WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 6) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team showed its mettle by battling back from a 15-point second-half deficit to take a one-point lead over Grove City during Saturday's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets' only lead of the day lasted just 18 seconds, as the Wolverines scored with 13 seconds left in the contest to pull out a 65-64 victory.
After 20 minutes of play, Waynesburg (2-5, 0-2) trailed Grove City (2-4, 1-1) 33-31. The Wolverines not only maintained its slim advantage, but grew their lead to 58-43 with just under seven minutes showing on the clock. Instead of giving up the fight, the Yellow Jackets burned a timeout and took a run at victory.
After GCC answered a pair of free throws from Waynesburg junior
Maura Bobby with a successful foul shot of its own, the Jackets fired back with a 6-0 run consisting of two field goals from senior
Rebecca Kerr and a layup by freshman
Addy Knetzer that trimmed the Wolverine advantage to 59-51.
Waynesburg continued to battle as the game's final seconds dwindled away. With 31 seconds remaining in the contest, Kerr drove to the basket and laid in a go-ahead basket to put the Jackets up 64-63. The Jackets had a chance to put the game away after forcing a Wolverine turnover with 22 seconds showing on the clock, but after missing the ensuing layup, GCC raced back to its end of the floor and connected on the eventual game-winning bucket.
The Jackets got one more shot at victory, but a final layup try clanged off the bottom of the rim and the visitors escaped with the win.
Four different Waynesburg players reached double digits in scoring, including sophomore reserve
Haley Delaney, who scored a team-high 13 points. Senior guard
Hayden Giuliani chipped in 12 points, while Kerr and Knetzer contributed 11 points each. Knetzer also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds to complete the double-double.
The Jackets will try to shake off the disappointment of Saturday's loss by the time they hit the road for a non-PAC game at Division II Alderson Broaddus on Monday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
