GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team secured the number one seed in next week's Presidents' Athletic Conference by recording a 97-51 victory over Thiel College in its regular season finale Wednesday evening in Mercer County.
The Presidents close the regular season with a 21-4 overall record and an 18-2 mark in conference play. This marks the fourth-straight season that the Presidents will enter the conference tournament as the top seed.
With the victory on Wednesday, the current senior class has 91 wins during their collegiate career. The 91 wins is the most by a class in W&J women's basketball history.
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) paced the Presidents with a season-high 27 points. The senior guard made 10-of-18 field goal attempts including a 4-for-7 mark from behind the three-point line. Graduate student
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) and senior guard
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) joined Bezjak in double figures. DeRubbo tossed in a season-best 14 points. DeRubbo drained 5-of-7 field goals including making 4-of-5 three-point attempts. DeRubbo added four rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes. Dryburgh tallied 13 points in the victory.
The 97 points were the second highest single game output of the season for the Presidents. W&J received offensive contributions from across its roster Wednesday evening. The Presidents connected on 51.4 percent of its field goal attempts (37-72). W&J knocked down a season-high 14 three-pointers with a season-best 53.8 percentage from behind the three-point line.
The Presidents used an exceptional shooting performance over the first two quarters to take a commanding lead by halftime. DeRubbo and Bezjak fueled the first half efforts for the Presidents. The duo accounted for 14 points and 12 points, respectively, over the opening 20 minutes. DeRubbo knocked down four-of-five three-point attempts.
The Tomcats came out firing and took an early lead as the two teams traded baskets for the opening five minutes of the game. DeRubbo gave W&J its first lead by connecting on a triple to give the visitors a 16-15 at the 2:49 mark. Dryburgh and DeRubbo followed with field goals to extend the lead further. DeRubbo then assisted a Dryburgh field goal in the final seconds of the frame to make it a 22-17 W&J lead after the first quarter.
W&J overwhelmed the Tomcats during a dominant second quarter. The Presidents outscored Thiel by a 32-8 score to strengthen its lead. DeRubbo and Wolfe drained consecutive triples to open the second quarter scoring. The pair of treys swelled the Presidents' lead into double digits for good. A three-point play by sophomore
Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) extended the lead to 42-22 at the 4:49 mark. DeRubbo and Bezjak tacked on made three-point field goals over the final 1:33 of the opening half of play. W&J led by a 54-25 score at halftime.
The Presidents added to their lead by outscoring the Tomcats by an 18-9 margin in the third quarter. Dryburgh and Bezjak accounted for consecutive layups to stretch the lead to 63-29 at the 6:57 mark. Later in the quarter, sophomore
Halena Hill (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) had the hot hand. Hill registered three-straight W&J field goals, which included a three-pointer with 3:22 left in the quarter.
Junior
Brianna Toal (Moon, Pa./Moon Area), sophomores
Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway),
Shannon Conley (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) and
Jaden Wan (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) along with freshman
Emily Mountain (Youngstown, N.Y./Lewport), all found the scoring column during the final quarter as W&J closed out its 21st win of the season.
W&J outpaced Thiel in several statistical categories including points off turnovers (31-3), points in the paint (42-24) and bench points (45-6). The Tomcats committed 19 turnovers to just eight for the Red and Black.
The Presidents enter next week's PAC Tournament as the top seed and will face an opponent to be determined in the semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 27. Start time at Salvitti Family Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
