ALLIANCE, Ohio (Nov. 20) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team traveled to the University of Mount Union on Friday for day one of the two-day Purple Raider Shootout. The Yellow Jackets faced off with Case Western Reserve and defeated the Spartans 73-69.
 
Waynesburg (1-1) put itself behind the eight ball after being outscored 26-15 in the first quarter. The Jackets rebounded with a big second period that saw them out-score Case (0-3) 24-10. By the time the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms, the Orange and Black had come all the way back to take a 39-36 advantage.
 
The Jackets got the second half off to a fast start thanks to a 9-0 run to open the third quarter. Senior point guard Lauren Blair got things going with a three-pointer and was followed by senior forward Maura Blair, who knocked down a pair of free throws to make the score 44-36. Bobby made it four-straight points thanks to a layup, before junior Katie Gehlmann's layup ended the surge to put her team up 48-36.
 
Case bounced back in a big way by scoring the next 11 points of the game to pull to within a point of the Orange and Black (48-47). A layup by sophomore forward Addy Knetzer ceased the Spartan run with 1:56 left to play in the quarter. At the end of the period, the Jackets were clinging to a 55-51 advantage.
 
Waynesburg never trailed over the entirety of the final eight minutes of play and led by as many as nine points (69-60) after Bobby knocked down a trey with 1:39 showing on the clock. Case was able to trim its deficit all the way down to three points (72-69) with just 15 seconds remaining in the contest, but Bobby knocked down a free throw with 6 seconds left to play to seal the team's first victory of the season.
 
Blair was one of three Jackets to reach double digits in scoring. The veteran point player racked up a team-high 16 points, mostly on five successful three-point tries in nine attempts. Senior forward Heather Davis added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Gehlmann contributed a dozen points to the winning effort.
 
Waynesburg's depth was on full display in the victory, as its bench outscored the opposition's reserves by a 41-to-five margin. The Jackets also held a 47-to-40 advantage in rebounding.
 
Waynesburg returns to action tomorrow when it faces the hosts from Mount Union for the tournament title game. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.