WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 16) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team hosted Bethany on Wednesday night for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup. The Yellow Jackets built up big second-half leads and held off a late Bison rally to knock off the number-four team in the conference 69-61.
 
The win was a welcome one for the Jackets (4-12, 2-6) as it snapped a six-game losing streak that lasted for nearly a month.
 
The home team used a 7-3 run at the end of the first quarter to break up an 11-11 tie with Bethany (9-8, 4-4) and take an 18-14 advantage into the second quarter. Waynesburg carried that momentum into the second quarter where it scored 12 of the period's first 14 points and built a 30-16 lead with 4:56 showing on the game clock.
 
Bethany bounced back to close out the half with a 9-5 surge that cut the Waynesburg advantage to 35-25 when the two teams broke for halftime.
 
The break seemed to agree with the Jackets, who came out firing in the third quarter and used a 13-3 run to build up a 20-point advantage at 48-28. Sophomore Andrea Orlosky (Shelocta, Pa. / West Shamokin) got things going by scoring seven-straight points in the quarter. Freshman guard Haley Porter (Belmont, Ohio / Union Local) scored the final four points of the surge.
 
The Jackets closed out the third with that 20-point lead intact (51-31), which turned out to be a key to their victory. Bethany opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 surge to pull to within 11 points of the lead. The Bison eventually closed the gap to six points at 58-52 with 3:11 remaining in the contest.
 
Luckily, Waynesburg regained control with a quick six-point burst that included a field goal from freshman forward Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton), two free throws from senior point guard Monica Starre (Jewett, Ohio / Carrollton) and a jumper from Porter.
 
The two teams played out the final 1:45 of the contest fairly evenly before Waynesburg closed out the victory.
 
Starre nearly made team history and came one assist shy of a triple-double. She went off for a game-high 19 points and a contest-best 10 rebounds to go along with her nine helpers. Her ball control skills were also on full display with a game-high four steals and just one turnover.
 
Orlosky chipped in 18 points to the winning effort over 28 minutes before fouling out of the ball game. Porter went for 13 markers of her own, while Fuller helped out with 11 points off the bench.
 
The Jackets are scheduled to be back in action on Saturday with a road trip to Grove City. Tipoff with the Wolverines is set for 1 p.m.