WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 18) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team ended the first half of its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) schedule with a 69-64 road victory at Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday. The win created a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings.
 
After edging the Presidents (9-7, 6-3) 18-17 in the first quarter, Waynesburg (10-6, 6-3) built an eight-point halftime lead thanks to a 19-12 advantage in the period number two. With the score tied at 25-25, the Jackets used a 10-2 surge to pull ahead 35-27 with 1:18 showing on the clock.
 
Senior guard Katie Gehlmann sparked the run with eight points on two three pointers and a two-point hoop. Junior forward Addy Knetzer added a fast break layup. Those efforts helped the visiting team go to the locker room with a 37-29 lead.
 
Waynesburg stayed ahead of the Presidents throughout the third, but the home team was able to pull to within three points with just 14 seconds remaining in the period. Knetzer showcased her range with a buzzer-beating three pointer to double the Jacket advantage to six (50-44) before the start of the fourth-and-final period of play.
 
W&J grabbed the lead for the first time in the second half with a quarter-opening 7-0 run that spanned the first 3:15 of play. The slim advantage was short-lived, as senior forward Haley Delaney knocked down back-to-back three pointers to re-establish a five-point Waynesburg lead (56-51) with just under six minutes to play in the game.
 
Momentum swung back to the home team thanks to a brief 5-0 spurt that tied the game at 56-56. The back-and-forth thriller continued down the stretch of the conference rivalry tilt. Knetzer came up with a huge hoop with 30 seconds showing on the game clock, dropping in a layup that gave Waynesburg the lead at 65-64.
 
That basket, combined with four free throws down the stretch from sophomore Monica Starre and Gehlmann, sealed up the win. The victory ended a four-game losing streak to Waynesburg's rivals from the north.
 
Gehlmann's five-for-10 effort from three-point range powered a game-high 19-point effort from the senior wing. Knetzer posted her conference-leading 11^th double-double on 18 points and a contest-best 12 rebounds. Delaney added 15 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
 
A big reason for Waynesburg's latest win was the team's 11 successful three-point attempts. The Jackets also out-rebounded W&J by a 45-32 margin.
 
The Jackets will try to carry the momentum from Wednesday night's big victory into Saturday's home game with Bethany. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.