Box Score

GROVE CITY, Pa. (Jan. 23) – Senior guard Jessi Drayer poured in a game-high 20 points and Waynesburg outlasted Grove City 70-68 in overtime on Wednesday night at the College Arena in Grove City.
 
With the victory, Waynesburg moved into sole possession of third place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference at 8-3 and upped its overall record to an even 9-9. Grove City dropped to 5-6 in PAC play and 6-9 overall.
 
The Yellow Jackets came out of the gate hot and never trailed over the course of the first 20 minutes of action. The Jackets raced out to a quick 8-2 advantage over the first four minutes. Drayer played a big role in the fast start by connecting on two quick three pointers.
 
Grove City methodically chipped away at Waynesburg's lead and eventually tied the contest at 19-19 with 7:05 to go in the first half. Waynesburg regained the advantage by scoring the next four points, including a Drayer jump shot, to make the score 23-19 with 4:47 to go in the first half.
 
After Grove City cut the Jackets' lead to two points, Waynesburg responded with a 14-9 run to close the half with a 37-30 lead. Drayer and Rievel both tallied double-digit points in the first half with 15 and 11 respectively.

Thanks to a 14-4 run to start the second half, Grove City grabbed a 44-41 lead at the 14:54 mark.  Waynesburg briefly regained the lead following back-to-back baskets, including one by sophomore Rachel Lovely with 12:40 left to play to take a 45-44 lead.
 
After a GCC layup, sophomore Hayden Giuliani sunk a three-point shot to make it 48-46 Waynesburg with 9:59 showing on the scoreboard. Grove City regained the lead once again before Waynesburg regained the advantage at 53-52 on a three-pointer by Giuliani at the 6:48 mark.
 
Grove City fired back with the next five points over the next minute-and-a-half to push the lead back to its largest of the game. But the Jackets weren't going to go quietly, as Drayer converted a layup and freshman forward Heather Davis nailed a three pointer to regain a 58-57 lead with just 4:05 remaining in the evening. However, Grove City converted baskets on three-straight possessions and led 62-60 with two minutes remaining. That is where the score remained until junior Elaine Hasek converted two free throws to tie the contest at 62-62 with 23.4 seconds to play. Both teams failed to score during the final seconds of  play, and the contest went to overtime.
 
Waynesburg struck first in overtime, when senior forward Paige Pearce converted a three-point play to make it 65-62 Jackets. The visiting squad was able to maintain that lead for the rest of the contest. Drayer connected on a clutch free throw with 16 seconds to play, and the Jackets forced a late GCC turnover to preserve the victory.
 
Rievel joined Drayer in double figures with 16 points. Hasek and Davis led a balanced rebounding attack with six a piece. Pearce blocked five Grove City shots to lead Waynesburg's defense.
 
The victors shot a modest 40 percent (27-of-66) from the field, while limiting Grove City to a 37 percent clip (26-of-69). Grove City held advantages in free throw shooting (70 percent to 61 percent) and rebounding (46-41), but it wasn't enough to complete a two-game regular season sweep of Waynesburg.
 
The Jackets continue PAC play when they travel to Crestview Hills, Ky. to play nationally-ranked Thomas More on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m.