WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 22) - The Waynesburg University women's basketball team competed in the final game of the Omni-Ink Waynesburg Invitational Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets rallied from a daunting third-quarter deficit, but the Penn State Behrend Lions held off the comeback to pick up an 87-74 win.
 
Waynesburg (1-4) and Behrend (3-2) went back and forth over the first 10 minutes of competition. The Lions grabbed the lead late in the quarter thanks to an 11-5 run over the final 2:54 of the period that put the visitors up 21-18 heading into the first intermission.
 
The Lions maintained momentum once the second quarter got underway by going on a 10-2 run that expanded their advantage to 31-20. The Yellow Jackets rebounded to cut the lead to 36-31 before Behrend closed the half on a 6-0 run to go up 42-31 at the break.
 
After the Lions pushed the lead to 52-33 to start the second half, Waynesburg showed its mettle by embarking on a 26-12 stretch that cut the visitors' lead down to just five points at 64-59 heading into the fourth. Junior Mia Henkins (Morgantown, W.Va. / Morgantown) led the charge by scoring nine points over that time span.
 
Unfortunately, that's as close as the Jacket comeback came to fruition, as Penn State Behrend outscored its hosts 23-15 in the final quarter to secure the 13-point victory.
 
Senior Kalista Friday (Woodsfield, Ohio / Monroe Central) tallied a team-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a flawless 4-for-4 effort from three-point range. She also tied for the game lead with five assists and swiped a squad-best three steals.
 
Fueled by that productive third quarter, Henkins ended the day with 14 points, while senior Clara-Paige Miller (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central) chipped in 12 points and five rebounds.
 
Fellow senior Tori Wesolowski (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) tallied nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Yellow Jackets will squeeze in one more game before Thanksgiving by hosting Hood on Tuesday at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.