Box Score
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Feb. 8) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team held Geneva scoreless for nearly five minutes to close out Saturday's game and score a 63-57 comeback Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory.
Both teams had their shares of struggles during the first half of competition, combining for just 41 points as Geneva held a 25-16 lead at halftime. Waynesburg trailed the Golden Tornadoes (3-17, 2-12) for most of the game but got the offense going in the second half.
After Geneva established a 25-15 lead late in the first half, Waynesburg (11-10, 9-5) used several runs to cut down the deficit. Back-to-back baskets by Sargent and sophomore guard
Lauren Blair trimmed the Geneva advantage to 32-29 at the 15:42 mark of period number two. Geneva slowly pushed the advantage back to double digits (47-37) with 10:43 showing on the game clock.
A quick nine-to-two spurt though brought the Jackets back with three points (49-46). The run included five points from junior guard
Hayden Giuliani. Geneva still held a 57-50 lead with 4:56 to play, but that was the point at which the visitors' defense took command of the contest.
Sargent scored five-straight points before junior
Rebecca Kerr made a free throw to bring the score to 57-54 with 3:20 to play. Layups by senior
Elaine Hasek and Kerr moved the Jackets back in front at 58-57 with 2:27 to play. Sargent put the finishing touches on the win with five more points, including three free throws over the last 33 seconds of the contest. Waynesburg ended the conference tilt with a 13-0 run.
The offense was really the difference in the second half as the Jackets connected on 50 percent (17-of-34) of its field goals after the break. Waynesburg also knocked down four three-point field goals in the period and made nine free throws over the final 20 minutes.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Yellow Jackets and moved the team back into a tie for third-place in the PAC standings. Sargent led the charge with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds in just 21 minutes of action. Giuliani and Blair also reached double digits in scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Blair dished out a season-high nine assists in victory.
Waynesburg will look for another PAC victory when it hosts Thiel on Wednesday night at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
