Box Score
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 9) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team secured a first-round home playoff game on Saturday by defeating Westminster 70-61 at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. The win secures fourth place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) for the Yellow Jackets, and keeps them in a third-place tie with Washington & Jefferson.
The significant victory also pushed Waynesburg's season record over the .500 mark for the first time this year at 12-11, and moved the Jackets' PAC mark to 11-5. The loss dropped Westminster, which holds the number-five spot in the conference standings, to 10-13 overall and 8-8 in league play.
Things started quickly for the visiting team, as senior guard
Jessi Drayer connected on the first shot of the day, which came from three-point range. After forcing a Westminster turnover, another senior guard,
Brittany Spencer, laid in a second-straight successful field goal to put Waynesburg ahead 5-0.
After giving up the first five points of the game, the Titans grabbed control of the contest by going on a 16-5 run that turned their initial five-point deficit into a 16-10 lead with 13:21 left to play in the first half. Westminster didn't relinquish the advantage for the remainder of the opening period, and built up leads as large as 11 points before taking a 31-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
After the Jacket offense was kept under control for the first 20 minutes of action, Waynesburg found its rhythm after emerging for the second period. After tying the contest up at 34-34 early in the half, the Jackets found themselves back in a two-point hole at 36-34 after four minutes of action had expired. However, the visitors held onto their momentum and regained the lead thanks to a three-pointer by freshman guard
Lauren Blair that made the score 37-36 in Waynesburg's favor.
That trey began an 11-0 run for the Orange and Black that turned a two-point deficit into a 47-38 Jacket lead with 12:42 showing on the clock. Blair poured in eight points during the surge, including three-pointers to open and end it.
Waynesburg never trailed from that point on and led by as many as 12 points before the game reached its conclusion. Westminster pulled to within five points (66-61) with 2:31 left to play, but the Jackets fired back with the final four points of the day to seal up the victory.
After shooting just 31 percent from the floor during the first half, Waynesburg rebounded by connecting on 17-of-30 (57 percent) of its tries from the field in period number two. The Jackets also had a more fruitful 20 minutes in the second half when it came to their three-point shooting, knocking down five-of-11 treys, as compared to a two-for-13 showing in the first half.
Drayer led the Way for the visitors with a game-high 20 points on seven-of-nine shooting, including a four-for-six effort from long range. The senior standout was one of four double-digit scorers for the Jackets. Spencer chipped in 11 points, a team-high three assists and seven rebounds towards the victory, while Blair and fellow freshman guard
Gina Rievel added 10 points each on the day. Senior forward
Paige Pearce pulled down a team-high four rebounds. Speaking of rebounding, the Jackets hit the glass 44 times, while Westminster countered with 35 boards.
Saturday's win was Waynesburg's third in a row. They'll go for a fourth-straight on Wednesday, when they head to Latrobe, Pa. to tackle second-place Saint Vincent. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the Jackets will have revenge on their minds after dropping a 72-54 decision to the Bearcats back on Jan. 16.
