DELAWARE, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team (7-4) dropped a 61-50 decision to 16th ranked Ohio Wesleyan University (8-2) in non-conference play Tuesday afternoon at Branch Rickey Arena in central Ohio.

In a battle of two NCAA qualifiers from a season ago, the Battling Bishops used a substantial fourth quarter run to erase a seven-point deficit and claim the victory over the Presidents. The win is the seventh-straight overall for Ohio Wesleyan.

Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) paced the Presidents with a game-high 16 points. Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) added 11 points. DeRubbo and Loutsion led the Presidents with seven rebounds apiece.

The two teams traded made baskets on their respective opening possessions with Kovalchick burying a quick triple to help W&J out to an early 5-2 advantage. Ohio Wesleyan responded with eight-straight points to build a 10-5 lead at the 6:14 mark. A pull up three-point make by Loutsion stopped the OWU run and trimmed the deficit to 10-8. A pair of free throws by Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) helped W&J take a 13-12 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. After a defensive stop by the Presidents, an offensive rebound and basket by Shannon Conley (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) stretched the lead to three. After scoring seven of the final eight points of the quarter, W&J held a 15-13 advantage after the opening 10 minutes.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the second quarter with four-straight points to regain the lead at 17-15. Some nice ball movement by the Presidents allowed Brooke Paylo (South Park, Pa./South Park) to find DeRubbo for a wide-open triple. Loutsion followed with a driving layup to make it 20-17 in favor of the Presidents, which forced OWU to take a timeout at the 6:16 mark.

The Presidents were held without a field goal for nearly five minutes. Three free throws and a layup by Kovalchick accounted for the next five Presidents' points as the Red and Black led 25-21. OWU converted a jumper with 1:21 remaining in the half to trim the deficit back to a single possession.

Both teams converted just three field goals in the second quarter, as the two defenses locked in and made things difficult offensively. Kovalchick led all scorers at the break with eight points.
 
W&J put together a strong third quarter. The Presidents limited the Bishops to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field as they extended their lead. After a layup by the Bishops cut the Presidents' lead to one at the 2:14 mark, W&J ripped off an 8-2 run to close the quarter.  DeRubbo accounted for the final four points, including a pull-up jumper just prior to the third quarter buzzer, allowing W&J to lead 39-32 entering the fourth.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Bishops. After being held to 32 points total over the first three quarters, Ohio Wesleyan tallied 29 points over the final 10 minutes. The Battling Bishops made nine-of-14 field goal attempts, converting at a 64.3 percent clip to erase W&J's lead. OWU also made 11-of-14 free throw attempts in the final quarter as they outscored W&J by a 29-11 margin during the fourth.

W&J struggled with turnovers throughout the game. The Presidents turned it over a season-high 25 times including 10 in the fourth quarter alone. W&J shot just 33.3 percent from the field and made 4-of-21 attempts from three-point range. For the game, Ohio Wesleyan converted at a 36.2 percent clip from the field. The Battling Bishops won despite making just one three-pointer on eight attempts. OWU made 18-of-22 at the free throw line. 

The Presidents will look to rebound in the New Year. W&J returns to Presidents' Athletic Conference play with a trip to Bethany College on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.