Box Score

CRESSON, Pa. (Dec. 17) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team used just eight players during Tuesday night's road game at Mount Aloysius College. That shortened roster was more than enough to lead the Yellow Jackets to victory, which came by a 78-65 final score.
 
Things started slowly for the Jackets (2-5), who fell behind 7-0 after the first two minutes of competition. However, the visiting team fired back by out-scoring the Mounties (3-3) 11-to-four over the next 4:39. Sophomore point guard Lauren Blair was the driving force behind the early comeback, as she scored eight of the 11 points in the surge.
 
The two teams traded baskets down the stretch of a hotly contested first half. Waynesburg took its first lead (25-24) of the evening with 3:41 left to play in the period after junior guard Hayden Giuliani knocked down one of her team's five first-half three-pointers. Mt. Aloysius quickly regained its lead, but with just 1:52 showing on the scoreboard, the Yellow Jackets turned a 29-26 deficit into a 32-29 halftime lead by scoring the final six points of the opening period.
 
The Jackets grew their advantage to seven points (45-38) by out-scoring Mount Aloysius 13-9 over the first 4:38 of the second half. The Mounties regained the lead (46-45) for the first time since the end of the first period with a 10-0 run. The home team stretched the run to 12-0 and went up 48-45 with 10:52 left in the game.
 
Back-to-back layups gave Waynesburg a 49-48 edge, before the home team tied things back up at 54-54 with a pair of free throws at the 6:37 mark. Those two successful foul shots kicked off a 12-0 Yellow Jacket burst that gave the Jackets a 64-54 lead with 3:15 remaining in the contest. Waynesburg pushed that advantage to 15 points, before a late basket by the Mounties brought about the final score of 78-65.
 
Blair led a quartet of double-digit scorers with a career-high 27 points over 37 minutes played. She also made five-of-10 attempts from three-point range. Junior forward Elaine Hasek notched her third double-double of the season on 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, which is also the highest single-game rebounding mark for any Jacket this year. Giuliani added 15 points, while junior guard Rebecca Kerr chipped in 10 points to the winning effort. Freshman forward Courtney Sargent went for eight points and nine rebounds.
 
While most of the game's team statistics were fairly even, Waynesburg held a major advantage from the free throw line that played a big role in its win. The Jackets connected on 22-of-35 foul shots, while Mount Aloysius hit on just 11-of-20 tries from the charity stripe.
 
The Orange and Black will look to keep its winning ways going on Thursday, Dec. 19, with a road trip to La Roche College. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.