WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 6) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team found itself in a 12-point hole after the first half of its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown with Bethany on Wednesday night. However, the Yellow Jackets were able to turn the tables on the visiting Bison and junior guard Julie Deklaven got to play hero as Waynesburg pulled out a 71-70 victory.
 
Shooting struggles from the field and a lack of opportunities at the free throw line were two of the major reasons for Waynesburg (4-3, 2-1) finding itself down 37-25 after two quarters of play. Bethany (1-6, 1-2) shot 44 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes of action, while the home team managed to knock down just 29 percent of its attempts. The Bison also connected on 11-of-12 foul shots, while the Jackets made four-of-six tries at the stripe.
 
The Jacket offense came to life in the third quarter, as the Orange and Black outscored the visiting team 22-16. Leading 53-47, Bethany seemed to regain control of the flow of the game thanks to a brief 6-2 surge that bumped its advantage up to 59-49 with 7:22 remaining in the contest.
 
Waynesburg responded with seven unanswered points on a jumper by senior forward Addy Knetzer, a three-pointer by junior point guard Monica Starre and a two-pointer by freshman Andrea Orlosky. An old-fashioned three-point play doubled Bethany's lead back up to six at 62-56.
 
The Bison maintained a multi-basket advantage until there were two minutes showing on the clock. Starre cut her team's deficit down to two with another trey that made the score 65-63. She followed that up by grabbing a defensive rebound on the next possession and drew a foul, which was followed by Starre knocking down of one-of-two foul shots that made the score 67-66 with 1:36 remaining in the contest.
 
A layup by the Bison made the score 69-66, but senior Mackenna Drazich dropped in her biggest basket of the night, which came with just over one minute left to play. Drazich was also fouled on the hoop and converted the free throw to make the score 67-67.
 
The Jackets appeared to first score the game-deciding points on a pair of Knetzer free throws with eight seconds showing on the clock. After taking a timeout, Bethany came up with a game-tying basket and a go-ahead free throw following a foul.
 
That three-point play set the stage for Deklaven's heroics. Following a Waynesburg timeout, the junior drove the lane and got the go-ahead basket to fall, setting off a raucous celebration on the bench and in the stands at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
 
Drazich paced the Waynesburg offense with a team-high 20 points. Starre tallied 17 points on an efficient five-for-eight shooting effort. She added six rebounds, four assists and three steals to a solid all-around night.
 
Knetzer logged her second double-double of the season on 11 points and 11 rebounds. Deklaven added eight points to the winning effort and also dished out a game-high five assists. Senior guard Rachel Eng chipped in eight points of her own.
 
The Jackets, who improved to 4-0 at the Marisa Fieldhouse, will look to carry the momentum from their emotional win over to Saturday's home PAC matchup with Thiel. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.