WESTMINSTER, Md. (March 2) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team traveled to McDaniel College for the first round of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Tournament on Wednesday. The seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets made the long road trip worthwhile by upsetting the second-seeded Green Terror 78-73.
 
With the win, Waynesburg advances to Saturday's semifinal round, where they will face third-seeded Stevenson (Md.). Tipoff is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. The Mustangs rolled to an 85-60 win over sixth-seeded Neumann.
 
Things started slowly for the Yellow Jackets (15-13), who fell behind 2013 after one quarter of play. However, Waynesburg rebounded with a strong second period that saw the visiting team take a 35-34 edge into the locker room. The Orange and Black ended the second on an 8-0 run that featured senior forward Heather Davis dropping a pair of baskets to open the surge. Junior forward Haley Delaney and freshman guard Monica Starre posted the final hoops of the half.
 
McDaniel (21-7) regained momentum after the break with five unanswered points to grab the advantage at 39-35. However, an 11-0 run by the Jackets broke up the Green Terror lead and made the score 46-39 with 6:22 showing on the third-quarter clock. Waynesburg never trailed for the remainder of the period, but the Terror pulled to within a single point (53-52) heading to the fourth quarter.
 
A basket 14 seconds into the final period dropped the Orange and Black behind the opposition 54-53. McDaniel maintained leads in front of its home crowd over the next two-plus minutes of play. However, a three-pointer from Davis gave the Jackets a 60-58 edge and Waynesburg never trailed for the remainder of the contest.
 
Davis played like an athlete possibly competing in her final collegiate game by pouring in a game-high 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting. The veteran standout knocked down five-of-10 three-pointers and yanked down a team-best eight rebounds.
 
Sophomore forward Addy Knetzer converted on seven-of-10 shots from the floor and made both of her free throw attempts for 16 points. The second-team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) honoree added seven rebounds to a solid night.
 
Junior guard Kassidy O'Keefe, junior guard Katie Gehlmann and senior guard Lauren Blair chipped in nine points each, adding plenty of balance to the offensive attack. Blair added five assists and three steals to the win.
 
Saturday's ECAC South semifinals and finals will be hosted by Washington & Jefferson College. The host Presidents, who are the number-one seed in the tournament, will face fourth-seeded Marywood in the other semifinal game.