WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Washington & Jefferson made eight three-pointers, including seven from freshman
Lauren Gilbert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), to defeat Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Saint Vincent at the Henry Memorial Center, 70-56.
Gilbert scored 26 points, one off her season best, and finished 7-of-11 from three-point range to lead W&J to the victory. Her seven triples are tied for the second most in a single-game in program history, most recently accomplished by Stephanie Smith against Saint Vincent in 2009. The rookie has scored in double digits in all five career games, and ranks second in the league in scoring at 19.2 points per game.
W&J jumped out to a 17-7 lead behind 5-of-7 on three-pointers through the game's first 7:04, Gilbert knocked down four triples during the run and scored 12 points. The Bearcats, however, cut the margin to 17-14 after one quarter thanks to a 7-0 run to close out the half.
The first 3:11 of the second period saw W&J stretch the lead back to double digits with a 10-2 run in which senior
Amirah Moore (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) scored four points and three others netted two. A layup by junior
Danielle Parker (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) with under a minute to play in the half were the final points of the opening 20 minutes and the hosts held a 33-24 advantage.
An 11-3 run by the Presidents got the lead to 16, 48-32, with 2:03 left in the third quarter, but SVC scored the next six points to get it to a 10-point game early in the fourth quarter. A Parker layup and back-to-back triples by Gilbert made it 56-38, a lead W&J would eventually build to as large as 21 points (66-45 with 2:59 to play), to help weather an 11-4 spurt by the Bearcats to close play.
Gilbert added five rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Parker collected her first double-double of the season thanks to 16 points and 12 rebounds, plus three blocks. Moore also reached double digits at 13 points and handed out a game- and season-high six assists.
The Presidents, who were receiving votes in the first D3hoops.com Top 25 poll of the regular season, improve to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the league will continue PAC play on Saturday, Dec. 2, when they travel to New Wilmington, Pa., for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off at Westminster.
Highlights
Gilbert knocks down a three-pointer just seconds into the game off the opening tip:
Parker pulls down the defensive rebound and Moore does the rest for two points:
Moore gets to the hoop and draws the foul for the bonus:
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