WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 28) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team rode a stifling defense to a 73-47 victory over visiting Westminster on Wednesday night. The win keeps the Yellow Jackets in fourth place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) standings.
 
The Jackets (9-9, 6-5) got off to a bit of a slow start and fell behind the Titans (4-14, 3-8) 6-2 after 2:49 of play. A three-pointer by senior guard Hayden Giuliani pulled the Jackets to within one point at 6-5, but Westminster responded with three points of its own to build a 9-5 advantage.
 
The majority of the first half was played in a similarly close fashion, and with 3:38 remaining until halftime, the home team led by just one point (20-19). However, this was the point in the evening where the Jackets took firm control of the contest, as the home team ended the opening period on a 12-0 run to take a 32-19 advantage into the break.
 
Waynesburg kept things going after emerging from its locker room when senior guard Rebecca Kerr dropped in a layup to extend the run to 14-0. To their credit, the Titans didn't give up the fight and whittled their deficit down to just five points (41-36) with 11:31 remaining in the contest. But, once again, the Jackets were able to ratchet up their play and put the game comfortably out of Westminster's reach.
 
With its lead down to just a handful of points, Waynesburg blew the game open with a 25-7 surge that took the game into its final minutes. With 4:38 showing on the scoreboard, the Jackets were up 66-43 and well on their way to an important conference victory.
 
Freshman forward Addy Knetzer proved to be a handful for the Westminster defense. The rookie post player poured in a game-high 19 points on an efficient eight-for-12 shooting night from the field. Kerr chipped in 15 points to the winning effort, while junior forward Heather Davis contributed nine to the victory.
 
The Jacket defense forced Westminster into 32 turnovers on the night and held the Titans to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor. Waynesburg's perimeter defense was particularly effective as the visiting team converted on just one-of-15 three-point attempts.
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 31, when it travels to Grove City. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.