GREENSBURG, Pa. (Nov. 15) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team traveled to Pitt Greensburg on Wednesday evening for its final tune-up before Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play gets underway. A rather routine first half gave way to a wild final two quarters that saw the host Bobcats stave off a furious Yellow Jacket comeback attempt for an 81-77 win.
 
The Bobcats (1-2) took early control of the contest by scoring 15 of the first 21 points and held a nine-point advantage with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter. Waynesburg (0-3) bounced back to outscore UPG 10-3 over the stretch run of the opening period to put the host squad up 18-16 after 10 minutes of play.
 
Pitt Greensburg built several multi-basket leads in the first half of the quarter and found itself ahead 31-24 with 3:16 showing on the scoreboard. The Jackets answered the challenge with an 9-0 surge that gave them their first lead of the game at 33-31. Freshman Kara McFadden (Painesville, Ohio / Fairport Harding) hit the first of three treys and was followed by classmate Mia Henkins (Morgantown, W.Va. / Morgantown) canning a pair from distance.
 
The Jacket advantage was short-lived, however, as UPG scored the final four points, which gave it a 35-33 edge at the break.
 
The third quarter belonged to the Bobcats, who outscored the visitors 29-14. The home team shot 62.5% from the floor (10-of-16), 62.5% from three-point range (5-of-8) and knocked down all four of its foul shots. Waynesburg, on the other hand, saw its offense go cold. The Orange and Black went four-of-16 from the field and 0-of-8 from beyond the arc.
 
Despite trailing 64-47 heading into the fourth quarter, Waynesburg didn't give up on victory. After the Bobcats extended their lead to 66-47 following 51 seconds of play, the Jackets exploded for 30 points over the game's final 10 minutes. They started their comeback attempt with a 14-0 run that featured four different players scoring the basketball, all of which are freshmen.
 
After seeing its lead wither to 66-61, UPG stopped Waynesburg's surge with a two-point field goal. The Orange and Back fired back with a 9-3 spurt that, once again, featured this year's freshman class. This time, the newcomers tallied seven of those nine points.
 
Trailing by just a single point (71-70) with 1:59 to play, the Jackets were unable to take the final step in what would have been a memorable comeback. UPG managed to rediscover its offensive touch and outscored the opposition 10-7 to close out the victory. Eight of those points came on an eight-for-eight effort at the foul line.
 
Friday had an excellent night on both ends of the court. Not only did she score a personal collegiate-best and game-high 23 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the floor, she also swiped away a game-high four steals. All of that came over just 17 minutes off the bench.
 
McFadden added 14 points, six of which came on a perfect showing at the foul line. Junior Madisen Dayton (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Calvary Christian Academy) had a productive night off the bench with 12 points on five-of-nine shooting, five rebounds, all of which were offensive boards, and two steals.
 
Henkins added 11 points to give the Jackets four double-digit scorers. Freshman Julz Mohrbacher (Freedom, Pa. / Freedom) controlled the glass off the bench to the tune of a team-high nine rebounds. She added six points and three steals over a very active 14 minutes off the bench.
 
Waynesburg dominated the opposition on the boards to the tune of a 51-35 rebounding advantage.
 
The Jackets open up PAC competition Saturday with a road trip to Bethany. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.