Box Score
 
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 4) – Earlier this year, the Waynesburg University women's basketball team picked up one of its biggest wins in recent program history by taking down Saint Vincent 59-53 in its home gymnasium. This past Saturday, the Yellow Jackets welcomed the Bearcats to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse for a key Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) battle. Even though the venue changed, the result was the same at the Jackets took SVC down 74-66 to sweep the season series with the Green and Gold.
 
The victory pulled Waynesburg (16-5, 11-3) to within one game of Saint Vincent (17-4, 12-2) for second place in the PAC standings. The Yellow Jackets did most of their damage from three-point range, as they knocked down an impressive 62.5 percent of their shots from downtown (10-of-16), including a near-perfect six-of-eight in the first half. The Bearcats made six-of-16 from long range on the afternoon.
 
The Jackets got off to a fast start against the visitors and built up a 6-2 lead after 2:49 of action. Saint Vincent fired back in a big way by piling up the next 11 points over the next five-plus minutes to grab a 13-6 advantage. However, Waynesburg kept its head and with 3:10 remaining until halftime, the Jackets regained a one-point lead at 25-24. Saint Vincent managed to regain a one-point advantage of its own (31-30) by the time the two teams broke for halftime.
 
The first five-plus minutes of the second period was a back-and-forth battle with neither team taking a multi-basket lead. Thanks to three-pointers by junior guard Jessi Drayer and sophomore forward Elaine Hasek, the home team seized a 45-39 edge with 14:34 left to play.
 
Saint Vincent shook off the brief spurt and the Bearcats pulled the game back to within a single basket before building up a 61-53 lead with 7:43 left to play. However, the Jackets responded by taking off on a 9-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 62-61 with 4:02 left to play. A three-pointer by Saint Vincent gave the visiting team the lead back at 64-62, but it was just a minor bump in the road for Waynesburg, which scored the next 11 points to take a 73-64 lead and head down the stretch for the victory. When it was all said and done, the Jackets outscored their opponents 19-5 over the final 7:43 of action.
 
The home team utilized just seven players on the day, with each of the five starters playing at least 35 minutes, including point guard Hannah Hunter, who played all 40 minutes. The standout senior made good use of that time on the court by going for a game-high 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Hasek tied her season high with 19 points and completed her first collegiate double-double with 10 rebounds. Junior guard Brittany Spencer just missed out on a double-double of her own with nine points and 10 rebounds. Spencer also dished out a game-high five assists. Drayer chipped in 14 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Paige Pearce added 10 points and five rebounds to her team's effort that produced its 14^th-straight home win.
 
Waynesburg will look to carry its momentum from the important win over to Wednesday, Feb. 8, when the Jackets host Bethany for another PAC battle. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.