PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team dropped a 67-62 matchup against the hosting Chatham Cougars in a midweek Presidents' Athletic Conference bout.
 
The Presidents drop their first conference bout of the season to the Cougars, slipping to 11-1 in conference play and 14-3 overall. Chatham lifts to 10-2 in PAC play with a 12-4 overall record to remain second in the conference.
 
Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) led the Presidents in scoring with 19 points coupled with four assists and two rebounds. Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) wrapped the bout with 15 points while Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) was a force in the rebounding game with 18 boards (12 defensive, six offensive) on the night with nine points and five blocks.
 
Kovalchick logged the first points of the highly touted bout with a layup in the paint a minute into play. Following a score equalizing layup by Loutsion, Chatham began their upward trend, ending the opening quarter of play ahead 12-8.
 
W&J opened the preceding quarter with a 9-5 scoring run to even the score at 17, sparked by a triple drained by Loutsion. Along the run, Loutsion picked up another nifty layup accompanied by four paint buckets made by Kovalchick. Despite the Presidents scoring efforts, Chatham managed to pull away for a second time. The Cougars built a sizable seven-point lead prior to the close of the first half, 30-23.
 
The Cougars came out of the break on target, building the largest lead of the matchup with the Presidents down 10. Sporadic free throws and a three-point field goal counted from Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) sparked a third quarter scoring barrage to bring the Presidents within five. With under one minute to play in the quarter, Cherry evened the score at 41, courtesy of a trip to the charity stripe. Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) gave the Presidents a one-point lead heading into the final quarter of play after nailing a step back triple, 44-43.
 
W&J and Chatham traded four-point leads in the fourth until the Cougars grew their lead to seven with 1:02 remaining. A made tipin by Kovalchick and triple from Cherry brought the Presidents with in four points with 27 second remaining. Loutsion additionally made a contested layup with six seconds remaining to bring W&J within three, but to no avail as the Cougars held on for a 67-62 victory over the Presidents.
 
W&J held strong advantages in second-chance points (15-7), paint points (24-22) and the rebounding battle (44-35). Chatham capitalized on their points off of turnovers, holding a 16-11 differential over W&J.
 
Women's basketball looks to get back in the win column this Saturday (Jan. 25) as they face the Westminster Titans on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.