NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 18) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team got off to a fast start during Monday night's postseason game at Westminster and looked destined to reach the quarterfinals of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship tournament. Unfortunately, the second half was a struggle for the Yellow Jackets, who saw their halftime lead slip away and ultimately had their season end in an 88-80 loss to the Titans.
 
With the score tied at 9-9, the Jackets (8-18) ended the first quarter on a 7-2 run that featured two-point baskets from sophomore guard Andrea Orlosky (Shelocta, Pa. / West Shamokin), senior point guard Monica Starre (Jewett, Ohio / Carrollton) and a three pointer from freshman guard Kacey Kastroll (South Park, Pa. / South Park).
 
The visiting team led by as many as 14 points (35-21) in the second quarter before Westminster (9-17) closed the half on a 6-1 stretch that lasted over the final minute of the period. By the time the two teams retreated to their respective locker rooms, Waynesburg led 36-27, but the Titans were feeling good on their home floor.
 
The Jackets maintained the lead over the first seven minutes of the third quarter before Westminster tied the score at 45-45. The Blue and White capped a 7-0 surge with a go-ahead field goal that made the score 47-45. A three-pointer with 47 seconds showing on the clock sent Waynesburg to the final 10 minutes of play with a 53-50 deficit.
 
Unfortunately, things only got harder for the Orange and Black as Westminster tallied the first eight points of the fourth to move ahead 61-50 with 9:02 showing on the game clock. The Jackets battled back by dropping in the next seven points to pull within four points of the lead (61-57) with just under seven minutes left in the contest.
 
That was the closest Waynesburg came to regaining the lead, as Westminster closed out the victory in front of its home crowd. The win avenged a lop-sided 93-65 victory for the Jackets back on Jan. 26.
 
Though they weren't enough to push Waynesburg into the next round of the postseason, Orlosky and Starre both put up impressive numbers in the final action of the 2018-19 campaign. Orlosky tied for the game lead in both points (21) and rebounds (12) to record her team-high sixth double-double of the season. The second-year standout ends the season averaging 17.3 points per game, which is the highest such average since the 1991-1992 season and is believed to be the third highest scoring average in team history.
 
Starre added 21 points and eight rebounds of her own. Unfortunately, both standouts fouled out of the contest.
 
As she has done all season, freshman guard Haley Porter (Belmont, Ohio / Union Local) was productive from three-point range. She connected on four-of-seven three-point attempts that made up the entirety of her field goal attempts. Porter made three-of-four foul shots for a 15-point night.