Washington & Jefferson (5-1, 0-0) vs. Chatham (6-1, 0-0)
 
When: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Where: Washington, Pa.
Court: Salvitti Family Gymnasium
Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

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THE SERIES: The Washington & Jefferson College Presidents will take on the Cougars of Chatham University for the 46th time in school history, this matchup coming as both teams are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com top 25 poll. In the PAC title game last year, W&J defeated Chatham 59-50 in the Salvitti Family Gymnasium, to secure the league's tournament championship. Over the course of the last six contests between the two schools, the results have produced an even three-to-three split. Chatham's three wins during that stretch make up three of the program's four all-time victories in the head-to-head series.
 
COACHING MATCHUP: W&J's Jina DeRubbo and Chatham's David Saur will meet on the hardwood for the 16th time as opposing head coaches. DeRubbo holds the upper hand against her counterpart with an 11-4 record. However, Saur is the only Chatham head coach to have ever defeated a Presidents squad in the history of the matchup.
 
PROGRAM PINNACLE: The Washington & Jefferson Presidents' 2024-25 campaign was their best in the 51-year history of women's basketball at the College. The team's 24 wins are tied for the most in a single season at W&J, and their thrilling overtime victory over #24 Messiah, in the first round of the national tournament, was the first NCAA tournament win in program history. W&J also secured their 13th conference tournament championship with a title-round triumph over Chatham.
 
DERUBBO DOMINANCE: Head Coach Jina DeRubbo enters her 22nd year on the W&J bench for the 2025-26 season. DeRubbo, who owns a 418-152 record leading the Presidents, has captured 3 Presidents' Athletic Conference titles in her time in Washington. She has been named the league's coach of the year 11 times throughout her career and earned the award for a fourth consecutive season in 2024-25. Her squad's trip to the NCAA tournament a year ago, was the 13th time DeRubbo has guided one of her teams to the postseason. On a national level, DeRubbo ranks 16th among active coaches in Division III in wins.
 
STRONG START: Through their first six games, the Presidents sit at 5–1—second-best in the PAC—with a current scoring margin of +12.5. The program has a history of strong starts, opening 9–1 in each of the past two seasons, including a 17–1 mark in 2022–23, when their second loss didn't come until January 28.
 
BATTLE-TESTED: W&J's non-conference slate has already featured four opponents that reached their respective conference championship games last season, including two that went on to win their league titles. The only loss that the Red & Black have suffered this year came to SUNY Cortland on November 22, when the Red Dragons were ranked 7th in the country by D3hoops.com.
 
BACK IN THE PAC: W&J welcomes Chatham to the Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Wednesday on the first full day of Presidents' Athletic Conference basketball action in the 2025–26 season. The matchup marks the league opener for both the Presidents and the Cougars.
 
THREES AND FREES: The Presidents lead the PAC in free-throw accuracy (.839) and three-point shooting (.356), ranking 2nd and 18th nationally in those categories. The next closest free-throw shooting team in the conference sits more than 10 percentage points behind the Presidents, and three W&J players rank among the PAC's top ten at the line.
 
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE: The Presidents' Athletic Conference will look different for the 2025-26 season, as Hiram College begins its full-time membership in the league for the academic year. Additionally, the conference moves to a divisional set-up in both men's and women's basketball, with the North and South divisions consisting of 6 teams each. The conference's preseason coaches poll placed W&J at the top of the South division with 65 total points, and 10 first-place votes.
 
NATIONAL NUMBERS: In the latest releases of the two premier national polls, W&J is listed among the teams receiving votes in both. Across every D3hoops.com and WBCA update this season, the Presidents have either been ranked or have appeared in the receiving-votes category.