WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team (7-3) returned from the holiday break to open a brief two-game road stint, opening the last trip of 2025 with a loss to the Otterbein Cardinals (8-3), 52-43.
 
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) led the team in scoring with 11 points, the sole President to score in double figures. She also added seven rebounds. Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) and Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) also added nine points each.
 
Both units returned to the court for the first time in at least 10 days for the holiday break. The Cardinals struck first with a triple but remained silent as the Presidents tacked on eight consecutive points. Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), Loutsion, DeRubbo and Kovalchick all contributed two points each. Otterbein responded with a run oof their own, keeping the Presidents at bay with a 12-10 advantage at the end of the quarter.
 
The Presidents got out to a balanced start in the second, trading buckets with the Cardinals. DeRubbo added four points in the early going, leading to an 18-18 score with under six minutes to go. A Loutsion and-one and Brooke Paylo (South Park, Pa./South Park) free throw make gave the President a 24-21 edge for a brief period. The Cardinals scored six-straight points to take a three-point advantage heading into the half, 27-24. Despite leading at the break, W&J held the Cardinals to a 25.7% shooting percentage from the field.
 
Otterbein entered the second half where they left off, taking a 30-24 lead. Kovalchick sparked a six-point swing with a layup followed by a triple from Loutsion and free throw from Grado, 30-30. A layup from Raegan Kadlecik (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) gave the Presidents a one-point edge heading into the final quarter of regulation of the low-scoring affair, 33-32.
 
W&J quickly lost control of the contest in the fourth quarter, being outscored 20-10. The Presidents held a 40-38 edge off a three-pointer made from DeRubbo before W&J gave up 11-straight points. Jacey Mullen (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield Local) and Loutsion added points in the closing seconds as the Presidents dropped a 52-43 contest.
 
W&J held a slight edge over Otterbein in bench points (9-8) but were outmatched in points off of turnovers (14-9), points on the break (4-1) and rebounding (44-35). The Presidents held the Cardinals to 29.7% shooting from the field (19-64).
 
Women's basketball looks to bounce back rapidly, as they travel to face the ranked Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops on Tuesday (Dec. 30). Action is set to start at 2:00 p.m. in Delaware, Ohio at Branch Rickey Arena.