WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 15) – Fresh off finals week, the Waynesburg University women's basketball team welcomed Muskingum to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse for a non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game on Monday. The Yellow Jackets led with less than a minute to go in the contest, but a late Muskie rally allowed the visitors to escape with a 75-74 win.
 
Waynesburg (3-6) jumped out of the gate with five quick points to open the game, but Muskingum (4-4) rebounded to score 19 of the next 27 points and build its largest lead of the afternoon at 19-13. Momentum swung back to the Jackets' favor with a 7-0 spurt that included a go-ahead three pointer by senior Aubrey Burns (Kittaning, Pa. / Armstrong) that made the score 20-19.
 
The Muskies scored the only three points of the final two minutes of the period to take a 22-20 advantage after 10 minutes.
 
A pair of Muskingum free throws in the second quarter tied the game at 33-33 with 3:07 left to play in the half. Senior guard Kalista Friday (Woodsfield, Ohio / Monroe Central) knocked down a three pointer and a free throw to put the home team ahead 37-33 with 70 seconds showing on the scoreboard. Muskingum tallied an old-fashioned three-point play with 26 ticks left in the quarter to bring about the halftime score of 37-36.
 
The third quarter belonged to the Jackets, who built up leads as large as eight points (59-51) before settling for a 59-53 advantage heading into the fourth period.
 
The Jackets led or were tied with Muskingum for 9:36 of the final quarter before five unanswered points put the visitors back ahead 73-72. The Jackets quickly grabbed the lead back at 74-73 thanks to a pair of free throws from junior Kara McFadden (Painesville, Ohio / Fairport Harding).
 
The Muskies tied the score back up by making one of two foul shots with just 10 seconds showing on the clock. The Jackets had possession and got a good look at a go-ahead hoop, but a defensive rebound and a subsequent foul in the game's final seconds gave Muskingum the ball at the free throw line, where the go-ahead point was scored.
 
Waynesburg was able to squeeze in a timeout, but the ensuing inbounds pass was off target, giving the Muskies the victory.
 
The Jackets suffered the loss despite outrebounding Muskingum 56-46. Senior Clara-Paige Miller (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central) pulled down a game-high 13 boards to go along with six points.
 
The game was ultimately decided from beyond the arc, where the Muskies connected on 11-of-38 tries. The Jackets drained just 5-of-29 attempts. Waynesburg was able to soften some of that blow by knocking down 21-of-34 foul shots. The Muskies went to the stripe just 18 times and made 10 of those attempts.
 
Friday led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting. She just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds, a team-high three assists and a contest-best three steals. McFadden matched her jersey number with 11 points, and junior Julz Mohrbacher (Freedom, Pa. / Freedom) chipped in nine points.
 
The Jackets got added scoring depth with five players scoring five or six points each.
 
Waynesburg plays one more time before Christmas when it hosts its seventh-straight home game on Saturday, Dec. 20. The Yellow Jackets welcome Penn State Altoona for a 1 p.m. tipoff.