GROVE CITY, Pa. (Jan. 31) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team traveled north to Grove City College on Saturday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup. The Yellow Jackets built up a 10-point halftime lead and held on down the stretch to score a 69-64 victory over the Wolverines.
The win, which avenged a last-second 65-64 loss that the Jackets (10-9, 7-5) suffered back Dec. 4, 2014, kept Waynesburg in fourth place in the PAC standings. It was the fourth-straight defeat suffered by the Wolverines (7-12, 5-7).
After seeing Grove City open up a 4-0 lead, senior guard
Hayden Giuliani knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead down to 4-3. The Wolverines responded by scoring the next six points to run its advantage to 10-3 and still led by seven points (17-10) after 10 minutes of play. At that point in the contest, Waynesburg began turning momentum towards its favor.
The Jackets took their first lead of the game (18-17) after ripping off an 8-0 run, with six of those points being scored by freshman forward
Addy Knetzer. Grove City regained the lead on a pair of free throws and went on to grab a 21-20 edge with 7:14 showing on the first half clock. However, back-to-back baskets by junior forward
Maura Bobby and Knetzer, respectively, put the visitors up 24-21.
The Orange and Black grabbed firm control of the matchup with a 14-3 run that put Waynesburg ahead 38-24 with 1:55 to play in the period. By the time the two conference foes broke for their respective locker rooms, the Jackets held a 41-31 advantage.
The Wolverines managed to regain momentum, and eventually the lead, as the second half wore on. An 11-0 run in the middle portion of the period turned a 10-point Jacket lead, into a slim 55-54 edge for Grove City with 9:39 left to play.
A jumper from sophomore
Katie Gehlmann put Waynesburg back ahead by the score of 56-55. GCC managed to tie the score at 57-57 with 7:37 remaining in the contest, but a pair of free throws from junior forward
Heather Davis and a layup from Gehlmann gave the Orange and Black a four-point lead that lasted until the 38:50 mark of the back-and-forth affair.
Luckily, Davis was able to drop in a layup with 35 seconds left to play. Senior guard
Rebecca Kerr effectively put the game away by coming up with a steal on the ensuing Grove City possession. She also knocked down two clutch free throws with 12 seconds showing on the clock to finally seal up the triumph.
Davis led a balanced Jacket attack with a team-high 13 points. Knetzer added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench, while Giuliani and Kerr chipped in nine and eight points, respectively. Junior guard
Lauren Blair helped out the offense by dishing out a game-high seven assists.
Waynesburg returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 4, with a PAC showdown against Saint Vincent College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
