Box Score

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 4) – After facing a quartet of difficult non-conference opponents away from the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse to open the season, the Waynesburg University women's basketball team finally got to play a game in front of its home crowd. The Yellow Jackets put on a fine show for their supporters that resulted in a 71-54 win against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opponent Bethany.
 
Waynesburg (1-4, 1-0) wasted little time in taking control of the Bison (1-3, 0-1) and raced out to a 10-0 lead after 2:48 of action. Sophomore Lauren Blair laid in the game's first basket before senior Elaine Hasek knocked down the first three-pointer of the night. Blair added a trey of her own and the opening surge was completed by junior guard Hayden Giuliani knocking down a jumper in the paint.
 
Bethany scored three points on a field goal and a free throw to temporary slow the home team's offense. However, the Jackets quickly stopped the Bison rally with consecutive layups from freshman forward Courtney Sargent that made the score 14-3 in favor of the Orange and Black. Waynesburg maintained its control for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes of play and used a 16-5 run to build a 30-8 lead with 5:13 showing on the first-half clock.
 
A 10-0 surge by the Bison trimmed the Jacket advantage down to 30-18 with just over three minutes left until halftime. Waynesburg regained control of the contest by scoring nine of the final 11 points of the period to take a 39-20 lead into the locker room.
 
Junior Rebecca Kerr kept things rolling when the second half got underway with a layup that put her team up 41-20. That lead grew to as many as 24 points (52-28) as the game wound down to its conclusion, which saw head coach Sam Jones emptying his bench.
 
Hasek led the Waynesburg attack with a double-double comprised of a game-high 22 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. Sargent nearly added a double-double of her own on 12 points and nine rebounds, while Blair chipped in 13 points and fellow freshman Katie Gehlmann added 10 in the winning effort.
 
The Jackets won't have much time to enjoy their first victory of the 2013-14 campaign, as they now turn their attention to a Saturday road trip that takes them to unbeaten, 11^th-ranked Thomas More. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.