WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A fast start and a strong overall shooting effort helped power the Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team to a 82-65 victory over visiting Marietta College Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
The marquee out-of-conference matchup featured a pair of programs that surpassed the 20-win mark a season ago. The win is the second-straight for the Presidents over the Pioneers, who advanced to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 last March.
Four Presidents scored in double figures as the Red and Black sported a balanced attack en route to victory.
Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists to lead the way for W&J. Cherry drained a single-game career-high five three-point field goals in the victory.
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) put together another double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) served as a key cog for the Presidents with 14 points off the bench.
Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) made it a quartet of Presidents in double figures with 11 points to go along with seven points and four assists.
Hannah Archer (Lowell, Ohio/Fort Frye) and
Jaden Wan (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) both finished with nine points for W&J.
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) dished out a team-high five of W&J's 20 assists.
W&J put up 82 points on a Marietta squad that surrenders just 56 points per game this season. The Presidents converted 50 percent from the field (32-64) and knocked down 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from behind the three-point line. The Presidents outpaced the Pioneers by a 44-34 margin in rebounding.
The Presidents made 11-of-16 field goals in the first quarter including 5-of-9 three-point attempts to take a 30-15 lead after 10 minutes of play. The two teams played to a near even game for the remaining three quarters but W&J led by at least six points the rest of the way. The Presidents put the game away with 13-straight points in the fourth quarter. After the Pioneers trimmed the deficit to seven (63-56) with 7:08 to play, the Presidents used the run to stretch its lead back to 20 points with 3:19 to play. Berardelli and Loutsion combined to account for all 13 points during the late game spurt.
W&J held a 21-8 advantage in points off turnovers while Marietta held a 38-28 advantage in points in the paint. Marietta was led by 13 points by Kelly Levering.
The Presidents enter the holiday break winners of six-straight games with a 9-1 overall record. Marietta drops to 6-3 overall thus far in the 2023-24 season.
