach double digits in scoring, going for a team-high 12 points on the day. Junior Elaine Hasek pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, while senior Jessi Drayer swiped away a game-high four steals.
 
Waynesburg will try to get back to winning on Monday, Dec. 17, when the Jackets host La Roche. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.