WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 25) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team hosted Grove City on Wednesday night for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) quarterfinal matchup. The Yellow Jackets got out to a red hot start, but couldn't maintain the momentum as they dropped a 65-57 decision to the Wolverines.
 
It would be hard for Waynesburg (15-11) to script a better start to the contest, which saw the home team race out to 12-2 lead over the first five-plus minutes of play. During that game-opening stretch, the Jackets went a perfect six-for-six from the field, while the Wolverines (14-13) missed their first seven shots from the floor.
 
However, GCC whittled down the double-digit lead over the next 10 minutes of action, and with a successful layup at the 15:39 mark, the visiting team took the lead at 23-22. That two-point field goal produced the fourth and fifth points of an 11-0 run by the visitors that put them ahead 29-22 with 1:09 left to play in the opening half.
 
The Jackets were able to close the opening period by scoring five of its final seven points on a layup by freshman Addy Knetzer and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by junior forward Maura Bobby. By the time the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms, the Wolverines held a 31-27 advantage.
 
Waynesburg cut its halftime deficit in half (31-29) on the opening possession of the second period thanks to a layup by sophomore forward Hayley Delaney. After the visiting team countered with a basket of its own, junior guard Lauren Blair pulled her team to within a single point (33-32) thanks to a successful three-point try.
 
After weathering five-consecutive shot attempts from Grove City without giving up a point, Waynesburg regained the lead (35-33) following a second-straight trey from Blair. Unfortunately, that was the last lead of the 2014-15 season for the Orange and Black, as the Wolverines scored the next seven points of the contest to go up 40-35 with 15:32 remaining in the game.
 
The Jackets were able to stay within striking distance of the eventual victors, but the game was put out of reach by a quick 6-0 run that took just 56 seconds to accomplish. When the dust settled from three-straight scoring possessions from GCC, Waynesburg was in a 50-42 hole with less than nine minutes showing on the scoreboard. The Jackets couldn't trim the deficit down to less than four minutes over the final stretch of the game, as they were forced to watch their season come to an end.
 
Wednesday night's game was ultimately decided by three key statistics. Grove City attempted a whopping 26 more shots than Waynesburg (69-to-43), held an 18-to-seven advantage in offense rebounding and committed 10 turnovers, while the Jackets coughed up the basketball 23 times. Those three factors negated a superior effort from the field for the Jackets, who connected on 44.2 percent of their tries from the floor. Grove City made 33.3 percent of its field goals.
 
Waynesburg was led by a trio of 12-point scorers. Blair was joined by senior guard Rebecca Kerr and junior forward Heather Davis to make up the team's double-digit scorers. Blair also paced the team in rebounds (seven) and steals (three).