WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team held off a fourth quarter rally by Chatham to come away with a 63-59 victory on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4, in W&J's Wynn the Battle game.
After the Presidents opened the game with a 7-2 lead, the Cougars fought back to gain a 13-11 lead.
Danielle Parker (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) helped fuel a 10-0 W&J run after that, scoring five points during the run, to help the Presidents regain the lead, 21-13. Both teams were evenly matched the rest of the half, however, as the Presidents went into halftime with a 30-24 lead.
Danni Medovich (Frederick, Md./Walkersville) opened the scoring in the second half with a three-pointer, the 100th in her W&J career, to give the Presidents a nine-point lead and to cap a 8-0 run. The Presidents offense found its stride in the third quarter, hitting on 11-of-18 shots from the field (.611) and 5-of-8 long range shots (.625) for 27 points in the quarter, taking a 57-44 lead into the final frame.
Despite managing just six points in the fourth quarter, the Presidents' defense allowed just 15 to the Cougars to hold on for the win.
Parker finished the game with a team-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds, a season-high five assists and four blocks.
Rachel Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) finished with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double, her first double-double of the season and fourth in her career, in addition to four assists, two blocks and a steal while her 13 rebounds tied her career high.
Medovich scored 15 points and nailed four long range shots in addition to five assists and two steals.
Taylor Cortazzo (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) totaled nine points in the game and pulled down four rebounds.
As a team, the Presidents' defense held Chatham to just 22.2 percent shooting from the floor in the first half and 30.8 percent for the game. The Presidents held advantages in points in the paint (24-16), points off turnovers (10-9) and second chance points (13-11).
The Presidents will return to the hardwood on Wednesday, Feb. 8, when they will look for the season sweep at Thiel at 5:30 p.m.
Parker gets the offensive rebound and gets fouled on the layup
Medovich hits a three to cushion the Presidents' lead
