NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Freshman guard
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) drained the game-winning free throw with 0.5 seconds to play to lift the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team to a 60-59 victory at Westminster Wednesday evening in the Presidents' Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The win was the third-straight for the Presidents, who improve to 4-2 overall. The loss was the second straight for the Titans, who fall to 2-2 overall.
Freshman guard
Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) paced the Presidents with a collegiate-high 16 points. Cherry knocked down four three-pointers in the game.
Despite cold shooting over the final 10 minutes, W&J was able to do enough down the stretch to earn the victory. A three-point field goal by senior guard
Kamryn Lach (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) evened the score at 57-57 with 2:29 remaining.
The teams exchanged baskets in the final 30 seconds to make the score 59-59. Westminster had the opportunity to hold for the final possession. However, an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Presidents with 13 seconds to play. That is when Dryburgh attacked the basket and drew a foul with less than a second remaining. Dryburgh missed the initial free throw but maintained her composure and converted the second free throw attempt to give W&J the conference win.
Cherry was a catalyst for the Presidents during a hot-shooting first half. The first-year member of the Red and Black tallied 13 of her 16 during the opening 20 minutes.
Lach opened the scoring with a three on the opening possession. After a layup got the Titans on the board, Dryburgh drained an open triple to give W&J a 6-2 advantage less than a minute into the game.
Westminster answered with seven straight points to take its first lead at 9-6. Cherry knocked down a three at the other end to even the score with 6:52 to play in the first. The Titans held the lead for the remainder of the opening quarter before W&J tallied the final seven points to take a 17-16 lead after 10 minutes. A pair of free throws by senior guard
Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) with 25 seconds to play in the frame gave the Presidents the one-point edge.
A three-pointer by Cherry and a pair of free throws by McDaniel extended W&J's lead to 22-16 at the 7:59 mark of the second quarter. Consecutive triples by Lach and
Piper Morningstar (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) gave the Presidents a 33-26 lead with three minutes to play in the opening half.
A layup by
Maddi Gutierrez (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) with 1:02 to play in the quarter gave the Presidents a nine-point lead (37-28) at the halftime break.
A three-pointer by junior forward
Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) allowed the Presidents to open up a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Koeck trey made the score 40-30 at the 9:01 mark. The Titans would chip away at the Presidents lead, scoring the final five points of the quarter to trim the deficit to 48-47.
W&J opened the fourth with baskets by Lach and Morningstar to strengthen its lead to 52-47 at the 8:16 mark. Nine straight points by Westminster, including a jump shot by Camden Hergenrother, gave the home team a 56-52 advantage with 4:28 to play.
Cherry (16 points) and Lach (11 points) scored in double figures. Dryburgh finished with nine points, a game-best nine rebounds and two blocks in the victory.
Natalie Murrio led all scorers with 19 points for Westminster.
Eleven of W&J's 20 made field goals came from behind the three-point line. The Presidents held a slim 35-33 edge in rebounding. The game featured five times and four lead changes. W&J held a 22-0 advantage in bench points.
W&J travels to Saint Vincent for a conference clash in Latrobe on Saturday, Dec. 4. Start time is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Robert S. Carey Center.
