PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Freshman guard
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) poured in a collegiate-high 18 points and W&J held Chatham scoreless for nearly seven minutes during a decisive fourth quarter run that gave the visitors a 57-50 victory Wednesday evening.
The victory extends W&J's current winning streak to seven games. The Presidents enter Saturday's regular season finale with an overall record of 19-4 and a 16-1 mark in league play. The loss drops Chatham to 16-8 overall and 10-7 in the PAC.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Julianna Skowron gave Chatham a 43-41 lead with 8:47 to play. However, the Presidents defense turned up and the Cougars offense went cold in the final frame. W&J scored 13 consecutive points and held Chatham scoreless for nearly seven minutes to take control of the game. The Cougars made just three-of-17 field goal attempts in the fourth.
After a
Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) layup evened the score,
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) accounted for five straight points to give W&J a 48-43 lead with 6:29 to play. The lead swell to double digits as
Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added five consecutive points to make it 53-53 with 4:18 left. Chatham ended its scoring drought when Aurielle Brunner hit a three with 1:08 to play but it was too little too late for the hosts.
Dryburgh posted her eighth double-double of her freshman season. The Baldwin graduate finished with career highs in rebounds (15), assists (7) and blocks (3) while adding 11 points. Morningstar tallied 13 points, which included a 7-for-10 effort at the free throw line.
W&J scored the initial five points of the game before Chatham settled in and answered with a run of its own. After a jumper by Dryburgh gave W&J a 9-7 lead at the 4:52 mark, Chatham nine straight points to take a 16-9 lead with 1:30 to play in the first. The Cougars would carry an 18-14 lead into the second quarter.
Some hot-shooting by Bezjak pushed W&J back in front early in the second. Bezjak accounted for the first nine points of the frame, as the first-year drained three consecutive threes to give W&J a 23-18 advantage.
A layup by junior forward
Maddi Gutierrez (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) gave W&J its largest lead of the first half at seven. The Gutierrez bucket made the score 27-20 at the 5:56 mark.
Chatham was able to trim the deficit to a single point at halftime behind some strong play from Aliyah Labriola, who tallied a team-high nine points off the bench in the first half. A layup by Dryburgh gave W&J a 31-30 lead into halftime.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, as W&J converted at a 41.4 percent clip (12-of-29) while Chatham connected on 13-of-30 field goal attempts (13-of-30). Bezjak led the Presidents with 12 points off the bench over the first 20 minutes.
Turnovers plagued W&J during a low-scoring third quarter. The Presidents turned it over seven times alone in the frame, as the Cougars outscored the Red and Black by a 10-8 margin. A layup by Chatham's Zelimar Rodriguez gave the Cougars a 40-39 lead heading to the fourth.
W&J closes the regular season at home versus second place Grove City on Saturday, Feb. 19. The game will serve as Senior Day for the Presidents, who will honor their five seniors before the start of the 1 p.m. game.
