WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 6) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team played host to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) geographic rival Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets gave the number-two team in the conference a terrific battle, but by the time the final whistle blew, the Presidents found themselves with an 81-74 victory.
 
Freshman guard Haley Porter almost single-handedly kept Waynesburg (7-15, 5-8) in contention with a monster game from behind the three-point line. She knocked down eight three pointers to power a personal collegiate-best and game-high 27 points. Those eight treys were one off the program record. She shot nine-of-13 from the floor and eight-of-11 from long range.
 
Porter's first three pointer gave the Jackets their first-and-only lead (5-4) of the contest two minutes into the game. W&J (15-7, 11-3) led 27-19 with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter, but Porter's final three pointer of the period cut the deficit down to 27-22.
 
The two schools played through an even second quarter and by the time halftime came around, the President lead crept up to seven points at 39-32. The Jackets were able to creep to within six points of the visitors after outscoring W&J 19-18 in the third period.
 
The fourth quarter opened with Waynesburg trailing 57-51. That deficit shrunk to 57-53 with a layup by senior point guard Monica Starre (Jewett, Ohio / Carrollton). Unfortunately, that's as close as the Jackets came to completing a comeback in the final 10 minutes, as W&J scored an astonishing 17 of its 24 fourth-quarter points from the foul line.
 
The visitors wound up making 24-of-34 foul shots, as compared to Waynesburg's 17-of-23 showing. W&J's offense was strong when it came to controlling the basketball, committing just nine turnovers. The Jackets won the rebounding battle by a 37-30 margin and held an 11-to-five advantage in three pointers made.
 
Along with Porter's monster night, sophomore Andrea Orlosky (Shelocta, Pa. / West Shamokin) went for 23 points on six-of-11 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and dished out a squad-best six assists.
 
After facing the number-two team in the league on Wednesday, Waynesburg hits the road to face the PAC-leading Saint Vincent Bearcats on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.