Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 18) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team wrapped up the 2011-12 regular season with a hard-fought 59-57 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Washington & Jefferson on Saturday at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improved to 19-6 overall and 14-4 in PAC play, while W&J fell to 12-13 overall and 7-11 in conference action.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two squads, with neither team being able to secure a lead larger than five points until a layup by sophomore
Elaine Hasek gave the home team a 27-20 advantage with 1:31 to go until halftime. However, W&J didn't allow the Yellow Jackets to enjoy the lead long as they scored the final five points of the half to pull to within 27-25 at halftime.
The Presidents picked right up where they left off in the second half by scoring the first six points of the period to complete an 11-0 run that gave the visiting team a 31-27 advantage. Waynesburg responded with a basket by junior
Jessi Drayer to pull her team to within two points (31-29) and the game returned to a tightly contested battle.
With 1:24 left to play, the two squads were tied up at 53-53. Senior point guard
Hannah Hunter knocked down a huge three-pointer to put her team back ahead and the Jackets never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the contest. A pair of Hasek free throws with four seconds to play iced the win for the Jackets in front of their home crowd.
Drayer was one of three Waynesburg players to reach double digits in scoring on the day, as she poured in a team-high 16 points. As one of two players to be honored on senior day, Hunter put together a fine performance in her final regular season game in front of her home crowd. The Hopewell native went for 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals. Junior guard
Brittany Spencer put together a terrific all-around effort with 11 points, a team-high nine rebounds, a team-best seven assists and a Jacket-high three steals.
Despite scoring two fewer free throws and pulling down eight fewer rebounds, Waynesburg was able to pull out the win largely because of their three-point shooting. The Jackets knocked down seven-of-17 attempts from long range, while W&J made just two from downtown.
With the win, Waynesburg finished the year in third place in the PAC regular standings and will host number-six Thiel in the first round of the conference tournament. The two teams split the regular season series and they will meet for a third time on Tuesday, Feb. 21. A tip-off time will be announced soon.
