Box Score

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 25) – After dropping two close losses against Westminster during the regular season, the Waynesburg University women's basketball team made sure to leave no doubt who the better team was on Tuesday night. Senior forward Elaine Hasek totaled 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, as the Yellow Jackets defeated the fourth-seeded Titans 81-64 in the quarterfinals of the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament.
 
The fifth-seeded Jackets (15-11) overcame a three-point halftime deficit and outscored the host Titans (15-11) by 20 points in the second half to advance to the PAC tournament semifinals for the fourth-consecutive season.
 
The two rivals battled through a back-and-forth first half that saw the home team build an early 13-to-six lead at the 14:58 mark. Waynesburg cut its deficit to five points when junior Hayden Giuliani sunk a three-point field goal with 12:45 to play in the first half. The Titans built their advantage into double figures at 26-14 when they made a layup at the 8:44 mark of the half.
 
The Titans continued to keep the Jackets at a distance, leading 34-26 with 4:58 to play before halftime. However, Waynesburg used a late run to finish the first half and close the deficit. The offensive spurt was sparked when Giuliani hit another three-point field goal, before freshman guard Katie Gehlmann followed that up with an old fashioned three-point play. Sophomore guard Maura Bobby drew the contest even with a layup at the 2:14 mark. Westminster closed out the first half with three free throws that gave it a 38-35 halftime advantage.
 
After the second half got underway, Hasek pushed the Jackets in front with a three-pointer to make it 40-38 with 18:21 to play. Westminster momentarily regained the lead at 47-46 with 15:28 showing on the clock, but Gehlmann drained a jumper to tie things up at 49-49 with 14:23 showing on the scoreboard.
 
Westminster held a 54-53 advantage with 11:19 showing on the second-half clock, but the road team took control of the contest from that point on. Freshman Courtney Sargent and sophomore Brooke Simons hit back-to-back layups to give the Jackets a 57-54 lead with exactly 10 minutes remaining.
 
Waynesburg's offense picked up the pace from that point on, as Hasek, Sargent and Gehlmann combined to score 16 of the next 18 Jacket points. The Orange and Black held the Titans without a field goal over that same time frame and pushed its advantage to 75-59. The Jackets, who suffered seven and one-point regular-season losses to Westminster, built up leads as large as 20 points before leaving New Wilmington with the win.


Gehlmann backed Hasek by scoring 20 points of her own, which was a career-high output for the freshman. The Jacket rookie also pulled down six rebounds and dished out a team-best four assists. Giuliani rounded out the Jackets' trio of double-figure scorers with 10 points.
 
Waynesburg shot 51.8 percent from the field in the second half and sunk 17-of-18 free throws after the break. They limited the Titans to 28.1 percent shooting from the field over the final 20 minutes. The biggest advantage of the game came on the glass, where the Jackets out-rebounded the Titans 58-to-36.
 
Waynesburg will face top-seeded Thomas More in the semifinals on Friday night in Crestview Hills, Ky. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.