PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Jan. 3) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team returned to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play with a thrilling road matchup at Chatham on Wednesday night. The two league rivals battled over 40 minutes, but an unlikely hero locked up an 81-78 victory at the free throw line for the Yellow Jackets.
 
A flagrant foul committed on Waynesburg (8-4, 4-1) junior guard Julie Deklaven unfortunately sent her to the bench for the final 14 seconds of the game and gave junior guard Anna Bartman the basketball at the free throw line with her team down 78-77. After not scoring for the first 39:46 of the evening, Bartman coolly knocked down both foul shots to give her team the lead at 79-78.
 
After getting possession following the go-ahead points because of the flagrant foul, Chatham (3-9, 1-4) burned its last foul to give with 12 seconds showing on the clock. Bartman proceeded to draw another costly Cougar foul two seconds later. After notching the tying and go-ahead points at the stripe, the Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, native drilled a pair of crucial insurance attempts to bump her team's advantage up to three points.
 
Chatham had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime, but the game's final shot clanged off the iron at the buzzer and Waynesburg celebrated its third-straight victory and its fifth in its last six outings. After losing their first three road games of the year, the Jackets have now won three-straight away from the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
 
After opening up a 21-16 at the end of the first quarter, Waynesburg found itself trailing Chatham 41-37 at halftime. The Jackets reclaimed the lead (64-63) after the completion of three periods, before winning a back-and-forth fourth quarter that featured five lead changes and two ties.
 
The victors were led by senior forward Addy Knetzer, who recorded her fifth double-double of the season after posting game highs in both points (27) and rebounds (14). Each of those totals are not only 2017-18 season highs for Knetzer, but for the entire team.
 
Senior guard Rachel Eng logged her first collegiate double-double on 10 points and a game-high 10 assists. She added six rebounds and three blocks to a very productive night on the court. Senior Mackenna Drazich logged 13 points and swiped away three steals.
 
A big reason for Waynesburg's latest triumph was a sizeable advantage on the glass. The Jackets out-rebounded Chatham by a 50-35 margin, including a 19-11 edge on the offensive boards.
 
The Jackets wrap up a stretch of five-straight games on the road when they head to Westminster on Saturday, Jan. 6. Tipoff for the PAC showdown is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.