PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Jan. 23) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team traveled north to Pittsburgh for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup with Chatham on Wednesday night. The
Yellow Jackets exploded for a huge fourth quarter that ultimately led to a 70-59 win over the Cougars.
 
Waynesburg (5-13, 3-7) held a slim 34-31 lead at halftime before seeing Chatham (9-10, 5-5) outscore the Jackets 21-12 in the third quarter. With their team trailing 52-46, freshman forward Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton) and senior point guard Monica Starre (Jewett, Ohio / Carrollton) combined to lead a furious Jacket charge.
 
Back-to-back field goals by Fuller pulled Waynesburg to within two points at 52-50. Junior Andrea Orlosky (Shelocta, Pa. / West Shamokin) extended the surge to 6-0 and tied the game at 52-52 with 6:41 remaining in the game. Another basket by Fuller put the visitors ahead 54-52.
 
The Waynesburg run continued with Starre knocking down a jumper of her own to make the score 56-52. On the next possession, Starre grabbed the rebound off a Chatham miss and raced down the court to cap the 12-0 surge that put the Jackets up 58-52 with 3:52 showing on the game clock.
 
A Cougar three-pointer ended the Orange and Black rally, but the home team never regained the lead for the rest of the night.
 
Waynesburg led 62-58 with 1:29 left in the contest before Starre canned a three-pointer to effectively put the game out of reach. The Jackets didn't let up, however, and proceeded to close out the win by combining a pair of free throws from junior guard Erin Joyce (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Bishop Canevin) and a fast break field goal from Fuller to grow the advantage to 69-58 with 22 seconds left in the fourth.
 
Waynesburg looked like it had a chance to cruise to a sizeable victory after opening the game on a 10-2 run. The Jackets eventually won the opening period 14-11. Both teams found their respective offensive rhythms in the second quarter and scored 20 points each to set up a three-point differential at the half.
 
Fuller logged her third double-double of the season and second in as many nights during her best effort as a Yellow Jacket. She poured in a game-high 22 points on an impressive 10-of-14 shooting effort from the floor and yanked down a contest-high 11 rebounds in the victory.
 
Orlosky gave the Jackets a second double-double thanks to a 19-point, 11-rebound gem of a game before fouling out. Starre gave her usual Swiss Army Knife type performance by going for 14 points, seven rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
The Jackets shot 50 percent (30-of-60) as a team, but were just as good defensively. They held Chatham to just a 28 percent effort from the floor (19-of-67) and forged a sizeable 49-to-34 advantage in rebounding.
 
Waynesburg will look to carry the momentum of tonight's strong finish into Saturday's home game against the Westminster Titans. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.