WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan .7) – A fantastic effort from the Yellow Jacket bench was not enough to propel the Waynesburg women's basketball team to victory in its first Presidents' Athletic Conference game of 2026. The Jackets gave perennial conference powerhouse Chatham all it could handle on Wednesday night, but the host Cougars held on for a 71-65 win.
 
Waynesburg (5-7, 1-2) opened the scoring with a field goal 25 seconds into the game from senior Tori Wesolowski (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan). Chatham (8-3, 1-2) responded by scorning five-straight points and held slim advantages until 2:53 into the contest when a layup by junior Julz Mohrbacher (Freedom, Pa. / Freedom) tied the score at 6-6.
 
Chatham regained the advantage until the Jackets tied the score back up at 12-12. The home team went on to score the final six points of the quarter to take an 18-12 edge into period number two.
 
Midway through the second, senior Kalista Friday (Woodsfield, Ohio / Monroe Central) recorded back-to-back steals and back-to-back baskets – a reverse layup and a three-pointer – bringing Waynesburg within one possession (23-21). A Mohrbacher layup with 1:10 to go in the half ended up being the last scoring play of the quarter, with Chatham taking a 29-28 lead into the locker room. Overall, Waynesburg outscored Chatham 16-11 in the second quarter.
 
In the third quarter, Chatham extended its lead to 45-33, but junior Kara McFadden (Painesville, Ohio / Fairport Harding) hit back-to-back threes to cut it back to a six-point game (45-39). A few minutes later, Chatham went up by nine, but Waynesburg went on a 6-0 run to end the third quarter, making the score 52-47.
 
Waynesburg then scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, including a bucket from senior Liv Ammons (Wadestown, W.Va. / Clay-Battelle), her first after opening the season recovering from injury, to cut the Chatham lead to one (52-51). However, Chatham went on a 10-2 run to follow, putting it up by eight.

Waynesburg made it a four-point game multiple times in the final minute, but that was the closest the Jackets got to completing a comeback on the evening.
 
McFadden led Waynesburg in scoring with 14 points over 28 minutes of reserve work, including nine from behind the three-point line. Senior Clara-Paige Miller (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central) finished just behind her with 13 over 27 minutes off the bench. Mohrbacher and sophomore Gracelin Corley (Elkins, W.Va. / Elkins) tallied nine points each on the evening, with the latter doing her work over 26 bench minutes.
 
Despite the loss, Waynesburg had a 50-34 advantage in rebounding, led by nine from Mohrbacher. Unfortunately, the Jackets' work on the glass wasn't enough to overcome 17 made free throws made by the host squad. Waynesburg went just 6-of-12 from the charity stripe.
 
The Yellow Jackets will take the court again this Saturday at Allegheny, the final game of a three-game road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.