WASHINGTON, Pa. – Behind 25 points and 15 rebounds from senior Chelsea Apke, the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team took a 76-59 Presidents' Athletic Conference game from visiting Bethany Saturday at the Henry Memorial Center.
Apke's 25 points is her highest single-game point total since she scored 30 against Carnegie Mellon back in November. She totaled her 25-point mark by connecting on 9-of-16 shots from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Apke also added three assists, a blocked shot and four steals to her day.
Junior Valerie Dunlap also recorded a double-double during the game, scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Classmate Alexa DelGreco and senior Alexa Burzese each drained three shots from beyond the arc and finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The lead changed hands just once in the game after Bethany (4-11, 3-5 PAC) hit its first three-point attempt of the game a minute in, taking an early 3-2 lead. From there, the Presidents (10-5, 5-3 PAC) built up a double-digit advantage, going as high as a 17-point lead before the Bison made a run near halftime.
Back-to-back triples by Bethany's Lauren Simpson and leading-scorer Gabrielle Naples, brought the Bison to within five with just under five minutes left in the opening half. Naples hit yet another three-pointer with a minute remaining that cut the lead the lead to four. A jumper by Erin Lavery at the end of the half sent the Presidents into the locker room with a 34-28 halftime lead.
In the second half the Presidents continued to work on padding their lead, extending it to double-figures once more as the period got underway. The Bison maintained pressure, however, and kept clawing their way back into the game, cutting the W&J advantage down to eight at the midpoint of the final period.
Over the next five minutes, a 16-4 run by the Presidents broadened their lead to 19 and seemingly put the game out of reach for Bethany.
W&J dominated down low, outscoring the Bison 32-16 in the paint and out-rebounding its opposition 42-33 for the game. The team also scored 20 of their 76 points off turnovers and got a 15-point outing from their bench.
Washington & Jefferson embarks on a one-game road trip to Beaver Falls, Pa. this Wednesday (Jan. 22) for a PAC contest at Geneva beginning at 6:00 pm.
