WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Behind a career-high 21 points from sophomore center
Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic), the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team rolled to a 78-45 victory over visiting Thiel College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Monday evening at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
W&J improves to 9-0 in PAC play and 12-3 overall. Thiel drops to 2-3 in league games and 4-7 overall.
Berardelli was the lone President to score in double figures during a balanced offensive effort. A total of 13 Presidents tallied a point in the 33-point victory.
W&J raced out to an early double-digit lead behind Berardelli's strong performance. The sophomore accounted for eight of the first 12 points for the Presidents, as the Red and Black built a 14-2 advantage with 4:21 to play in the opening quarter. Freshman guard
Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) buried an open three-pointer late in the quarter to give W&J a 19-4 lead after 10 minutes of play. Thiel converted just one field goal attempt in the opening quarter.
Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) sank back-to-back jumpers to give W&J its biggest lead of the first half, a 33-14 advantage with 1:10 to play in the second.
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) raced the length of the floor in six seconds to beat the buzzer with a layup. The Bezjak layup made the score 35-16 W&J at halftime.
Berardelli came out strong again to the the third quarter. Her three-point play stretched the lead to 42-18 at the 7:32 mark. Senior guard
Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./Wexford) made the score 47-21 with a three-pointer from the right wing with 6:29 to play in the frame.
Thiel continued to have little answer for Berardelli, who converted layups on three straight possessions, as W&J swelled its lead to 53-26 with 4:41 to play in the quarter. A late three-point field goal by junior forward
Maddi Gutierrez (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) with five seconds to play gave the Presidents a 60-30 lead after the third.
Senior guard
Taylor Brenner (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) drained a pair of three-pointers in the fourth. The second Brenner triple increased the lead to 35 points at 76-41.
Additionally,
Tori Boalton (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown Area),
Skylar Bibbee (Fairfax, Va./Chantilly),
Nautica Burwell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice), and
Samantha Maurer (Washington, Pa./Washington) all found the scoring column during the fourth quarter of play.
The Presidents held a decided advantage in points off turnovers (28-3), points in the paint (38-14) and rebounds (47-29).
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), Koeck and Berardelli each pulled down six rebounds for W&J. Dryburgh was the game-leader in assists with five.
Thiel finished with more turnovers (17) than made field goals (14). Lexy Wagner led the Tomcats with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds.
W&J travels to Bethany College for a PAC road contest on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The tip-off is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start time. Per Bethany's policy, no external fans will be permitted.
