WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The top-seeded Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team built a 20-point halftime lead before earning a 55-47 victory over fifth-seeded Bethany College in the 2021-22 Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals at Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
W&J moves to 22-4 overall with its 10th straight victory. Bethany drops to 15-11 overall. The teams matched up in the PAC Tournament for a second consecutive season, as the Presidents defeated the Bison by a 66-62 score in last year's quarterfinal round. The win helped W&J avenge a regular season loss at Bethany, the only conference loss by the Red and Black this season.
Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) led the Presidents with a team-high 13 points.
Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) posted 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Kamryn Lach (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) added eight points.
Morningstar and Berardelli opened with the scoring with back-to-back field goals. A little later, a Berardelli layup gave the Presidents their largest lead of the first quarter at 14-7. W&J carried an 18-13 lead into the second quarter.
The Presidents stymied the Bison in the second quarter to gain a 20-point halftime edge. W&J outscored Bethany by a 17-2 margin in the second as Bethany missed all 15 field goal attempts in the quarter. The Bison's lone points of the quarter came off a pair of free throws by Makenzee Mason at the 2:59 mark. Berardelli and Koeck converted back-to-back baskets just before the halftime buzzer to give W&J a 35-15 lead.
The Bison did not go quietly, as the visitors chipped away at the Presidents' lead throughout the second half. A three-point field goal by
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) late in the quarter helped W&J carry a 46-34 lead into the fourth.
hot in the third quarter and out-scored the Presidents in a 19-11 margin, but Bethany dug themselves a hole they could not recover from in the first half. A Bezjak three pointer would send the Presidents into the final quarter up by a score 46-34. Following a layup by Morningstar that gave W&J a 48-37 lead with 6:48 to play, the Bison tallied eight unanswered points to make it a one possession game.
Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) had the answer, as the senior converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give W&J a 51-45 lead with 1:21 to play. Morningstar helped W&J close the game out at the free throw line. The senior converted the final four attempts from the charity stripe in the final minute. Both teams finished with 36 total rebounds. W&J limited Bethany to 28.3 percent from the field, which included a 2-of-17 effort from behind the three-point line. W&J also recorded nine blocks, four of which were recorded by
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), which were a career high.
W&J hosts second-seeded Westminster College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday, Feb. 26. The Titans downed third-seeded Grove City by a 75-62 score Thursday evening. Tip-off for Saturday's title game is slated for 4:30 p.m. This is the first matchup in the championship game between W&J and Westminster since the 2004-05 season.
The Presidents have won five PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 2005-06. W&J advances to the PAC title game for a fifth straight season.
General admission will be charged at $5 at the gate before entry. Non-W&J students will be charged $2 while W&J students are admitted free with their college ID.
