WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 22) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team played its long-awaited home opener Tuesday night when Thiel came to town for a Presidents' Athletic Conference showdown. After almost 40 hard-fought minutes, the two teams were within one basket of each other. Unfortunately, when the final buzzer sounded, it was Thiel that was on the right side of a 55-53 final score.
 
Junior Avery Robinson (Ravenna, Ohio / Ravenna) got the home team (0-4, 0-3) off to a strong start by knocking down a pair of three pointers that powered an 8-2 run. Robinson's third trey of the contest pushed the Jacket advantage to 15-7, which was the largest for either team on the night.
 
The Tomcats (1-3, 1-3) responded by scoring the final nine points of the quarter to take a 16-15 edge into the second period. The visitors dropped in the first two points of the second to end an 11-0 run that put them up 18-15. Momentum swing back in Waynesburg's favor thanks to a 7-0 spurt that featured field goals from Robinson, senior Anika Dansby (Massilon, Ohio / Washington) and freshman Emma Seto (Allison, Pa. / Brownsville).
 
Once again, Thiel was up to the challenge and scored nine of the half's final 11 points to take a 27-24 edge into the locker room.
 
The break seemed to do Waynesburg some good as it scored the first seven points of the period thanks to a pair of Dansby field goals sandwiched around a Robinson bucket from long range. While the Jackets scored just 13 points in the period, their defense limited the Tomcats to only six. Heading to the fourth, the host squad held a 37-33 advantage.
 
Unfortunately, the Jacket defense struggled over the final 10 minutes of play and allowed the Tomcats to tally 22 points. Waynesburg led 47-44 with just under six minutes showing on the game clock, but Thiel put together an 8-0 run that the Jackets were unable to come back from. The home team got the deficit down to a single point on multiple occasions in the contest's stretch run, but struggles from the free throw line played a role in the Orange and Black's inability to secure the victory.
 
One highlight of the night for Waynesburg was the first double-double of Seto's young playing career. The first-year forward went for 11 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, six of which were of the offensive variety. Robinson joined Seto in double-digit scoring with a squad-best 16 points.
 
Freshman Tori Wesolowski (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) was a defensive force in the paint with a game-high three blocks. Dansby produced solid all-around numbers with eight points, seven rebounds and a contest-best five assists.
 
Waynesburg is off until Saturday, when it returns to non-conference action. The Jackets travel to Muskingum for a 4 p.m. tipoff against the Muskies.