WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 24) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team hosted Bethany on Monday night in the first round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) tournament. After giving up the first basket of the game, the Yellow Jackets rarely trailed over the final 39:12 on their way to a 79-65 win.
 
With the victory, the Jackets advanced to the tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Waynesburg will face off with Westminster at 7 p.m.
 
The Jackets (8-18) rebounded from their 2-0 deficit with a 16-5 stretch that put the home team ahead by nine points. Waynesburg's lead grew to 20-9 before heading to the second quarter with a 20-13 advantage.
 
Bethany (6-20) briefly tied the game at 31-31 with 2:51 remaining in the first half. The two conference rivals played through a short period of back-and-forth basketball, before Waynesburg scored the final six points of the second quarter to take a 40-36 advantage into the locker room.
 
After the third quarter got underway, the Jacket offense began to flow through the low post, specifically in the hands of sophomore center Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton), who single-handedly led her team on a 6-3 spurt that made the score 46-39.
 
The third quarter was a productive one for the Jackets, who outscored Bethany 26-13 prior to the start of the fourth quarter. A 10-1 Bison run briefly brought Bethany to within eight points of tying the game (67-59) with eight minutes left in the contest. Waynesburg righted the ship with a 7-2 surge and never looked back on its way to victory.
 
Fuller, who was named PAC Player of the Week earlier in the day, looked the part in leading her team to victory. The second-year standout logged her 10^th double-double of the season on a team-high 16 points and a game-best 12 rebounds. Fuller has posted at least 12 points and 10 rebounds in each of her last three outings.
 
Senior Alli Delaney (Belmont, Ohio / Union Local) added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists to the winning effort, while classmate Erin Joyce (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Bishop Canevin) tallied 11 points and a game-high five assists in her final game at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
 
Junior Elena McDermott (Slippery Rock, Pa. / Slippery Rock) and freshman Leighton Croft (Morgantown, W.Va. / Trinity Christian) tallied 11 and nine points, respectively, off the bench.